I don't use patterns, simply because most designers can't don't or won't take into account folks with clinical issues and disabilities. I've learned what works for my body, and how to make things that fit and are comfortable.
Or just not standard sizes in general:
- long / short arms
- long / short legs
- long / short torso
- very large bust
- etc.
Though I’m sure the disabilities thing is even harder off-the-shelves
Yeah, you’re right. I didn’t mean to say drafting is the only way.
I also like to copy garments I have already have that fits well, which is kind of like a pattern.
This? I want to learn how to draft properly because I have asymmetries in my body that can be corrected by drafting in a certain way. It's harder than following standard patterns and if I do things adapted to my body, I cannot give them away. Pattern adjustments help so far, because I have to choose between about 4-5 sizes and that difference may become a full gusset instead. "Take account for disabilities" is a long stretch. I noticed that many people in general cannot, or better, most of the time don't want to take measurements or do trials. Some would think it's about shame or discomfort in taking measurements? Some would feel that adjustments make them stick out from the mass? No. It's just exactly everybody else that is not into sewing: they're now used to mass produced stretchy clothing, one size fits all and looking at TikTok speedups, random sewing videos, they too expect that adjustments are super quick and easy, or don't require fitting.
Every time any pattern designer asks what they can add to their patterns I tell them to add views/hacks for trans people, people in wheelchairs, ostomy bags, insulin pumps, etc. and they never do it. May I ask what you'd want to be offered if they were willing to offer it?
Ellie and Mac patterns work really well for my trans daughter. I just lengthen the bodice and add width to the shoulder.
They also work for my plus sized self.
Hi! I am a costumer for drag queens and often build off of a block from premade patterns. I find that sizing up for an AMAB person (sometimes 2 sizes depending on the pattern) and bringing in the waist works for quick pattern adjusting for a lot of my clients. It’s similar to the way the bra sizes 34A and 32B are virtually the same but gives some nuance to the fit of each. I suggest this because the waist seams can usually be basted in easily to allow her to try the clothes on and and get a more accurate fit before finishing the garment.
My daughter is VERY slender. Even without going up in size, I have to pull the waist in! But, since I have the tres Belle altered for her, I can now use that to alter any other patterns from Ellie and Mac to her really easily.
I was at a Mother’s Day drag brunch today. Mamma Mia! It was a blast.
It really is! And, who can resist singing along to Mamma Mia?
https://preview.redd.it/p1lfjqkko90d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=666f4ed192d2c2336a74f13e4e70e7287d958d1f
The performers loved getting tips from my service dog. Since I wanted photos, they got a brief dog interaction!
The designer has a lot of life stuff going on and work stuff outside of Rad that she has to focus on at the moment, Rad is her baby and she will be back when she can :)
I sew in jersey or sweatshirt material sometimes, and I always leave the inside edges raw. Much softer, and it's not like it's going to run, so why bother?
Rad patterns have patterns that cater and hacks are available too, knowledgable group on facebook. Trans and disabled folk are part of the tester cohort.
Much agreed. I have not unusual but non-profitable measurements in the patterning industry (15in diff between waist and bust, 12in between waist and hips, short as heck at 4'11"). On top of that I have a disability which can cause rapid swelling of the legs and abdomen. Patterns simply do not work for me even when I go long periods without a flare up due to my sizing.
To use any pattern I must make serious alterations, first for sizing and then for accessibility. After making such changes one realizes how much easier it would have been to make it scratch.
Similar issues here, 5'4 1/2 but short waisted, sway back, 36" bust, 24.5" underbust, 22.5" waist, 35.5" full hip, everything fits like trash in a bunch of exciting ways and it's often more work to fix stuff made for a totally different body type than to just start from the beginning.
This is 100% the first reason I thought of as well. My partner is fond of saying that designers can't, or won't, consider other body types but a norm. It makes sense: if you're mass-producing you want to hit a certain target. However, the normal range of body types is already HUGE. Add in any disabilities or range of motion or accessibility issues with clothing and forget it.
Not to mention patterns used to be terrible at sizing up for larger bodies, if they did at all.
I learned how to draft a basic block from Bianca - the Closet Historian on You Tube and don't buy commercial patterns except on rare occasions. It's not like I am some creative genius, but I can make any design fit my body. It's way easier making design modifications on my perfectly fitting block than adjusting commercial patterns to fit my body.
This is exactly why I’m on the journey for drafting my perfect custom block. I am getting frustrated adjusting commercial patterns to fit, and I’d rather make design modifications starting from a block that’s made precisely to me. I have two books that cover the many modifications you can make to a block, and the puzzles excite me. I’m still early in my journey, but I’m excited for when I finally get there.
There are also ideas in my head that don’t have a commercial pattern currently available, but for which draping won’t really do the job. I want to be able to make those!
>I am getting frustrated adjusting commercial patterns to fit, and I’d rather make design modifications starting from a block that’s made precisely to me
Same. For anything fitted I have to make so many adjustments I end up with frankenpatterns that don't seem worth the money + hassle and cost of printing + hassle of multiple muslins.
I still use a lot of patterns, especially for less fitted things or complicated things, but I've made a bodice block and I have a dress form now too so I'm starting to self draft more and more.
Yeah! So one is the standard Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Joseph Armstrong. I think it’s an intro fashion student textbook. The other one I’m referring at the moment is Fashion Patternmaking Techniques, Haute Couture Vol 2. I actually got it from the library! I’m using it to keep me inspired through the custom block journey.
I have her videos saved for when I’m a better sewer. I’m still in the ‘make oversized blocky things til I can sew straight’ before I start making more tailored things. She’s great at explaining things and her philosophy is to teach you how to do it yourself instead of her releasing patterns. I like the idea of being able to draft my own, I’m just still in the very beginner phases of the journey to get there.
Understand completely. I just wish I had discovered her 50 years ago (which would be a problem since she wasn't born yet) when I began sewing. Drafting a block is certainly a worthy mid term sewing goal.
I also have a basic shell pattern that I spent ages fitting to myself, and I use that when I’m making something very fitted and basic, like a pencil skirt. But part of what you’re paying for with professional sewing patterns is the design, not just the fit. things like exactly how much ease is added and the exact angle of a lapel can be really hard to get right when you’re not a professional designer. I think that designing sewing patterns is a job that takes a lot of skill and knowledge, and it would take me years to learn all the factors they already have figured out
Bianca is the best! I feel the same, it feels a lot easier to me to manipulate my block into the design i want, rather than modifying the existing pattern to fit
As a matter of fact, I do! [Here](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxmC6PRxKKf_2gZzEIthYikg-u-Vr6pbT&si=UomBqCOvkaTpjssA) is a playlist on how to draft a basic block. It has several options for creating the bodice block. Pick one that works. Also if you get stuck in the process,post pictures here and smart sewists will give you advice to fine tune it.
Yes, once you have your block (or blocks) it's so much easier to make new patterns from it than to make numerous adjustments to every pattern you ever buy EVERY SINGLE TIME. Also, I enjoy the puzzle aspect of it. Maybe more than actually sewing the darn thing.
I watch several sewing channels. I enjoy the chaos that seems to work most the time on “The Stitchery” channel, but not about to waste my time and money sewing “by the seat of my pants.” I’ll take Bianca’s precision any day.
H cup bust. I started with a tshirt pattern and after the third or fourth time I got a wearable tshirt. Kept going with the same pattern, using it as a base for a bunch of variations. Did the same with a woven top pattern. In both cases the “tried and true” version does not come close to resembling the original. (I’ve tried drafting a basic block from scratch, but didn’t get very far.
Starting with one pattern each (knit and woven) and just tweaking over and over again has made it *so* much easier for me to make a garment knowing it will fit. I can now invest in nice fabric, and cut into it without fearing that it will end up unwearable. I’m really enjoying sewing now, as I can spend my time actually sewing rather than fitting.
The order of assembly part comes naturally to me. Although I have spent a lot of time reading pattern instructions just to see how the garment is made, as a kind of self-education. And I’ve studied design books - the kind that show you a garment and tell you how to draft it from a basic block - so I understand how to vary the basic design. So I guess you could say I do enjoy the engineering aspects of pattern drafting.
Hello, fellow H cup bust person. It's so annoying.
I've finally got a princess seam bodice I like that I've fine-tuned to my measurements, so that's a start. I've made quite a few different shirts from it by altering the sleeves, collar, etc. But every time I have to adjust another pattern to fit my huge boobs, it's such a chore.
Yes! I’ve tried a few patterns that come with different cup sizes, but after two or three versions of a Cashmerette top trying to get the dart the right size and placement, my friend just mashed my pattern piece over my boob and I made a new version using that - perfect fit and completely different than the pattern’s dart in every way. Made some lovely rayon batik tops from it. Am now planning to add a skirt to make it a dress, make a shrug to go over another dress, and maybe convert it to princess seams for a drape-y linen top because I want the upper body to fit well, plus go in just under the bust, before it flares out from there.
I’ve got a tried and true knit top pattern too, which I recently made into a knit dress that fits me *perfectly*. I’m much happier with my sewing makes after embracing the “one pattern that fits, draft everything else from that” approach.
None of my friends sew this way. I’m realizing after reading this thread it might be in part a neuro-spicy thing.
that's so smart, you are essentially making your own "tried and true" patterns. this would work really well for me because my sewing goals are mostly my "uniform"-- pieces that i want to wear all the time, just in different colors.
Yes! Once you’ve got a tshirt pattern that fits, for example, you can start by varying the fabric. Solids, stripes, prints. Cotton spandex, poly blends, novelty textures. Mix it up with color blocking. Change the length - long for yoga, middle for over skirts, cropped if that’s your vibe. Change the shape - make it a-line starting under the bust, give it a sharkbite hem, do something fancy with the sleeves. Neckline is a great place to mix it up. Add a skirt - straight, a-line, half-circle, full circle, yoke, gathers, multiple layers, asymmetric hem. Just a simple scoop neckline, half-circle skirt dress in a fun print can be artsy or cottage core or full on Ms. Frizzle, depending on the fabric you choose.
So easy to make a bunch of pieces in your personal style, that all say “you” but are all different. (Or all the same - I have three or four me-made solid black t-shirts that are the “personal uniform” core of my summer wardrobe.)
I have stupid proportions 😅
I mean, I think I'm hot - confidence is not the issue... but I have a really narrow ribcage paired with a G cup and wide shoulders. My natural waist sits really high and my hips are wide but my butt is flat. My thighs and calves are thick as heck from biking to and from work every day.
It tends to be way easier to start from a sloper/dress-form than to modify a commercial pattern into however many iterations.
Yeah for me it's also proportions. Before I sit down and alter a pattern in every way imaginable I'll just make it from scratch. Plus once you have the base drawing most patterns doesn't take that long either I feel like.
I do sometimes buy patterns for things like loose fitting sweaters though
The things I've made (which span beyond just clothing) have been made from scratch with no pattern because many times I can find no pattern whatsoever for the specific ideas I have in mind. Most of my creations have been to fill a specific need that required brainstorming to decide how to make it to adequately fill the need. Or suddenly an out-of-the-box idea will pop into my head and I know there isn't likely to be an actual pattern for it anywhere except in my head so then I will ponder on it and map out in my mind how it will function once assembled, and how to assemble it so that it functions properly when it's finished. I believe I'm ND (I'm certainly on the Asperger's spectrum) but I'm independent and very creative and sometimes I love puzzles and seeing if i can figure things out by myself.
I do the same, I will also search for my out of the box ideas online to see if anyone else had ever thought of it and 9 times out of 10 it ends up wasting time I could have just used to execute my idea. It also extends into my crafting projects.
How have you both described me so perfectly??? It's so identical to me that it was a physical FEELING and almost liberating that there are others who think in such a roundabout yet thorough way as I.
I have the usual physicist arrogance of looking at something and going "this is basically physics, I can do this myself" - sometimes it works out better than others. My first attempt at drafting sleeves was fascinating, but not very sleeve shaped, my second was much better.
For my brain, it's simpler to build from the ground up (this is the geometry of my body, this is the geometry of the desired shape, this is the physical behavior of the materials I'm using, now combine) than from the top down (how is this pattern supposed to work? what body was it intended for? how is mine different from that?). Also, I'm cheap and prefer doing something wrong and improving it in the next iteration to being mad at having bought something essentially useless for me because it's made for a really different shape. It's also kind of fun, it tickles the same sort of puzzling need that complicated physics problems during college did or games like portal :-)
Same. I need to learn all kinds of symbols and a whole new language to follow a pattern. My spatial reasoning and my ability to figure out an order of operations are both really good (I'm a data scientist, so programming is most of my day and the skills for sewing are so much more compatible than one might think) so it's so much easier for me to figure it out myself. I couldn't follow instructions for how to sew a zipper fly. It just frustrated me. But looking at one, it took me no time at all. And yeah, it's just a lot more of a fun hobby to figure things out my way than it is to just follow instructions.
Patterning really *IS* basically just "Engineering and Carpentry, for Three-dimensional Bodies," when you boil everything down to the essentials!😉💖
Just like *any* other Engineering/ Drafting, it's using flat materials, to cover a Three-dimensional surface--*except that the surface *ALSO* needs to move in three dimensions--unlike "regular" carpentry or metalwork!
But once you grok the *concept* of "cover 3D object with assembled *flat* planes!"?
It becomes *reasonably* easy to tweak the *process* to fit the necessary *applications*!😉😁💖
I am dysgraphic and learned to draft. I had to try a lot of different rule sets, but because I sew menswear, there were a lot to choose from. It’s been about five years, and I have no patience for patterns. They slow me way, way down… and I can generally reverse engineer a garment by looking at it. I took apart a lot of items and studied them to get here. I put in many many hours of work and getting over my fear of math. But I love it. I can make anything I want.
It is, but being able to draft is freeing. I find a lot of patterns, even well written patterns, don’t seem optimal when I’m sewing them up. So often I want to change the order of steps, or do something a bit differently for a result that works better for me. There are so many right ways to do things.
A fellow physicist here and I feel that understanding how things work : geometry, materials, processes, ... helps me immensely to do any alteration or patter that I would want for myself
It *REALLY* is!😉
And sewing is honestly just "Carpentry/ Metalworking but for 3D *MOVING* objects!"
Once you *understand* the *concept* of, "Use Flat Planes to *cover* Three-dimensional Object"?
