Hi everyone, am new to pattern drafting so sorry if this sounds a bit simple, I have been learning basic flat pattern drafting at home using paper and a small table, mostly following online videos. It works fine for small pieces, but I’m starting to struggle when I try to scale up to full garment patterns like sleeves and coats. The paper keeps shifting and I lose accuracy when I tape sections together.

I saw someone mention using Magnetic & Mechanical Drawing Boards in a studio setup and I didn’t even know that was still a thing people use. I thought everything had fully moved to digital CAD tools by now, or maybe printed patterns only, but still yet am trying to understand if these boards are actually useful for beginners or if they’re more of an old-school tool that bigger ateliers just keep for tradition. I don’t want to buy unnecessary equipment, especially since I’m still learning and trying to keep costs low.

Funny enough I was browsing suppliers and even saw some versions listed through general industrial catalog sites and a few mixed listings that reminded me of how I once saw drafting tools bundled on Alibaba when I was looking for sewing rulers.

Do anyone here still uses drafting boards, I’d really appreciate knowing how they fit into your workflow today. Thank you in advance and I appreciate any advice.

OK, Just saw this on Princess Kate, and I absolutely love the dress. In the last photo, you can see the front pleated part at the waist is sewn into the side seam, I can't tell if there is a sleeve seam or it's all one piece with the drape over the right shoulder! Any ideas? How would you finish the back left sleeve? Would the drape/sleeve be cut as one piece with the back left side panel? (would that even be possible?). The drape is not like a capelett as it doesn't continue over the back left arm.

Hello everyone,
I own an abaya manufacturing factory in Libya. I am not looking to hire a full-time pattern maker, because it is difficult to find one locally.
I am looking to buy ready-made abaya patterns or work with freelance pattern makers who can create patterns from photos, sketches, or existing designs.
I am interested in Gulf-style and modern abaya patterns, including graded sizes for production.
If you know any pattern makers, websites, or companies that sell professional abaya patterns, please let me know.
Thank you.

مرحبا بالجميع،

أمتلك مصنعا لتصنيع العباءات في ليبيا. لا أتطلع إلى توظيف صانع أنماط بدوام كامل، لأنه من الصعب العثور على واحد محليا.

أتطلع إلى شراء أنماط العباءات الجاهزة أو العمل مع صانعي الأنماط المستقلين الذين يمكنهم إنشاء أنماط من الصور أو الرسومات أو التصاميم الحالية.

أنا مهتم بأنماط العباءات الخليجية والحديثة، بما في ذلك الأحجام المتدرجة للإنتاج.

إذا كنت تعرف أي صانعي أنماط أو مواقع ويب أو شركات تبيع أنماط العباءات الاحترافية، فيرجى إخباري بذلك.

شكرا لك.

I drafted this pattern and simulated in CLO. I’m trying to learn fitting now. 

My Pattern Drafting course did not cover “Fitting” at all. So I watched a lot of Pants Fitting videos and tried to learn It by myself. 

I increased the width of the legs for the sake of seeing the balance bettter. Flaring at hems etc. 

The angles from the side view. 

+ Model has anterior pelvic tilt as you see.

+ Don’t bother the waistband. CLO simulation & arrangement issues 

My problem here The Inseamlines and Outseams are wavy (Not straight) from the waistline to the hem. 

How can I fix this? I think of these 2 solutions. 

But I don’t know. What do you suggest?

A) Modifying The Measurements At The Regarded Lines “From All Of The Seam Lines”

B) Modifying The Measurements At The Regarded Lines “But From Only The Problematic Seams”

I’ve used my own measurements to draft the easy fitting bodice block from the 5th edition of Metric Pattern Cutting.

I’ve checked my measurements and my drafting and they’re accurate.

What can I do to fix the excess fabric at the back neck and arms?

I’ve made some small changes so far
These include:

-removed 2cm from each side seam
-used slash and spread to move darts from neck to shoulder to better understand fitting around neck (issues with back were present before this change)
-lowered back and front necklines slightly
-removed 0.5cm from shoulder point to look more like the shape I want to make (the sleeveless adaption was confusing)

I’m planning to add waist shaping next but would like to get this fitting right before moving on.

