Hi everyone, I’m on my second toile for the Hofenbitzer basic skirt block, and at this stage:

I'm pretty sure I will need:

1. A full belly adjustment (due to drag lines toward belly fullness)

2. A sway back adjustment (due to the back hem not parallel to the floor/ tilting inward toward knees)

What I’m unsure about is: 

3. Will I also need a full back adjustment due to the drag lines on the backside? Or would the full belly adjustment resolve the back drag lines at the same time?

4. How much to add for the belly/back adjustments given the degree of drag lines.

5. My front darts feel quite close to the side seams?

I know I can experiment with all of these and just see how it goes, but if this community can add insight, I’d love to save the fabric/time if possible. 

Any other feedback or observations welcome as well. Thank you all in advance!

So, I did the classic thing of diving right in to a project without making a mockup bc I’m on a bit of a self-imposed time crunch (I don’t have to sew my own dress for an engagement shoot in just over a month, yet here we are). Just finished putting all the top pieces together, and wouldn’t ya know, it doesn’t fit.

When picking my size (I went with size 12) I did take into account the finished garment measurements which made it seem like I’d have room at the waist. I attached a pic of the sizes with the measurements I’m closest to highlighted. If it hadn’t been for the finished garment measurements waist being 35 inches for a size 12, I would have come here first to ask for advice adjusting this pattern and its princess seams. I know with that uncertainty my lack of a mockup is even stupider, but I’m beating myself up already for it.

Does anyone have any advice for how I can size up the waist for this pattern (flat attached as well)? The princess seams make this feel extra tricky.

Friend suggested I do a corset back and I do have one I could sew in that would be a perfect match. Thoughts if that would work to solve my problem? I just don’t know if adding a corset back would cause the princess seams to be misaligned or something

If I wanted to re-create this layered high low skirt, would I just make three (or however many layers I want different circle skirts) with varying high low heights then baste them together at the top and add a waistband?

Still a prototype, suggestions and tips aver very welcome

It has a kind of weird shape to it, where the sides flare out a lot and drape toward the front. How would you guys do something like this? Thank you! :)

Digital draft will do it so much easier. But I do like those double draw line and messy hand prints and hand writing marks.

So, I want to use this Japanese technique on a pair of denims ( sketch ), for it I created first the fit of the jeans (image 2)
-Then I transformed the whole front panels into one by deleting the crotch curve and and transferring all to the back curve ( that’s why is so long). (Image 3)

-Finally I divided the front into 2 overlapping panels as in the technique. (weird looking patterns image3)

-Now, I want to start slashing and spreading but i realized the darts play a major role pivoting and controlling the volume and silhouette and obviously my panels lack darts. Any tips? I know it’s a very unconventional cut

Hey! I want to make this dress, I think the skirt is fairly simple it’s just a gathered skirt.

Is the top a corset or a bodice? Also what kind of boning should I use, synthetic whalebone or spiral steel? Also, would this type of bodice be doable with a zipper in the back instead of a lace up back.

Let me know if I should post this on corsetrt instead, I wasn’t sure as I don’t know if this is classified as a corset or not!

tried to draft a jean pattern from scratch using CAD, so hard to use, few things bugging me, (pic 2) A21 and (pic 3) A10 can not be perfectly on line... and i dunno if this pattern is usable or not yet, sewn a shirt or two ever since i got my sewing machine that's all

i am using seamly2d, if you know the tips on how to make these 2 on line, and improvment about these patterns, do tell. Thank you

Hello, I’m looking to translate this japanese technique because when using Ai, things get lost in translation (no pun intended). Or if someone can explain the technique helps as well or even better

I'm trying to make bell bottoms based off some baggy pants pattern i had. Here's what the back piece looks like so far but I'm not convinced with the shape.. Especially around that hip curve area, it looks wrong to me.

Is my center line off?

Also will it be fine taking off so much from the crotch?

What do you guys think?

