Customer Reviews

Draping for Apparel Design (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is so beautifully illustrated, you hardly need to read a line. To me, draping is the most rewarding method of apparel design, in that what you see is what you get -- no sketching, drafting, sewing up a muslin, and then seeing the results. That is why I find this book to be the best of all popular draping texts on the market today. The instructions are clear, the book itself is clean and well laid out. The illustrations are flawless. You can follow the drawings and easily achieve the same results. There is so much clarity in the way the material is presented, it's easy to use, easy to understand, and easy to learn from. The quality of this book is similar to her pattern drafting book. I would recommend any book authored by Helen Joseph-Armstrong, as you will certainly get the best book on the subject. This book is absolutely delightful.

I wanted to wean myself off dependency on commercial patterns and having invested in a dress form, I came across this book. It's a bit pricey but it turns out that it's a fashion school text book, hence the price tag. The text is very well-written and illustrated. The author has the reader analyze a fashion drawing, and identify the structural components of a particular garment as most embellishments can be broken down to basic components (i.e. dart excesses).

My only peeve was that some definitions for terms I wasn't familiar with (e.g. Princess Line) couldn't be found in the back of the book. Also, not all the formats seen in fashion are portrayed in this book. Most, if not all, garment examples have a waist or empire seam, and designed for woven fabrics (no knits); and as far as I can tell, the author doesn't direct the reader/student on how to accomodate for that. However, I am happy that there is a section on bias-cut gowns (the info. is very hard to come by on the Net) As a self-taught sewer and wanna-be designer, this book will definitely help me to go to further.

This book is the text used in my draping class in college. The purpose of the book is to teach you how to manipulate woven fabric on a dress form. It covers the principles of draping fabric and the techniques for draping fabric properly. (Knits are covered briefly in a chapter at the end of the book, with several drapes for knits.)

This book will teach you how to drape fabric and then turn that drape into a paper pattern.

This is not a sewing book and this book won't teach you a thing about sewing. You need to have a basic knowledge of sewing in order to use this book.

This book is not written for the home sewer. There is no mention of commercial home-sewing patterns or explanations for how to modify them etc. For example, this book will not tell you how to turn a Vogue basic fitting pattern into an evening gown.

What you will get is detailed information on how to drape for almost every kind of imaginable design element found in today's garments. Here's a random sampling of some of the things this book will teach you how to drape: mandarin collars, cowl necks, cowl necks with pleats, tent dresses and tops, bustiers, bias cut evening gowns, drop shoulder sleeve, off shoulder design, surplice wrap bodices, french darts, darts with gathered legs, back cowls, raglan sleeves, notched lapel jackets, pants, swimsuits, leotards, jeans, flare overlays, halter bodices, circle skirts.

Each drape includes clear illustrations. The font is large and easy-to-read and the illustrations are large as well. This is helpful because you need to have the book open as you work and you need to refer to it frequently. (Think of this as a cookbook for fashion design.) Despite this, I and the students in my class, often have to call on our instructor to for additional guidance. Draping takes time and patience to master. It is not as easy as it looks on TV shows like Project Runway. This book is best used while under the tutelage of a pro who knows how to drape.

A note: many people think that draping involves playing around with fabric and that it's all about being "creative." There is plenty of math in this book and plenty of rules to follow (including the law of gravity). Draping is no less rigorous than architecture.

One reviewer called this book "inspirational." I'm not sure where that comes from. This book does not cheer lead or encourage you. It's a dry text book. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) The inspiration and motivation to drape needs to come from you and your instructor, if you have one.

I give this book only 3 stars because despite the exorbitant price the paper is cheap and thin. You can see the ink from a page's back and you can see through the paper to the page under it . For example, while looking at page 71, I can see the words printed on page 72 (in reverse, of course) and I can see the printing on page 73. Buy this book on sale or used. (Older editions will be just as good.)

The other reason this book gets low marks from me is that it has some serious typos. My instructor has found several. But only she can spot them. An amateur would not spot them as easily. The most egregious so far is on page 56, which shows how to draft a sleeve. If the instructions are followed as written, the sleeve will not come out correct. Several students drafted their sleeves incorrectly because they followed the book to the letter and were not paying attention when the instructor explained the typo.