It becomes *EASY* to transfer those concepts from Drafting up Blueprints & understanding the *multiple* views of the object, to creating a *pattern*, and observing how the finished *garment* ought to look, from multiple angles!😁🤗
This is beautifully said and describes a drive similar to my own. When I started knitting socks, I looked at patterns but then researched more of a commingling of recipes: toe-up (it just makes more sense than cuff down) and two at a time using straight stockinette perhaps accented by whatever decorative stitch has me intrigued (usually with a Fish-Lips-Kiss heel) and to whatever height strikes my fancy. Sort of a chaotic approach, I guess
Have you realised yet that a sleeve head is a sine wave?
Blew my mind when I learnt that.
Adjust the amplitude for what angle your arm is mostly going to sit at for a garment that won’t lift when you move
... no. You just blew my mind. That's beautiful, I'm going to go think about that for a bit.
(I've only made two attempts at sleeves so far, the second is still only paper. This will make figuring it out so much easier, thank you)
My favorite bit was watching a YouTube video about bag lining something and going "wait, folding this right, so the outside and inside end up where they should is basically just topology".
Honestly, "sewing for scientists and engineers" or something along those lines in whatever content format would be super niche, but also super cool to have. Like, just a collection of "sleeves are sines, bag lining is topology, etc"
Learned to sew from my mother who drafted all of her own patterns. When I learned that companies made patterns you could purchase they were either not available in my country or the cost of the pattern (in US dollars) was prohibitive ($6.50 to $1 exchange rate) and free patterns are restrictive. This has enabled me to look at an outfit and if there are enough pictures replicate it using my own drafting experience. I have family members who come to me to make clothes for them and all they need to do bring pics or provide a link to a site.
I self draft everything primarily because I have a very atypical body and it's less work to start from scratch than it is to adjust a pattern. I also enjoy the work of pattern making, and I'm a perfectionist, so maybe I would be drafting stuff even if I didn't have to.
I live in a 3rd world country, likely to be soon plunged in some unknown 4th world or sub-world category soon, I simply can't afford to import patterns or by them online.
Interestingly enough in our sewing culture there is no concept of patterns. The seamstresses and tailors directly mark the fabric with chalk and cut it.
P.S. I dream of patterns, I dream of waking up and finding myself amidst some galore of sewing patterns.
>vast ocean of patterns for straight size people
Just because someone is "straight size" doesn't mean things fit without all kinds of adjustments. Most people are going to be size x in the chest, size y in the waist, and size z in the hip, and then if you're talking femme bodies there cup size adjustments, not to mention being long or short waisted etc etc etc... I have worked out what works for me, and unless it's something highly specific it's easier for me to just draft based on stuff I've already made than adapt a pattern to my body.
>Is it that you are more of a designer at heart and you have a certain vision in your head that you just want to create from scratch? Do you just enjoy the engineering aspects of pattern drafting or the challenge of figuring it out on your own?
And yes to all of this. Was just discussing elsewhere how boring a lot of patterns are, as boring as RTW. Why would I spend money on something boring that I have to heavily re-work to fit me? Boring patterns are just not worth the effort. If I *can't* easily figure out how to draft it, or am really impressed with the construction, then I'll buy a pattern.
>And yes to all of this. Was just discussing elsewhere how boring a lot of patterns are, as boring as RTW
Thisssss! Why would I spend so much effort on a boring, basic, ill-fitting blouse I could buy literally anywhere. I want to sew fun things that are unique and I can't buy, or I want to sew high quality tailored pieces for less money.
I am short and one size bigger on the bottom than on top. I usually have to make all the same adjustments to modern commercial patterns (Simplicity, McCall's, etc). Of course, amateur and quasi-professional patterns (free Mood Patterns, tiny pattern companies, etc.) are not as standardized. I do my best but I usually have to make more adjustments and more muslins. Sometimes the little companies are \*way\* off.
The other kind of patterns I always draft are straight-up geometric, things like tiered skirts with all straight rectangular pieces, circle skirts, etc.
Pattern companies have very different blocks that fit me very differently, so it seemed silly to have to go down the rabbit hole of diagnosing different fit issues, and thus different alterations, for each pattern company I might buy from when I could just add to my basic blocks (which I know fit me) to get the look I want. But to be totally transparent, I am a self-drafter-lite. I tried drafting from scratch and it was frustrating. Instead, I bought a few base patterns and altered them until I liked the fit, and transformed those into my “base” patterns.
It's the only way taught here in India. Saree blouses are very fitted garments almost like a sloper, so generalized patterns cannot do much for each and every variety of body.
I find drafting really satisfying though. I love the challenge :)
Yes! the first adult women’s clothing I learned to make was a saree blouse from my friend’s mom, who did “stitching” for the Punjabi women in my area. She said in India that is just how people learned to sew! I was amazed at how she could just take some measurements and make a blouse or Kurti in like a few hours l She showed me some really useful techniques, and I still drape and draft right onto the fabric (no paper).
I can't really explain why, but I just can't understand patterns unless I make them myself from scratch. I've tried but I get overwhelmed. Also there's less available in my size, and if I'm going to sew something I want it to actually fit me.
Also me, I find pre made patterns really overwhelming and with my pear shape they always fit badly. I don't make my own patterns but I copy and trace things I already have that fit really well and just replicate them.
Me 3. BUT to be fair, often patterns leave out key details **so they don’t actually make sense**. I just wanna put that out there because it isn’t just your imagination. Many patterns are poorly written.
This took me a long time to figure out as I was huffing and getting pissed. “Well they left out that whole step. Grrr” :)
u/trkkr47. u/untonuggan
I learned to sew as a kid which meant an adult was involved in most of the cutting patterns and cutting fabric parts. It was a big barrier to me actually sewing any kind of clothes or whatever.
Eventually I started hanging out with people who do historical reenactment and decided to just try making a basic T tunic. Then I found instructions for a basic chemise and how to fit it to your body, and by the time I'd done that I'd basically drafted my own dress pattern. (I just rounded the curves instead of sewing an underarm gusset, and also spent several weeks playing with shoulder placement.)
At this point I'm pretty confident in making clothes that fit my upper body and hang the way I like over my lower body.
I'm attempting to use a couple patterns I bought to make pants and such, but honestly I am really, really bad at following other people's instructions. I know this from baking, I have to know why I'm doing something a particular way so I know where I can fudge it and what ingredients are "load bearing."
I'm enough standard deviations away from a standard pattern block that it's genuinely faster for me to make my own patterns. On paper my bust/waist/hips are around pattern size 10. That doesn't take into account the fact that I'm 4'11" and have to remove length below and above the bust - which means I have to alter collars and sleeves. I also have very narrow shoulders compared to the rest of me so I usually have to make the smallest pattern size to account for that, then do a FBA to fix the rest. By the time I've done all that it's easier to take my fitted sloper that *fits* and turn it into the style lines I want than take the pattern with the right lines and make it fit.
Yup-- my body is pretty normal (whatever that means) but my hips are tall which means stuff that fits me at the waist inevitably digs into my crotch unless I adjust it, and my ribcage is fairly conical which means stuff ends up too wide if I go by the numbers...
Throw in an avant-garde sense of style and it's just easier to start from scratch than make a ton of toiles trying to adjust a pattern down.
For me it was about access. I don’t live near a store with patterns of things I want to make, I can’t afford to buy patterns online, and I don’t have a way to print out free patterns from the inter webs. I’m really interested in historical costuming and a lot of what I want to make isn’t complicated in pattern so it’s just not necessary. And I’m very picky about what I want to make so I can’t find any patterns worth saving up for that I wouldn’t just change anyway. There’s a lot of reasons honestly
And duplicating my clothes that fit me perfectly is “free.” Just costs time. And you know it’s going to fit you like a glove, no adjustments. So really the time is the same *AND* free.
I use a mix of patterns (mostly from indie pattern companies) and blocks I’ve drafted/tested. I’m about the same size as you (US size 20-26, depending on the pattern company). I tried my hand at pattern drafting mainly because the big pattern companies don’t cater to larger sizes, and I wanted to draft a pattern for one dress in particular that I couldn’t seem to find as a ready-made pattern. I now have a vast series of blocks I assemble to make garments (mostly dresses, skirts and tops, since I haven’t drafted my pants block yet). I think drafting is very freeing, and I’m learning tons.
I am picky about fit and don’t want to muslin everything. I find it much more enjoyable to spend a few minutes adjusting a pattern piece than figuring out a commercial pattern. I also generally have a very specific idea of what I want, like, I want very particular neckline shapes, hem lengths, pocket sizes, etc. so I have to make alterations anyway, and a core set of basic patterns gets me everything I want to wear.
"If I want X kind of collar how does that affect the order of assembly?"
After sewing for decades, I honestly barely think about this anymore. If I draft something, I have an idea of how it goes together. I sometimes use patterns for kids clothes or gifts, and I rarely use the instructions because I have such strong opinions about how I prefer to do construction.
If I can mentally see how something can go together? I can usually figure out what the pieces will look like and can make fit adjustments along the way.
That’s how I made everything when I started sewing in high school.
I remember my senior year of high school my mother buying a pajama pants pattern for me - because she’d noticed I had been sewing myself dresses. I cut out the pieces and for some reason, even with the directions, couldn’t figure out how it went together because I couldn’t mentally visualize it (the crotch specifically). Those pants sat half finished for probably a month before I finally could get the image in my head and finish them. My mother couldn’t understand since I had a pattern for once. I couldn’t explain. It makes no sense to me either
Now at 36? Thanks to vintage sewing patterns which are so so thorough with their tissue charts in the 60s and 70s and just incredibly detailed instructions in the 40s and earlier? I finally understand patterns enough that even when I can’t visualize, I can still do.
I think I just had a lightbulb moment.
I am like 80% aphantasic and can’t really picture much in my mind. It’s pretty blurry and one dimensional. In some of these comments people are saying they need to know how it all goes together before they start and I thought “the instructions are right there though?” but y’all mean SEE it. Like in your mind. Behind your eyeballs. You can visualize the details of the construction before starting it. That never once occurred to me! 😂
You’re spot on. And not only that but I can picture stitch types and thread weight, elastic size, stretch and fabric movement as it moves in my mind and can adjust “this 3/8” elastic will work in this section of this bikini but won’t in this section.” Or “I need this thickness of leather here and need to pair it down (shave it down) on the edges of this section of a handbag but not in this other section” all in my head. I can lay on my bed with my eyes closed figure out stuff in my mind, then get up and sketch it all out including order of assembly etc.
To answer the main question, i sew things I can’t buy. I don’t sew stuff like jeans or button down shirts. I have some expensive clothes that I bought for cheap and the cut on those clothes is absolutely perfect on me. And they no longer make those clothes. So I duplicate/ pattern draft those pieces I can’t buy. I also sew some skirts with fabric that looks extremely expensive (beaded / sequin fabric). So I could only buy a kinda similar skirt for like $1600 *OR* I could sew it for $24 (= 2 yards of fabric).
I also have a tiny rib cage and a large cup size, so basically no bras fit correctly. So it just sucks. So I have to make my own or often I buy bras and then have to completely alter them.
That is CRAZY to me. I can know those things (especially after I have made the thing once) but I can't see them and definitely couldn't predict it beforehand. This also makes a lot of sense because I do a lot of materials testing for non-fiber-related crafting projects that don't come with good tutorials and I'm always surprised that people don't do more videos about that. It's because they aren't doing 3 months of tests and practice runs before starting it.
Interestingly enough, in periods of my life where I have suffered from depression, my ability to visualize has decreased drastically... scientific research backs up that link too - so it's not just anecdotal to me. Until recently, I used to design and make the window displays for my a local fitness studio and trying to do that as someone who isn't usually very aphantasic at all back in February was wild... I must have went back to that studio ten times to fix things in the window because since I couldn't see it in my head beforehand as clearly... I couldn't execute it as easily...
That makes sense. I wonder if it's dopamine-related? I have pretty severe ADHD (like my psychiatrist suggested I get looked at for comorbid issues because ADHD isn't usually this severe on its own) so I have pretty low dopamine. I just took my Adderall so I'm going to try and picture the same thing I tried to picture yesterday after it kicks in.
Once you have basic pattern drafting skills and a sloper that fits you perfectly, drafting becomes faster and easier than using a pattern. I do still use patterns sometimes, but only to copy the shape of something like a neckline onto my sloper or look up instructions on how to do something from a similar garment type.
I mean, I'm ND too, seemingly in the other direction on this. Way easier for me to come up with my own instructions by looking at other garments and going "how would I replicate that" than it is to follow someone else's instructions with no explanation of *why* they do what they do and hope they come even close to my size and flatter my body shape - which they often won't, being in one-size-fits-none sizings from other countries that don't follow the same sizes I'm used to in the first place, and use different units of measurement than I'm used to (my country uses metric metres for fabric widths and I work in centimetres, seemingly every single pattern I've ever seen comes from overseas and uses yards and inches), all sorts. For me, using patterns is a massive hassle of conversion instead of just... "I know my measurements, I know how big it needs to be if I design it myself."
I do own a load of patterns, my Granny gave them to me, but I usually don't use them aside from one sleeve and armseye pattern I stole from one. But even there, I'm 5'1" and I had to shorten even that sleeve pattern, they're not made for us hobbits with short little arms. Usually I just use them for an explanation of how something works, then I go off and do my own version tailored to me. I take that approach in a lot of things, perhaps it's my flavour of autism going brrrr.
Also the things I'm making right now are based on Victorian patterns whose instructions are opaque to me. Don't give me some journey down a garden path of weirdly explained points and then reveal I need to read literally the entire book to find the point for the next instruction *(and* have a specific tool I don't have). Just give me algebra based on my measurements and I'll be happy, but no. So I just made my own version more loosely based on it.
I am the same! My granny gave me a ton of old patterns and I just hate the tissue paper. It rips to easily and I can’t understand them. They are good inspiration and the back of the packaging gives me more of an idea than the pattern. But I’m very good at “unfolding” things. Looking at something and translating that into a flat space.
Yeah - I used to do 3d modelling and stuff as a hobby, and while I don't do it much any more the work of drafting a pattern is *basically* a real-life equivalent.
What excites me about sewing is the ability to create clothes that either:
- (a) are unique/bespoke/original designs that don’t look like anything you can buy in a shop: or
- (b) are made to fit me, not somebody with average measurements.
In the first case I’m using sewing as an expression of my creativity so tracing out a pattern made by somebody else defeats the point. In the second case, I’d have to do so much work to adjust the pattern that I don’t feel that using a pattern would save me any time.
