Recommended books on pattern drafting?

[Tall_andy]

Hi all, I have been sewing on and off for around 10 years but recently tried making something for my wife for the first time, who is plus size. Needless to say there aren't many suitable commercial patterns, and I'm currently in the process of trying to adapt a pattern that I bought recently. It's not going well, as there are so many conflicting articles on the Internet (for example making the arm holes larger).

Given this new (and slightly forced upon) interest in altering patterns and possibly even drafting from scratch, I'm looking for some book recommendations. I'm a bit of a nerd and interested in the "how" and "why", and not scared by the more technical aspects (I'm a computer programmer by day), so any suggestions welcome!

Someone has already suggested "Pattern Making for Fashion Design" by Helen Joseph Armstrong.

I keep hearing "draping" mentioned from time to time too. Is this a different area of pattern drafting, and something worth learning about? If so is it likely to be covered by the above book or is there another that would better cover this area?

Thanks in advance!

[WildAtlanticWay]

Lots of guidance out there, but I’m no expert so hoping another TSP’er can advise on the merits of my recommendations below…

I’m currently reading “The Palmer Pletsch complete guide to fitting”. I also have a couple of McCalls patterns that are meant to be used with the Palmer Pletsch tissue fitting method. What I’ve read so far seems to make sense. 😇

I also like any books by Ann Ladbury. They’re out of print now but you might find them in second hand bookshops and charity shops. Again they have detailed diagrams and explanations. It doesn’t matter that the illustrations are old fashioned as our unique body shape is what we’re fitting to. You can adapt any modern design quite easily. I think she was the equivalent of Delia Smith back in the 70’s. Very knowledgeable and everyone had heard of her. 😂

Finally, I recently bought Freehand Fashion by Chinelo Bally. She was a runner up on the second series of the Great British Sewing Bee. Her method for making clothes is based on taking lots of precise body measurements rather than just bust, waist and hips and making a series of basic garment blocks that are then adapted as required. She learnt her techniques from her Nigerian dressmaker Aunty and had never used a commercial pattern until she started on the Sewing Bee. When it came to the ‘made to measure’ tasks, her clothes always fitted the model really well.

If you buy any of these books, I’ll be interested in hearing your thoughts. 🤔

[Greybird]

There is this Ann Ladbury book and several others on Amazon at the moment. I can recommend them too.

[realale]

I learnt pattern drafting at college as part of my C&G course and we used Winifred Aldrich Metric Pattern Cutting for Womens Wear. I've got her menswear book as well. I've also used Helen Joseph Armstrong, Natalie Bray and the Suzy Furer course on Craftsy. All have their merits and short comings but all do what they say. Some are metric and some are imperial measurements so take that into consideration if you are happier with one than the other.
I like pattern drafting but I also find you need good fitting books along side to further tweak everything.
Hope you find something that suits you.

[Ros]

Just for some info on plus size patterns. UK based indies that have a plus block are merchant and mills and sew me something. Overseas include cashmerette, muna and broad, itch to stitch, helens closet. There are more (e.g. style arc) but these ones do include pictures in either promotion or tester round ups of patterns on plus bodies. They may help you and your partner refine some of your work. Good luck.

[Missie]

I did C&G Pattern Cutting and used Helen Stanley's book.  The pictures are a bit dated but I found the format and guides to be easy to follow.  Everything is based on a size 12 which is "industry standard" (or it was when I did my course!) but it easy to insert your own measurements, which I did and do.

I go the Winifred book for children but I really didn't like this as much as the Helen Stanley book.

[HenriettaMaria]

I too have the Winifred Aldrich books.  These are relatively easy to follow.  I also have the Natalie Bray ones, which are more technical (she was the principal at the Kantinka fashion school years ago) but also more wide-ranging.  I use them too, but only where Winnie's books won't do.  Both of these authors use the flat-paper drafting method so it's vital that you have:

* Taken accurate measurements with a measuring tape that is accurately calibrated (don't ask me how I know...)
* Have acquired one of these
* Have acquired an accurately calibrated (or at least measures the same as your tape and grading square) metre rule
* Have acquired a set of French curves
* Have access to wide paper - available in various places and at various prices.
* Also handy is some of this.  Not for drafting the basic blocks so much as for adapting the blocks into specific garments.

Once you have an working set of basic blocks it's a good idea to transfer them and all the balance points, dart markings, etc, to a firmer paper or, ideally, card and keep them as flat and unfolded as possible.  That way, every time you want to create a new garment, you reach for the basic block, trace round it and then 'start moving darts around'.

