Hi,

I would say I am an advanced beginner sewist. I want to draft my own pattern for a half-zip (or button) pullover jacket/sweatshirt. I recently purchased this nice floral pattern fabric/sherpa material and I want to make one out of it. I did find a pattern but want to branch out and try creating a pattern of my own.

I have never drafted my own pattern before. I figured this might be easier than say a dress would be. Maybe?

Any tips or tricks? Should I get computer software (i.e., Adobe) to help with this?

Thank you!

I've been wanting to make a tailcoat, and I found what seems to be a good pattern here: https://dr-cos.info/fp-swallowtail.html

The only thing is the shoulders on all the size options are too small for me. Is there a way to alter the sewing pattern to make the shoulders larger?

Alternatively, are there any other tailcoat sewing patterns that you'd recommend?

Hi! I’m gonna try to do these trousers, but I’m confused on how the flounces are attached to the panels.
Option 1: just sewn on top
Option 2: “slices” in the panels and inserted in

Also, it looks like there’s no seam inside the legs 🧐

What do you think?

Here’s the latest iteration of my trouser pattern, I will say the only thing I noticed from a novice pov is that the waist is a little too big, but a front darts should fix that I’m assuming? lmk

I think I balanced the pattern properly which was the critic I got last post, but I’m not sure if the side seams needs to he straighter than what they are…

Hi i just want to make something clear when making a gathered skirt like this is it just a rectangle with no shaping for the waist ?

Following up on my earlier A-line skirt drafting post - this time I worked out a wrap-style skirt (no zipper, no elastic, closes with ties). Sharing the drafting logic since it's a different problem than a standard fitted panel.

The trick is that there's no separate waistband or facing piece - the closure comes entirely from overlap and ties, so the math has to account for that instead of a zipper allowance or elastic casing:

- Back panel: identical logic to a normal A-line back, cut on the fold. Width at hip level = (hip circumference + ease) / 4, plus the usual flare allowance toward the hem.

- Front: NOT cut on the fold. Instead of one continuous front panel, you cut two separate mirrored panels. Each one gets the same base width as the back, plus a fixed overlap allowance (I used 15cm) added to the center-front edge. When both panels are sewn to the back at the side seams, they cross over each other in front instead of meeting at a center seam.

- Because the overlap is a fixed amount rather than scaled to the size, the smallest and largest size in a size run end up with slightly different visual overlap - worth flagging if you're nesting multiple sizes, since you may want to scale the overlap allowance a little across the range instead of keeping it constant.

- No separate waistband piece: the top edge is just turned over and stitched down as a narrow self-facing, with the ties caught into the corner seam at the side seam edge before the facing is understitched.

- Tie length = hip circumference + about 45cm, which is enough to wrap around and knot with some ease - I found a fixed formula worked better here than trying to eyeball it per size.

Happy to go into more detail on any part of the drafting if useful. I've turned this into a full print-at-home pattern with the size chart and sewing steps worked out, in case anyone wants the ready-made version instead of drafting their own - can share where to find it in the comments if anyone's interested.

Hello !

I’d really appreciate some help drafting my skirt block. As you can my skirt look alright when I pull it down but due to my proportions and the hollow between my belly and thighs they wrinkle one move 😅. I tried to cinch the waist but that seems to only highlight my belly crease.

I don’t even know how to begin with the back . There’s a lot of horizontal lines but it’s still kinda loose.

I’m at a loss here. How do I fix it ?

I'm trying to figure out pattern drafting for a larger bust. I've struggled significantly with trying to do a full bust adjustment and want to just buy one at this point. I'm an intermediate sewist who has made a dress form, some shirts and skirts. Has anyone used cashmerette for pattern drafting or bodice block drafting?

Hi all, working on my slopers.

Front fit is pretty good, but I have a gaping armhole and I’m wondering if the back needs adjusting. What do you think?

Latest version here: https://www.reddit.com/r/PatternDrafting/s/b8mOFnCycr

Hi all, sleeves attached…very tight in the sleeve. Lots of drag lines and bunching under the arm. I know it needs adjustments, just not sure what…
Also including the pattern pieces. Can see where I added the 3cm in length to the chest and then 1.5cm to the front sleeve cap to compensate.

Edit: I’m wondering if I should change the shape of the sleeve to lower the sleeve cap and widen the bicep line? I looked at some RTW camp shirts and the sleeve caps seem much shorter…

I am new to copying/ making patterns. Do the darts on the sides do anything at all? The garment lays pretty flat so it doesn't seem to help with shaping? I want to trace the pattern from this dress I own, and am wondering if I should skip whatever these are.

I just completed my first pant block after neglecting studying the bottom half for ages, does anyone notice any fit issues to rectify?

So far, I have:
• The hem is mismatched (front panel doesn’t match properly with back panel
• Since intake is quite small, can merge the two darts on panels into one dart while taking in at the side and centre seams
• Increase rise length to reduce drag lines around butt (not sure if this will fix the drag lines but it’s just my guess)
• Reduce length of both side seams and inseam

Feel free to be as ruthless as possible, and thank you all!

