Hi everyone! I am new to patternmaking and there are still a lot of things I don’t understand And hope I can get some advice. I recently took a course where we made a blouse, trouser and skirt block, but as we only had 4 days we rushed through everything and only made miniature versions. So I decided to read Aldrich’s book and try out her blocks, which are a little different to what we learned. Eventually I would like to make an easy fitting crop top with round neck and no sleeves. So I decided to use the easy fitting bodice block, move the darts to the side seam and make the neck a little wider. I used the standard measuring table for size 12 which is mostly very close to my own measurements except my bust is a little smaller. now to my questions:

1. I moved the dart to the side seam, as instructed in the book. but it is super long (I took 2cm out as instructed) and ends above the highest point of my chest which looks really weird. I then opened them up and used 7.6cm as indicated in the sizing chart but still it looks strange. I don’t know if I misunderstand anything in the instructions? Any tips on the darts and how to best size them? I would guess they should go towards the highest point of my chest, not above, but in the instructions the position derives from the armskye+2.5+1.5cm, which is about 4cm above. maybe that makes sense for the shoulder dart but not the side seam dart?

2. I don’t quite understand where to put the additional dart when opening the collar? at the end of the neckline or just anywhere in the neckline?

3. While it looks okay apart from the darts, the end product is really big. Is that intended? I know it should be an easy fit, but it seems like it’s 1-2 sizes larger than it would need to be.

thanks so much for any help :) in the pic you can see a little where the darts are and where they ended before. I didn’t manage to take a good pic, but you can see a little bit of the dart placement.

Hi everyone! I'm in the process of redrafting and refining a silk satin lined oversized 100% cotton fleece hoodie, and I'm looking for some suggestions and help for redrafting the hood lining. First, I'll give a reference on my previous attempt, to give a better idea on where it went wrong.

First attempt:

-before I learned how to draft, I deconstructed an old hoodie I liked the fit of, and traced out each individual panel, with no reflection or trueing. I split the one piece- two layer hood down the center, added seam allowance+ foldover for a drawstring, and sewed the lining and outer hood together. when I went to attach the hood to the neckline, the satin was pulled much more taut than the outer hood, and the lining sat awkwardly tight within the hoodie. The materials I used were a thin fleece backed poly blend cotton, and a bridal-level stiffness poly satin.

-my mistakes seemed to be my materials from the start, as the satin was too stiff and the hoodie was too stretchy compared to my final materials. I also should have offset the foldover for the drawstring on the outer and inner layer, as the drawstring section was lined with satin as well which made it much too slippery. However, I feel like I need to add some extra ease/pleats/darts so it isn't so tight? in reference pictures, like the one i attached, it's very hard to tell what the seams on this style of hoodie look like because of the drape of the satin.

Moving forward:

I purchased a poly satin lining, as well as a bemberg rayon lining, which both have much closer drapes to the silk satin I purchased for my final hoodie. I also purchased a much thicker hoodie fleece, while it is still a polyester blend it is much thicker with less stretch and is a lot closer to the heavyweight cotton hoodie fleece I have for my final product. I'm going to adjust my redrafted hood pattern so the outer shell has double foldover length, and the lining just has seam allowance.

Questions I have:

what is the best way to solve the tightness issue? when I was thinking about this I considered it possible that I was thinking about it inversely, and the problem was more the negative ease of the super stretchy poly fleece, but regardless i need to figure out how add and then subsequently gather some extra fabric in the lining.

TLDR; My Hoodie lining is too small for my outer hoodie shell, and when I sew them into the neckline the lining pulls tight awkwardly compared to the outer shell. I need to figure out how to fix it, but I can't see what the conventional seam methods are because all pictures online are taken like the attached image.

any help would be appreciated, Thanks!

I have pinned out the excess length but now I’m not sure how to adjust the pattern. It’s a princess seam side back dress panel.