Draping is the more advanced technique of pattern design where calico or muslin is draped and pinned on a dress form.  This implies, of course, that you have a dress form that accurately represents your wife's body, which you probably won't have!  I am sure there's YouTube video out there that will demonstrate someone doing this but it's roughly what you see them doing on GBSB during the transformation challenge.

[Missie]

* Taken accurate measurements with a measuring tape that is accurately calibrated (don't ask me how I know...)

Oh dear.  Have you fallen victim of the chinese measuring tape?  (I use a particular bra measuring system which decries measuring tapes from China due their incorrectness in sizing!)

[Lachica]

A Chinese inch is 0.762 of an Imperial inch. You can see how that matters......

[HenriettaMaria]

@Missie No, it wasn't Chinese, just old and had either shrunk or stretched - forget which, it's now landfill.  In any event, body measurements were taken with it and blocks drafted using the grading square and metre rule.  It was close enough for that but the armscye was where the problem became obvious - the armscye and the sleeve cap didn't meet well and the sleeve puckered.  It's been my intention to redraft it but recent back problems have precluded hanging over the dining table for any length of time so it hasn't happened yet.

[Tall_andy]

Thank you all. Lots for me to look into!

[Elnnina]

First welcome to TSP and I hope you find your time on here really useful and enjoyable.

You are asking about books to help you with pattern drafting/fitting for plus size.

Oh where to start, there are so many, and I have a bookcase full of sewing and pattern drafting books.  Yes I do like the Palmer/Pletsch books – Fit for Real People and their latest one which sort of supersedes Fit for Real People is The Complete Guide to Fitting, and then there is a DVD called Full Busted by Marta Alto  - Still part of the Palmer/Pletsch Group and this DVD is excellent and takes you very clearly through taking any paper pattern and altering this to fit the person, i.e. giving more room in the pattern for a full bust – most paper patterns are made and graded up from a B cup fitting and of course we are not all that size.  FBA stands for full bust alteration.  On this DVD Marta towards the end of this is using two older ladies who are generously full busted and you can see just what a good fit Marta manages to achieve.  Marta is quietly spoken and it is so easy to watch and follow her step by step, just watch, stop the DVD, do what you need to on your pattern, and rewind if necessary or carry on – it really is like having  a one to one teacher in your own home.

However I am on a journey at the moment being plus size myself and I am using something called Sure-fit Designs, an American based company that has an outlet here in the UK which is really handy.  Sure-fit Designs owner is Glenda Sparling and she has many, many video links where she herself is demonstrating how to use her system, and it really is an excellent system.  Like all systems it takes a bit of getting used to, and then it is advised to make up a toile first – this is a trial run in cheap fabric called calico (muslin), and you may have to make one or two of these before the fit is exactly how you want this to be, but once you have the basics correct and are happy with this, then the basic pattern can be used to create other styles.  I have been watching  some video links by a lady called Joy Bernhardt – who is a keen dressmaker and just loves making videos, and she has used the Sure-Fit Designs pattern kits and shows you step by step how she has taken this system and created her own wardrobe – for example she does not like collars or necklines that come up to her neck, so has adapted her SFD pattern to how she likes her neckline to be, and she explains very clearly what and how she is doing this. 
The links to watch Joy’s videos are   blouse sure-fit designs joy bernhardt (all lower case)  There are 4 videos dealing with pattern making and then 2 for cutting out and sewing up.  The first 4  are known as  part1, part2, part3, part4, and the 2 remaining on cutting out Sure-fit Designs dress kit blouse and how to sew your Sure-fit Design blouse.

If for example you decided to go down the Sure-fit Designs route you have the option when buying your first kit to buy what they call their Designer Stylus,  this is a plastic drawing aid and has every curve possible to help you draw your pattern and it does tell you which part to use, the vellum (tracing paper on a roll) and various other useful gadgets, so if you are starting from scratch, this is a good way to start.  Do go and look at Sure-Fit Designs.com and see what Glenda has to offer.  The person here in the UK that stocks all the SFD pattern kits and tools is based in Bicester in Oxfordshire and she is Judith Johnson and is very helpful,  AND yes it is easy, but stop and think and keep on measuring the person who this is going to fit, so I would suggest you go and have a good long look at Glenda’s system and think about what you have seen and whether you think you would get on with this,  and also go and watch Joy’s videos as she explains things very well and whilst she is nothing to do with Sure-fit Designs itself she does rather like their system.  Joy in one of her many videos pulls out a coupe of clothes rail that are absolutely full of blouses  and clothes that she has made using this system, and she has changed the neckline to suit what she is wanting.  Joy has also gone on to explain how the Dress kit and the Shirt kit differ and again explains and shows what she has made and what she prefers.

I do hope that some of this helps and of course we on TSP look forward to seeing your progress – good luck.