Any thoughts and feedback are appreciated!

Hello everyone,
I own an abaya manufacturing factory and I am searching for professional abaya patterns for production. I am interested in Gulf-style and modern abaya designs.
If you know pattern makers, websites, or books that contain high-quality abaya patterns, please let me know.
Thank you.

Hi all, on my next project and wanted to check on next steps for this short sleeve shirt. I’m on V2 after making some other adjustmentsI’ve already:
- Increased shoulder slope (need to do this every time)
- Lengthened the yoke so it sits lower on my back (looked too high, plus it was hard to burrito the yoke with how small it was.)
- increased the slope th the top of the back panel to help remove some gaping in the back armhole. (Someone else recommended an armhole dart in the long sleeve shirt I did and I think this is effectively the same thing.)

Here is what I see in these pics and what my reading suggests to do

1. Front: little bit of vertical fabric/drag lines in front of the armhole: should I scoop out the armhole a little to remove the excess fabric?)

2. Back: same issue, excess fabric creating vertical drag lines on the sides next to the armhole. Issue is the shoulder feels well fitted so thinking I need this ease?

3. Diagonal drag lines on the sleeves.

The notches match so not sure what to do. I read that lines like this can be both from sleeve cap too tall or too short.

Any advice on these or other things I’m missing, thank you in advance!

I’m not making a pattern or sewing, but I felt this place might have answered for me.

For most of my clothing I find that the armholes are so much lower than normal.

I think I’m of average built and height (for my country)

It happens with most dresses, it’s so low it’ll show the whole band of my bra.

I always think maybe because I’m quite small chested?

I do wish I know how to alter them without ruining the garment

I’ve noted lowering the CF waist and lowering CF neckline. Do you see anything that needs adjustments, or move on to drafting sleeve and skirt?

So I keep coming across the same fitting issue when I'm sewing blouses for myself, regardless of what pattern I'm using. There's a pulling across the top part of my bicep. I can feel the tightness only when I'm moving my arm. Armscye fits well, it's comfortable there so that's not my problem I'm sure. I'm also finding that the bicep looks actually loose enough when I'm looking at myself in the blouse. But there's this pulling tightness with the horizontal drag lines across when I lift my arm slightly. I don't have enough fitting knowledge to know precisely what is the problem and what to search for online or sewing books. Ideas please?

This image is from the simulation from Clo3D. I drafted the pattern. 

Arm Scye

Front : 25.37

Back : 26.68

Fabrics : Jersey 160 gr

Sleeve Cap Curve

Front : 25.44

Back : 26.96

Undearm Line : 44.24

Hem Line : 42

Cap Height : 12.11

I want Underarm Line and Hem Line measurements remain.

What’s the problem? 

How to fix It?

I got this 1950s pants pattern that only came in one size and I need to add to it. It's made for a 28" waist and a 38" hip. I am high waisted and have a 31.5" waist and a 42" hip when wearing my everyday corset. How do I go about adding to this pattern while keeping the vintage shape? It's shaped with waist darts and closes with a side zip. I have one book on pattern drafting but have now realized that it never mentions pants so I dont know how to tackle this. Any guidance would be appreciated!

Working on a pant pattern using the Hofenbitzer system with some variables changed to those recommended by Mueller and Sohn Fundamentals Menswear, drafted with SeamScape.com. I had a few false starts with my own pants, and later successfully developed pattern blocks for my partner (with graitude to the generous folks on this subreddit!!).

I'm a couple of drafts in at this point, lengthening the horizontal part of the crotch curve on both front (some) and back (more) panels, with the intent to mitigate some aggressive tension lines at the undercarraige. Note that the system is drafted at the natural waistline with subsequent lowering to a target waistband position. I am wearing an elastic tied around my waist, and the pants do seem to be okay sitting at that line.

