Customer Reviews

Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Length:: 1:56 Mins

I bought this book for two reasons:
1. I was tired of store bought patterns not keeping up with fashion trends.
2. I wanted to learn pattern making for a better fit.

This book goes into good detail without getting too technical and overwhelming. The book is organized into 3 parts with an additional section on Making Patterns from Existing Clothes.

An interesting fact about the author:
Cal Patch was a clothing designer for Urban Outfitters and Free People before creating her own label.

**I did a video review so others could get a better peak of "what's inside the book"**

This is a great book if you have a very small bust eg B cup or less. The author doesn't tell you how to add a bust dart to the shirt if you need one . The only bust darts mentioned are for the dress with straps and it doesn't tell you how to add darts accurately, just by folding fabric on the figure.

Picked this up at the library, and I HAVE TO BUY IT! I have never seen a tutorial so easy to understand, so well-done, very nice photos, CURRENT styles, and easy enough for me to attempt with my <very basic> pattern-reading and sewing skills. In fact, if you never design a piece yourself, you will finally understand everything about how commercial patterns are fitted, and how to adjust ill-fitting patterns to your own body. Reading her book is like taking a college course, and you get to keep it as a reference. I am so inspired to make my own clothes, and feel like, although she mentions for the intermediate sewer, following her book might be easier than other methods. There are good books out there, but most styles are so definitely "dated." You will love this book!

I totally loved this book! The day I got it in the mail I read half of it! If you ever wanted to design your own clothing, or just make your own clothes so that they really fit YOU and not some mannequin or model, then this is for you! I learned so much from this book, I hope she does a sequel! She teaches you how to take your own body measurements (or someone else's if you want to create a pattern for them) and actually draft your own skirt, T, button up shirt, pants and dress! A pattern that will FIT you because it was designed for you!! She also shows you how to do variations on each pattern for different style elements. Once she shows you how to do a certain variation you can use this knowledge to then not only do what she did, but to come up with your own ideas and styles. Once I finished the book I wished there was another one! I'd love some drafting info for men! No darts! Also would be nice if she had a second volume that went into a little more complex designing. I can't recommend this book enough; if you want to design your own clothing that is tailor fit to you. I believe it is the next best thing to a college class on pattern making.

I bought this book because of the reviews. I am a little disappointed. One reviewer stated that the patterns in the book were created for women with "stick figures". Her other comment was that these patterns were not for "real women". Though these phrases are unfortunate and hurtful to some, I do understand what she meant. If your body is in the least matronly, these patterns will not work for you. While it is true that they are based on your measurements, that is not the whole picture. Cal is very talented and that does come through in the book, but most of us matronly gals need patterns that are finely tuned to our own bodies. A pattern that has the back of the garment cut from the front pattern will just not work for us. Usually our fronts are much bigger than our backs. Another thing that Cal does not take into consideration is bust point location. (Hence, no darts). Possibly one can add the bust point location themselves, but in Cal's patterns, it wouldn't make any difference.
I suppose we of this figure type will have to rely on Kathleen Cheethams' patterns (Petite Plus) and add lenth if we need it, or go to one of the more in depth tutorials on patternmaking.
I gave the book 4 stars because there is a wealth of information here on pattern variation that would work for anyone. Once you have a pattern that fits, there are so many things that can be done with it to construct other garments. So, though the patterns themselves won't work for me, the book is a keeper.

Ok the hype around this book does not match the content. I am a fairly capable sewist. I am a visual learner and there are so few illustrations to that show how to actually design the clothing. Sentence after sentence of written instruction with no image to go with. The clothes are cute for sure but anyone with a full bust or bigger than a 12 will likely be sorely disappointed. As most of the clothes lack much in shaping. The one thing that I could get out of the book was about the slash and spread method and pattern adjustment for gathering. This book is just another in the line of hip sewing books that just seem to lack a lot in the way of technical details.

