An Introduction to Pattern Design

Welcome to class. The three sessions of this class include the following.

In this class you will learn the four basic techniques for designing patterns from a fitted sloper. These are the basic techniques you will use in any garment design process.

1. Change the location of a dart.
2. Change a dart to a seam.
3. Change seam locations, both internal and external.
4. Add fullness.

This approach was developed for an early online class to share the basics of pattern design. I had two contests for this class which illustrate some of the wonderful design ideas people came up with for this project. Use the buttons below to see the results of these contests. I retired from teaching this online patternmaking class in 2013.

For the custom patternmaking techniques I will be showing you in the other classes, we will spend a fair amount of time creating the initial fitted slopers to work from. In this class we will minimize the time required by creating a sloper for an apron using the shape of a bottle.

The bottle emulates the process of working in quarter scale which is another valuable way of practicing pattern design techniques. For this class we will be using the Scale Rulers I have included as a PDF file. See also the description of Supplies and Tools you will need. The instructions for this class come in two forms: An Introduction to Pattern Design as a PDF file you may print out and a series of videos you may view such as the one below. Please remember that over time you will remember about 20% of what you see and 90% of what you do. I strongly recommend you take the time to try the examples both in paper and then sew them up in fabric.

An Introduction

This course is designed for both people new to pattern making and new to sewing. To make the learning process as easy as possible, on page 24 of the class eBook An Introduction to Pattern Design there are instructions on how you can test the pattern design ideas with paper towels that require no sewing. This page also includes instructions on how to create the shape of the wine bottle from a piece of cardboard so you can practice the techniques. For more information, see the Overview.

To ask questions, feel free to join the free group Bespoke Sewing Patterns where you can participate in pattern design conversations.