Pattern Making

Recommended Lesson Order
To begin, start by learning how to draft a collection of slopers. These slopers will become the foundation for all of your future designs. In our “Drafting a Shoulder Dart Bodice from Measurements” lesson, you will be able to draft a bodice from actual body measurements, from those of your dress form or from those listed on our Women’s Bodice Global Size Range Chart, one of the many free downloadable files we provide to our subscribers with this lesson.

When you have finished drafting your bodice sloper, you will be able to advance to our dart-pivoting series of lessons where you will learn how to transfer darts to other areas of a bodice and draft a series of different necklines. To complete your set of foundational slopers, move to our lessons on how to draft a Straight Sleeve Sloper, a Basic Pant Sloper, a Straight Skirt Sloper and our lesson on how to convert a Bodice Sloper to a Fitted Torso Sloper. You will have now the beginnings of a valuable sloper library and will, by then, know how to use the most common pattern making tools and understand common pattern making terminology, such as “squaring off”, “trueing”, “blending lines” and the “slash & spread” method. Once you get to, and complete, a few Beginner sleeves and collars in this section, you’ll be ready for our Intermediate and Advanced pattern making lessons.

These Intermediate videos will teach you how to draft patterns from body measurements and how to complete more complex lessons, such as Drafting a Side Bust Dart Bodice Sloper from Measurements, a Raglan and Kimono Sleeve sloper and  how to draft a legging and panty. In addition, you will be introduced to pattern grading techniques so that you can size your patterns larger or smaller. Our knit sloper series will provide you with a complete library of ‘cut & sew’ knit slopers. Then you are ready to move to our advanced lesson on Drafting a women’s jacket.