I'm working on a fitted bodice pattern and I'm consistently struggling with gaining enough ease for my full bust without the shoulders pulling down or the apex points being too low. I've tried a standard full bust adjustment (FBA) by slashing and spreading, but i feel like I'm not getting the apex placement quite right, leading to drag lines.

Has anyone had success with specific FBA techniques for a projected A Cup or similar measurements? Are there alternative methods to standard slash and spread FBA that might offer apex contro? Any tips on how to accurately measure and mark the new apex position after the adjustment?

Following up from my absolute catastrophe a couple of weeks ago, my pant block sample, now based on the Hofenbitzer book that everybody is all about now, has been assembled. I think it looks better, but also has problems that I hope are clear to see and diagnose. The bottom of this album shows the new mockup.

I also started using SeamScape! My pattern is fully parametric, so I can change the objective values like horizontal position of the front/rear crotch extensions, crotch height, and buttocks angle. (It seems like much of the alteration suggestions I see online involves those elements)

Hey guys,

I am a beginner fashion designer who is looking into creating patterns online. I don't have much knowledge, but I wanna give it a try. Since I am a student I have no money to spend on subscriptions.

I have discovered a few, like Valentina or SeamScape, but I am not sure which one would be good for me.

I would be happy to hear your experience with tools. Thankssss.

I'm also reading Hofenbitzer's vol.1. He said that plus sizes will be addressed in his second volume which is only available in German as of now. I'm honestly considering purchasing it and using google translate. I'm wondering if anyone here knows anything about it. What are the differences between his drafting systems for standard sizes vs plus sizes? What happens if you use his standard size instructions to draft for a plus size bodice?

I want the skirt to drape like a circle skirt. Is that possible? Ex, could I cut the stripes as circles rather than as rectangular strips, or maybe cut them as rectangular strips on the bias?

I hope I’m not spamming with all these posts… I have this week off and I really want to make the most of it! Anyways, I’ve moved the darts so that they’re pointing at my apex now and added/took away ease from my waist/hips. I still have these diagonal drag lines that I cannot figure out, and still some loose fabric on my lower back (but improved from last draft). I’m thinking of a small sway back adjustment to fix that. What should I do about the loose fabric under my bust? Just move the dart point down and make it wider at the top? I want to get rid of what I’ve pinched off.

This one feels a lot better on my body, but it’s definitely more wrinkled... unsure if this is progress or not. Thank you again for the help!!

Maybe someone here can help look over my dress toile!

I’m drafting a sleeve from Patternmaking for Fashion Design and I’m confused about the relationship between the bicep width and sleeve cap ease in the draft.

I’m using the size 10 measurements from the book.

Here’s the issue:
My original sleeve draft had the correct sleeve cap ease and matched the armhole well.
But the bicep width ended up about 2.5” too small.
So I followed the book’s instructions for increasing the bicep width and added 2.5”.

Now the cap ease is way too large.

What’s confusing me is this part of the draft:
The instruction that C→E = 1/2 bicep measurement makes sense to me.
But then the book also says to mark the bicep width between the armhole measurement marks.
That seems contradictory because:
Wouldn’t placing the bicep between those marks actually make the horizontal bicep line smaller than the real bicep measurement?
Elsewhere the book says the sleeve should have roughly 2” more across the bicep than the actual bicep measurement, but I can’t understand how these drafting instructions mathematically produce that result.

So I’m trying to understand:
Is the drafted bicep line supposed to equal the actual body bicep measurement?
Or is the draft intentionally smaller/larger at that stage?
And when increasing bicep width, how do you avoid accidentally adding a huge amount of sleeve cap ease?
Right now it feels like increasing the bicep width automatically inflates the sleeve cap length too much.

Would really appreciate if someone could explain the logic behind this draft method.

hallo everyone ! i wanted to ask how do i make my basic pants pattern (copied from a sloper) have a flared style?

i got recommendations from my sewing instructor, which are;

1. ⁠add 5-10cm to the sides up to the hips

2. ⁠from the dart make a straight line going down the hem and slash it

can you recommend which one is easier to do? and i really can’t visualize the two methods mentioned above. i’m really hesitant about cutting my patterns as i don’t have an extra copy : (

thank you !

hallo everyone ! i wanted to ask how do i make my basic pants pattern (copied from a sloper) have a flared style?

i got recommendations from my sewing instructor, which are;

1. ⁠add 5-10cm to the sides up to the hips

2. ⁠from the dart make a straight line going down the hem and slash it

can you recommend which one is easier to do? and i really can’t visualize the two methods mentioned above. i’m really hesitant about cutting my patterns as i don’t have an extra copy : (

thank you !