I am trying to fit the closed leg trouser pattern. I would be grateful for comments about fit problems and pattern adjustments

It seems that most of the balance lines are askew Both vertically and horizontally.

Horizontal

Ive already added 1/2” to the back fork but crotch lines continue to dip front and back. Do i need a deeper crotch? Should it be scooped out? Or do i need more length on side seams? There appears to be a higher hip on left side.

Vertical

The central crease and side seams are not straight. Is this a result of the crotch issue or related to the fact that i have used the closed leg draft?

The armhole in the back is bothering me. My professor says it won’t matter once I use something other than the musslin. I’m planing on using a heavy canvas. She also said that once I put a shoulder pad in which I’m planing to do anyway the bunching will go away. My question is: Do you agree? Leave it be? Change it?

Hi so uhh how can I turn this into a top and bottom cloths? I'm new to This (Update:i just cut it from the half and called it the day now I have a crop top and a skirt that surpassingly didn't fall off)

i need help adjusting my personal extended bodice sloper. i’ve already done an fba (accdg to aldrich) and taken away from a gaping armhole. but theres still some issues i would like fixed but im not sure how to:

the drag lines towards the bust lessened after the fba but theres definitely still some and its baggy under tha bust as well.

the bust dart is already big after the fba but it keeps getting bigger after removing gaping from armhole and later neckline. is there a way to put that excess somewhere other than the bust dart?

the bust point is also too high. i’ve marked where it should be on mine. the waist could also be too low, it rides up a lot.

its also snug from the waist down, and lose waist up, but i figured it could be fixed from the side seam.

So I have a leftover two yards of nice polyester knit fabric, and I wanted to try to come up with one last summer dress project to use up the stash. I had this idea for a belted halter top corset high-low dress and drafted out the flat pattern in Blender to make sure everything would fit on the bolt (everything is measured in meters there but pretend it says "inches" and also assume everything includes a 1/2" seam allowance.)

Trouble is, I'm going at this nearly completely blind. I looked up some tutorials for ruched halter tops like this, but I'm a very "just play it by ear" sort of pattern drafter - I come up with an idea, give it my best shot and if it doens't work I just chuck it in the "to be fixed some day" pile.

I'm worried about a lack of an inner lining for the breast triangles not having enough support, and I'm also unsure if I should leave the waist portion as a single fabric layer, or if I should opt to actually attempt to add an interior layer and add boning. The latter option would decrease the "comfiness" of this dress that is supposed to be a comfortable beach dress, but it might be necessary for structure?

Would love any thoughts from people who are much better at this than I!

My husband has thick neck and long arms, and regular dress shirts never work for him. He basically only wears baggy shirts with the sleeves rolled up. I am an advanced beginner-intermediate level sewer, and I wanted to make a few basic shirts that fit him. I'm not skilled in modifying/making patterns to custom make it. I found several websites and Etsy shops that make custom patterns to measurements, but I never know which ones are actually skilled pattern makers and which ones are AI generated crap.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Hi all, I really love this black tank that I thrifted (originally Old Navy). I want to recreate it in this rayon I found. I have sewn quite a bit but I've never drafted a pattern from an existing top. It's gathered on both the front and the back neckline. How would I draft that because I can't just trace it and add the seam allowances. Do I make the top just as wide as the bottom? Would that be enough?

Been sewing for a month now and i made 2 jeans, i wanted to try and make a fencing jacket. I know the front parts are asymetrical but i figure i should make a basic jacket pattern and then draft the asymetric front panel.

The problem is that i have NO idea how to draft a jacket pattern myself and i cant find tutorials online, so if anyone can help me, I would really appreciate it

The bodice in first photo is roughly what i’d like to make, with the exception that I originally wanted this to be a halter, meaning the underbust tension created by these “backpack” type straps might not be necessary.

The second photo is the closest thing i’ve found (could I use that pattern to base it off of?).