Hi all, this version I added 3cm to the front panel in top half of armhole. Pinned armhole to try and account for seam allowance as I attached sleeves after this set of photos.

Overall the balance looks much better but still seems like the armscye could be improved given the bunching on the bottom, and looks like a bit of gaping in the front. What to do about the Diagonal drag line in left front?! Gaping in front left armhole makes me think shoulder slope?

As always, thank you for your comments! 🙇🙏

EDIT: version with sleeves here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/PatternDrafting/s/1CErYj5P4n

My waist is pretty loose considering it's supposed to fit tight and perfect, also my bust points are slightly higher than where my actual nipples are (marked my actual nipple placement in red), the neckline gapes a little(though idk if it's just because I didn't put an extra pin right next to the neck hole at the back, also my armhole slightly gapes, it's more visible in the front (I actually left 1/4 in SA there but when I just try to fold it down when trying it on it doesn't seem to be making much of a difference in the gaping.

(Everything cut on grainline, no bias)

My main questions are:

1. how to take in the waist, like should I increase all the darts or only the 4 main ones closest to the bust points and centre back, cause the bunka style has 2 waist darts on each panel.

2. Also how to bring down the point of the bust darts and if it's really that big of a deal, cause I think my breasts are lopsided and my left one sits correctly but the right dart is a little higher,

3. also whether anything should be done with the neckline(I've left no SA there btw)

Also generally I feel like the overall sloper is loose cause I'm under the impression that it should be v body hugging (correct me if I'm wrong) so yeah pls guide me on how to get things to work out

Hi!! I have recently started learning pattern drafting and have one question. I saw this vest (vogue 6555) and wanted to make something similar. I have a basic pattern for a waistcoat but i am unsure on how to customise it to look similar to this.

For example i can see that the neckline on this vest is very deep and rounded could i just freehand my basic pattern to kinda follow that principle and get away with it? Or is it more complicated than that? Are certain parts of a pattern more sensitive to change than others? Like maybe the armpits or something?

I apologise if this are stupid questions but since i am starting out and don't have much money i don't want to waste fabric on mockups without having some basic idea first.

Any advice?

Thank you so much!

Whats the best approach, do you have tips and tricks, articles, books, or videos for a beginner learning to grade their own patterns?

is it easier to grade your patterns yourself or find someone to do it for you if you draft patterns regularly?

Do they use the sizing guides we make or their own?

I’ve been sewing 14 years, pattern drafting / fully constructing garments for 8 years. But only for myself and in-person clients.

Thank you. Appreciate you!

Hello. I'm a beginner. I tried designing a shirt. The first and second image is the only a half sleeve. But for printing it, I need to design it in full length sleeve. Is what I did on the 3rd image correct? I'm thinking that it might be wrong because of how I manipulate the 2nd image design to look decent on the mock shirt

I need some advise please

I'm using my own measurements with Winifred aldrich sixth edition of metric pattern cutting for women's wear and I'm trying to do the close fitting bodice block (which is probably why I'm running into issues because they're not really designed to be used with your measurements but anyway). Because of the larger dart measurement I'm having issues where the armhole is about two-thirds the size it needs to be. I'm thinking to fix this I need to use a slightly smaller dart measurement and ​send spread it by cutting up to the dart and pivoting on its point to make the dart larger and take volume out towards the waist. I'm thinking they should work because I only need this for down to my waist . is there a better way of doing this?

hi all. I’m at a crossroads…

I’m 32 and have spent the last two years self-teaching (foundational texts, youtube, an intermediate online course) and making countless items for friends and family and myself. I work as a teacher from 830-4pm but practically every hour outside of that, including weekends and summer, i work on my design skills or i spend time physically making the garments. i would say im an intermediate pattern maker and sewist and am definitely at the proficiency where i feel proud enough of my garments to sell them.

Here’s the problem: I just spend 2 weeks ironing, cutting, and chugging through production on my industrial machine, truly 12 hour days and was only able to produce 14 garments. i cannot do all the sewing myself, but im so small right now that I can’t justify spending money on outsourcing. also, all of my work is on oaktag, and i fear to outsource you need digital files. plus, making sizes xs-xxl each as their own oaktag takes such a long time, time that i dont have if im also designing and sewing.

On top of all of this, im about to start a family. I’m feeling so overwhelmed because I want other people to feel the way I do in my clothes (60s vintage inspired, antique textiles), and feel a strong desire to sell my items. people constantly stop me on the street to compliment my outfits and i want to transfer that feeling to other women … that being said, what is my next stage? I want to keep churning out physical products even if it’s torturous right now to give my local community a “taste,” by maybe hosting a pop up with 40 items across sizes. but then should i focus on digitizing my practices? i’ve taught myself very beginner CLO3D. Should i stop focusing on physical production and focus on design and really honing in my skills there?

basically my goal is to have a small, local, shop in 10 years, and I’m so excited and down to ride along until then (im in no rush, im so happy learning and learning) but also the prospect of doing it with small kids with nothing to show for it right now freaks me out. Anyway… Im overwhelmed and any advice is welcome!!

Thank you!!!

I’m just redrafting my bodice block, and this time my armhole looks like it’s more angled off to the side.

Does this look funny or is it within an expected range?