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Patternmaking for Fashion Design?
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Personally, I think it's fine to jump in and learn pattern drafting. I found that once I learned the fundamentals of drafting patterns I had a much better idea of how to alter existing patterns. It's quite easy and straightforward to draft things like skirts, dresses and blouses from a set of measurements. Once you're comfortable with those move on to harder things like pants and jackets. Once you perfect your basic slopers you can basically make any pattern you want without having to spend a bunch of time fussing with the fit. Drafting is a very worthwhile skill and I encourage you to dive in and learn!
I highly recommend the book Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Armstrong (link). This is a pretty standard textbook used in college pattern drafting courses. It starts from the very beginning but it does move quickly. I followed this textbook on my own and had no problems really teaching myself drafting. Sure, there was (a lot of) trial and error and I probably would have made fewer mistakes with the help of a teacher, but it's definitely doable if you want to learn on your own, and learning from a textbook is going to be WAY easier and more comprehensive than learning from various youtube videos and blog posts.
I use Patternmaking for Fashion Design. It's an investment but it's what I used in college and it's what most fashion design schools have students use. I love this textbook and have pages marked and highlighted for what I use the most. If you really want to get into pattern making, I'd suggest also getting some oaktag for making basic blocks to work off of and pattern drafting paper too. Good luck!
Helen Armstrong's book is frequently recommended.
I've heard a lot of good things about Suzy Furrer's book, Building Patterns: The Architecture of Women's Clothing.
For grading, Jack Handford's book has been suggested to me. (I would borrow it from library, or look for it on a discount book website, such half.com).
I really like the pattern making video lessons on the University of Fashion site.
Nice! The process can be fun in a way, it feels like arts and crafts with all the drawing and cutting.
If it is something you enjoy and want to invest in, I would highly recommend getting a solid and comprehensive resource to learn from. A very popular textbook is Helen Armstrong's Patternmaking for Fashion Design. This book is AMAZING, it has so much incredibly useful information on how to draft basically literally anything you could possibly dream of. You can get a very cheap copy from Amazon here (this is the book I have and the negative reviews are pretty overblown, although it does have a few errors here and there and the paper is very thin). Or you can pay for the official US full color version here.
Learning from a single, reliable source may yield more consistently good results than learning from a smattering of online videos, some of which may be from amateurs or people with unusual techniques or methodologies that don't mesh well with other resources. I used Helen's book to teach myself drafting and combined it with a comprehensive guide for fitting like this one which ultimately helped the most to get a solid pant sloper drafted up.
Anyways, just thought I'd suggest the things that were most helpful for me when I went through this process. Best of luck and do post an update when you get shorts V2 sewn up!
Your comment was filtered by Reddit for including an Amazon referral link. If you edit your link to https://www.amazon.ca/Patternmaking-Fashion-Design-Joseph-Armstrong/dp/0136069347/ and respond to this comment, I can approve it for you. Otherwise your post will be removed by the subreddit bot for not including a construction comment. Thanks.
Ooh good question. Fashionary has a few good ones - it’s mainly for soft lines terms vs true construction breakdown. But it shows a little more in-depth look.
https://fashionary.org/products/bag-design
Otherwise I like vintage books on couture sewing, flat patterning, & draping.
This book is solid for a here’s how do actual clothing patterning skills. If you’re motivated the skills apply to any project. Just need some trials and practice around different materials. Patternmaking for Fashion Design https://www.amazon.com/dp/0136069347/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_JYRRFb6WVPVK5
But the majority of my knowledge is based from industry experience and working directly with factories. Or just being a maker for 30 years. So honestly just keep practicing sewing and doing trials until you get the look you want. It’s ok to have to redo - that’s how you learn the most valuable lessons.
I used textbooks to learn how to draft patterns for different sizes. They are sometimes hard to understand, but I use youtube tutorials for the parts that get me confused.
Pattern making textbook used in school- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0136069347/ref=s9u_simh_gw_i3?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=0136069347&pd_rd_r=NNPMM05T2J1VSX6DXDT1&pd_rd_w=nDpwY&pd_rd_wg=ftMLV&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=74HDYSVQNHCJ5NRGX...
Textbook with software to draft them easily- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0133514366/ref=s9u_simh_gw_i1?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=0133514366&pd_rd_r=NNPMM05T2J1VSX6DXDT1&pd_rd_w=nDpwY&pd_rd_wg=ftMLV&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=74HDYSVQNHCJ5NRGX...
Your other method is to look and see if a local sewing/fabric shop offers classes. I live near a large city and some of the smaller studios will offer special classes on drafting or quilting. Might be worth looking into for a start. Good luck!!
Patternmaking for Fashion Design and How to Make Sewing Patterns are good resources. The first is more of a textbook that addresses specific techniques in patternmaking (e.g. how do I do articulated sleeves? how do I do an invisible zipper?) while the latter is more of a general introduction.
I use a machine for nearly everything and am horrible at handsewing. The most hand sewing I do is for tacking down allowances or for hook & eye closures so I think you could probably get away with mediocre hand sewing technique.
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