Burda Style For people who sew

Hi,

Can anyone recommend the best books/sites to learn – from scratch – how to start making your own patterns?

Thanks,

Clarey

May 13, 2010, 12.53 PM by clarey

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13 Posts

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  May 14, 2010, 06.57 AMby katexxxxxx

  Metric Pattern Cutting by Winifred Aldritch. The original and best. :) Used by fashion schools all over the world.
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  May 14, 2010, 12.40 PMby clarey

  Thanks Katie

  Have you used this? I’m confused because on the net I read this is very out of date and the blocks are all off?

  Clare

  2 Replies

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    May 14, 2010, 12.46 PMby wackyblonde

    I’ve used this book over and over and never have I had a problem. The best of the best.

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    May 16, 2011, 03.09 PMby sabrina

    There are newer editions. I have the fifth one. It’s quite good. It shows you how to make block for different types of garments and for stretch and woven fabrics. It’s more of a reference book than a lesson-by-lesson sort of book. The styles of the example patterns are often out of date, but if you change the fabric or the silhouette you could probably bring them into this decade.

    If you want a very in-depth book, you could try Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Joseph Armstrong. It’s got lots of stuff in it and is nearly an Encyclopeodia of patternmaking. It’s in imperial though and uses a different system to make the blocks (I think it’s the American one). It’s considerably more expensive the other book, but it’s got a chapter for menswear, a section for childrenswear (but not babieswear), a chapter on swimwear… It even shows you how to sew some of the things like a smart jacket!

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  May 14, 2010, 07.16 PMby katexxxxxx

  It may be out of print, but it’s NEVER out of date! It will teach you the basics of pattern drafting and then how to alter for style. Then you just add the fashion twists you like and you’re flying!

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    May 14, 2010, 08.48 PMby ichigogirl

    I love that about pattern drafting… it’s such a cool (and fun) fact that the best books will last forever and never go out of fashion even though fashion changes constantly!

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  May 14, 2010, 08.56 PMby gedwoods

  I think Metric Pattern Cutting was the original. Ms. Aldrich has now expanded this book into a series, all on their nth Edition, and all very much up to date and in print, that is “Metric Pattern Cutting for Women’s Wear”, “Metric Pattern Cutting for Menswear”, “Pattern Cutting for Women’s Tailored Jackets” and “Metric Pattern Cutting for Children’s Wear and Babywear”. I’ve used blocks from the first three of these (I just bought the one for children’s wear), and they are all impeccable. I’ve used them for almost everything I’ve made.
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  May 14, 2010, 10.24 PMby mlssfshn

  Pattern making from blocks has been around for over 400 years it was a tightly guarded secrete until WWI and WWII brought it to America. Sizes have changed but true measurements have not. If you want to try a book for free try vintagesewing.info and we have a read along on here as well

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    Sep 1, 2010, 05.45 AMby magdamagda

    wow that’s a great site, thanks for sharing!

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  Jun 11, 2010, 05.29 PMby pinprincess

  In the US the standard book for pattern drafting seems to be the Armstrong Patternmaking for Fashion Design. It’s what I used while in school. That and Draping Design. It would be in inches of course.
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  Jun 11, 2010, 07.56 PMby Sarah Magill

  I teach pattern drafting and use Winifred Aldrich. the standard sizes are about a size smaller for today’s sizes, but that’s the only problem I’ve encountered. Definitely the best and easiest to use.
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  Aug 30, 2010, 01.12 AMby Janice Dougherty

  http://vintagesewing.info/index.html has a lot of information about drafting and sewing. The I personally think the most comprehensive one on the side is “Modern Pattern Design”, by Harriet Pepin. It’s from the 1940’s and though the styles are older, it goes into a lot of detail about how to edit a sloper.
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  Aug 30, 2010, 05.07 PMby auntlizzie

  Make Your Own Patterns by Rene Bergh. I absolutely love this book! It shows you how to create a pattern for dozens of designs.

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    Sep 2, 2010, 05.20 PMby marmota-b

    Yes, I’ve also used this one for some things… they have it in our local library. It really gave me the idea of how pattern drafting works.

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  Sep 7, 2010, 08.25 AMby carolinam

  Are the masurements in the books by winifred Aldrich in inches or centimeters?

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    Sep 7, 2010, 11.30 AMby katexxxxxx

    Centimeters… "Metric’ should be the clue! ;)

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  Sep 7, 2010, 12.29 PMby carolinam

  thanks, sounds good, i have a bit of trouble making complicated patterns so i think these would be good books.
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  Sep 8, 2010, 01.18 PMby emlj

  Hi, just as an addition, I have recently bought the Metric Pattern Cutting for Women’s Wear by Winifred Aldrich (5th edition i think editon hardback) and wow, its incredible! Takes you through everything, how to take and record you measurements, all the maths and step by step instructions for constructing pattern blocks and even step by step instructions how to alter them into about a hundred different styles. Well worth the money as as im teaching myself and cant take any courses etc its just great to have this information available. Would recommend it to anyone.
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  Sep 8, 2010, 01.50 PMby sabrina

  Here’s a FREE one: if you go to http://www.vintagesewing.info you can find a book called Modern Pattern Design by Harriet Pepin, 1942. I’m reading it now and I’m up to chapter 2 (chapter one is very long). I hope you enjoy it! Happy pattern-making! : )