There are many sewing-related books currently being published to appeal to a young demographic that has not learned about sewing or pattern making in school. Some offer easy projects that can be (supposedly) done in a weekend, or a day, or that use one yard or one piece of fabric. Others have patterns included, in a limited range of sizes that may not work for you. All of these approaches have their merits, but this book offers so much more. You can learn to create a pattern to fit your exact figure, and use it to create stylish clothing that is not difficult to sew. This book gives clear instructions for creating basic clothing patterns drafted to an person's individual body measurements. There are no patterns included with the book, and no "sizes". The patterns you create are completely custom-drafted. You can sew for yourself, or use this method to create patterns to fit other people. (In fact, the author encourages her readers to use their new pattern-making knowledge to create original designs that they can market).
There are excellent instructions for taking a complete -and I do mean complete - set of body measurements. Be sure to do this exactly as intructed, and don't be tempted to skip this part or take fewer measurements! Taking measurements is probably the hardest part of the whole project, but once that is done you will find everything else much easier. After you have made and tested the first pattern,there are further instructions for modifiying the basic pattern to create various styles. The book includes simple sewing instructions, and all of the sample garments in the book can be made using a basic home sewing machine and ordinary materials and notions that you can find in any sewing store. (Experienced sewers can just substitute whatever methods they normally prefer). Amazingly, the author makes this entire process completely understandable, by using plain non-technical language. I learned pattern-drafting many years ago from more traditional books. I wish I had started with this one! The only negative is that all garments are modelled by young women with pre-pubescent non-curvy figures. However, don't assume that this book can only be used to create clothes for flat and hipless figures. The process of measuring and drafting will work for anyone as long as the measurements are taken honestly and accurately. This book could actually be very useful for older women, whose figures don't conform to ready-to-wear sizing or to commercial patterns any more. (Note that women with adult curves will probably want to learn how to add bust darts or extra fitting ease, if they have not already done so).

I REALLY wanted to like this book. It came so highly recommended by so many bloggers and friends. But it has left me disappointed. I guess the directions are easy enough to understand. But to a visual person, such as myself, I would really like at least some pencil drawing steps in the sewing of the garment - not just words. Secondly, the clothes are boooooring. Seriously, do I need to sew my own t-shirts??!? sorry, but I can get those for $6.99 at Target. I would like to have seen some more interesting ideas that inspire me.

In one of the other reviews (that gave me hope when I ordered the book) that the clothes on the cover are not indicative of the style of all the patterns in the book. Nope, sorry. Those are actually the cuter pieces.

So, if you want really basic style starter pieces in your wardrobe, go ahead and get this book. If you are trying to find something a bit more creative....skip this one. Just so you know that I'm not a total Debbie-Downer, check out "Sew What Skirts" by Francesca Denhartog - that's a great, fun sewingSew What! Skirts: 16 Simple Styles You Can Make with Fabulous Fabrics book!

I got this book for Christmas and am very pleased with the clear directions and pictures for drafting your own patterns. I would consider myself an early intermediate sewer--can sew from basic patterns but nothing too complicated! Upon opening this book, I was pretty excited to see the instructions were something I definitely could do. Imagine creating your own patterns based upon your own size and then creating variations of these basic patterns to build your skills and wardrobe! Granted, none of these are super complicated pieces of clothing and I don't think I would be ready for this, but for someone who has never drafted patterns before, it looks like the instructions are clear and easy to follow. Yes, there's math and measuring, but if you go slow enough, it doesn't seem that complicated.
I have another vintage book that teaches the same things that I have compared this book to---Dorothy Moore's pattern drafting and dressmaking. I would suggest getting this on ebay (I saw it in a few places for under $20) as it goes into a bit more detail and has many more sleeve variations and troubleshooting in blouses for large busts, droopy shoulders, back humps, etc...
As I teach myself pattern drafting (New Years resolution/project!), I definitely will use Cal Patch's book as my main textbook, and the dorothy moore for more detailed backup. I hope this helps!

I got this book last night and, after reading through it, could barely sleep for all the design ideas buzzing around in my head! Cal Patch takes something that I thought would be extremely difficult and explains it in an almost conversational way that is extremely concise. She is a pro at simplifying the material, and I especially loved how she made it accessible. She gives alternative to certain materials that other guides may deem absolutely necessary, which is nice because not having, for example, a roll of pattern-drafting paper doesn't prohibit you from starting a project.
I can't rave enough about this book- the extremely useful guide to rubbing off patterns from existing clothes at the end of the book was just the cherry on top of the sundae!