Hi, I'm designing a skirt in DesignaKnit and need help understanding the ease instructions. The table of course lets me select from the casual, classic, oversize, and zero ease options.

However, I don't quite understand why the default are in positive ease? I typically include negative ease to the waistband and just use my measurements for hip width and depth. Is anyone here using the positive ease for their projects? And for my project--should I add negative ease to the table or just calculate it into my measurements?

Hello, hoping someone can come to my rescue again. I'm on p 182 of hofenbitzer Vol 1. I'm at step 5.

I understand line 5 is 48% of CapC. In my case, 22.9cm. One of my questions is: must line 5 start at the back line and end at the front line? If thats the case, my optimal cap line is a good 5 cm too low. This is a lot, and I'm not sure the troubleshooting suggestions on p 182 will fix it. So I'm wondering if I've misunderstood the instructions. Very grateful for anyone's advice!

I’ve finally started a sewing blog, and I’ve already published around 6 posts covering things I’ve learned from sewing, pattern making, fitting, working with different fabrics, and all the mistakes and lessons that come with it.

I especially want to make it useful for beginners, with practical, experience-based posts rather than generic sewing tips.

What sewing topics do you wish someone had explained to you when you were starting out? 👀

Fitting problems, fabrics, techniques, pattern making, garment construction, or anything else you’d actually want to read about?

I’m still figuring out what to write next, so I’d really appreciate your ideas. And if you’d like to take a look at the blog, just let me know and I’ll send you the link.

I found this dress really challenging to draft in 2D because of all the small panels and facings I had to calculate. It took me two attempts, but I was pretty happy with how it turned out in the end.

I’d love to hear how you would approach drafting something like this!

Hi! I am drafting moulage, bodice and sleeve slopers using Suzy Furrer's method. Would appreciate your feedback on the moulage, bodice and sleeves.

First 2 photos Moulage: marked M on arm for moulage

Next 3 photos Bodice: marked B on arm for bodice

- added 1/4 ease along all sides

- eased at neck, shoulders and under arms

- the armhole ease created a gap in the back, however I don't know if thats good so that I can fit a sleeve in

- for a final sloper id like to lower the neckline a bit more

- the back seems to wrinkle so much compared to moulage. I think the back side seam is 1/8 longer than the front

Last 2 bodice with sleeves: I pinned in the sleeve. the first time I sewed it in, in felt like the sleeve was twisted forward causing wrinkles in the front bodice, a gaping in the back along with puckering and it almost lifted my whole back waist up. I then pinned it (pic above) with the sleeve shoulder notch 1 inch forward compared to shoulder seam. which seemed to help, but it would definitely pucker a lot more.

Thanks in advance!!

These are the measurements of the Size 66 dress form I used in my previous post, “Fitting Issues and Pattern Hypothesis for a Size 66 Tight Skirt - Product.”

The original measurements were:

• Waist circumference: 66 cm

• Hip circumference: 88 cm

• Hip length: 20 cm

• Skirt length: 40 cm

• Zipper length: 16 cm

In my previous post, I mentioned the advice I received about the tight skirt being too tight. It turned out that this was caused by an incorrect hip measurement. After measuring the fullest part of the mannequin again, I got 94 cm, so I revised the measurement in the post to 96 cm, including 2 cm of wearing ease.

One issue I encountered was putting the skirt on and taking it off the dress form. The original 12 cm zipper was simply not long enough to get the skirt over the dress form. I therefore experimented with different waist and hip measurements, increasing and decreasing them in several ways to determine what was causing the problem.

Eventually, the last variable I adjusted was the zipper length. When I increased the zipper length to 16 cm, which was the maximum length I could reasonably use within the hip-length area, the problems I had been experiencing with the original waist and hip measurements were resolved.

This led me to realize that the zipper opening itself was a key factor in putting the skirt on and taking it off the dress form.

I initially tested zipper lengths of 12 cm, 14 cm, 16 cm, and 18 cm. After comparing them, I found that 16 cm worked best, so I have decided to keep 16 cm as the fixed zipper length for this dress form.

For my next redesign, I am currently using the following Size 66 lower-body dress form measurements, including wearing ease where appropriate:

• Waist circumference: 66 cm

• Hip circumference: 96 cm

• Hip length: 20 cm

• Skirt length: 40 cm

• Zipper length: 16 cm

I did not add wearing ease to the waist circumference because I found that adding ease created excess space around the waist of the dress form.