A detailed, step by step guide for designing using the drape method. Easy to understand and also inspiriing. I wanted a way to create the designs I had in my head. This makes it so much clearer. A great resource to have.

This was the text for a college draping class I took. I appreciate that this book is mostly simple to follow. However, there were many instances in which all the classmates were left scratching their head, because the directions are not extremely detailed. Sometimes it will say to spread a fabric a certain direction, yet I wouldn't know whether to keep it there or undo it for another step.

In one instance, the first piece I draped was a bodice, and I followed the directions exactly. It seemed to hug my dressform perfectly. That was the problem, though. I didn't realize it was too tight until my instructor pointed it out; one of the steps included adding ease by measuring out a new point for the side seam. But it didn't emphasize that the reader needs to re-mark the side seam to this new line, so if you're following the directions to a T, you'll still get it wrong. In that way, it assumes you will know what to do and it can be very annoying.

Also whenever we were at a point in draping a garment, it was not very clear as to how to deal with the armhole/cutting away excess fabric properly. The photos and instructions would show the excess fabric on the form, then suddenly in the next step the armhole had been cut away without mention. It would say how to cut it away, but not how it should be done. Most of the time I just guessed, and it looked horrible. Also, if you're looking at instructions for a certain type of skirt, if there are "overlapping" directions, you will be instructed to reference a page that has general but not specific guidelines, so your questions aren't really answered.

For the price I'm very disappointed that it's not as useful for my purposes; nothing can replace learning from someone else directly. The only reason I'm holding onto it is that it does have great basic info, and ironically I want to try making the circle skirt which shows you how to make a flat pattern. And also, I'm taking another draping class and want to keep this as a reference for specific styles. If it's still not up to par I will resell it.

I agree with another reviewer that there are typos; I also drafted a sleeve using the instructions on page 51, and only got it right after looking at the picture for clarification instead of the text. Also another gripe is that there are charts for standard sizes to select which size your sleeve:6,8,10, etc(or other garment piece)should be made, but no size conversion chart if you didn't know the size already. Even though dress forms have the size stamped on them, the ones in our class all had a 26 inch waist! So in that way the sizes didn't help. For this kind of instruction they really should include a DVD as a necessary supplement. It's probably fine for home sewers, and for getting a 'taste' of draping, but not up to par if you're instructor leaves you to do the work yourself, without instruction, and expects professional work.

Really like this text. Lots of good illustrations, good technical instructions. I have her flat pattern book, too, and like both as good solid reference and teaching books. I've learned a lot from these books.

Excellent book about drapping and worth to buy especially for the beginner who learn how to modify your basic pattern, it would be better if in the next edition shown how to modify the pattern more specifically, with measurement sample.

This is a great book. Going into level III draping I will continue to use this book as a guide when I forget some of those key instructions. Defintely a book to hold on to and refer back to every now and again.

I've been waiting to purchase this book for quite a while...... and it was worth the wait.
It's packed with numerous projects, detailed instructions, and clear illustrations to help you visualize the process.
A timeless resource for all clothing enthusiasts.

Cardmaking has drawn me away from sewing for some time and it is because of a lack of good advanced reference books available for pattenmaking and sewing for home sewers. I love to design, this book has opened my creative process up again and inspired me to return to pattern making. This book is not for a begining pattern maker or seamstress. You can learn from it but it will overwhelm you. I am still in the process of reading and learninig what the book has to offer. For the price I believe it will meet my needs at least for a while and allow me the freedom to recreate some of the fashions I love in the expensive catalogs I can't afford to buy nor want to.

As I work through the book and put it the test I will be in a better place to review how great the information is and how well one can use it. As in any craft, your ability to take a material and do something fabulous is often a matter of the work invovled, putting the time and energy into the process, and having access to the great materials.

Scrapbooking and paper crafting has exploded with great products but the seamstress must dig hard to find the products that will bring awe and a great finished product. This has not changed as I have been in and out of many fabric shops recentley looking for fabrics. But the internet certainly has a lot to offer in fabrics provided you know what you want and are willing to buy sight unseen which comes with a whole other set of complications to deal with. Women like Martha Pullen keep the craft of sewing fresh and inspiring. I was excited to find this book and didn't think twice about investing the money. The book was everything I was seeking and so much more. jnetti.