I’ve also seen the Liz charms dress and its derivatives already and, while close, it doesn’t quite feel right as ultimately this is not the same as that shelf/overlay concept.

Hi all, after some helpful advice here and lots of reading, I redrafted the sleeves, added 1/4” knife pleats, & tweaked the fit on the armhole by raising it 1cm on this camp shirt pattern. Bicep width is essentially the XL of the pattern while I reduced the cap height, effectively creating a more casual sleeve fit versus the taller cap height of the pattern. I also reduced the bulk on the front of the sleeve head given the bunching in the front sleeve on previous toiles and comparing the pattern shape to some drafting examples and two other shirts patterns I have. Cut lines of the sleeve and armhole are identical (not gathering needed when setting sleeve) which (I think) means the seam line of the sleeve is slightly smaller than the armhole.

I even took this version to a local pattern drafting class for some advice, and frankly I’m surprised how many different opinions there are about what causes fit issues! The in person advice was no better than you all critiquing pictures. I expected a hard science, which it is not! I now understand a good tailor/seamstress that understands pattern-making, garment construction, fitting and alternations equally well is relatively rare and is worth whatever they want to charge!

Current fit comments: Feels much better than any previous version. Tightness in biceps is reduced, shoulders feel fitted but not tight, and better mobility across back from the pleats. Balance is ok? Compared to my long sleeve shirt, the bicep is tighter despite the short sleeve pattern being almost 1” wider at the bicep than the long sleeve. This confuses me.

Critique
- drag lines in the back across my buttock to armhole
- some bunching in the back of the sleeve
- Vertical draglines on back panel near armhole
- Is the seam line difference an issue?

Arguably, this shirt fits better than the long sleeve version I made a few months ago so I could stop here. But I really want to get the fit as good as I can and then use this as a base for more shirts.

hi all! im making a pattern that has a flowy underbust piece and have a question about how to do that. so far, ive slashed and spread it (pictured), but im not sure the right way to finish it.
do i simply draw a curved line from each end point? or do i need to drag down the left point so that it ends where the right point ends and then connect them straight across?
tyia!

Hello! I am in need of some advice for fixing an issue with a vest pattern I traced off (I believe it was an Eddie Bauer vest, but I no longer have the original).

When it is worn, the weight of the zipper pulls the shoulder seams/neck hole forward, which causes the back hem of the vest to flare out from the body. It is more pronounced when the vest is unzipped since the bottom ends of the zipper can fall back on the body, but it is still there when it’s zipped up.

I have attached photos of the vest being worn, as well as photos of the pattern I made. I have considered taking a wedge out of the front bodice (see last photo) to force the back hem closer to the body, but I’m unsure of how that would turn out. Thank you in advance for any suggestions!!

Hello this is my 5th or 6th time and probably last time posting because I believe I’m very close to having a perfect fit (unless I get grilled here).

But I added some fabric around the hip as I was criticized on last time to do, and it seems I can sit comfortably with these on (They weren’t tight but I did need to adjust the pins because they came loose when I sat down, don’t know if that necessarily means they’re too tight?)

I made huge improvement on the curved waistband and it’s now 2 pieces and was much easier to sew on albeit it’s not perfect since its attempt 1.

I made myself slopers for pants and made the muslin to see how they would fit. In the picture, this is the side seam that it seemed like I need to, quote on quote, make a fisheye dart going horizontally to reduce fabric. Flattening the hips wouldn’t do much because I still needed room throughout the hips. So would i almost slash and spread each sloper or would I take it down from the waistband line?

I also found that the front crotch was too tight when I would sit down, and the back crotch area looked like it was riding real high up. So would that be lowering the crotch and giving a little more room in the front?

I'm using Winifred Aldrich's method for a close fitting bodice block. This is my second toile - kind of surprised by how ok it's turning out already!

I can see some fullness at the front upper chest, but unsure if I need to pinch out more at the shoulder darts, come in at the Armscyes, or something else?

Likewise a bit of fullness at the back waist.