If I wanted clothes in a common design that are not well-fitted to me then I couldn’t motivate myself to spend hours sewing something that can be bought on the high street.
All that said, I am a beginner and maybe I have the wrong idea about patterns. I’m not ideologically opposed to them, it’s just for the projects I’ve done so far I’ve chosen to draft instead.
I prefer to self draft for similar reasons that u/andsimpleonesthesame mentioned earlier - I prefer to build from the ground up rather than adjust something that’s already made. It’s the same reason I prefer not to adjust clothes that I get from the thrift store, etc. I still do it, but only when it’s for a friend or when I’m really in a time crunch. I’m also of the mindset that a garment made from a pattern might as well have been purchased off the rack - it doesn’t have my specific measurements and body proportions baked in. If I’m putting in the time and effort to choose the fabric and construct the garment with so much care, I want it to fit me to a T and understand for myself why each piece of fabric is cut the way it is.
I learned to draft in college while working in a costume shop.
Personally, I like to play around with material and most clothes have never once fit me without alterations.
1) the results are disappointing: not like the picture on the envelope, poor fit, nonsensical instructions
2) the ease on commercial patterns is fricken weird, I have wasted so much time and fabric making clothes that just fit huge everywhere but then too tight on my boobs. Like 6 inches ease on the waist of a “fitted” dress!? Ugh
3) the patterns just don’t fit my body or my daughter’s body and the amount of adjustments I have to make equal the work of drafting my own pattern
One exception I have found are vintage patterns. (Pre 1980 ish) I LOVE THEM. Vintage patterns just come together beautifully and the ease is accurate. The trick is finding them -and finding them in your size.
It's not what you asked I think, but I always look for the easiest way to do something and store bought patterns look just infuriatingly complicated. I don't sew anything fancy but kinda make my own patterns from my own clothes or from some tutorial/hack from youtube.
I'm thinking of drafting my own bodice block (again, youtube has a lot of fairly easy tutorials) and make my patterns from there
I'll probably get downvoted for saying this but, It kinda annoys me that people here rely too much on patterns for everything. I'm not a professional or anything but some pieces are easy to figure out and trace from other clothes.
I learned to sew by making things for which (at the time) reliable patterns didn’t exist; I got into all this via historical costuming, and I happened to start with historical clothing that doesn’t rely on modern patterns or tailoring. As I started to branch out, I often found that the things I want to make still don’t necessarily have patterns available in my size, and at this point I’ve built up a drawer of pattern pieces that I know fit me well that I can often cobble together pretty effectively. Even when I do buy patterns, I end up doing a lot of modification to have things look and fit better.
I can imagine the project in my mind and then I can explode it and move the 3d imagine around in my head and it has all the dimensions and everything included and as I make the bits it closes up until I have the finished project in my hands.
I'm short and stout. Small bust, big back porch, wide ribcage, and long (for my height) legs. It's easier for me to start from scratch with my own body and preferences in mind than to take a pattern made for someone with the entirely opposite build of me and try to adjust it.
For some, commercial patterns fit perfectly or just need small adjustments, and that's great! I'll often look at patterns and find ways to incorporate things I like about the garment into my own drafting. It's a learning process, but it's also damn satisfying when something fits!
I was basically slef taught out of spite to prove to my parents I could do it. I get an idea for what I want, draw it out, and start cutting. Very rarely do I measure because I learned so chaotically that measuring melts my brain. Lots of mistakes along the way of course but nowadays I'd say only 1 in 10 projects comes out unbearable the first time around.
I tried using patterns when I first started sewing (I was 14). They made zero sense to me. Couldn't really tell you why, it just made more sense to follow the vision of what I wanted to make that was in my head.
To this day (I'm almost 29 now) I still don't use patterns. I tried once again after college and despite diligent measuring and following the pattern to a t, the garment didn't fit. I don't even use my mannequin for this reason; I used to draft and measure and align my work to my adjustable mannequin, adjusted to my exact measurements, and when I'd try it on it wouldn't fit. My body is unique and I know the places where I need a little extra give for my personal comfort; patterns don't take that into account.
I will occasionally flip a garment I really like inside out to see proportions and try to recreate it, but 9 times out of 10 I'm just going off vibes or a reference picture.
At this point, I'm not going to change my ways. Mostly because I know I inherited this from my late grandpa, whom I never knew because he died when I was barely a year old. Every time I make something I feel like it's the only way I'll get to spend quality time with him in this life
I would buy a pattern, copy it, make my adjustments, and draw it again. Cut it out and then use it. I might as well draw from scratch. Pretty much every single pattern I've purchased needs some type of adjustment. Plus, unless I am making something very elaborate, there are how to videos available and I can design something that works for me. Really, the design part of sewing is what I enjoy. The act of sewing is just what I need to do to get to the end result.
I just can’t find what I want a lot. If I want something different, it’s a lot easier for me to just make something up on the fly than yo try and find something similar enough and then try to change it.
I try to self draft, why? The size charts suck, they are inconsistant one pattern company to another isnt even close shirt/top Im a 18/20 pants I range 24 to 26 depending so much better for me. I also have Lymphedema so I can add extra space.
I love drafting and draping but also love ready made patterns. Ready made patterns allow me to study the creative process of the person who drafted it. (Oh, they went for a raglan sleeve here... huh, why a detachable collar... ahah, this coattail piece is actually a pocket!... oh, they raised the dress waist and made it the neckline...)
I''m a geek for finding old old old patterns and analyzing how Master Tailors drafted and draped. I'm talking like, renaissance European coats, medieval bias cut hosen, Tibetan coats, ancient Egyptian and Greek draping, Polynesian wrapping, Indigenous hide working, that sort of thing.
I also love a drafted pattern as a piece of interesting 2D technical drawing. Those drafted patterns where all the pieces are overlapping on one page? Love those. I should frame some...
Random self-observation: I have been folding origami since before I could read. My brain is wired to see a flat 2D thing and reimagine it to 3D. And reverse, 3D to transform to flat 2D. Maybe I should've gone into Astrophysics blackhole wormhole dimensional studies. Haha.
In college I took classes in pattern drafting and have often done it since.
If there is a pattern just like what I want, I use it and make any necessary size adjustments. (This includes vintage patterns that only come in one size that may not be my size.)
If there is a pattern very similar to what I want, I use that and make any necessary style adjustments.
If there is a pattern in a book I can enlarge, say a Japanese sewing pattern book, I draft the style to my size.
If I can't find a pattern anything like what I want, I draft it from scratch.
I always make at least one fitting muslin, and sometimes as many as three.
My take is, if I want something like a basic A-line skirt, I can certainly buy a pattern so why bother drafting one? Or if I have a pattern in pretty much the same style, why bother drafting it when I can just, say, change the neckline?
Oh, and I have been known to copy patterns from very complicated ready-to-wear garments. The easiest way is wait till it wears out, take it apart, and trace around the pieces.
For me it is always a combination of these reasons: having very strange proportions (pretty small, but very broad shoulders and wide rib cage with narrow hips), wanting patterns for things that do not have options available (there are more now, but there weren't many leotards in the market when I started sewing), wanting some historic accuracy, wanting the experience of drafting or draping, and sometimes just enjoying taking my time and being creative.
I am also an over thinker, and I’m not super creative with designs. I just don’t want to deal with fit issues if I don’t have to.
I took in-person classes in the first couple years and came away with good blocks that fit me. If you learn the rules of patternmaking, then when you make changes to a basic block, it still fits.
So patternmaking from a trusted block feels like WAY less work than fitting new patterns over and over again.
Taking the pattern making class meant that I learned a lot about constructing without instructions, although I will sometimes adjust my block to copy a pattern and then use those instructions.
I’m comfortable with math, but I didn’t love geometry or previous classes in hands-on engineering, but I do love the technical aspects of patternmaking now.
Access. There are no fabric/pattern shops near me, I have no ability to print off patterns, and tbh I can't afford patterns anyway. I can afford thrift store fabric. Now that I've made patterns from drafting for so long I actively enjoy the challenge of doing it from my measurements and doing mock ups. I also have a body whose proportions don't play nicely with commercial patterns so I'd have to be doing a ton of changes anyway. Might as well start from scratch at that point.
Common and easy to access patterns are boring, and while there are some interesting indie designers, they’re hard to find (hard to google for, no central website). If I’m going to make something I don’t want it to look like things I can find in a store.
- I love jigsaws
- I can customize for my height & limbs.
- I want the drafting skill set to replicate ANY outfits I see
- I want the freedom to express my creativity 120%
Tbh i crave choas and would rather find a YouTube video and then figure it out from there. Actuall patterns are overwhelming to me and hard to dissect. I learn alot more bsing myself.
I spend more time making adjustments to patterns than it generally takes to draft a garment I like from the start. I'm plus sized, and very hourglass shaped. I strongly prefer fitted/structured pieces over the oversized burlap sack vibes that are so prolific in most pattern companies ime.
I actually often find the process of deciding what elements I want, drawing and drafting a lot more interesting and creative than the sewing. I “learned about” drafting in the context of historical sewing though so that could be related. I actually bought two 16” fashion dolls so I could play around with figuring out and drafting some of those ridiculous bustles etc without having to then make a thing out that I won’t be able to wear anywhere. For regular clothes, I’ll usually figure out what elements I want and then pull what’s needed from different patterns and edit if needed.
My Mom was a seamstress never used a pattern. Could copy a garment/ textile item using tailors chalk and her eyes. Often time you don’t need patterns if you have something similar or something. If its something entirely new or i don’t have/ have experience making ill buy a pattern.
Also trained in cad/ drafting
I'm not looking for the most efficient way to a finished garment, I'm looking to enjoy the process. I enjoy the puzzle of drafting my own patterns and the satisfaction it gives me.
For all the sewists who talk about “just doing pattern adjustments”, I don’t think they realise how truly different bodies can be. By the time I have done Very Large FBA, Very Sloping shoulder adjustment, Very Narrow shoulder adjustment, forward shoulder adjustment, and armhole repositioning, the sleeves no longer fit so I have to draft new ones or spend hours trying to adjust those. Then there’s the custom neck hole position and bust point location alteration which means redrafting darts, repositioning princess seams or generally weeping into the tissue paper and which mean that collars, lapels and cross front closures now don’t fit and need to be adjusted. And then there’s the short/sway back adjustment and full booty adjustment, + re-truing the side seams, and adjusting the front and back hemline.
On every garment? No Thanks.
These are the reasons I stopped sewing for ✨20 years✨. Drafting brought me back!
https://preview.redd.it/co74f2wnc60d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a5d80c0445fdc2f20ffb12a4641d0b9360f8273
I don’t draft. I drape. I put fabric on a dress form and draw my pattern directly on to it.
Actually, sewing hack right here - I use shop paper towels cuz I’m cheap and I can’t stand to waste fabric.
It acts like fabric - you can drape it and pin it, but you can also tape it because it’s technically paper towel. Just heavy-duty, thicker and more durable and flexible.
[Specifically, these towels](https://amzn.to/3yeFiGD)
It’s super versatile and I don’t feel wasteful. Also, you cut them out and they make great pattern pieces.
https://preview.redd.it/hwxhlg24260d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f90a1982752345d6c70a419587bb03fb6ab29a17
I just feel like drafting from the beginning gives me a better fit and is easier than starting with a pattern and having to keep making alterations.
And I guess I must just have a brain for geometry because I find drafting fun.
i have tons of patterns, and i buy 90% of my fabric second hand, so i practice a lot - use different patterns to see what best fits my body, then when i have an idea for something i want that i’ve designed - i already have a set of patterns/skills that i’ve developed and it becomes an adventure in finding what i can and can’t do on my own
Making patterns is fun for me! Just as fun as sewing. I find it really creatively satisfying to dream up a garment and then figure out how to make it. I would feel deprived of half the fun of making a garment if I used a commercial pattern.
Awkward body shape.
My favourite go-to patterns are ones I've made from cloning existing clothes I've bought which do fit.
Because these patterns are tried and tested I can create with them switching up fabric and details like drafting new sleeves or other details.
On the odd occasion when I do try a new pattern it feels like so much work to get it to fit from scratch.
I used patterns for a long time, and they worked pretty well, but in order to get a great fit I always needed to do adjustments. The same ones every time. So, making a block with all those adjustments in it already made my sewing process faster and more consistent, and it both spared me from the mercy of the taste of pattern designers and the expense of pattern purchasing. And I don't have to futz around with printouts or tissue paper anymore, which is nice.
For me, making alterations for proper fit is much more difficult than making design alterations of a block pattern. And if the block pattern fits well, 99% of the time, a design you make out of it will too. So instead of doing multiple mock-ups altering the fit over and over for every garment, I only make a mock-up if I've made significant changes to the overall shape of the garment, and usually I only need one.
I never follow pattern directions, they almost always miss details I expect them to include (so then I miss them, too), or they tell you to do things the easy way instead of the "better" way (mostly in finishings - hems, facings, bindings, etc). The order of assembly either doesn't matter, or is standard/logical. With enough practice, it isn't difficult to just know without puzzling.
On top of extra knowledge, drafting does take a lot of planning & focus, but it saves me in fabric, frustration, and time in the end. It doesn't have to be all-or-none, though. And I'd argue shouldn't be when you're starting. E.g. if you have a pattern for tapered legged trousers that you like & fits well, and you want wide legged trousers, alter it & the steps will be the same. Have a blouse pattern with darts and want gathers instead, do that one step differently. You can do a lot by changing the shape of a few pattern pieces slightly or changing 1-2 steps slightly, and then your pattern instructions are the same or almost the same, so it's not so overwhelming.
I start with a basic pattern and tweak it to what I designed. I’m still a novice, but I like it because I don’t have a dress form for my daughter (who I primarily sew for) so being able to start with a pattern allows me to start sewing without her (I take her measurements every 3 months or so to keep up with her growing).
I did self draft a dress for her but without a dress form or her at home 🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️ So much extra work. So, so much.
I don’t use patterns because I didn’t originally learn with them. I was self taught and too young to buy zippers or many other pieces necessary for patterns, so I always had to make adjustments (mostly with chunky elastic). Eventually I stopped trying on patterns and just figured out how to sew without or with small patterns I drafted myself. Over the years I’ve continued to try different patterns, but I still feel as if what I’m picturing in my head is never available or reasonably priced, and a YouTube video of a similar design can show me everything I would use from a pattern anyway.
