Internet Angel

An internet angel visited me, via email. Lori A. Knowles, author of The Practical Guide to Patternmaking for Fashion Designers: Menswear (known on this blog as Patternmaking: Menswear) sent me a long email with encouragement and some numbers to help me with my draft. The armscye is now in a wearable position. Thanks, Lori!

The Measure of a Man

Taking the measure of a man has long intrigued society. 

"The measure of a man is what he does with power." Plato

"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." Ann Landers

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Martin Luther King

Today I took the measure of a man - 53 of them to be precise. From marking key torso locations to rechecking the calculations, it took the better part of an hour. During that time, I was given the opportunity to take, as well, the philosophical measure of the man, my son. I'm proud to say, he's no whiner or complainer. Not once did he indicate he was uncomfortable, bored or self-conscious and I know he was all three. How could he not be? 

This bodes well for the project. A patient, pleasant client  is so much easier to work with. Especially if it's your son.

Back to the numerical measurements, which is what this blog post is really about....

The Practical Guide to Patternmaking: Menswear by Lori A. Knowles asks for 53 measurements. Ugh. So many. 

My kinder side thinks the system is very thorough. The grumpier side wonders how many of them are going to be a waste of time. In her fabulously detailed size charts, Lori Knowles lists a mere 27 measurement. When I'm drafting the patterns, I'm going to put a dot beside every new measurement I use and see if all 53 I took are used by the end of the book. 

Finding the physical landmarks on the body is a challenge, and it's nerve-wracking to know the success of the pattern draft depends upon getting them right. Where the heck is the shoulder point? Lucky is the person with bony shoulders and a clearly visible bump. What about the side seam? God didn't sew us up, so there isn't one; the poor person measuring has to take their best guess. Same with the waist; some people may have a definitive indent but lots don't (me included!). Chest, knee, ankle, elbow - those I had better luck with.

I marked my son's skin and clothes with washable markers, elastic, and chalk-o-liner, and looped a chain around his neck. By the end of the session, he looked like a toddler who'd gotten into the craft drawer and played with all the supplies. Sorry, no photos - you'll have to use your imagination.

Originally I'd planned to take both the imperial and metric measurements to keep my options open. Last night I decided to work primarily with Lori Knowles' book so I dispensed with the metric measurements. If they prove necessary, I'll torture my son with another measuring session some other time.

Tomorrow I'll inch (bad pun!) my way into the torso pattern draft.

                     - Lady T

Pattern drafting: Menswear

Mail's in! The menswear pattern drafting books I ordered have arrived. 

I bought two: Metric Pattern Cutting for Menswear by Winifred Aldrich, and The Practical Guide to Patternmaking for Fashion Designers: Menswear by Lori A. Knowles. 

Both have fabulous reviews online. But I couldn't figure which one to purchase without holding them in my hands and flipping through them, so I ordered both. Overkill maybe, but I like options. I'm about to invest hundreds of hours learning a new skill <gulp!>, so I wanted to pick my teacher(s) carefully. The reviews did not lie; both books are excellent. 

Metric Pattern Cutting for Menswear (henceforth called Metric Pattern Cutting) is from the UK, and as the title suggests, the measurements are taken in metric. As I'm Canadian, I'm used to working in metric, so this doesn't faze me. The Practical Guide to Patternmaking for Fashion Designers: Menswear (abbreviated to Patternmaking: Menswear) hails from the USA and its measurements are imperial. I'm old enough to have been taught feet and inches in school before the big metric measurement conversion in Canada, so I'm happy working in either system.

Both books have handy standard sizing charts. In Metric Pattern Cutting, there are charts for sizes UK 87-112 (US 34-44), with separate charts for young athletic figures and for mature figures. There's also a collar size chart, another that combines pants and overgarments (coats) (which I thought was an odd combo), and yet another for standard small, medium, large and extra large sizing. Finally, there is an adjustment chart for short (163-170cm/5'4" - 5'7") or tall (183-190cm/6'-6'3") figures giving the amount you need to decrease or increase in key locations. Lots and lots of charts that are basically presenting the same measurement but using different defining criteria.

Patternmaking: Menswear also has excellent charts. They have separate standardized charts for men's Regular (5'10") in sizes 34R-54R, Short (5'6") in sizes 32S-52S, and Tall (6'2") in sizes 36T-56T. The last one made me do that happy dance because that's my Big Guy's chart, which I've never found before. As well, Patternmaking: Menswear has tables for crotch extensions, hem widths, knee widths, crotch curves and arm measurements for sizes 32-54/56. There is also a short section on how to proportion the design sketches to fit taller/shorter men. Personally, I found these charts more useful for my purposes because they include my son's measurements.

A big difference between the two books is the number of basic blocks that are drafted from measurements. Metric Pattern Cutting has lots, based on garment types. For the upper torso, these are the basic garment blocks: the "flat" shirt block, the "flat"" overgarment block, the tee shirt/knitwear block, jersey overgarment block, classic shirt block, tailored shirt block, casual shirt block, basic jacket block, easy fitting casual jacket block, easy fitting overgarment block. Each block is drafted from scratch using measurements. For some blocks, you should have separately drafted sub-blocks for fitted, semi-fitted, and loose fitting garments. No doubt once done these drafts would make it super easy to whip up new designs in their categories. I've read that professional pattern makers usually start with garment blocks (like those listed above) when designing. But that's a lot of blocks....

Patternmaking Menswear drafts only 3 basic blocks from measurements: the upper body block, the fitted sleeve block, and the trouser block. Chapter 3 focuses on drafting and perfecting these three simple drafts. The rest of the book is devoted to how to use these basic blocks to design fashion garments including shirts (Chpt 4), vests (Chpt 5), pants (Chpt 6), jackets and coats (Chpt 7), and linings (Chpt 8). The basic blocks are altered to make the new patterns - sections are lowered, raised, widened, narrowed, etc and the finished pattern looks significantly different from the original basic block.