[Ohsewsimple]

I did C&G Fashion Skills and we pattern design and drafting was part of that. We didn’t actually use a particular book because our tutor would use the blocks she liked from various sources and then adjust them herself.  We used the bodice block from Designing Patterns by Hilary Campbell.  It is a simple book to understand and the bodice block gives you a quick result.  The sleeve block however is absolutely dire so we used a different one for that. 
I’ve got several pattern cutting books but still use my files as my reference. 

Some books like Winifred Aldrich give details of several different blocks, for coats, jackets, dresses etc.   But after you’ve got your basic blocks right it’s an awful waste of time doing blocks all over again.  Resizing the originals to make new patterns means a lot of the work regarding fitting problems has already been done. 

You might also find some free stuff online.  You’ll probably find some online tutorials which might be worth looking at.  There are also a couple of old books that come to mind that I downloaded some time ago.  Harriet Pepin and Michael Rohr I think were the authors. 
Some of the older books I find have more information in them.  So if you like the how and why they might be worth looking at.  I hate not knowing why I’m told to do something in pattern cutting and loved finding out why something had to be done a certain way. 

One piece of advice is that if your OH is a plus size then I would suggest looking for a block that has at least 2 darts in the bodice.  The result is a lot better.  Some have one large dart but that doesn’t work for larger people and the draft can be a very odd shape that has to be adjusted. 

[Missie]

@Ohsewsimple.  Using standardised blocks are fine for RTW but the beauty of pattern cutting is that you make a block specific to your own measurements, from which you then create the patterns for the clothes you want to wear.  For example in the C&G Pattern cutting course I did, all the scale blocks and subsequent patterns for my file were done in size 12.  However, for the physical garments, they had to be made to our own personal measurements. There are only 4 blocks (bodice, sleeve, skirt and trouser).  If these are done correctly there is no need for major reworking or refitting as they should be correct to your size (unless you have drastically changed shape!).  The work is just creating a pattern which is really very quick.

[WendyW]

@Elnnina mentioned Sure-Fit designs, which is a great system. There are also 2 other systems that I am familiar with. Fit-Nice Designs and Lutterloh.

Lutterloh requires the most drafting work, and it uses miniature patterns that are expanded during the drawing process to your particular size. You get a pattern that is specific to the style of garment you are making. You have to buy the drawing kit which includes a specialized tape measure for expanding the drawings into your pattern. Several times a year they release a new pattern book with about 30 pattern drawings in it. You cannot buy individual patterns, and they are extremely thorough about keeping copies of their pattern drawings off the internet. I have and like this system, but rarely do their books have patterns I'm interested in, and you have to pay for 30 patterns to get the one you want. There are zero sewing instructions. They assume you know how to sew and are only providing the pattern.

Sure-Fit uses a basic pattern that is drawn to your measurements, and offers design kits to draw different designs with the standard pattern as a base. The system is divided up into various packets. The basic packets gives instructions for using the system and making a variety of designs, and there are additional packets that each have a selection of several designs. It offers some education in how the patterns are put together, and how to turn a basic pattern into a stylish garment.

Fit-Nice gives you a basic pattern, already drawn to multiple sizes and extremely basic. All the designs are in one large and expensive book. I don't know how much instruction is included. 

This video gives a comparison of both Fit-Nice and Sure-Fit. The lady has many videos of her projects with both companies. The videos are useful and informative, but I'm pretty sure she has something other than just coffee in her mug! I must watch her in limited doses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prnA8f5-AD0

If you really want to get down to the nitty-gritty of drafting patterns from scratch, I have 2 books I can recommend.
 
Coordinated Pattern Fit by Jan Minott was written in 1969 to be used in a class on the subject, and my copy was obviously never intended for commercial sale. I don't know if it was ever re-published in a commercial version, and therefore may be hard to find. It goes into great detail on creating a custom pattern sloper for bodice, sleeve, and skirt, and ends with how to use this sloper to make pattern adjustment to commercial patterns, giving you access to a custom-fitted version of nearly every pattern, except pants, made by every company.

How to Draft Basic Patterns (4th edition) by Kopp/Rolfo/Zelin/Gross is a professionally-printed book. The drawings are much nicer, being computer-generated rather than hand-drawn. It gives charts of "average" measurements for a range of sizes, which would be nice for making practice drawings or if you plan to draft patterns for sale, but not of much use for making a custom pattern. This book goes beyond the basic sloper, and tells you how to covert it into a princess seam, caftan, pants, jump-suit, and coat, but not style options, and not how to use it to alter a commercial pattern.

Lastly, on Craftsy there is a series of videos by Suzy Furrer on drafting each sloper and creating design options. I own all of these, and if you like video instruction rather than books, these are well worth your time and money.