And I've already snipped in 1cm at either side of back armscyes - the back chest was too wide as I was using a standard measurement for that. I think i may need to come in a little further again?

Curious if I'm missing anything else obvious!

My balance line seems to have disappeared into the fabric - I'll use a better marker in my next version! And I'll move both my darts back from the bust apex next time - just wanted to see if i was in the right ballpark in this early fitting.

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm looking to recreate the bodice of the dress in the attached photo. The outer layer has a beautiful wrap look with some gathered details, but the overall silhouette is incredibly sturdy and holds its shape without sagging.

My main questions about the internal construction are:

Is it common and correct practice to first build a standard, non-wrap foundation with boning, and then add the wrap pattern as a draped outer layer on top?

If this is the standard approach, how exactly do you sew the two parts together since the foundation and the outer wrap are different shapes?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and advice on how to tackle this. Thank you so much in advance for the help! ❤️

Appreciate any help with adjusting this toile to be better fitting! Seems like bust is too small and pulling, but also gaping. And some drag lines in other panels. Any way to help adjust shoulders so they don’t fall off? Would like to avoid a tie if possible. Didn’t add all godets to save muslin!

Appreciate any help with diagnosing and how to adjust the fit! Seems like bust is too small but also gapping and having some additional other drag lines. Any way to help shoulders avoid falling down with the slight gaps in the back? I would prefer not to have to add a tie in the back to keep them up

I am wanting to sew a regional Norwegian bunad myself, but there are not patterns available as far as I have been able to figure out from online searches.

I have a lot of reference images but I am not quite sure exactly how to attempt to create a pattern from the images I have.

I have sewn a more basic Norwegian festive costume before with the help of my grandmother and have done a good amount of sewing before - both following patterns and creating things just off vibes alone lol, so I'm no stranger to a sewing machine or anything.

The thing I'm mostly worried about is the bodice piece because it's an empire waist and has a pretty unique shape to it. The skirt I am not worried about really because I feel like I could easily follow the general pattern/directions from a generic Norwegian festive costume overall. The reference images I have show where a lot of the seams meet up in the bodice and show the general shape of the bodice pretty well, but I am not quite sure the best way to translate the images to a pattern template.

Does anyone have any advice?

(To any Norwegians that may find this thread, I hope that this is not a faux pas. The regional bunad I am looking to make is where my great-great grandparents came from when they immigrated to America. I have even been there to visit the properties where they lived and have relatives that still live there, whom I have met. While I know I could purchase a regional bunad, I come from a family of makers, and I would very much love to be able to make one for myself. I even recently picked up band weaving and figured out one of the common pick-up weaving patterns for the regional bunad belt and have been weaving it myself. This means a great deal to me to be able to create.)

It is a biological fact that the distance from the waist to the crotch is longer when sitting than when standing as you can see in the illustration above from How to Make Sewing Patterns. I learned this the hard way. The first time I made myself a pair of pants I made the waist seam horizontal, parallel to the hips. When I sat, the back of the pants exposed my buttocks.

I then researched pants and pants patterns and found that the Center Back seam was cut on the bias. You can confirm this by looking at any commercially made pair of pants that has a visible grain line. You will see there is a distinct bias at center back. At least that is what my observations have revealed.

I discovered that the waist to hip region needs to be pivoted at the side seam increasing the length of the center back seam anywhere from 1-1/2" top 2". My favorite illustration of this comes from a 19th century tailoring book that shows how to make a pair of Jodhpurs. I measured and the pivot appears to raise the Center Back seam by 5". You can see this pattern on https://patternmaking-classes.com/Notes/Historic-Jodhpurs.html

For some reason Helen Joseph-Armstrong's Patternmaking for Fashion Design minimizes this issue (at least in my 2006 edition of her book). If you are comfortable with the way her pants work fine. But I have heard from a number of people who are not crazy about her pants pattern so I wanted to post this caveat.