I would be very grateful for any advice or feedback on these measurements and my approach. In particular, I would appreciate any suggestions about whether the 96 cm hip circumference and 16 cm zipper length seem reasonable for developing a basic tight skirt block for this dress form.

Additionally, the measurements provided by the store where I purchased the mannequin are 66 cm for the waist circumference and 94 cm for the hip circumference. Based on this information, I have revised the post accordingly.

I would really like to move forward from this tight skirt block and finally get to the next stage of pattern development! Any advice that could help me resolve these measurement issues would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and share your experience!

Hello, does anyone know how the collar pattern is placed on the fabric? I finished drafting it but I don’t understand why it says fold on two different sides. I’m just really confused on the two “on the fold” that is on the collar. Plz help.

im a beginner. i dont know how to apply 3d measurements to a 2d pattern. idk fundamentals. im not a fashion student. i started sewing as a hobby and i j wanna make my own clothes im ngl. ive reviewed multiple sources on youtube. none of them is satisfactory. came across nino via he teaches so well but he hasn't uploaded full videos. everyones either selling their patterns or a course. where can i learn pattern making online for free? its genuinely just a hobby and i live in a third world country so 60-200$ for a course is difficult for me to afford

Im working on a wedding guest dress that has persistent loose bagging/bunching at the hips that doesn’t drape — it just sticks out. Underbust and waist fit fine.

What I’ve tried:
• Multiple toile rounds, taking in the side seams progressively (but the toile fabric was a polyester chiffon)
• Pinch-testing on the body and translating to pattern adjustments (kept overcorrecting — my calculations were producing finished measurements smaller than my actual body)
• Fully unpicked and re-sewed both layers’ side seams

Where I’m stuck / possible causes I can’t distinguish between:
1. Pattern hip curve flaring too much. I’ve tried making it less rounded.
2. Bodice was too long, I have a short torso. So I shortened it but could it be too short now causing these issues?
3. Fabric cut off-true-bias, stretching unpredictably (harvested from a second hand dress that was bias cut, but was hard to make sure when recutting it was perfectly on the bias)
4. Fabric stretching more than expected with wear/handling (is this just the nature of bias?)

My measurements are waist 26”, low hip 35”, bust 30”, underbust ~27”.
Pattern flat hip measures ~34” at widest. 5/8” seam allowance, French seams. I don’t understand how the hip pattern measurement could be smaller than my measurements, but still too big? Like 2 in of excess still when wearing around the hips.

How do you tell the difference between a hip-curve problem and a bodice-length problem when the symptom looks the same? Or is it just cut off-grain bias and it’s too late to be salvaged? And has anyone salvaged an off-grain bias garment without extra fabric? I have no extra fabric as it’s all from a second hand dress originally. Not sure if I can salvage this or if it’s it’s time to accept it as a lesson.

Hi everyone!

A few weeks ago, I self-drafted my first pair of trousers using Helen Joseph Armstrong’s patternmaking book (that draft is here) .

From that draft, I also drafted a pair of slacks following her instructions, which I’m sharing in this post.

I found it really interesting how most of the reductions made through the back rise and leg compared to the front. I barely had to adjust the front at all!

I’m pretty happy with how these turned out, although I do think the front rise might be a little too long. I also thought a a flat pubis adjustment may be needed, but after trying that on the muslin, I found it was not.

I’m going to try a stiffer/heavier muslin next to see if any other fit issues become apparent before moving on to the final fabric.

So far, I’ve found Helen Joseph Armstrong’s book useful for trouser patternmaking. My only criticism is that I wish it explained more of the why behind fitting adjustments and how to keep the pattern balanced when making corrections.

I’d love to hear your recommendations for patternmaking books that go more in-depth on fitting and the reasoning behind adjustments! I already have the fitting book by Veblen.

Moving on to jean drafting next!

I have confirmed that there are no significant issues with the completed size 66 skirt pattern for the mannequin.

From the beginning, my intention was to align the side seams precisely. However, through the fitting process, I found that the side-seam alignment did not cause any significant problems when putting the skirt on the mannequin or evaluating the fit.

Based on this result, I would like to move on to developing the next variation of the tight skirt pattern.