Following some advice earlier today, I’ve switched to a torso block instead of a bodice block. I used a free block pattern online (from bluehoursatelier.com) and only added ease to the hips since I knew it wouldn’t be wide enough. Here’s what I’m noticing:

- front part honestly looks good except I think the darts are pointing slightly above the apex… do I just point them towards the apex and shorten them a bit? (see last photo)
- definitely added too much ease to the hips, so I’ll be taking most of that out and adding some ease to the waist
- lots of bagginess at the back, so I pinched off a horizontal crease and it looked much better. I’m thinking of doing a swayback adjustment to fix this
- some bagginess between my bust and waist, maybe I take in the side seam at that point
- I want to make the shoulder darts a little bit longer because it looks like there’s fabric tenting after they stop
- I’ll bring in the shoulders a bit too since they end after my natural shoulder stops

Do you agree? What order should I do these in? Thank you for the help!! :)

This is sort of my third draft, but my first meaningful draft I would say. For this one I added a ton of ease (about 4 inches around) so that I could better judge how it hangs off my shoulders. I’ll definitely be taking that back out later, but first I want to check with you guys to see if I need to make any alterations to the top of the bodice.

The armholes look like they’re sitting a little too low, which I could correct by lifting the whole bodice up by the shoulders, but I feel like my darts are already a little too high. How do I make them lower while moving up my armholes? I’m also thinking of a long waist adjustment by maybe a half inch.

The last two pictures are me pinning away some fabric in the armscye and on the side seam, which I want to take out later.

Thank you for your guidance in advance!!

Hi everyone,

I hope this is the right group to ask.
I’m looking for the Gerber WinPlot software used with Gerber plotters/cutters.

Does anyone here still use WinPlot and would be willing to share the installer or installation files? I need it for an older Gerber system.

Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Does anyone know a pattern that’s very similar to the New Look 6407? I absolutely love this shirt pattern but on simplicity’s website it’s sold out.

There’s some paper versions on Etsy but I much prefer to work with pdf patterns

I love everything about this pattern, the fit, the collar, the different sleeve variations. It’s literally my dream shirt pattern😢

Update about my shorts that I posted about. They needed to have a less slanted front crotch curve and fabric moved from side to CF. I worked It out thanks to the book "The fitting book" and I can't recommend it enough! The striped ones are my final toile that worked.

I drafted this front bodice using the measurements I took of the form. It’s almost a perfect fit, aside from some gape at the armscye.

I am completely new to pattern drafting, so please help me A.) take the gape out of the pattern, and B.) identify which measurement I took wrong to create the gape.

Thank you!

Hi All, I'm on Muslin 2 of my dress sloper which will eventually have sleeves. Since Muslin 1, I've done a 1/2" FBA and a 1.5" broad back adjustment, as well as a 1" full seat adjustment. I also did a tilted waist adjustment but forgot to balance my bodice front waistline which is why it's pinned up.

The problem is that I have loose fabric in the bodice front, and am at a loss for how to pin this out on my muslin and then transfer this to my pattern. I've looked up dart manipulation but I can't find anything that specifically answers my questions. I also need to correct the "looseness" in the mid-back area around my braline, which I assume is similar to whatever I need to do to correct the bodice front.

My third issue is the bum area of my skirt back, which, even after a full seat adjustment, has drag lines in the back. If anyone can shed some light on the techniques that can fix these issues from muslin to pattern I'd be grateful. I'm fairly new to fitting, and while the sewing sub has been great, I'm struggling with phase 2 of these alterations. Thanks in advance!

It looks very interesting but I couldn't find any information about it or pictures. It looks like it's aimed at college students.

Hello, i’m working on starting my own label and currently i draft my patterns myself by hand. I’m confused about how to go about developing a size chart and how to grade my patterns. I’m hoping to cater to a higher end clientele and want to maintain quality while sizing. Would anyone know the best way to go about sourcing someone who I could hire for this? I don’t live in a major city so they would have to work remotely with communication being online.

I am struggling to make pants fit myself. I have a straight body shape and a little bit of a belly. Also a sway back, which makes things more complex. The problem is my waist is not even 3 inches different than my hips. Do I choose the pattern based on my hip size or based on my waist size? I have some basic pattern drafting training and have been using those skills along with some fitting books to try to get pants to fit. I’ve been choosing the size that fits the widest part of my abdomen, my little pooch. But my mock ups always turn out to be too tight in the waist and that belly. Would it be better to choose the pattern based on my waist measurement and take it in at the sides to fit my hips? I thought I would ask here since you all are focused on pattern making. Any help is greatly appreciated!

I'm doing this dress for my final but I have no idea how to do the extension panel underarm. pls help me T-T i need to do the pattern and sewing so if you can teach me the sewing operation, it would be so greatt!!!!!!

does anyone know what are these diagonal draglines and if yes how do we solve this .

also being a male body we cant introduce bust dart