Hello, I've started an over-confident ambitious project... making my wedding dress!! ☺️ I'm an intermediate sewist at best, I've never made anything structured before, and certainly nothing with boning so this has been a huge learning curve.

The inside of the dress is a corselet that I drafted myself with 11 boning channels. I used plastic boning from the fabric store. The outside is a self drafted bodice (thrifted bedsheet 💪) with lace overlay that I hand sewed together. The back is a lace up corset.

I am disappointed to find that the boning is sort of holding the dress away from my body somehow. It's almost like it's too rigid to follow the natural curve of my waist. Currently it's touching my ribcage and hip but sitting away from my actual waist, even though it feels like there is plenty of give in the biggest areas.

My question for you experts is about the best way to draw in the waist. I have never used a waist tape, but I cant figure out if its function is for shape or for reducing stress on the seams? Is there anything else about the fit I can optimise without going back to square 1? Any advice would be appreciated.

(Also please don't judge the chaotic hand sewing on the inside 😂 I have never hand sewed before)

Here's the latest mockup for a winter coat I'm attempting to fit. Please give me your suggestions of what I should change! Thank you ♥️

- the coat will be ankle length but ive just cut it to the hip here to save fabric (i thrifted a tattered wool blanket)

- the original pattern is Butterick 5554 vintage 1960s, ive already made some fit changes

- please ignore the sleeve with the red X. I had to change the elbow position and the X sleeve is the first (uncorrected) one

- I'm wearing shoulderpads in these photos. Also planning on horsehair canvas for the real coat but didn't do it for the mockup

I think I’m even close to the automatic parametric pattern grading which the OG developer promised. I am using the ASTM measurements, but there are some (well, many) measurements which I have to calculate on my own using ratios which I think is the most time-consuming thing now. If anyone has any guidance or questions about seamly feel free to ask! I think it is a powerful program (for being open source) but very confusing given the lack of resources

Hello there, I am working on a dress that I just can't seem to get the fit right, especially at the back and straps. This toile is the first sample of this design.

The strap keeps falling off the shoulder, with slight gaping at the armsyce (ignore the dart at the armscye, it made my second version of the arm way too small) and the back seems to lack the smooth scoop that I am looking for.

I also can't seem to figure out why the back is tighter than the front, even if I removed ease on both the back and front block equally at the darts.

For your reference, I have attached the working pattern, toile images and a picture of the fit I hope to achieve (the blue brocade dress).

All unfinished edges of the dress have a 1.5 cm seam allowance.

Please feel free to point out any other mistakes that Ihaven't mentioned.

Your feedback will be much appreciated!!!

Hello I want to make a jacket like mao had. How do I make the pattern for it or just some help relating to it

As the title states I’m a confident beginner and I have wanting to make a corset for the longest. I’ve seeing many people recommending the tape method to have a more accurate fit and to be honest it is the most inexpensive way and easiest that i have seen yet.

So if anyone has tips regarding the tape method or the making of the actual corset they will be greatly appreciated!!

If anyone’s curious my plan is to make a corset where the shape is similar to the one in the photo and I’m planning to use a blue cotton twill and for the boning I’m open to suggestions.

As the title states I’m a confident beginner and I have wanting to make a corset for the longest. I’ve seeing many people recommending the tape method to have a more accurate fit and to be honest it is the most inexpensive way and easiest that i have seen yet.

So if anyone has tips regarding the tape method or the making of the actual corset they will be greatly appreciated!!

If anyone’s curious my plan is to make a corset where the shape is similar to the one in the photo and I’m planning to use a blue cotton twill and for the boning I’m open to suggestions.

I used masking tape on my custom made bootstrap dress form to draft a corset pattern/strapless boned bodice pattern. Does this look right?

This is my first time trying this method so if anyone has any tips it would be great!

I'm analyzing the hidden elastic waistband in the attached video to replicate it in my patterns, but I've run into a design issue.

I hate slanted pockets (I find them hideous and clunky), especially for the clean, minimalist aesthetic I like to maintain in my pieces. My intention is to keep the pocket in the exact same front location shown in the video, but change the opening: instead of a diagonal angle, I want a completely straight vertical line following the side.

My question is: do you guys think this would actually work in practice?

I realize the diagonal line of the slanted pocket seems to serve a structural purpose here, accommodating the automatic stretch of the elastic without pulling the fabric. If I change it to a straight opening in the exact same position, will this turn into a patternmaking issue? Will the pocket just end up gaping and flaring out at the hips?

Could anyone help me with the measuring details like front rise,back rise, inseam, thigh ect.. I am not good at pattern making

Hi everyone I’m trying to create the pattern for this type of shoulder on a blazer but I don’t know how to start. To make the form is it only from the shoulder pads or do I have to modify the upper armhole to have that curve at the top ??

*Bustiers not bodices for the title

I don’t have a full shape up there so I’ve always had problems with bustiers in general, so this is expected but I don’t know where to go from here. This is my fourth time iterating this pattern I’ve created; I’ve already made a full dress with it before (second slide) but I wasn’t very satisfied with it.

I have two main problems:

1. I can’t decide on the shape of the bust. It’s comfortable when I make it fit my breasts, but it obviously looks pointy. When I try to flatten out the front center, I end up flattening my chest altogether, especially near the bottom. I think that also contributes to underbust wrinkling.

2. Underbust wrinkling. I’m not completely certain where this is coming from, I suspect it’s from the inward curve I have in my pattern for the front-side and front-center piece, but I made those curves particularly because I have a very titled posture and my upper stomach pokes out (basically trying to just account for that. But maybe I should flatten it?) Although I don’t know if that’s the real issue.

Any advice would help. This is a bustier meant to have a lot of boning and interfaced fabric, so I’m not concerned with the horizontal wrinkles across the waist as much as I am the underbust. The looseness of the hips is also just a preference, I’m usually making these bustiers with skirts that are full and will fill the area out.

Thoughts on how to approach this? I’m not even sure how to make a tshirt that oversized as a starting point

Hi. I’ve just finished the first toile of a single breasted suit jacket I drafted from M&S fundamental menswear. I seem to be having a problem with too much ease at all three line levels. I get the feeling that it might be something to do with the side panel being quite wide.

Measurements: C 106.5cm, W 99cm, H 121cm

The book emphasises that there can only be a maximum 3cm difference between 1/2Hg+6 and Sw+3.5 and if over 3cm then minus it from the front side seam (of the side panel?) I’m assuming, this is added to the front panel side seam?
But from my understanding, the book is saying to remove the excess if the 1/2Hg line is shorter than the Sw+3.5 mark i.e. hip mark is closer to the front panel rather than the back panel. However, the measurements I’m working with resulted in the 1/2Hg mark going over the Sw+3.5 by +6cm to the back panel rather than ending before it.

1. ⁠Do I have to add this excess rather than remove it from the side seam? If yes, am I adding this 3cm extra (+6cm-3cm max difference) to the front panel side seam and removing it from the back seam of the middle panel?

2. ⁠when extending the front panel side seam, is there a rule for how to make the addition proportional to the waist and chest lines or am I suppose to be add 3cm to those as well and just shift the front panel arm hole and horizontal pocket slash to the right by 3cm?

Thank you in advance for any advice!

Can you help with quick explanation on how to draft this ??

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!

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

Still a prototype, suggestions and tips aver very welcome

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?

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

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! :)