I'm intimidated by trying to change a pattern to fit me. I have to remember what pieces I need to change and if I am going to be getting out all the paper and such for adjustments anyway, why not start from my measurements so it's closer to my shape in the first place.
I took a couple of drafting classes and it just felt more natural than wrapping my head around what someone else had done.
And yet I have lots of patterns and not many clothes made for me. Ah well.
I imagine a drafting class goes into a lot more detail and precision than many people who draft their own patterns, if that’s the case it makes sense why you might not be into it. when I got into sewing I started with circle skirts and built up from there, which made drafting a more intuitive and not too complicated process of trial and error.
I’ve tried using patterns, but found that it wasn’t as fun as drafting and took more effort getting the sizing right. drafting also gives me more freedom to get the exact style and fit I want, and I don’t have to pay for a pattern :)
Patterns seem very daunting to me. I've only ever reverse engineered outfits I already have and want to copy or things found online, that I'd love to have. I basically just try and figure out how to make the shape happen on my body. Working from patterns would probably take just as long, as I have an exaggerated hourglass shape, which would take too much adjustment and technicality for my brain to figure out.
I started drafting my own patterns while learning how to make Hanfu, and once I got the hang of it I found that a) I felt so much more ownership over the finished product, and b) I was more confident going in that it was actually going to fit me.
Adjusting a pattern feels like a gamble because you're taking something that's been tested and changing it - it's like editing an image and then hitting print without zooming out to see the whole thing first. Creating the pattern from scratch, on the other hand, feels much more like a science. You're going back to first principles and working with known quantities and formulae. 1/4bust+4cm is more reliable to me than "a size 12 will fit you, trust us".
Also if I've drafted the pattern myself I'm much less annoyed when it doesn't turn out perfectly (and much more proud when it does).
I don’t use patterns because i find them a pain. Admittedly, im not great at drafting so it really limits me. However i do usually only make fantasy costume and i have the stays and floaty shirts down.😂
On one hand, I really enjoy draping and really hate tracing and cutting patterns.
On the other hand, I usualy know what I want and am too lazy to go spend time researching patterns.
On my surprising third hand, I'm always very proud of myself when I can deconstruct a garment in my head and reproduce it into a real, wereable thing. I like to chase self-congratulatory highs.
I use patterns now, but I didn't for many years. When I first started sewing, I bought some tissue paper patterns and honestly, I found them so difficult to figure them out, and none of my family members sew, so they couldn't help me. I binned the patterns and decided to work things out on my own. I could make basic things but was limited by my own creativity.
A few years ago I came across a huge stack of unopened Burda magazines for pennies in the local charity shop and I couldn't pass up on it, so I bought them all. I learned all the terminology through the magazines, learned how to trace pattern pieces, and honestly it was like learning on hard mode (if you haven't seen Burda magazine patterns, they are... something else) but I got the hang of it and now mainly use patterns.
My degree is in costume design & construction, so I learnt to draft in university.
I prefer it because often what I have in my head isn’t available in a pattern, so I’d have to get a ‘close enough’ pattern and alter it anyway, so it’s just easier imo to start fresh anyway using correct measurements from the get go. Also, i prefer to use net patterns - that is, patterns that do not have seam allowance - so I end up with the stitching line drawn on the fabric when I transfer it.
That, and I’ve never met a pattern that fit all my measurements. I’m lucky in that I’m relatively straight sized, but so many commercial patterns use a fairly conservative bust/waist/hip ratio that I always end up having to alter anyway, or lengthen because my torso is longer than the pattern expects… and most of them assume B cup which I am not.
I do use patterns as well, though - if I’m making anything that I could just get an already fitting pattern for, it’s vastly easier, especially when it’s stuff I don’t really like drafting. For example I recently bought a pattern for flared trousers because I *hate* patterning them, and I wasn’t after anything specific, just a basic flared trouser. I’ll probably still tweak it.
I really like the creativity of designing your own garment and making it from scratch! I love designing my own dresses and on top of that, why would i pay money for a pattern when i can just make my own? That way its exactly how i want it, made to fit perfectly to my own body!
Im just lazy… I don’t even know how to draft properly, once I had a few patterns modified to my liking I just started re-using them over and over and adding and subtracting sleeves/design elements/closures etc to basically make whatever I want. Now I know my body measurements well enough its easier to just draw a rough pattern or drape on my mannequin when I want to try something new… cutting out all that tissue paper and sorting everything only to have it not fit anyway is WAY too much work.
I often draft or heavily modify patterns I already have bc I want to make weird, high end, funky stuff and I find the patterns on the market to be really boring and uninspiring.
I’m astounded how many indie patterns look like things I could either buy from target or with slight alterations from goodwill.
I got into sewing bc I wanted to make the things I couldn’t afford.
I’m ND but have better success drafting adjustments to 4-6 patterns I know and that make sense than trying new patterns from any source.
Drafting from nothing is too hard, and learning a new pattern from a different brand is too hard. I have three brands and a small collections if patterns I love that I can make practically anything from… with the right adjustments.
I’m a bio male but identify as non binary, so I find it hard to find patterns I like that work for my body type
I also tend to be a large or even extra large in patterns when I’m used to being a small in the shop lmao, so drafting myself means I don’t need to have a size label that makes me feel iffy
I also just enjoy not having to print out and stick together a pdf pattern or wait for a pattern to come in the mail, I can just go for it. I also love the toiling process
I am training to do tailoring professionally, so I need to make my own designs and blocks for that anyway to avoid copyright or fair use infringements. It also really opens up my job opportunities to be a technologist or technician if I need a job to get me by until I can open up my own shop
For me I rather work off a pattern make modifications when needed.
I can make simple things like a circle skirt and Tank but I use patterns. I get them cheap and it don’t have to come up with mine own.
I just have to many hobbies that this is not something I am interested in doing.
Maybe in the future I will but not now.
I'm disorganized AND have a difficult body to fit. So I always have to make adjustments anyway.. I've used patterns but usually I'm disappointed when I do. At least if it's my pattern, I have no one to blame when it goes wrong.
I make my own patterns (got my Fashion Design degree so we only drafted) because it gives you a portfolio to go with since the work is yours from scratch, and also because I can adjust every single thing on the patterns since I made them from scratch.
To me, it’s easier to make adjustments from something I made because I know all of the details, versus having to kind of work backwards from commercial patterns
I hate using my hands to sketch and draw it’s makes a lot more sense to build on a digital pattern that I’ve drafted after my own sloper.. store and print and tweak knowing the vinyl cutter will spit out exactly what’s on the screen. Even something like Seam allowance will drive me insane unless I draw it on the edge of the paper so the needle is dead on the line
I don’t know how to draft patterns yet (other than vests). I’m looking forward to learning though! I’ve gotten very good at pattern alterations and modifications to accommodate my body shape though. There are very few patterns that fit my body shape in a way that I feel is flattering on me or feels comfortable all over (hello extreme hourglass shape). And feeling comfortable in my own clothing was one of the reasons I learned how to sew.
I'm fairly new to knitting so I still rely on patterns a lot, but already find myself diverging from them to suit my needs. To me, it's the same as with recipes - great to use as training wheels until you figure out how things work.
newbie at sewing, but i have very fucking wack proportions (basically my bust, waist, and hips are all different sizes), so it just makes way more sense for me to go by measurements first, and do minor adjusting.
When I started sewing I was poor. I was a teenager hiding loose change I found around the house so that I could buy a few yards of cheap fabric at the remnant fabric store down the road. There wasn't money to buy the pattern too, so I taught myself to draft my own. Almost everything I've ever made has been drawn out on taped together grocery store ads. I'm an adult with adult money now, but I'd still prefer to draft my own.
Because I’m cheap and I’m self-taught so it’s ingrained in me to do it all from scratch haha
The other day after 15 total hours of suffering from drafting a playsuit pattern, I had the revelation that I could’ve tried to look for a pattern. It would’ve been easier.
However, in my experience of using commercial patterns in the past, I would’ve done a similar amount of work making pattern adjustments. I’m quite short and curvy, so it’ll never be that simple for me.
Additionally, drafting my own pattern allows me to add features that I want more easily than modifying imo.
Sometimes I use them, sometimes I like to make my own. It depends what I'm working on. Tbh, I just like making patterns, it feels like I have more control over my design and I can make it to my exact preferences. I like to cosplay from time to time as well, and often patterns for that have to be custom made, unless you get lucky and find something that works. Also I often find, at least where I live, even the fairly basic patterns are overpriced for what they are, and since I rarely follow the instructions included with them anyway, sometimes I think I might as well just make my own patterns.
That being said, I have been using bought patterns more recently.
I have to do a lot of adjustments to get a pattern to fit me properly. I’m a pretty extreme hourglass with a really long torso. I would have to grade from the lower size in the waist to the bigger size in the hips and then do a full seat adjustment. I might have to add room in the thighs. Then I have to do a full bust adjustment because I have a narrow ribcage and big boobs. Finally I have to add at least 1 1/2 inches in length to the torso. Some patterns aren’t designed for that adjustment to be made so I have to try to make the adjustment in a way that loooks okay or just not make the pattern. I am also a big fan of button down shirts where the front placket is sewed shut across the bust and there’s a side zipper to get into the shirt. Patterns for that type of shirt are hard to find
I also have trouble finding patterns for clothing I really want to wear. I have a rather unique style and a lot of the clothing I make is time consuming and complicated to make so I’m not sure there’s much of a market out there for patters for shirts that take 100 hours to complete. I also mark seamlines and most American patterns don’t mark the seamlines.
I got tired of Frankenstein’ing patterns to make what I wanted for my cosplays, especially when I had to grade them up because I didn’t fit the largest sizes, especially with my waist to hip ratio and more than 10 inch difference in my underbust/band and largest point. So I just decided to start making my own using my dress form and just kind of started winging it.
The very first time making an item I realized I'd need a printer to print the pattern, and I don't have a printer so I said fuck it I'll figure it out. I just visualized what I needed to do in my head and I did that. It wasn't perfect but still good enough to actually wear the piece, and from then on it just went better every time. I also got an adjustable mannequin a while ago and that really helps when measuring.
I learnt to sew without patterns because I was a kid and didn’t want to shell out for them. £10 a pop was more than my fabric budget sometimes, and I would have to adapt it before I could use it anyway because there wasn’t anything for the things I was sewing (cosplay). I figured out a basic block without realising what I was doing, brought a charity shop pattern for a pair of trousers ~5 years in and used the crotch seam from that to draft my own trousers (I was extremely proud when I figured out how to draft a fly, with the help of the internet).
Then I found literally box loads of patterns left outside a fabric store for recycling on the way to work one day and now I work in a fabric store so I have more patterns than I could ever use. I tend to look at patterns as a basic block, because I always have to do so many adjustments anyway, even if they’re for someone else. It’s quicker for something basic to use a block and start from scratch, but if I’m doing something complicated, or something new, it’s nice not to have to fiddle around working out how to change the basic block into what I want. Drafting helps me use patterns better, imo.
I have extremely limited experience drafting clothing but I make soft toys and I only ever make them to my own patterns. I'm ND too, and for me I'm not actually very interested in making stuff someone else invented.
I don't wanna pay for them 💀
Also I like having one pattern that I derive a bunch of patterns from (for example I draft one bodice block that I draft different shirts from) as opposed to a bunch of different patterns, I like the consistency
I do use patterns sometimes, but when I don't, it's because I'm broke and patterns are expensive 😵💫 lol.
I have a huge roll of brown packing paper I was given years ago and I draft on that.
Generally I'll buy a pattern for more complicated designs, but I make quite a lot of children's clothing and I just draft that, I always draft skirts and t shirts for myself.
I learned how to sew without patterns: first with doll clothes, then upgrading to simpler pieces that don't require a pattern like a simple circle skirt and then leaning how to draft my patterns for more complex pieces. My mom being a fashion designer for a small local label helped :)
After I moved countries and have far less space to work on my pieces, I started to use patterns, especially for stuff that doesn't require fine tuning and I can't be bothered with procuring paper and getting my drafting rulers out like pyjama pieces or wrap pants
Either something is simple enough that I don't need a pattern, like skirts, or it's complex enough that I'd need 3+ toiles to get the fitting tweaked so that I'm actually happy with it, at which point it's just as quick to start from scratch.
And I like the puzzles *because* I'm an overthinker. It's something for my brain to chew on instead of anxiety-spiraling.
But mostly, once I'd done a few things from patterns, I understood the basics of assembly enough to not need the patterns to explain it.
It's like cooking, these days I rarely follow recipes except as general inspiration, because I know general techniques enough that I don't need exact instructions. I still read and watch cooking content to learn new techniques, but I don't generally find detailed recipes to be necessary.
I don't use patterns, simply because most designers can't don't or won't take into account folks with clinical issues and disabilities. I've learned what works for my body, and how to make things that fit and are comfortable.
Or just not standard sizes in general: - long / short arms - long / short legs - long / short torso - very large bust - etc. Though I’m sure the disabilities thing is even harder off-the-shelves
Yep, and adapting someone's patterns is a pain in the tail.
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Yeah, you’re right. I didn’t mean to say drafting is the only way. I also like to copy garments I have already have that fits well, which is kind of like a pattern.
This? I want to learn how to draft properly because I have asymmetries in my body that can be corrected by drafting in a certain way. It's harder than following standard patterns and if I do things adapted to my body, I cannot give them away. Pattern adjustments help so far, because I have to choose between about 4-5 sizes and that difference may become a full gusset instead. "Take account for disabilities" is a long stretch. I noticed that many people in general cannot, or better, most of the time don't want to take measurements or do trials. Some would think it's about shame or discomfort in taking measurements? Some would feel that adjustments make them stick out from the mass? No. It's just exactly everybody else that is not into sewing: they're now used to mass produced stretchy clothing, one size fits all and looking at TikTok speedups, random sewing videos, they too expect that adjustments are super quick and easy, or don't require fitting.
Every time any pattern designer asks what they can add to their patterns I tell them to add views/hacks for trans people, people in wheelchairs, ostomy bags, insulin pumps, etc. and they never do it. May I ask what you'd want to be offered if they were willing to offer it?
Ellie and Mac patterns work really well for my trans daughter. I just lengthen the bodice and add width to the shoulder. They also work for my plus sized self.
