Comments on: whiptips: sewing clothing

By: boodely

boodely — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:47:18 +0000

I’ve been making muslins of clothing patterns before the final garment. Then I take them in or adjust them as needed until they really fit, and I transfer those changes back to the paper pattern. It seems like a tedious extra step (and I guess it is) but having done this several times now I realize that I’m getting a very good education in how fitting works, and my confidence is growing tremendously.

By: Angelica

Angelica — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:16:40 +0000

http://vintagesewing.info

this website has some great public domain books about drafting, I especially recommend the Modern Pattern Design book, it walks you through drafting a bodice and skirt sloper.

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:42:13 +0000

I strongly recommend the book “Make Your Own Patterns” by Adele Margolis. It’s not just about drafting, but about tweaking existing patterns to add details and features. It’s easy to read and follow. It’s been reprinted by Dover Press so it’s inexpensive as well.

There are a lot of online communities that are helpful with pattern drafting. One is the Yahoo group FitSnobs - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fitsnobs/

By: bitterbetty

bitterbetty — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:15:44 +0000

Buy old sewing books at thrift stores and pour over them.
Almost all of them have GREAT trouble shooting sections on fit.
And they stay on the sewing table… unlike the computer.

By: meggiecat

meggiecat — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:26:28 +0000

Try Online Feature Library of Threads magazine. This library has articles covering patternmaking, basic and advanced sewing techniques, fabrics etc.

Also Fashion Incubator. Pattern maker and teacher Kathleen Fasanella’s blog for designers moving to clothing manufacturing. It’s a little higher caliber than I need but I frequently find technical and professional information that’s useful.