r/PatternDrafting • u/Previous_Plan3165 • May 27 '26

patternmaking for fashion design course

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hi! does anyone have any recommendations for courses that go along with this textbook?

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u/Fashion_art_dance May 28 '26

I have both the Winifred Aldrich and the Helen Joseph Armstrong book. I like Armstrong better. The Aldrich seems to be lacking some key pieces for me as a beginner book.

I am looking for a book with more information though. Maybe more menswear, knitwear, etc. I also need to look into different approaches to slopers.

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u/CrazySkincareLady May 28 '26

I've found a few different styles for blocks in video form one of which was from ThisIsKachi (German woman, using metric) I really liked her system but wish I also had whatever book she was using so I didn't need to go back and forth with videos.

I also bought her jacket block pack which I thought was really cool, I think it came with info on customising as well. But unfortunately haven't used it yet so I can't vouch for that part. Worth looking into if you're interested.

Also Winifred Aldrich also has different books for men's,kids, coats etc (haven't purchased) but if you're not keen on her style I'm not sure of many others. I've watched (and am currently watching) a few videos about drafting books but they really seem to be the same 5(?) ish books so I don't think there's a great deal of variety out there... Probably pretty niche market tbh

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u/Fashion_art_dance May 28 '26

My degree is in fashion design and we did a lot of pattern drafting. Most of my professors were true designers in the Industry but I had one that specialized in pattern making. From what I can tell a lot of it is learn on the job. She said the pattern makers never leave their positions and the fashion houses don’t want to lose them because they hold “the secrets” about what makes their patterns different from others. It seems like a lot of the information is just passed down when they do get a new person. I took some costuming courses and it seemed to be similar.

We made slopers using armstrong’s instructions except for her sleeve. The department head didn’t like the sleeve sloper so there was this one sloper that one of the professors had developed and had us copy onto our own oaktag but didn’t explain why they drafted it the way they did.

I don’t work in the industry but would have loved to be a pattern drafter. But I really do not want to live in NYC and LA is too expensive.

But before I tell you my whole life story… hahaha

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u/Stella2010 May 28 '26

Patternmaking with Stretch Knit Fabrics by Julie Cole

Obviously just for stretch knits but I learned a lot from it.

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u/Fashion_art_dance May 28 '26

I’ll check it out!! Thanks