Both systems include basic wearing ease. Metric Pattern Cutting includes 1cm (3/8") seam allowances in its drafts, Patternmaking: Menswear does not include seam allowances. Both books are well written and easy to understand. Both include lots of garment drafts. An extra perk with Patternmaking: Menswear is the book's binding; inside the hard cover is a spiral coil, allowing the book to lie flat. 

I've been debating with myself about which book to use. I thought the best choice would be obvious, but it's not. 

I love the size charts in Patternmaking: Menswear and the speed of drafting just three basic patterns, then using them as the base for all other patterns. But is it too easy? Will it give good results?

Metric Pattern Cutting is more complex - numerous garment drafts, all done from measurements. I can see the value of doing it this way for a manufacturing company, but is it more work than is necessary when making patterns for one specific person? Part of me suspects the garment block system may end up with a superior product. I love high quality.

Sigh. Which one, which one?

My son comes in tomorrow to be measured. I'll take both sets of measurements, metric and imperial, as specified in each book. Then I'll make my final decision. Right now, I'm leaning towards the KISS (Keep It Simple, Sister) philosophy. 

Any thoughts? 

Attempting Something New

Tall Boy wearing muslin #2b

In December, Tall Boy asked me to make him a zippered fleecy. He wanted one to wear under his gear, so he wouldn't turn into a block of ice during his day-long games of Airsoft. 

Sounds like a simple project, doesn't it?

Problem is Tall Boy is so tall, he doesn't fit standard patterns. They don't even come close. To get an idea of his size, look at the nearest doorway. He would completely fill it. Mosquitoes would have a hard time squeezing through the tiny slivers of space between him and the frame. He's tall (hence his name), but pattern-wise he's even taller than he seems because all of his height is in his body, not his legs. His inseam is only 31" (same as mine!). All the rest is torso.

Knowing there wasn't a commercial pattern available, I tried to make one by cloning a sweatshirt he often wears. (Fortunately he can buy clothes in his size, even if I can't purchase patterns.) I traced, guessed, measured, and guessed some more, and finally came up with a pattern. Fortunately the local fabric store had a sale on fleece and I bought a whole bunch.

Muslin #1 went on his body. Yay! But it wasn't attractive, nor was it comfortable. It was full of grafted pieces. The armscye looked awkward. And the back was just plain wrong. My cloned pattern was a dismal failure.

So I thought. And thought. And thought. 

For Muslin #2, I took the largest sweatshirt pattern I could find and expanded it. The upper chest was much too short, so I lengthened it, front and back. Unfortunately, I couldn't just expand the sleeve head, so I redrafted the sleeve pattern completely. As I worked my way through, I tried to take what was right about Muslin #1 and morph it into the second rendition.

It turns out I added too much extra length in the upper chest and expanded the side side-seams too much width. After hemming and hawing, I recut the pieces then sewed it together one final time for Muslin 2b, which you see in the photo at the top. It's better... but not great.

I decided I need to get serious about learning pattern-making. I've dabbled in it before, enough to realize it's challenging work that takes oodles of time, patience and muslin. When sewing for myself, I found starting with a purchased pattern was so much easier, even with alterations. 

But Tall Boy does not even come close to fitting into commercial patterns. I need a better solution. It's time to take the plunge.

Teacher's Pets

To really learn a subject, you should teach it.

Isn’t that how the saying goes? I agree wholeheartedly! I learn more every time I teach. Somehow the sharing of information generates more knowledge. It’s magical.

I’ve taught a few sewing classes recently, and I thought I’d share the fun with you.

The lovely NM who helped me cut out 8 kits

A couple of Saturdays ago, I taught One Shirt, Two Ways to eight of my fellow Sewing Guild members. The idea was to construct a sample shirt, with each side sewn with different techniques – two different sleeve plackets, two different collars, two different ways to make pockets, etc. A rather ambitious goal for a 6-hr class, and as it turns out too ambitious, as we didn’t finish to my everlasting dismay. (Note to self: two-day class next time.)

JP likes sewing it this way!

MB assessing this method

Fun for me, as teacher, was listening to the comments the students made as they tried each method. Some adored the new technique and laughed with glee, while other abhorred it and thought I was some kind of sewing sadist for teaching it. Same technique, two opposite reactions. Just proves the point that finding a technique that gives you the results you want without driving you crazy is the key to happy sewing.

SC inserting her green zipper into 8-gore skirt

Occasionally I teach private lessons. These classes are student lead and follow their agenda. This really keeps me on my toes, and I often have to rethink how I do something. Take zippers – they no longer match the dominant colour of the fabric and hide discretely inside a garment.

Recently, SC and I tackled pattern drafting. She’s a woman with distinct ideas of how things should look, and what better way to make that happen than by making your own pattern! For our first project, we made an 8-gore skirt using this draft from The Weekend Designer. Hers rides low on her abdomen, mine hits the waist. Guess which one of us has the mid-thigh length, and which one’s goes down to the knee? Here she is, hard at work. (We swap and she becomes teacher for piano lessons.)

Little T's first sewing lesson

Let's end today's blog entry with one of my favourite students, Little T, having his first lesson. Last year, when he was fussing as only a newborn can, Little T and I would wander over to this splendid piece of machinery (Husqvarna/Viking 6440) and discuss its finer points. He was riveted and it never failed to change the mood. I promised him when he was a little bigger, I would show him all its wonders, and here we are! As you can see, he loved the up-and-down motion of the thread uptake level. I think it'll take a few more lessons before he can be an independent sewist, don't you?

     - Lady T