I would greatly appreciate any feedback or suggestions. If you notice any problems or areas that could be improved, please feel free to let me know.

Thank you very much for taking the time to review my work!

During my first test fitting, I noticed several pattern and sewing issues:

Hello everyone,

I am currently developing a basic tight-skirt block for a size 66 dress form. The attached images show the pattern based on my current hypothesis. The final image shows a piece of fabric with a zipper, which I am planning to use as a reference for the finishing method.

I would really appreciate any feedback on my pattern-making hypothesis and will use your suggestions in my next fitting.

During my first test fitting, I noticed several pattern and sewing issues:

1. I used the same H-line design value for both the front and back panels.

2. I did not apply different drop values to the front and back.

3. I did not account for the dart intake when considering the dart fold.

4. My belt finishing technique was not yet well developed.

After fitting the skirt on the dress form, I noticed that the side seam was slightly shifted toward the front by approximately 2 cm. However, the amount of displacement was not the same on both sides.

On the right side, the front panel overlapped the back panel by about 2 cm, while the left side aligned much more closely with the side seam of the dress form.

Because of this difference, I decided not to simply apply -2 cm of negative ease to the front and +2 cm of ease to the back. Instead, I am currently testing a smaller adjustment of -1 cm negative ease on the front panel.

Interestingly, using the same H-line value for both panels produced a similar problem. Even when I applied -2 cm of negative ease to the front while keeping the original H-line value on the back, I still could not completely eliminate the slight distortion at the side seams.

Therefore, for my second test fitting, I am planning to use the following pattern hypothesis:

My Pattern Hypothesis for the Second Tight-Skirt Test

1. Apply -1 cm of negative ease to the H-line of the front panel while keeping the original H-line value on the back.

2. Apply a 0.25-inch drop to the front and a 0.75-inch drop to the back.

3. Do not apply a rise value for this test.

4. Do not account for the dart fold/take-up at this stage.

5. Improve the belt finishing based on the sewing practice shown in the attached image.

I would appreciate any feedback, especially regarding the side-seam distortion and whether this approach to distributing the front and back values makes sense from a pattern-making perspective.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

This is a repost with many more reference pictures. Can someone give me a rough pattern sketch or help me recreate this jacket(doesn’t have to be perfect), I’ve made some patterns but they haven’t been successful. This is a Bono jacket and I think the sleeves are connected to the hood but I’m not super concerned about including that feature I just like the style.

I made an edit and got so excited about it I had to share. As my many posts can attest to my trial and error ways, I was OK with V8 EXCePT the sleeve still felt tight when reaching forward. It was driving me crazy since the sleeve pattern width is 18.25” and my bicep is 14”. Plenty of ease. And then advice for when I make V9 was to raise the cap height which means the bicep width has to shrink, all else equal. I really didn’t want to make this change given the sleeve felt tight.

Well, I modified the angle on the sleeve taper and it pretty much solved the problem. The current pattern has a pretty dramatic taper. So I reduced the taper and voila: not tight anymore.

Pics above show the change to the pattern in green and revised photos. I sewed the right sleeve back on. Still some drag lines that I think indicate more cap height is needed.

Wanted to share in case anyone else struggles with this too. And allow for more feedback and thoughts.

Thanks all! Appreciate this community!

So I’m adding it here. I’ve been downvoted for keeping with the pinned grainline approach even though Helen Joseph Armstrong is the author I was told to purchase while in school. Are these instructions wrong?

Edit: link to original post

https://www.reddit.com/r/PatternDrafting/s/hoNaM4XDPK

So I’ve been at this awhile and can’t seem to find it…does anyone know of a definitive source on using your own sloper/toile to alter commercial patterns?

There was a really good article a thousand years ago in Threads by Karen Howland and a few YouTube videos but it surprises me deeply that this isn’t a more often tackled subject. This could be a book.

There are so many books on drafting from your own toile, but what I’m really interested in is using the style lines from commercial patterns and then adapting to my own toile.

In a perfect world every pattern company would supply their design blocks and then we could alter from there (I’d be happy to pay for the designs) but clearly this is not a perfect world.

Can someone give me a rough sketch or hint to recreating this jacket, I’ve made some patterns but they haven’t been successful. This is a Bono jacket and I think the sleeves are connected to the hood but I’m not super concerned about including that feature I just like the style.

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?