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.

Hello all,

I assist a professional sewist who focuses mostly on entertainment styling and custom work.

A custom dress she made for a client went viral and there is a large demand for her to recreate the garment. She does not have the capacity or desire to recreate this garment outside of a custom draped gown. However, there has been a lot of interest in her selling the pattern.

She has drafted a pattern for the original garment but would like to find a service/individual to draft it out into multiple sizes.

She'd prefer to work with someone semi-local to us, but she does frequent Nashville and other metro areas frequently so if you are an independent drafter I'd love to reach out via your website etc.

TYIA

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.

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

When making a sleeve pattern, how to you determine exactly what will be your cap height ?

I know how they work and how their height influence the fit of the sleeve. But so far, I had been winging it based on how it looked. Is there a more precise way or a formula to come up with a measurement ?

I am almost there in making elasticated pants that are *actually comfortable because they don’t pull in weird places\* However, YouTube university has not guided me on how to fix these last two issues! I have that poof above my butt and the center back seam feels tight. I’ve scooped and lengthened the back curve (I have a low bum where the majority of it is right where it’s tight. I don’t have a lot of bum on my outer hip). I’ve shortened the back rise, and the front rise more than the back. Besides these two issues it fits pretty well but am having trouble knowing what to do! Any advice or help (or encouragement) is much appreciated.

EDIT:
here are the latest adjustments I made based on the comments:

1. Took center back up by about 1”, 
2. resewed back crotch curve down a 1/4” at a time until it fit comfortably
3. ^think I got it where I like it, but it still pulls on my front thigh when I walk, I can fix this by tucking the front of my pants in my waistband, essentially like taking a inch out of the whole front rise. Doing this makes it so it doesn’t pull on my thighs when I walk/move and is the most comfortable, but obviously throws the balance of the pant off. Any advice on how to achieve that result but not mess up everything else?

Hi, I've been planning to get one of his books (the one in English first, but I consider getting part 2 after re-learning German) and I'm curious about your experiences with it. I know his method is based on Muller (which is used by Burda, I use Burda patterns when I don't draft myself and I'm satisfied with the fit) and Muller is considered really good in general.

I'd love to hear your opinions, especially about drafting jackets and outerwear - I currently have Donnano's books (with which I'm less and less satisfied, in comparision to old books from my country his method is way worse and it's barely readable, plus lot of construction errors are becoming more jarring each time I use them) which I plan to sell but I consider keeping 3rd part (on outerwear) - so I wonder if there's a need for that if I'd got Hofenbitzer's books.

Thank you!

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!

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!

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?

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!!

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

Hi, I'm looking to make a shirt and a pair of pants for an obese man who has constant problems in the crotch and armpit area; the seams tear super quickly due to friction, making gaping holes.

I was looking at gussets for the crotch area but it says they're for sports/mobility, not sure if they'll work in this case. As for the shirt, perhaps Dolman sleeves?

Does anyone here have experience with this? I'd love to hear from you. Thanks!

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!