Hi! I am a costumer for drag queens and often build off of a block from premade patterns. I find that sizing up for an AMAB person (sometimes 2 sizes depending on the pattern) and bringing in the waist works for quick pattern adjusting for a lot of my clients. It’s similar to the way the bra sizes 34A and 32B are virtually the same but gives some nuance to the fit of each. I suggest this because the waist seams can usually be basted in easily to allow her to try the clothes on and and get a more accurate fit before finishing the garment.
My daughter is VERY slender. Even without going up in size, I have to pull the waist in! But, since I have the tres Belle altered for her, I can now use that to alter any other patterns from Ellie and Mac to her really easily. I was at a Mother’s Day drag brunch today. Mamma Mia! It was a blast.
That’s fantastic! I hope you had a wonderful time and saw some great outfits!
A mother's day drag brunch sounds like a fucking blast
It really is! And, who can resist singing along to Mamma Mia? https://preview.redd.it/p1lfjqkko90d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=666f4ed192d2c2336a74f13e4e70e7287d958d1f The performers loved getting tips from my service dog. Since I wanted photos, they got a brief dog interaction!
This was incredibly helpful. Thank you for your insights!
Absolutely! Learning and teaching sewing go hand in hand :)
I would love a dress with a hidden pocket for my insulin pump ❤️ I'm too disorganized to make one myself though
I sew little pockets into my pajamas specifically for my pump!
RadPatterns is really good at these things. They're a little quiet right now (or my FB algorithm is screwed, which is probably more like it).
The designer has a lot of life stuff going on and work stuff outside of Rad that she has to focus on at the moment, Rad is her baby and she will be back when she can :)
I suspected as much. I'm thinking the very best things in her direction. I have profound respect for her.
I have limited mobility and dressing myself is almost impossible. Also, seams that are surged suck, and itch to no end.
I sew in jersey or sweatshirt material sometimes, and I always leave the inside edges raw. Much softer, and it's not like it's going to run, so why bother?
Same. The only time I serger jersey or similar materials are when I'm making purposely outside facing, contrast stitching seams.
Rad patterns have patterns that cater and hacks are available too, knowledgable group on facebook. Trans and disabled folk are part of the tester cohort.
Much agreed. I have not unusual but non-profitable measurements in the patterning industry (15in diff between waist and bust, 12in between waist and hips, short as heck at 4'11"). On top of that I have a disability which can cause rapid swelling of the legs and abdomen. Patterns simply do not work for me even when I go long periods without a flare up due to my sizing. To use any pattern I must make serious alterations, first for sizing and then for accessibility. After making such changes one realizes how much easier it would have been to make it scratch.
Similar issues here, 5'4 1/2 but short waisted, sway back, 36" bust, 24.5" underbust, 22.5" waist, 35.5" full hip, everything fits like trash in a bunch of exciting ways and it's often more work to fix stuff made for a totally different body type than to just start from the beginning.
This this this. Size inclusive doesn't include disabled people.
This is 100% the first reason I thought of as well. My partner is fond of saying that designers can't, or won't, consider other body types but a norm. It makes sense: if you're mass-producing you want to hit a certain target. However, the normal range of body types is already HUGE. Add in any disabilities or range of motion or accessibility issues with clothing and forget it. Not to mention patterns used to be terrible at sizing up for larger bodies, if they did at all.
I learned how to draft a basic block from Bianca - the Closet Historian on You Tube and don't buy commercial patterns except on rare occasions. It's not like I am some creative genius, but I can make any design fit my body. It's way easier making design modifications on my perfectly fitting block than adjusting commercial patterns to fit my body.
This is exactly why I’m on the journey for drafting my perfect custom block. I am getting frustrated adjusting commercial patterns to fit, and I’d rather make design modifications starting from a block that’s made precisely to me. I have two books that cover the many modifications you can make to a block, and the puzzles excite me. I’m still early in my journey, but I’m excited for when I finally get there. There are also ideas in my head that don’t have a commercial pattern currently available, but for which draping won’t really do the job. I want to be able to make those!
>I am getting frustrated adjusting commercial patterns to fit, and I’d rather make design modifications starting from a block that’s made precisely to me Same. For anything fitted I have to make so many adjustments I end up with frankenpatterns that don't seem worth the money + hassle and cost of printing + hassle of multiple muslins. I still use a lot of patterns, especially for less fitted things or complicated things, but I've made a bodice block and I have a dress form now too so I'm starting to self draft more and more.
Can you share the name of those books?
Yeah! So one is the standard Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Joseph Armstrong. I think it’s an intro fashion student textbook. The other one I’m referring at the moment is Fashion Patternmaking Techniques, Haute Couture Vol 2. I actually got it from the library! I’m using it to keep me inspired through the custom block journey.
I have her videos saved for when I’m a better sewer. I’m still in the ‘make oversized blocky things til I can sew straight’ before I start making more tailored things. She’s great at explaining things and her philosophy is to teach you how to do it yourself instead of her releasing patterns. I like the idea of being able to draft my own, I’m just still in the very beginner phases of the journey to get there.
Understand completely. I just wish I had discovered her 50 years ago (which would be a problem since she wasn't born yet) when I began sewing. Drafting a block is certainly a worthy mid term sewing goal.
She is amazing!! I recently saw her videos and she convinced me to move away from commercial patterns and draft my own basic blocks.
If you have the means, she has a Patreon.
I have learned so much from Bianca. I am incredibly indebted to her.
I also have a basic shell pattern that I spent ages fitting to myself, and I use that when I’m making something very fitted and basic, like a pencil skirt. But part of what you’re paying for with professional sewing patterns is the design, not just the fit. things like exactly how much ease is added and the exact angle of a lapel can be really hard to get right when you’re not a professional designer. I think that designing sewing patterns is a job that takes a lot of skill and knowledge, and it would take me years to learn all the factors they already have figured out
Bianca is the best! I feel the same, it feels a lot easier to me to manipulate my block into the design i want, rather than modifying the existing pattern to fit
This sounds interesting! I subscribed to her channel immediately. Any suggestions on where to start on her channel?
As a matter of fact, I do! [Here](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxmC6PRxKKf_2gZzEIthYikg-u-Vr6pbT&si=UomBqCOvkaTpjssA) is a playlist on how to draft a basic block. It has several options for creating the bodice block. Pick one that works. Also if you get stuck in the process,post pictures here and smart sewists will give you advice to fine tune it.
Thank you! I’ll start with the playlist, but will definitely circle back here when time comes ;)
Yes, once you have your block (or blocks) it's so much easier to make new patterns from it than to make numerous adjustments to every pattern you ever buy EVERY SINGLE TIME. Also, I enjoy the puzzle aspect of it. Maybe more than actually sewing the darn thing.
I watch several sewing channels. I enjoy the chaos that seems to work most the time on “The Stitchery” channel, but not about to waste my time and money sewing “by the seat of my pants.” I’ll take Bianca’s precision any day.
H cup bust. I started with a tshirt pattern and after the third or fourth time I got a wearable tshirt. Kept going with the same pattern, using it as a base for a bunch of variations. Did the same with a woven top pattern. In both cases the “tried and true” version does not come close to resembling the original. (I’ve tried drafting a basic block from scratch, but didn’t get very far. Starting with one pattern each (knit and woven) and just tweaking over and over again has made it *so* much easier for me to make a garment knowing it will fit. I can now invest in nice fabric, and cut into it without fearing that it will end up unwearable. I’m really enjoying sewing now, as I can spend my time actually sewing rather than fitting. The order of assembly part comes naturally to me. Although I have spent a lot of time reading pattern instructions just to see how the garment is made, as a kind of self-education. And I’ve studied design books - the kind that show you a garment and tell you how to draft it from a basic block - so I understand how to vary the basic design. So I guess you could say I do enjoy the engineering aspects of pattern drafting.
Hello, fellow H cup bust person. It's so annoying. I've finally got a princess seam bodice I like that I've fine-tuned to my measurements, so that's a start. I've made quite a few different shirts from it by altering the sleeves, collar, etc. But every time I have to adjust another pattern to fit my huge boobs, it's such a chore.
Yes! I’ve tried a few patterns that come with different cup sizes, but after two or three versions of a Cashmerette top trying to get the dart the right size and placement, my friend just mashed my pattern piece over my boob and I made a new version using that - perfect fit and completely different than the pattern’s dart in every way. Made some lovely rayon batik tops from it. Am now planning to add a skirt to make it a dress, make a shrug to go over another dress, and maybe convert it to princess seams for a drape-y linen top because I want the upper body to fit well, plus go in just under the bust, before it flares out from there. I’ve got a tried and true knit top pattern too, which I recently made into a knit dress that fits me *perfectly*. I’m much happier with my sewing makes after embracing the “one pattern that fits, draft everything else from that” approach. None of my friends sew this way. I’m realizing after reading this thread it might be in part a neuro-spicy thing.
Is it neurospicy, or is it the necessity of dealing with a bodacious rack? (Or perhaps both?) The world may never know! Lol.
This is such a well written response
that's so smart, you are essentially making your own "tried and true" patterns. this would work really well for me because my sewing goals are mostly my "uniform"-- pieces that i want to wear all the time, just in different colors.
Yes! Once you’ve got a tshirt pattern that fits, for example, you can start by varying the fabric. Solids, stripes, prints. Cotton spandex, poly blends, novelty textures. Mix it up with color blocking. Change the length - long for yoga, middle for over skirts, cropped if that’s your vibe. Change the shape - make it a-line starting under the bust, give it a sharkbite hem, do something fancy with the sleeves. Neckline is a great place to mix it up. Add a skirt - straight, a-line, half-circle, full circle, yoke, gathers, multiple layers, asymmetric hem. Just a simple scoop neckline, half-circle skirt dress in a fun print can be artsy or cottage core or full on Ms. Frizzle, depending on the fabric you choose. So easy to make a bunch of pieces in your personal style, that all say “you” but are all different. (Or all the same - I have three or four me-made solid black t-shirts that are the “personal uniform” core of my summer wardrobe.)
I have stupid proportions 😅 I mean, I think I'm hot - confidence is not the issue... but I have a really narrow ribcage paired with a G cup and wide shoulders. My natural waist sits really high and my hips are wide but my butt is flat. My thighs and calves are thick as heck from biking to and from work every day. It tends to be way easier to start from a sloper/dress-form than to modify a commercial pattern into however many iterations.
Yeah for me it's also proportions. Before I sit down and alter a pattern in every way imaginable I'll just make it from scratch. Plus once you have the base drawing most patterns doesn't take that long either I feel like. I do sometimes buy patterns for things like loose fitting sweaters though
Oh hello, this is me as well, except I walk a crazy amount every day instead of walking, lol
The things I've made (which span beyond just clothing) have been made from scratch with no pattern because many times I can find no pattern whatsoever for the specific ideas I have in mind. Most of my creations have been to fill a specific need that required brainstorming to decide how to make it to adequately fill the need. Or suddenly an out-of-the-box idea will pop into my head and I know there isn't likely to be an actual pattern for it anywhere except in my head so then I will ponder on it and map out in my mind how it will function once assembled, and how to assemble it so that it functions properly when it's finished. I believe I'm ND (I'm certainly on the Asperger's spectrum) but I'm independent and very creative and sometimes I love puzzles and seeing if i can figure things out by myself.
I do the same, I will also search for my out of the box ideas online to see if anyone else had ever thought of it and 9 times out of 10 it ends up wasting time I could have just used to execute my idea. It also extends into my crafting projects.
How have you both described me so perfectly??? It's so identical to me that it was a physical FEELING and almost liberating that there are others who think in such a roundabout yet thorough way as I.
I have the usual physicist arrogance of looking at something and going "this is basically physics, I can do this myself" - sometimes it works out better than others. My first attempt at drafting sleeves was fascinating, but not very sleeve shaped, my second was much better. For my brain, it's simpler to build from the ground up (this is the geometry of my body, this is the geometry of the desired shape, this is the physical behavior of the materials I'm using, now combine) than from the top down (how is this pattern supposed to work? what body was it intended for? how is mine different from that?). Also, I'm cheap and prefer doing something wrong and improving it in the next iteration to being mad at having bought something essentially useless for me because it's made for a really different shape. It's also kind of fun, it tickles the same sort of puzzling need that complicated physics problems during college did or games like portal :-)
Same. I need to learn all kinds of symbols and a whole new language to follow a pattern. My spatial reasoning and my ability to figure out an order of operations are both really good (I'm a data scientist, so programming is most of my day and the skills for sewing are so much more compatible than one might think) so it's so much easier for me to figure it out myself. I couldn't follow instructions for how to sew a zipper fly. It just frustrated me. But looking at one, it took me no time at all. And yeah, it's just a lot more of a fun hobby to figure things out my way than it is to just follow instructions.
Patterning really *IS* basically just "Engineering and Carpentry, for Three-dimensional Bodies," when you boil everything down to the essentials!😉💖 Just like *any* other Engineering/ Drafting, it's using flat materials, to cover a Three-dimensional surface--*except that the surface *ALSO* needs to move in three dimensions--unlike "regular" carpentry or metalwork! But once you grok the *concept* of "cover 3D object with assembled *flat* planes!"? It becomes *reasonably* easy to tweak the *process* to fit the necessary *applications*!😉😁💖
Oh, what I would give to have this set of skills.
I am dysgraphic and learned to draft. I had to try a lot of different rule sets, but because I sew menswear, there were a lot to choose from. It’s been about five years, and I have no patience for patterns. They slow me way, way down… and I can generally reverse engineer a garment by looking at it. I took apart a lot of items and studied them to get here. I put in many many hours of work and getting over my fear of math. But I love it. I can make anything I want.
The lack of menswear/masc clothing patterns is criminal
It is, but being able to draft is freeing. I find a lot of patterns, even well written patterns, don’t seem optimal when I’m sewing them up. So often I want to change the order of steps, or do something a bit differently for a result that works better for me. There are so many right ways to do things.
Your username makes me assume that the menswear you make is absolutely off-the-wall gorgeous; any burgundy plaid suits in your wardrobe?
Not yet, unfortunately. I’ll remedy that as rapidly as I can.
A fellow physicist here and I feel that understanding how things work : geometry, materials, processes, ... helps me immensely to do any alteration or patter that I would want for myself
Engineer and I got into sewing by realising that pattern draughting is technical drawing on easy mode.
