Customer Reviews
Buy this book! - By: T. L. Roberts, 22 Oct 2008 
I was given this book when i started my HND theatre costume design book. We have used it for two years & i can not recommened it highly enough! Some of the girlsin my class had never done pattern cutting before & this book tells you everything you need to know. On first glance it seems very confusing. But when you read it & follow it step by step it all makes sense! The blocks shownin this book are basic blocks from which you can adapt or alter to suit you.
Buy this book!
Basic pattern making that can be adapted to most designs - By: L. Marsh, 15 Mar 2008 
I brought this book a few years ago now, the actual price & place escapes me. I had wanted to learn to make my own patterns as I was finding the shop ones rather tedious.
I was originally a home sewer & just made things for my family with no pattern cutting experience at all, & to be honest, very little general knowledge of patterns.
When the book arrived I really didn't understand it, & it got left on the shelf for a few months. I then decided to get my head around patterns & started. The basic bodice drafting it based on a numbers & points system, & each of those is determined by the relevant measurement on the body - a calculator really helps here.
Once the basic bodice has been drawn it can be made it to any of the shapes includedin the book. Once you've mastered moving darts, most of it is easy to follow. The same applies to trouers & sleeves, although this book doesn't go into the designer elements, & is mainly pictures rather than instructions, a fashion design book would go very well with this book.
I have found the most useful part of the book to be the evening wear & lingerie part, which has enabled me to start designing my own evening wear for profit.
Once you've finished your basic blocks there is also a little section on how to size your patterns, so you don't have to re-draft each size. This is a little complicated to get your head around, but once you've got it, it's a breeze.
There's also size charts inlcuded for sizes 8-32. Although I've crossed mine out to be sizes 6-30 respectively, not because these sizes aren't correct, but I have found for example when making a size 14 to the measurementsin the book, it will fit someone who would wear a size 12in the highstreet, a bit confusing, but it works better for me that way.
Overall I would say this is a great book, although perhaps not for the new sewer!
A good starter - By: Gemma, 10 Jun 2006 
This book is a good starter but there are many printing errors (wrong instructions, missing instructions) so beware. It also assumes that you are familiar with some pattern cutting techniques. If you are an absolute beginner it would be useful to have someonein the know to ask as at times it is possible to become absolutely stuck. If you are studying pattern cutting this would be a really useful book to have. If you are learning by yourself, you may find this book to be a little frustrating.
Worth the learning curve - By: , 28 Nov 2002 I found this book difficult to use at first, being used to commercial pre-printed patterns, but with a bit of perseverance I was able to produce some well-fitted pieces that I was quite pleased with. I particularly liked the section on dealing with bodies of different shapes (sloping shoulders, long backs etc). I would recommend this book to anyone wanting the flexibility to design their own clothes.
pure guava - By: , 19 Mar 2000 i am currentlyin the process of gaining my diplomain fashion & textiles at the nelson polytechnic NEW ZEALAND this tome will aid youin designing fashion garments while realising that pattern cutting is an artform.