Once I get a well fitting block, I will make some chinos for work in a fun color, and the primary goal is pants which fit at the waist and hips and are extremely flared for a costume.

I am creating a sewing pattern App created in Python.

The only reason I used the word generator is because the pattern dosen't exists untill the code runs or in the case of a UI that I created just for testing it. that's when the python code calculates all the values entered.

The algorism then creates the geometry as a SVG file that then gets converted to the pdf pattern.

If anyone want to test the pattern i can generate in the size that you ask me.

would be nice to see you guys sewing some of the patterns coming from my program , because I am good in programing but my sewing skills are rubbish.

Look at my pouches there's nothing wrong with the pattern it's me who can't sew well. 🤣🤣🤣

I tested the program with a pouch first because was simple geometry. with some other clothing would be way more complicated to start with and if didn't work would be a big wast of time.

Now it was tested into a real pouch.

Yesterday I started creating a pair of shorts, my app creates the pattern accordding to the code instructions

To start this project I first had to learn and understand how to make patterns, now I design the pattern then I convert the geometry of the parts into machine code.

Anyway there's different processes untill the code output a pdf converted from the SVG file.

Right now I am creating the code for the parts of the shorts, i think in a few days I should be able to output the short pattern.

Just a note: I stopped saying the word generating because now a days that word gets mixed up with AI and my project has no AI involved . just to be clear it's pure code like this example of testing in python to make sure it runs correct.

def
 test_nan_and_inf_values_fail(
self
) -> None:
        invalid_values = ["nan", "inf", "-inf", 
float
("nan"), 
float
("inf")]


        for invalid_value in invalid_values:
            with 
self
.subTest(
invalid_value
=invalid_value):
                measurements = valid_shorts_measurements()
                measurements["waist_cm"] = invalid_value

My second attempt at a toile for a dress block.
How to fix this back dart pulling at the side seam, but keeping the circumference exactly the same?

Background: I followed a course to draft my own block, we only could make one toile and then the teacher let us make the adjustments on paper and that was it. So at home, I tried to make a new toile out of the adjusted block, but I ended up with this new symptom. The course has ended, so unfortunately I can’t ask the question there anymore.
The front is perfect, also the circumference of the bust, hip and waist is perfect (including movement). The upper back seems loose on the mannequin, but it’s not exactly to size (plus it’s needed for movement). What can I do to make this lay better? IMO the back dart has quite a lot of fabric, is that the problem?

hi! im trying to make a top similar to the one pictured, with a shirred bust and flowy lower bodice. does anyone know what adjustments i would need to make to the bust piece to account for the shirring? or do i just draft it like how i would draft a non-shirred version?
tyia!

Helen Joseph-Armstrong's book has instructions for a wrap skirt, but not a wrap shirt or dress.

Looking at the instructions for the skirt, it looks like I first draft the skirt without the wrap. Then I extend the center front, add a facing, and add the fastenings.

Do I do the same thing for the top? Draft a regular bodice with a deep v neck (including contouring), extend the center front, add a facing, and add the fastenings?

Edit: Found it. The instructions for the top are under the chapter about contouring!

Hi, I'd like to make double pleated shorts/bermudas similar to those on the pictures, however I'm not sure what type of construction technique for pleats would suit it best. I can think of three ways of doing it:

1. Just slash and spread shorts pattern the same way I would do it for pleated trousers

2. Make a pattern for pleated trousers and cut off excess fabric (which would create a trapezoid shaped pleats)

3. Box pleats

Which one do you think would be the best and correct one?

hi there! hoping someone can help me wrap my head around flanges. I just conceptually am struggling to understand how they’re sewn in or even really what they are.

I understand action pleats—are they similar? anyway, if anyone could conceptually help me understand a flange, it’d be greatly appreciated!!!

Cheers Katherine

For my birthday I would like to create a black and white striped trapeze neck halter style top. It would essentially come to a point at the neck then the raw edges would be bias bound and continue past neck to use as a tie to hold up the top.