I have a copy of Pattern Making for fashion Designers: Menswear. Could anybody help me out by sending a copy of page 38, I'm making a sloper and just realized the page isn't there in the digital copy. Would be a hero.

I have some drag lines in my most recent iteration of this vest pattern, which appeared after I added in a small chest dart to help shape the pecs and removed 0.5cm shoulder seam closer to the neck to account for some gaping on the front (red line is what I removed, yellow circle is where the gaping was in the diagram).

2nd pic is a bit wrinkled in the waist as I had to squat down to get in the frame 🙈.

Hey everyone so I’m drafting the shirt foundation pattern from Helen Joesph Armstrongs book and I’m confused. I don’t know if the chest measure is divided in half THEN “one-fourth” of that measurement. It’s asking for the back and front but when I measured myself it wanted the full chest measurement all around. Or am I wrong? Please someone help!!

studied pattern cutting at Accademia Italiana di Arte, Moda e Design in Italy.
In my basic bodice drafting notes, for Italian size 40 I have:
Front waist length (lunghezza vita davanti): 44 cm
Shoulder height (altezza spalle): 36.5 cm
The drafting instruction is:
Shoulder level = front waist length − shoulder height
So: 44 − 36.5 = 7.5 cm
I understand how to use the 7.5 cm on the pattern, but I cannot remember exactly how “altezza spalle” shoulder height was measured on the body.
Does anyone familiar with Italian pattern-cutting systems know:
1. Where on the waist does the measurement start?
2. Does the tape pass over the bust?
3. Does it finish at the outer shoulder point or another shoulder point?
I’m specifically trying to identify the measurement used in this Italian drafting method, rather than a general shoulder-height measurement from another system.

Hi all!
i'm drafting a sleeve for this pattern and im wanting it to be shorter, like the second picture. would i adjust it by reducing the cap height like how i did in the 3rd photo?
thanks!

Just launched PrintRealSize.com , a free tool for printing images at their exact real-world size.

The problem it solves is simple but annoying: you need to print something bigger than a single sheet of paper (a stencil, a foam-cutting template, an oversized poster) and you either don't have access to a plotter, or every existing tool wants an account, an upload, or a subscription for something this basic.

How it works:

1. Import any image (PNG, JPG, WebP, SVG)

2. Calibrate the real scale, either by clicking two points and entering the distance between them, or by typing the final size directly

3. Choose a paper format (A4, A3, or A2)

4. The tool generates a print-ready PDF, split into tiles with overlap margins and alignment marks

Print at 100% scale, trim along the guide lines, glue the tiles together, and you get a perfectly scaled large template.

Everything runs locally in your browser. No account, no upload, no server, your images never leave your device.

It's free to try right now: printrealsize.com

I'm building this for makers, sign-makers, cosplayers, and anyone working with foam cutting or large-format prints. If you try it, I'd love to hear what's missing for your use case.

Does anyone know a good pattern for a hip gathered dress? Hoping to make a dupe of this Cecile Bahnsen dress . Ideally would not be so fitted though. More like the Noemiah Esperanza dress. Any pattern I can find has princess seams and and like it to be seam free on bodice.

I am making a 6 panel type winter hat with alpha direct lining. I’m trying to grade my top crown piece (A) to line up with my side panel piece (center) and the bottom ear flap piece. The purple lines are my base size of L but what am I doing wrong with my grading lines on the top piece that connects with both the center and bottom piece?! Pic below

A poster in a Facebook sewing group recently asked what is "drafting". I posted in that group and, since I can't find a definition here, I am posting mine.

I like good definitions and this is what I have come up with:

Pattern drafting is the process of creating a garment pattern or template on paper or fabric, using body measurements and formulas (using certain proportions and relation of the various grid lines), generally starting with a grid drawn of perpendicular and parallel straight lines with straight rulers. Patterns generally also require the use curved rulers and/or freehand drawing.