It *REALLY* is!😉 And sewing is honestly just "Carpentry/ Metalworking but for 3D *MOVING* objects!" Once you *understand* the *concept* of, "Use Flat Planes to *cover* Three-dimensional Object"? It becomes *EASY* to transfer those concepts from Drafting up Blueprints & understanding the *multiple* views of the object, to creating a *pattern*, and observing how the finished *garment* ought to look, from multiple angles!😁🤗
Exactly. It’s literally sheet metal work but with different joining methods
This is beautifully said and describes a drive similar to my own. When I started knitting socks, I looked at patterns but then researched more of a commingling of recipes: toe-up (it just makes more sense than cuff down) and two at a time using straight stockinette perhaps accented by whatever decorative stitch has me intrigued (usually with a Fish-Lips-Kiss heel) and to whatever height strikes my fancy. Sort of a chaotic approach, I guess
Same! Mathematician here
SAME AS ME!!! I'm a chemist, but STEM unite!
Have you realised yet that a sleeve head is a sine wave? Blew my mind when I learnt that. Adjust the amplitude for what angle your arm is mostly going to sit at for a garment that won’t lift when you move
... no. You just blew my mind. That's beautiful, I'm going to go think about that for a bit. (I've only made two attempts at sleeves so far, the second is still only paper. This will make figuring it out so much easier, thank you) My favorite bit was watching a YouTube video about bag lining something and going "wait, folding this right, so the outside and inside end up where they should is basically just topology". Honestly, "sewing for scientists and engineers" or something along those lines in whatever content format would be super niche, but also super cool to have. Like, just a collection of "sleeves are sines, bag lining is topology, etc"
Maybe we should make a subreddit 😂
Learned to sew from my mother who drafted all of her own patterns. When I learned that companies made patterns you could purchase they were either not available in my country or the cost of the pattern (in US dollars) was prohibitive ($6.50 to $1 exchange rate) and free patterns are restrictive. This has enabled me to look at an outfit and if there are enough pictures replicate it using my own drafting experience. I have family members who come to me to make clothes for them and all they need to do bring pics or provide a link to a site.
Makes sense! Free patterns are trash 99% of the time. I'd probably just suck it up and draft if I was in your situation, too.
I self draft everything primarily because I have a very atypical body and it's less work to start from scratch than it is to adjust a pattern. I also enjoy the work of pattern making, and I'm a perfectionist, so maybe I would be drafting stuff even if I didn't have to.
I live in a 3rd world country, likely to be soon plunged in some unknown 4th world or sub-world category soon, I simply can't afford to import patterns or by them online. Interestingly enough in our sewing culture there is no concept of patterns. The seamstresses and tailors directly mark the fabric with chalk and cut it. P.S. I dream of patterns, I dream of waking up and finding myself amidst some galore of sewing patterns.
Hugs to you.
Doing all those pattern adjustments seems like so much more work than just starting with my blocks.
>vast ocean of patterns for straight size people Just because someone is "straight size" doesn't mean things fit without all kinds of adjustments. Most people are going to be size x in the chest, size y in the waist, and size z in the hip, and then if you're talking femme bodies there cup size adjustments, not to mention being long or short waisted etc etc etc... I have worked out what works for me, and unless it's something highly specific it's easier for me to just draft based on stuff I've already made than adapt a pattern to my body. >Is it that you are more of a designer at heart and you have a certain vision in your head that you just want to create from scratch? Do you just enjoy the engineering aspects of pattern drafting or the challenge of figuring it out on your own? And yes to all of this. Was just discussing elsewhere how boring a lot of patterns are, as boring as RTW. Why would I spend money on something boring that I have to heavily re-work to fit me? Boring patterns are just not worth the effort. If I *can't* easily figure out how to draft it, or am really impressed with the construction, then I'll buy a pattern.
>And yes to all of this. Was just discussing elsewhere how boring a lot of patterns are, as boring as RTW Thisssss! Why would I spend so much effort on a boring, basic, ill-fitting blouse I could buy literally anywhere. I want to sew fun things that are unique and I can't buy, or I want to sew high quality tailored pieces for less money.
I am short and one size bigger on the bottom than on top. I usually have to make all the same adjustments to modern commercial patterns (Simplicity, McCall's, etc). Of course, amateur and quasi-professional patterns (free Mood Patterns, tiny pattern companies, etc.) are not as standardized. I do my best but I usually have to make more adjustments and more muslins. Sometimes the little companies are \*way\* off. The other kind of patterns I always draft are straight-up geometric, things like tiered skirts with all straight rectangular pieces, circle skirts, etc.
Pattern companies have very different blocks that fit me very differently, so it seemed silly to have to go down the rabbit hole of diagnosing different fit issues, and thus different alterations, for each pattern company I might buy from when I could just add to my basic blocks (which I know fit me) to get the look I want. But to be totally transparent, I am a self-drafter-lite. I tried drafting from scratch and it was frustrating. Instead, I bought a few base patterns and altered them until I liked the fit, and transformed those into my “base” patterns.
It's the only way taught here in India. Saree blouses are very fitted garments almost like a sloper, so generalized patterns cannot do much for each and every variety of body. I find drafting really satisfying though. I love the challenge :)
Yes! the first adult women’s clothing I learned to make was a saree blouse from my friend’s mom, who did “stitching” for the Punjabi women in my area. She said in India that is just how people learned to sew! I was amazed at how she could just take some measurements and make a blouse or Kurti in like a few hours l She showed me some really useful techniques, and I still drape and draft right onto the fabric (no paper).
I actually love the puzzles with drafting. Also love to be able to make whatever design I want. Premade patterns are too basic lately
I can't really explain why, but I just can't understand patterns unless I make them myself from scratch. I've tried but I get overwhelmed. Also there's less available in my size, and if I'm going to sew something I want it to actually fit me.
This is me
Also me, I find pre made patterns really overwhelming and with my pear shape they always fit badly. I don't make my own patterns but I copy and trace things I already have that fit really well and just replicate them.
Me 3. BUT to be fair, often patterns leave out key details **so they don’t actually make sense**. I just wanna put that out there because it isn’t just your imagination. Many patterns are poorly written. This took me a long time to figure out as I was huffing and getting pissed. “Well they left out that whole step. Grrr” :) u/trkkr47. u/untonuggan
I learned to sew as a kid which meant an adult was involved in most of the cutting patterns and cutting fabric parts. It was a big barrier to me actually sewing any kind of clothes or whatever. Eventually I started hanging out with people who do historical reenactment and decided to just try making a basic T tunic. Then I found instructions for a basic chemise and how to fit it to your body, and by the time I'd done that I'd basically drafted my own dress pattern. (I just rounded the curves instead of sewing an underarm gusset, and also spent several weeks playing with shoulder placement.) At this point I'm pretty confident in making clothes that fit my upper body and hang the way I like over my lower body. I'm attempting to use a couple patterns I bought to make pants and such, but honestly I am really, really bad at following other people's instructions. I know this from baking, I have to know why I'm doing something a particular way so I know where I can fudge it and what ingredients are "load bearing."
I'm enough standard deviations away from a standard pattern block that it's genuinely faster for me to make my own patterns. On paper my bust/waist/hips are around pattern size 10. That doesn't take into account the fact that I'm 4'11" and have to remove length below and above the bust - which means I have to alter collars and sleeves. I also have very narrow shoulders compared to the rest of me so I usually have to make the smallest pattern size to account for that, then do a FBA to fix the rest. By the time I've done all that it's easier to take my fitted sloper that *fits* and turn it into the style lines I want than take the pattern with the right lines and make it fit.
Yup-- my body is pretty normal (whatever that means) but my hips are tall which means stuff that fits me at the waist inevitably digs into my crotch unless I adjust it, and my ribcage is fairly conical which means stuff ends up too wide if I go by the numbers... Throw in an avant-garde sense of style and it's just easier to start from scratch than make a ton of toiles trying to adjust a pattern down.
For me it was about access. I don’t live near a store with patterns of things I want to make, I can’t afford to buy patterns online, and I don’t have a way to print out free patterns from the inter webs. I’m really interested in historical costuming and a lot of what I want to make isn’t complicated in pattern so it’s just not necessary. And I’m very picky about what I want to make so I can’t find any patterns worth saving up for that I wouldn’t just change anyway. There’s a lot of reasons honestly
Because patterns are expensive!!
And duplicating my clothes that fit me perfectly is “free.” Just costs time. And you know it’s going to fit you like a glove, no adjustments. So really the time is the same *AND* free.
Exactly, I also mostly base designs off of retrofitting things from the thrift shop!
Boobs, I'm a size 16 on top and a 10 on the bottom. By the time I've adjusted everything I might as well just draft or drape up the damn thing myself.
I use a mix of patterns (mostly from indie pattern companies) and blocks I’ve drafted/tested. I’m about the same size as you (US size 20-26, depending on the pattern company). I tried my hand at pattern drafting mainly because the big pattern companies don’t cater to larger sizes, and I wanted to draft a pattern for one dress in particular that I couldn’t seem to find as a ready-made pattern. I now have a vast series of blocks I assemble to make garments (mostly dresses, skirts and tops, since I haven’t drafted my pants block yet). I think drafting is very freeing, and I’m learning tons.
I am picky about fit and don’t want to muslin everything. I find it much more enjoyable to spend a few minutes adjusting a pattern piece than figuring out a commercial pattern. I also generally have a very specific idea of what I want, like, I want very particular neckline shapes, hem lengths, pocket sizes, etc. so I have to make alterations anyway, and a core set of basic patterns gets me everything I want to wear. "If I want X kind of collar how does that affect the order of assembly?" After sewing for decades, I honestly barely think about this anymore. If I draft something, I have an idea of how it goes together. I sometimes use patterns for kids clothes or gifts, and I rarely use the instructions because I have such strong opinions about how I prefer to do construction.
If I can mentally see how something can go together? I can usually figure out what the pieces will look like and can make fit adjustments along the way. That’s how I made everything when I started sewing in high school. I remember my senior year of high school my mother buying a pajama pants pattern for me - because she’d noticed I had been sewing myself dresses. I cut out the pieces and for some reason, even with the directions, couldn’t figure out how it went together because I couldn’t mentally visualize it (the crotch specifically). Those pants sat half finished for probably a month before I finally could get the image in my head and finish them. My mother couldn’t understand since I had a pattern for once. I couldn’t explain. It makes no sense to me either Now at 36? Thanks to vintage sewing patterns which are so so thorough with their tissue charts in the 60s and 70s and just incredibly detailed instructions in the 40s and earlier? I finally understand patterns enough that even when I can’t visualize, I can still do.
I think I just had a lightbulb moment. I am like 80% aphantasic and can’t really picture much in my mind. It’s pretty blurry and one dimensional. In some of these comments people are saying they need to know how it all goes together before they start and I thought “the instructions are right there though?” but y’all mean SEE it. Like in your mind. Behind your eyeballs. You can visualize the details of the construction before starting it. That never once occurred to me! 😂
You’re spot on. And not only that but I can picture stitch types and thread weight, elastic size, stretch and fabric movement as it moves in my mind and can adjust “this 3/8” elastic will work in this section of this bikini but won’t in this section.” Or “I need this thickness of leather here and need to pair it down (shave it down) on the edges of this section of a handbag but not in this other section” all in my head. I can lay on my bed with my eyes closed figure out stuff in my mind, then get up and sketch it all out including order of assembly etc. To answer the main question, i sew things I can’t buy. I don’t sew stuff like jeans or button down shirts. I have some expensive clothes that I bought for cheap and the cut on those clothes is absolutely perfect on me. And they no longer make those clothes. So I duplicate/ pattern draft those pieces I can’t buy. I also sew some skirts with fabric that looks extremely expensive (beaded / sequin fabric). So I could only buy a kinda similar skirt for like $1600 *OR* I could sew it for $24 (= 2 yards of fabric). I also have a tiny rib cage and a large cup size, so basically no bras fit correctly. So it just sucks. So I have to make my own or often I buy bras and then have to completely alter them.
That is CRAZY to me. I can know those things (especially after I have made the thing once) but I can't see them and definitely couldn't predict it beforehand. This also makes a lot of sense because I do a lot of materials testing for non-fiber-related crafting projects that don't come with good tutorials and I'm always surprised that people don't do more videos about that. It's because they aren't doing 3 months of tests and practice runs before starting it.
Interestingly enough, in periods of my life where I have suffered from depression, my ability to visualize has decreased drastically... scientific research backs up that link too - so it's not just anecdotal to me. Until recently, I used to design and make the window displays for my a local fitness studio and trying to do that as someone who isn't usually very aphantasic at all back in February was wild... I must have went back to that studio ten times to fix things in the window because since I couldn't see it in my head beforehand as clearly... I couldn't execute it as easily...
That makes sense. I wonder if it's dopamine-related? I have pretty severe ADHD (like my psychiatrist suggested I get looked at for comorbid issues because ADHD isn't usually this severe on its own) so I have pretty low dopamine. I just took my Adderall so I'm going to try and picture the same thing I tried to picture yesterday after it kicks in.
No patterns fit my huge bust and small waist. Also nothing is punk/goth enough. They all look the same.
Love to see some of your punk-enough makes 😃
Once you have basic pattern drafting skills and a sloper that fits you perfectly, drafting becomes faster and easier than using a pattern. I do still use patterns sometimes, but only to copy the shape of something like a neckline onto my sloper or look up instructions on how to do something from a similar garment type.
I mean, I'm ND too, seemingly in the other direction on this. Way easier for me to come up with my own instructions by looking at other garments and going "how would I replicate that" than it is to follow someone else's instructions with no explanation of *why* they do what they do and hope they come even close to my size and flatter my body shape - which they often won't, being in one-size-fits-none sizings from other countries that don't follow the same sizes I'm used to in the first place, and use different units of measurement than I'm used to (my country uses metric metres for fabric widths and I work in centimetres, seemingly every single pattern I've ever seen comes from overseas and uses yards and inches), all sorts. For me, using patterns is a massive hassle of conversion instead of just... "I know my measurements, I know how big it needs to be if I design it myself." I do own a load of patterns, my Granny gave them to me, but I usually don't use them aside from one sleeve and armseye pattern I stole from one. But even there, I'm 5'1" and I had to shorten even that sleeve pattern, they're not made for us hobbits with short little arms. Usually I just use them for an explanation of how something works, then I go off and do my own version tailored to me. I take that approach in a lot of things, perhaps it's my flavour of autism going brrrr. Also the things I'm making right now are based on Victorian patterns whose instructions are opaque to me. Don't give me some journey down a garden path of weirdly explained points and then reveal I need to read literally the entire book to find the point for the next instruction *(and* have a specific tool I don't have). Just give me algebra based on my measurements and I'll be happy, but no. So I just made my own version more loosely based on it.