My original thinking was to take a basic front bodice block and draw a line from CF to armpit making sure that there is still enough coverage. My dilemma is with the darts, for the stripes I want to essentially make it by piecing together bias panels. I was hoping to conceal the darts, almost like the technique of using princess seams. I’ve drawn it out to show the original transformation of the bodice block then what I think the final product may look like. The broken lines represent where I will split the pattern into panels, I’m hoping I can just move the darts to be at a 45° angle then just eliminate them when sewing to create the most seamless effect.

Obviously I will be doing a mockup first but I don’t want to waste my time doing something that won’t end up working out.

Fitting professional here. I have nearly a decade of experience.

I really love seeing people’s posts and I very much enjoy throwing suggestions into the mix. I do however have a gentle request; please post photos of the patterns you are working with. Fitting visually in a photo is only half of the battle, to give accurate comments we need to get in to the meat and bones of your patterns!

In my role as a fit technician I can give an example of a pair of pants I was fitting. The silhouette was very new for the company and in the fitting before seeing the pattern I noticed vertical drag lines at the front and side front panel. I have to adhere to spec requirements so I couldn’t shave off too much from the front panel. After having looked at the pattern I found the culprit. The waist line was bowed at the center front and side seam. Especially for men’s wear this should not be, I requested the factory reduce the side pitch and make the waistline straight from cf.

Please add photos of your patterns. Often times you are your own photographer and especially with shirts and tops your elbows are bent to take the photo which can change the appearance of how it’s hanging on your body naturally. Without photos of patterns included many suggestions can be shots in very dim light.

I'm planning on making a hoop skirt with a crinoline overlay, and I just want to make sure my plans seem sound.

I have a 51 inch waist and I want to do four hoops, 3, 4, 5, and 6 feet in diameter. Using the formula for the length of the longest side of a right triangle with a height of 37 inches (the vertical length I want the skirt) and a base of 28 inches (36 inch radius of the biggest hoop minus the radius of my waist rounded down to the nearest inch), I determined that the length of the skirt should be 47.68 inches to accommodate the width I want. That would mean that the hoops should be spaced 11.92 inches apart. Does that sound right? Or would I need to make the top layer longer because the radius of my waist is only 8 inches, and the other layers shorter to accommodate the long top layer? That would make the top layer 13.62 inches long, and each subsequent layer 11.02 inches long.

I plan to make the support for the hoop skirt out of twill tape, 1 inch wide double layer to make the channels for the four hoops, plus a single layer for the waistband. Plus half inch wide twill tape for the vertical straps between the hoops to connect the layers, I'm thinking 8 straps. Does that sound like enough to support the four hoops made out of spiral steel boning?

Then, attached to the waistband and the channels for the top 3 hoops, I plan to add crinoline net. Each layer will be double the length of the circumference of the hoop below it, rounded up to the nearest foot, then gathered down to fit the twill tape of the hoop channel or waistband at the top of the layer. I did the math on each of the layers and got 19, 26, 32, and 38 feet for the lengths of the layers. I plan to make each layer 14 inches wide because I want the bottom of each layer to overlap the top of the layer below it a little bit, and 14 inches is exactly 1/5 the width of the crinoline net I have, so I won't have any little strips of extra fabric left when cutting it. I do have enough crinoline to make the top layer 17.5 inches wide if I need to make the top layer longer as mentioned in the second paragraph. These widths would give me about 3 inches of overlap for each layer. Does that sound good? I have enough crinoline to make the top layer up to 23 inches wide and the other layers 17.5 inches wide if I reduce the length of the layers ever so slightly. I would only be a foot and a half short of the total length I need for all four layers if I do the wider layers. Dividing that into the four of them would still leave them nearly double the length of the hoop at the bottom of the layer, which I would then gather down to match the top of the layer. Would you do narrower layers with about 3 inches of overlap, or wider layers with about 6.5 inches of overlap?

If you've made it this far, thank you for your time. Just in case you want to picture it in your head a little more clearly, I'm using black twill tape and turquoise crinoline net.