["CAN YOU MAKE ME A PATTERN?"]

This is one question I get all the time, so I thought I would explain a little bit about the patterning process, and why I can't just "make" someone a pattern. Hopefully this will help those who don't have their sewing/patterning skills up yet understand why this is, and also guide them to see what's involved if they want to look into becoming better pattern makers themselves.

The simple answer to can I just make you a pattern is, "No". First off, I spent years learning how to make patterns, first by experimentation, and then by getting a Bachelors Degree in Fashion Design. I spent a lot of time and money to learn to do this, and I'm not getting paid to make free patterns for people. The diagrams I provide are all I can offer. To me, when I hear, 'make a pattern', I think creating a fully fitted, tested, and functional paper pattern, which, of course, is not something that can just be whipped up, nor easily instructable over the internet. On my site, I provide (for some things, not all; usually replica costumes only) a basic drawing of the pattern pieces. This is not something you can just scale-up and be done with... this is meant to be a basic guideline to show you what the pattern shapes will look like to achieve the desired look. That is all I can provide over the internet. It is up to the seamstress to take my notes and observations, and use them to either create or modify an existing pattern. It's important for the seamstress to be honest with themselves, if they had never altered a pattern before, or sewn clothes for that matter, THE PROJECT MAY BE TOO DIFFICULT FOR YOU. If you think you can understand how to do it, by all means, give it a go; it's the only way to learn and develop. However, sewing skill IS required, and I cannot give a step-by-step sewing lesson over the internet. The best advice I can give to a seamstress (who has worked with a pattern before) is to find a pattern of similar shape and ALTER IT to fit their size and to be similarly shaped to my provided diagrams.

Note: *ALWAYS* make a muslin of what you are sewing, especcially if you are new to sewing and altering. A Muslin is when you make your garment out of cheap fabrics so you can test the fit, proportions, etc. Making muslins (sometimes you have to make many) is invaluable, as it helps you learn, and you don't waste your good fabric.

When creating your own, Patterning is generally done one of two ways, more often than not a combination of both: Draping and Drafting. Draping is when you take muslin fabric and pin it to your dressform and shape it into your pattern by pinning and cutting. Unless it's something like pants, I usually start by draping. This usually requires a dressform, so the other method is called Drafting; where you start by using measurements to pattern onto paper. For drafting, I recommend getting a book to show you how to do it. You can always do a little correction drafting to commercial patterns, which is what I recommend for beginners. This is as much detail as I will go to on this site. I highly recommend, now that you know the terms, to look up these terms in further detail (or better yet, buy and instruction book).

When asked to create a pattern, people ask me if I can 'just draw it up and put in measurements'. Each person's body is a unique shape and size, and garment fits are different. Best I can do is point out "this measurement is about waist to floor". This is a step you have to use your own skills of observation. RESEARCH. Gather pictures of the costumes you want to do. Observe how it fits their body, is it loose? Tight? Where do certain lines fall in relation to the body, such as, center chest, waist, mid-thigh, etc. When you are making your muslins, you will observe how your garment fits you, and compare it to pictures of the characters. When your pattern gets closer to perfect, you can do a muslin in a cheap fabric of a similar weight so you can be assured it hangs right (especcially useful with heavy/stiff fabrics). Does it move the same as the characters? Is it as long/short? Pay special attention to CLOSURES. MOVE in your muslin, make sure you can sit, cross/lift your arms, bend over, squat down?

Once your muslin fits you just the way you want it, finalize your pattern by making sure ALL seam lines are the same length exactly, and that everything matches up. Notch seams, mark Center Front/back, closures, hemlines, and for Sanity's Sake, don't forget seam allowances! This is all the advice I can give over the internet, and it's now up to YOU to do the legwork; the only way to learn is to do it! Happy Patterning!