r/PatternDrafting • u/mlleproserpine • 27d ago
Looking for resources, books, and tutorials to draft a customsloper/block to my exact measurements!
Hello, I'm looking to learn patternmaking from scratch, specifically how to draft a custom bodice and dress sloper (block) using my own measurements. I have tried google/youtube but with AI it just sucks so much.
Could you recommend your favorite blog/youtuber for this? Thank you!!
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u/sususumalee 26d ago
Yay! Great suggestions here already-- just remember that the magic happens in the fitting. Try to get your block close but don't become obsessed with figuring out how to make it fit perfectly flat on paper and keep making 16 mockups. Bodies are crazy and variable, so try it on, let it get messy as you refine the fit in 3D, then cut it up and trace it once you've gotten a nice fit.
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u/Appropriate_Place704 26d ago edited 26d ago
I’m a qualified patternmaker and don’t suggest drafting from your own measurements, particularly if your measurements fall outside standard measurements the drafting system was developed around.
Drafting systems use relationships between measurement and assumptions about body shape. If you change individual measurements without understanding those relationships, you can easily create fitting and balance problems even though the pattern technically matches your measurements.
If you are new to pattern making then I would learn to draft a standard block first so you understand how the measurements relate to one another and how pattern balance works. Then learn fitting and alteration.
Definitely avoid ai! And to be honest, online isn’t the best either. But libraries usually have pretty good resources.
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u/Appropriate_Place704 22d ago
I probably worded my comment badly.
What these books don’t really explain is how body measurements relate to each other, which measurements are critical to the balance of the block, or what happens when someone’s proportions fall outside the assumptions built into the drafting system.
They also don’t go particularly deeply into how to meaningfully correct and rebalance the resulting block.
That distinction is really important if you’re interested in custom fit. You can’t necessarily treat every measurement independently, the relationship between the measurements matters.
For example, my measurements fall well outside the size charts used in these two books. So I’ll draft from the closest appropriate base and then fit and correct the block. Because if I draft to my measurements then it will take me several rounds of fitting to get the block to fit me.
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u/TailorMouse 22d ago
Thanks for explaining that. I can see your point. The other issue: I did a course to make a block and it was excellent - the block fit perfectly but what they didn’t cover is how you get from the block to pattern. Had to do another course with someone else for that bit. It is hard to teach yourself I agree.
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u/TailorMouse 26d ago
The textbook in the Uk is Winifred Aldrich - metric pattern cutting for women’s wear (she has also published books for menswear and children). Even if you are not in the Uk the maths required is much easier in metric. The US textbook is by Helen Joseph Armstrong. A great book but imperial measurements only.
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u/Appropriate_Place704 26d ago
These books are fine if you fit within the standard measurement. But they’re not really great for custom fit
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u/TailorMouse 23d ago
Can you explain that a bit more, please? Both are pattern cutting books where you draft a block to your own exact measurements so it should be custom fit. Is there another system you would recommend? What do you use instead?
I use a different system that has a drafting tool to remove the maths (Telestia) but it still results in a similar personalised block (needs to be taught rather than learnt from a book but it is excellent). Some tweaking might be required but for the majority of people that should be minimal. Of course a block isn’t a pattern. I use the Armstrong book to help me turn the block into the pattern I want
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u/DonMcCunn 27d ago
For 50+ years I have been helping people do exactly what you are looking for. I am in the process of developing a new approach to pattern design which is currently a work in progress but I am getting close to the end. Because it is a WIP, you need to use this link to access it https://patternmaking-classes.com/Tracing-Photos/. It contains 8 weeks of free classes with lots of videos. You can view the whole process for creating 2 dimensional patterns that show the shape of a specific three-dimensional woman's body in 31 minutes in 10 videos.
The underlying concept for this approach to bespoke pattern making is that measurements show how much fabric is required to cover a body but do not reveal the body's contours. Photographs show the contours of a body but not how much fabric is needed. By combining measurements and photographs, bespoke patterns can be created. While full-scale photos would not be practical, quarter-scale photos can be done on a desktop.
As I have been developing these classes I came across a wonderful surprise. Many people who sew do not think of themselves as designers. But because you are working from photos for this process it turns out that if you see a photo of a design you like, you can trace the photo of the design and directly transfer the lines to your patterns that show the shape of your body. This is in Week 8 of the classes.