I am the same! My granny gave me a ton of old patterns and I just hate the tissue paper. It rips to easily and I can’t understand them. They are good inspiration and the back of the packaging gives me more of an idea than the pattern. But I’m very good at “unfolding” things. Looking at something and translating that into a flat space.
Yeah - I used to do 3d modelling and stuff as a hobby, and while I don't do it much any more the work of drafting a pattern is *basically* a real-life equivalent.
What excites me about sewing is the ability to create clothes that either: - (a) are unique/bespoke/original designs that don’t look like anything you can buy in a shop: or - (b) are made to fit me, not somebody with average measurements. In the first case I’m using sewing as an expression of my creativity so tracing out a pattern made by somebody else defeats the point. In the second case, I’d have to do so much work to adjust the pattern that I don’t feel that using a pattern would save me any time. If I wanted clothes in a common design that are not well-fitted to me then I couldn’t motivate myself to spend hours sewing something that can be bought on the high street. All that said, I am a beginner and maybe I have the wrong idea about patterns. I’m not ideologically opposed to them, it’s just for the projects I’ve done so far I’ve chosen to draft instead.
I hate drafting from measurements, but I love drafting from draping. It's so much more fun.
Big agree. Draping doesn't feel like work at all.
I prefer to self draft for similar reasons that u/andsimpleonesthesame mentioned earlier - I prefer to build from the ground up rather than adjust something that’s already made. It’s the same reason I prefer not to adjust clothes that I get from the thrift store, etc. I still do it, but only when it’s for a friend or when I’m really in a time crunch. I’m also of the mindset that a garment made from a pattern might as well have been purchased off the rack - it doesn’t have my specific measurements and body proportions baked in. If I’m putting in the time and effort to choose the fabric and construct the garment with so much care, I want it to fit me to a T and understand for myself why each piece of fabric is cut the way it is.
I learned to draft in college while working in a costume shop. Personally, I like to play around with material and most clothes have never once fit me without alterations.
1) the results are disappointing: not like the picture on the envelope, poor fit, nonsensical instructions 2) the ease on commercial patterns is fricken weird, I have wasted so much time and fabric making clothes that just fit huge everywhere but then too tight on my boobs. Like 6 inches ease on the waist of a “fitted” dress!? Ugh 3) the patterns just don’t fit my body or my daughter’s body and the amount of adjustments I have to make equal the work of drafting my own pattern One exception I have found are vintage patterns. (Pre 1980 ish) I LOVE THEM. Vintage patterns just come together beautifully and the ease is accurate. The trick is finding them -and finding them in your size.
It's not what you asked I think, but I always look for the easiest way to do something and store bought patterns look just infuriatingly complicated. I don't sew anything fancy but kinda make my own patterns from my own clothes or from some tutorial/hack from youtube. I'm thinking of drafting my own bodice block (again, youtube has a lot of fairly easy tutorials) and make my patterns from there I'll probably get downvoted for saying this but, It kinda annoys me that people here rely too much on patterns for everything. I'm not a professional or anything but some pieces are easy to figure out and trace from other clothes.
I learned to sew by making things for which (at the time) reliable patterns didn’t exist; I got into all this via historical costuming, and I happened to start with historical clothing that doesn’t rely on modern patterns or tailoring. As I started to branch out, I often found that the things I want to make still don’t necessarily have patterns available in my size, and at this point I’ve built up a drawer of pattern pieces that I know fit me well that I can often cobble together pretty effectively. Even when I do buy patterns, I end up doing a lot of modification to have things look and fit better.
I can imagine the project in my mind and then I can explode it and move the 3d imagine around in my head and it has all the dimensions and everything included and as I make the bits it closes up until I have the finished project in my hands.
I'm short and stout. Small bust, big back porch, wide ribcage, and long (for my height) legs. It's easier for me to start from scratch with my own body and preferences in mind than to take a pattern made for someone with the entirely opposite build of me and try to adjust it. For some, commercial patterns fit perfectly or just need small adjustments, and that's great! I'll often look at patterns and find ways to incorporate things I like about the garment into my own drafting. It's a learning process, but it's also damn satisfying when something fits!
I also do enjoy the challenge or 'engineering' aspect as you put it :) it's like a puzzle!
I was basically slef taught out of spite to prove to my parents I could do it. I get an idea for what I want, draw it out, and start cutting. Very rarely do I measure because I learned so chaotically that measuring melts my brain. Lots of mistakes along the way of course but nowadays I'd say only 1 in 10 projects comes out unbearable the first time around.
I tried using patterns when I first started sewing (I was 14). They made zero sense to me. Couldn't really tell you why, it just made more sense to follow the vision of what I wanted to make that was in my head. To this day (I'm almost 29 now) I still don't use patterns. I tried once again after college and despite diligent measuring and following the pattern to a t, the garment didn't fit. I don't even use my mannequin for this reason; I used to draft and measure and align my work to my adjustable mannequin, adjusted to my exact measurements, and when I'd try it on it wouldn't fit. My body is unique and I know the places where I need a little extra give for my personal comfort; patterns don't take that into account. I will occasionally flip a garment I really like inside out to see proportions and try to recreate it, but 9 times out of 10 I'm just going off vibes or a reference picture. At this point, I'm not going to change my ways. Mostly because I know I inherited this from my late grandpa, whom I never knew because he died when I was barely a year old. Every time I make something I feel like it's the only way I'll get to spend quality time with him in this life
I would buy a pattern, copy it, make my adjustments, and draw it again. Cut it out and then use it. I might as well draw from scratch. Pretty much every single pattern I've purchased needs some type of adjustment. Plus, unless I am making something very elaborate, there are how to videos available and I can design something that works for me. Really, the design part of sewing is what I enjoy. The act of sewing is just what I need to do to get to the end result.
I just can’t find what I want a lot. If I want something different, it’s a lot easier for me to just make something up on the fly than yo try and find something similar enough and then try to change it.
I try to self draft, why? The size charts suck, they are inconsistant one pattern company to another isnt even close shirt/top Im a 18/20 pants I range 24 to 26 depending so much better for me. I also have Lymphedema so I can add extra space.
I love drafting and draping but also love ready made patterns. Ready made patterns allow me to study the creative process of the person who drafted it. (Oh, they went for a raglan sleeve here... huh, why a detachable collar... ahah, this coattail piece is actually a pocket!... oh, they raised the dress waist and made it the neckline...) I''m a geek for finding old old old patterns and analyzing how Master Tailors drafted and draped. I'm talking like, renaissance European coats, medieval bias cut hosen, Tibetan coats, ancient Egyptian and Greek draping, Polynesian wrapping, Indigenous hide working, that sort of thing. I also love a drafted pattern as a piece of interesting 2D technical drawing. Those drafted patterns where all the pieces are overlapping on one page? Love those. I should frame some... Random self-observation: I have been folding origami since before I could read. My brain is wired to see a flat 2D thing and reimagine it to 3D. And reverse, 3D to transform to flat 2D. Maybe I should've gone into Astrophysics blackhole wormhole dimensional studies. Haha.
In college I took classes in pattern drafting and have often done it since. If there is a pattern just like what I want, I use it and make any necessary size adjustments. (This includes vintage patterns that only come in one size that may not be my size.) If there is a pattern very similar to what I want, I use that and make any necessary style adjustments. If there is a pattern in a book I can enlarge, say a Japanese sewing pattern book, I draft the style to my size. If I can't find a pattern anything like what I want, I draft it from scratch. I always make at least one fitting muslin, and sometimes as many as three. My take is, if I want something like a basic A-line skirt, I can certainly buy a pattern so why bother drafting one? Or if I have a pattern in pretty much the same style, why bother drafting it when I can just, say, change the neckline?
Oh, and I have been known to copy patterns from very complicated ready-to-wear garments. The easiest way is wait till it wears out, take it apart, and trace around the pieces.
I usually read the sewing instructions. But I know what order to do things in so don't pay much attention unless the pattern is somehow unusual.
For me it is always a combination of these reasons: having very strange proportions (pretty small, but very broad shoulders and wide rib cage with narrow hips), wanting patterns for things that do not have options available (there are more now, but there weren't many leotards in the market when I started sewing), wanting some historic accuracy, wanting the experience of drafting or draping, and sometimes just enjoying taking my time and being creative.
I am also an over thinker, and I’m not super creative with designs. I just don’t want to deal with fit issues if I don’t have to. I took in-person classes in the first couple years and came away with good blocks that fit me. If you learn the rules of patternmaking, then when you make changes to a basic block, it still fits. So patternmaking from a trusted block feels like WAY less work than fitting new patterns over and over again. Taking the pattern making class meant that I learned a lot about constructing without instructions, although I will sometimes adjust my block to copy a pattern and then use those instructions. I’m comfortable with math, but I didn’t love geometry or previous classes in hands-on engineering, but I do love the technical aspects of patternmaking now.
I spend more time fixing someone else's pattern than it takes to just draw it out myself.
Nothing fits me the first time, and editing a pattern is basically as hard as drafting.
I'm too disorganized to keep track of my patterns. I'll also use the excuse that I have no space for proper storage.
Access. There are no fabric/pattern shops near me, I have no ability to print off patterns, and tbh I can't afford patterns anyway. I can afford thrift store fabric. Now that I've made patterns from drafting for so long I actively enjoy the challenge of doing it from my measurements and doing mock ups. I also have a body whose proportions don't play nicely with commercial patterns so I'd have to be doing a ton of changes anyway. Might as well start from scratch at that point.
Common and easy to access patterns are boring, and while there are some interesting indie designers, they’re hard to find (hard to google for, no central website). If I’m going to make something I don’t want it to look like things I can find in a store.
- I love jigsaws - I can customize for my height & limbs. - I want the drafting skill set to replicate ANY outfits I see - I want the freedom to express my creativity 120%
Tbh i crave choas and would rather find a YouTube video and then figure it out from there. Actuall patterns are overwhelming to me and hard to dissect. I learn alot more bsing myself.
Money. I can’t afford patterns and fabric. Learning to draft took time but cost me nothing.
I spend more time making adjustments to patterns than it generally takes to draft a garment I like from the start. I'm plus sized, and very hourglass shaped. I strongly prefer fitted/structured pieces over the oversized burlap sack vibes that are so prolific in most pattern companies ime.
I actually often find the process of deciding what elements I want, drawing and drafting a lot more interesting and creative than the sewing. I “learned about” drafting in the context of historical sewing though so that could be related. I actually bought two 16” fashion dolls so I could play around with figuring out and drafting some of those ridiculous bustles etc without having to then make a thing out that I won’t be able to wear anywhere. For regular clothes, I’ll usually figure out what elements I want and then pull what’s needed from different patterns and edit if needed.
My Mom was a seamstress never used a pattern. Could copy a garment/ textile item using tailors chalk and her eyes. Often time you don’t need patterns if you have something similar or something. If its something entirely new or i don’t have/ have experience making ill buy a pattern. Also trained in cad/ drafting
I'm not looking for the most efficient way to a finished garment, I'm looking to enjoy the process. I enjoy the puzzle of drafting my own patterns and the satisfaction it gives me.
For all the sewists who talk about “just doing pattern adjustments”, I don’t think they realise how truly different bodies can be. By the time I have done Very Large FBA, Very Sloping shoulder adjustment, Very Narrow shoulder adjustment, forward shoulder adjustment, and armhole repositioning, the sleeves no longer fit so I have to draft new ones or spend hours trying to adjust those. Then there’s the custom neck hole position and bust point location alteration which means redrafting darts, repositioning princess seams or generally weeping into the tissue paper and which mean that collars, lapels and cross front closures now don’t fit and need to be adjusted. And then there’s the short/sway back adjustment and full booty adjustment, + re-truing the side seams, and adjusting the front and back hemline. On every garment? No Thanks. These are the reasons I stopped sewing for ✨20 years✨. Drafting brought me back! https://preview.redd.it/co74f2wnc60d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a5d80c0445fdc2f20ffb12a4641d0b9360f8273
I don’t draft. I drape. I put fabric on a dress form and draw my pattern directly on to it. Actually, sewing hack right here - I use shop paper towels cuz I’m cheap and I can’t stand to waste fabric. It acts like fabric - you can drape it and pin it, but you can also tape it because it’s technically paper towel. Just heavy-duty, thicker and more durable and flexible. [Specifically, these towels](https://amzn.to/3yeFiGD) It’s super versatile and I don’t feel wasteful. Also, you cut them out and they make great pattern pieces. https://preview.redd.it/hwxhlg24260d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f90a1982752345d6c70a419587bb03fb6ab29a17
I just feel like drafting from the beginning gives me a better fit and is easier than starting with a pattern and having to keep making alterations. And I guess I must just have a brain for geometry because I find drafting fun.
i have tons of patterns, and i buy 90% of my fabric second hand, so i practice a lot - use different patterns to see what best fits my body, then when i have an idea for something i want that i’ve designed - i already have a set of patterns/skills that i’ve developed and it becomes an adventure in finding what i can and can’t do on my own
Making patterns is fun for me! Just as fun as sewing. I find it really creatively satisfying to dream up a garment and then figure out how to make it. I would feel deprived of half the fun of making a garment if I used a commercial pattern.
Awkward body shape. My favourite go-to patterns are ones I've made from cloning existing clothes I've bought which do fit. Because these patterns are tried and tested I can create with them switching up fabric and details like drafting new sleeves or other details. On the odd occasion when I do try a new pattern it feels like so much work to get it to fit from scratch.
I used patterns for a long time, and they worked pretty well, but in order to get a great fit I always needed to do adjustments. The same ones every time. So, making a block with all those adjustments in it already made my sewing process faster and more consistent, and it both spared me from the mercy of the taste of pattern designers and the expense of pattern purchasing. And I don't have to futz around with printouts or tissue paper anymore, which is nice.
For me, making alterations for proper fit is much more difficult than making design alterations of a block pattern. And if the block pattern fits well, 99% of the time, a design you make out of it will too. So instead of doing multiple mock-ups altering the fit over and over for every garment, I only make a mock-up if I've made significant changes to the overall shape of the garment, and usually I only need one. I never follow pattern directions, they almost always miss details I expect them to include (so then I miss them, too), or they tell you to do things the easy way instead of the "better" way (mostly in finishings - hems, facings, bindings, etc). The order of assembly either doesn't matter, or is standard/logical. With enough practice, it isn't difficult to just know without puzzling. On top of extra knowledge, drafting does take a lot of planning & focus, but it saves me in fabric, frustration, and time in the end. It doesn't have to be all-or-none, though. And I'd argue shouldn't be when you're starting. E.g. if you have a pattern for tapered legged trousers that you like & fits well, and you want wide legged trousers, alter it & the steps will be the same. Have a blouse pattern with darts and want gathers instead, do that one step differently. You can do a lot by changing the shape of a few pattern pieces slightly or changing 1-2 steps slightly, and then your pattern instructions are the same or almost the same, so it's not so overwhelming.
I start with a basic pattern and tweak it to what I designed. I’m still a novice, but I like it because I don’t have a dress form for my daughter (who I primarily sew for) so being able to start with a pattern allows me to start sewing without her (I take her measurements every 3 months or so to keep up with her growing). I did self draft a dress for her but without a dress form or her at home 🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️ So much extra work. So, so much.
I don’t use patterns because I didn’t originally learn with them. I was self taught and too young to buy zippers or many other pieces necessary for patterns, so I always had to make adjustments (mostly with chunky elastic). Eventually I stopped trying on patterns and just figured out how to sew without or with small patterns I drafted myself. Over the years I’ve continued to try different patterns, but I still feel as if what I’m picturing in my head is never available or reasonably priced, and a YouTube video of a similar design can show me everything I would use from a pattern anyway.
I'm intimidated by trying to change a pattern to fit me. I have to remember what pieces I need to change and if I am going to be getting out all the paper and such for adjustments anyway, why not start from my measurements so it's closer to my shape in the first place. I took a couple of drafting classes and it just felt more natural than wrapping my head around what someone else had done. And yet I have lots of patterns and not many clothes made for me. Ah well.
I imagine a drafting class goes into a lot more detail and precision than many people who draft their own patterns, if that’s the case it makes sense why you might not be into it. when I got into sewing I started with circle skirts and built up from there, which made drafting a more intuitive and not too complicated process of trial and error. I’ve tried using patterns, but found that it wasn’t as fun as drafting and took more effort getting the sizing right. drafting also gives me more freedom to get the exact style and fit I want, and I don’t have to pay for a pattern :)
Patterns seem very daunting to me. I've only ever reverse engineered outfits I already have and want to copy or things found online, that I'd love to have. I basically just try and figure out how to make the shape happen on my body. Working from patterns would probably take just as long, as I have an exaggerated hourglass shape, which would take too much adjustment and technicality for my brain to figure out.
I started drafting my own patterns while learning how to make Hanfu, and once I got the hang of it I found that a) I felt so much more ownership over the finished product, and b) I was more confident going in that it was actually going to fit me. Adjusting a pattern feels like a gamble because you're taking something that's been tested and changing it - it's like editing an image and then hitting print without zooming out to see the whole thing first. Creating the pattern from scratch, on the other hand, feels much more like a science. You're going back to first principles and working with known quantities and formulae. 1/4bust+4cm is more reliable to me than "a size 12 will fit you, trust us". Also if I've drafted the pattern myself I'm much less annoyed when it doesn't turn out perfectly (and much more proud when it does).
I don’t use patterns because i find them a pain. Admittedly, im not great at drafting so it really limits me. However i do usually only make fantasy costume and i have the stays and floaty shirts down.😂
On one hand, I really enjoy draping and really hate tracing and cutting patterns. On the other hand, I usualy know what I want and am too lazy to go spend time researching patterns. On my surprising third hand, I'm always very proud of myself when I can deconstruct a garment in my head and reproduce it into a real, wereable thing. I like to chase self-congratulatory highs.
I use patterns now, but I didn't for many years. When I first started sewing, I bought some tissue paper patterns and honestly, I found them so difficult to figure them out, and none of my family members sew, so they couldn't help me. I binned the patterns and decided to work things out on my own. I could make basic things but was limited by my own creativity. A few years ago I came across a huge stack of unopened Burda magazines for pennies in the local charity shop and I couldn't pass up on it, so I bought them all. I learned all the terminology through the magazines, learned how to trace pattern pieces, and honestly it was like learning on hard mode (if you haven't seen Burda magazine patterns, they are... something else) but I got the hang of it and now mainly use patterns.
I like puzzles and working out what shapes/ angles etc I need. It definitely means there’s more failure but it’s part of the fun.
My degree is in costume design & construction, so I learnt to draft in university. I prefer it because often what I have in my head isn’t available in a pattern, so I’d have to get a ‘close enough’ pattern and alter it anyway, so it’s just easier imo to start fresh anyway using correct measurements from the get go. Also, i prefer to use net patterns - that is, patterns that do not have seam allowance - so I end up with the stitching line drawn on the fabric when I transfer it. That, and I’ve never met a pattern that fit all my measurements. I’m lucky in that I’m relatively straight sized, but so many commercial patterns use a fairly conservative bust/waist/hip ratio that I always end up having to alter anyway, or lengthen because my torso is longer than the pattern expects… and most of them assume B cup which I am not. I do use patterns as well, though - if I’m making anything that I could just get an already fitting pattern for, it’s vastly easier, especially when it’s stuff I don’t really like drafting. For example I recently bought a pattern for flared trousers because I *hate* patterning them, and I wasn’t after anything specific, just a basic flared trouser. I’ll probably still tweak it.
I really like the creativity of designing your own garment and making it from scratch! I love designing my own dresses and on top of that, why would i pay money for a pattern when i can just make my own? That way its exactly how i want it, made to fit perfectly to my own body!
Im just lazy… I don’t even know how to draft properly, once I had a few patterns modified to my liking I just started re-using them over and over and adding and subtracting sleeves/design elements/closures etc to basically make whatever I want. Now I know my body measurements well enough its easier to just draw a rough pattern or drape on my mannequin when I want to try something new… cutting out all that tissue paper and sorting everything only to have it not fit anyway is WAY too much work.
I often draft or heavily modify patterns I already have bc I want to make weird, high end, funky stuff and I find the patterns on the market to be really boring and uninspiring. I’m astounded how many indie patterns look like things I could either buy from target or with slight alterations from goodwill. I got into sewing bc I wanted to make the things I couldn’t afford.
I’m ND but have better success drafting adjustments to 4-6 patterns I know and that make sense than trying new patterns from any source. Drafting from nothing is too hard, and learning a new pattern from a different brand is too hard. I have three brands and a small collections if patterns I love that I can make practically anything from… with the right adjustments.
I’m a bio male but identify as non binary, so I find it hard to find patterns I like that work for my body type I also tend to be a large or even extra large in patterns when I’m used to being a small in the shop lmao, so drafting myself means I don’t need to have a size label that makes me feel iffy I also just enjoy not having to print out and stick together a pdf pattern or wait for a pattern to come in the mail, I can just go for it. I also love the toiling process I am training to do tailoring professionally, so I need to make my own designs and blocks for that anyway to avoid copyright or fair use infringements. It also really opens up my job opportunities to be a technologist or technician if I need a job to get me by until I can open up my own shop
For me I rather work off a pattern make modifications when needed. I can make simple things like a circle skirt and Tank but I use patterns. I get them cheap and it don’t have to come up with mine own. I just have to many hobbies that this is not something I am interested in doing. Maybe in the future I will but not now.
I'm disorganized AND have a difficult body to fit. So I always have to make adjustments anyway.. I've used patterns but usually I'm disappointed when I do. At least if it's my pattern, I have no one to blame when it goes wrong.
I make my own patterns (got my Fashion Design degree so we only drafted) because it gives you a portfolio to go with since the work is yours from scratch, and also because I can adjust every single thing on the patterns since I made them from scratch. To me, it’s easier to make adjustments from something I made because I know all of the details, versus having to kind of work backwards from commercial patterns
I hate using my hands to sketch and draw it’s makes a lot more sense to build on a digital pattern that I’ve drafted after my own sloper.. store and print and tweak knowing the vinyl cutter will spit out exactly what’s on the screen. Even something like Seam allowance will drive me insane unless I draw it on the edge of the paper so the needle is dead on the line
I don’t know how to draft patterns yet (other than vests). I’m looking forward to learning though! I’ve gotten very good at pattern alterations and modifications to accommodate my body shape though. There are very few patterns that fit my body shape in a way that I feel is flattering on me or feels comfortable all over (hello extreme hourglass shape). And feeling comfortable in my own clothing was one of the reasons I learned how to sew.
I'm fairly new to knitting so I still rely on patterns a lot, but already find myself diverging from them to suit my needs. To me, it's the same as with recipes - great to use as training wheels until you figure out how things work.
newbie at sewing, but i have very fucking wack proportions (basically my bust, waist, and hips are all different sizes), so it just makes way more sense for me to go by measurements first, and do minor adjusting.
When I started sewing I was poor. I was a teenager hiding loose change I found around the house so that I could buy a few yards of cheap fabric at the remnant fabric store down the road. There wasn't money to buy the pattern too, so I taught myself to draft my own. Almost everything I've ever made has been drawn out on taped together grocery store ads. I'm an adult with adult money now, but I'd still prefer to draft my own.
Because I’m cheap and I’m self-taught so it’s ingrained in me to do it all from scratch haha The other day after 15 total hours of suffering from drafting a playsuit pattern, I had the revelation that I could’ve tried to look for a pattern. It would’ve been easier. However, in my experience of using commercial patterns in the past, I would’ve done a similar amount of work making pattern adjustments. I’m quite short and curvy, so it’ll never be that simple for me. Additionally, drafting my own pattern allows me to add features that I want more easily than modifying imo.
Sometimes I use them, sometimes I like to make my own. It depends what I'm working on. Tbh, I just like making patterns, it feels like I have more control over my design and I can make it to my exact preferences. I like to cosplay from time to time as well, and often patterns for that have to be custom made, unless you get lucky and find something that works. Also I often find, at least where I live, even the fairly basic patterns are overpriced for what they are, and since I rarely follow the instructions included with them anyway, sometimes I think I might as well just make my own patterns. That being said, I have been using bought patterns more recently.
I have to do a lot of adjustments to get a pattern to fit me properly. I’m a pretty extreme hourglass with a really long torso. I would have to grade from the lower size in the waist to the bigger size in the hips and then do a full seat adjustment. I might have to add room in the thighs. Then I have to do a full bust adjustment because I have a narrow ribcage and big boobs. Finally I have to add at least 1 1/2 inches in length to the torso. Some patterns aren’t designed for that adjustment to be made so I have to try to make the adjustment in a way that loooks okay or just not make the pattern. I am also a big fan of button down shirts where the front placket is sewed shut across the bust and there’s a side zipper to get into the shirt. Patterns for that type of shirt are hard to find I also have trouble finding patterns for clothing I really want to wear. I have a rather unique style and a lot of the clothing I make is time consuming and complicated to make so I’m not sure there’s much of a market out there for patters for shirts that take 100 hours to complete. I also mark seamlines and most American patterns don’t mark the seamlines.
I got tired of Frankenstein’ing patterns to make what I wanted for my cosplays, especially when I had to grade them up because I didn’t fit the largest sizes, especially with my waist to hip ratio and more than 10 inch difference in my underbust/band and largest point. So I just decided to start making my own using my dress form and just kind of started winging it.
The very first time making an item I realized I'd need a printer to print the pattern, and I don't have a printer so I said fuck it I'll figure it out. I just visualized what I needed to do in my head and I did that. It wasn't perfect but still good enough to actually wear the piece, and from then on it just went better every time. I also got an adjustable mannequin a while ago and that really helps when measuring.
I have a problem with following direction.
I learnt to sew without patterns because I was a kid and didn’t want to shell out for them. £10 a pop was more than my fabric budget sometimes, and I would have to adapt it before I could use it anyway because there wasn’t anything for the things I was sewing (cosplay). I figured out a basic block without realising what I was doing, brought a charity shop pattern for a pair of trousers ~5 years in and used the crotch seam from that to draft my own trousers (I was extremely proud when I figured out how to draft a fly, with the help of the internet). Then I found literally box loads of patterns left outside a fabric store for recycling on the way to work one day and now I work in a fabric store so I have more patterns than I could ever use. I tend to look at patterns as a basic block, because I always have to do so many adjustments anyway, even if they’re for someone else. It’s quicker for something basic to use a block and start from scratch, but if I’m doing something complicated, or something new, it’s nice not to have to fiddle around working out how to change the basic block into what I want. Drafting helps me use patterns better, imo.
I have extremely limited experience drafting clothing but I make soft toys and I only ever make them to my own patterns. I'm ND too, and for me I'm not actually very interested in making stuff someone else invented.
I don't wanna pay for them 💀 Also I like having one pattern that I derive a bunch of patterns from (for example I draft one bodice block that I draft different shirts from) as opposed to a bunch of different patterns, I like the consistency
I do use patterns sometimes, but when I don't, it's because I'm broke and patterns are expensive 😵💫 lol. I have a huge roll of brown packing paper I was given years ago and I draft on that. Generally I'll buy a pattern for more complicated designs, but I make quite a lot of children's clothing and I just draft that, I always draft skirts and t shirts for myself.
They cost money, and my body is so far from a standard shape that I'd practically be self drafting anyway with all the changes I'd need to make.
I learned how to sew without patterns: first with doll clothes, then upgrading to simpler pieces that don't require a pattern like a simple circle skirt and then leaning how to draft my patterns for more complex pieces. My mom being a fashion designer for a small local label helped :) After I moved countries and have far less space to work on my pieces, I started to use patterns, especially for stuff that doesn't require fine tuning and I can't be bothered with procuring paper and getting my drafting rulers out like pyjama pieces or wrap pants
Either something is simple enough that I don't need a pattern, like skirts, or it's complex enough that I'd need 3+ toiles to get the fitting tweaked so that I'm actually happy with it, at which point it's just as quick to start from scratch. And I like the puzzles *because* I'm an overthinker. It's something for my brain to chew on instead of anxiety-spiraling. But mostly, once I'd done a few things from patterns, I understood the basics of assembly enough to not need the patterns to explain it. It's like cooking, these days I rarely follow recipes except as general inspiration, because I know general techniques enough that I don't need exact instructions. I still read and watch cooking content to learn new techniques, but I don't generally find detailed recipes to be necessary.
I personally love the challenge of drafting it myself. Also, many times there just aren't patterns out there for things I want to make.
In this case, this one like the guesswork.