Discussions on constructions in general?

Hello all!

I am a newbie in the forum, a newbie at Seamly2d software, but medium experienced sewer for personal use. (Women, men and children)

I have downloaded the software and read loads of information here at the forum, wiki and user manual! What a great software!!! I can’t believe how easy it is to use!

As I now have questions, I see that they are not really related to the sw itself, but discussions rgd fit and constructions in general. So my question for you is actually (and a little of topic for this forum) - can you recommend a forum/place where I can discuss these q’s? I have only found a pattern cutting forum for highly professionals, which I am not.

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Welcome @Nina.

If you browse through the threads on this forum, you will actually find a lot of discussion about the processes involved in patternmaking.

I have just created a new category: Pattern Making to encourage you and others to put such discussions together in that category. The forum is a work in progress and new users are welcomed and do not always know where to put things or to find them. We tend to be tolerant.

There are some people who visit this forum who have extensive background in patternmaking. There are others who have little or none. We are all volunteers, so it is difficult to predict how quickly your questions might be answered, but I have seen good answers to questions posted weeks or months after they were asked. I have found it useful to keep checking back for that reason.

@Grace has lots of experience in sewing and has learned a great deal about patternmaking. She has authored much of the tutorial information on the wiki.

@slspencer (Susan) developed the formulas upon which Seamly is built. She has extensive knowledge about the patternmaking process and developed the list of resources listed in the wiki. Susan started the Fashion Freedom Initiative, which for which she is the director and “chair”. https://fashionfreedom.eu/team/susanspencer/ https://fashionfreedom.eu/blog/

I (Kim, kmf) found the Seamly tool because I was looking for something to replace patternmaker (a tool developed in the 1980-1990s by Finnish lawyer and designer Leena Lähteenmäki). I have long experience sewing for myself and family, then became a theater costume creator after I retired in 2009. My professional background includes software design and programming and I have continued to learn patternmaking as I needed it for the costume work.

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Thank you, @kmf for your kind reply, warm welcome and also setting up new category!

I am impresed by the work you have put into this program!

I will jump over to the new category to ask some questions, that absolutely does not need quick replies.

Thank you!

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I want to share a forum on sewing and tayloring that I found on facebook. This is not related to computer aided patternmaking but seems to include discussions that may be of interest. The name is “Dressmaking and Tailoring for Adults”

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Thank you @kmf! I have joined and see that that would be a better place to discuss patternmaking in geneal.

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feel free to post here as well, particularly if the topic goes toward using Seamly to implement something. From what I saw, most of that Facebook group does not seem interested in the computer method

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I totally agree, @kmf. Most discussions go from how to do something in Seamly, around to General How To and back around to Seamly How To. So I’m not too concerned about joining other groups and I enjoy going a little outside of the subject to stimulate creativity and keep this forum friendly and ‘home’ to others as it has become 'home’to me :slight_smile:

In short, I help where I can and when I need help, I ask :slight_smile:

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Thank you both! I just want to respect the forum by keeping on topic! Then I know!

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@Grace and @kmf, as it seems have the same sewing interests, can I ask which systems you use for construction of your basic sloper? I have used the Mueller & Sohn for the dress/blouse pattern, and Aldrich for skirt. I think Aldrich is a little generous in the ease. Do you have a favorite that gives very good fit at first try? I also made trousers from Aldrich, they were also way to big when constructing the sloper. I had to modify a lot! I have not (yet) planned to buy the Mueller & Sohn trousers book, as they are quite costly.

Some years ago I also bought some Craftsy classes on construction and dart manipulations. They were really good, but I never made the slopers from those classes, they were Apperal Art. Any experience with the fit from them?

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I’ve been using Aldrich. One thing you need to remember is that her seam allowances are included in the instructions, so if you’re adding seam allowances afterwards, as well, then yes, the ease will be a little generous :slight_smile:

I’ve been doing a blog using the Burgo method, however, it hasn’t progress further than the basic block due to computer issues that I’m trying to sort out. And I haven’t tested any patterns yet. You can find my little blog here:SEAMLY2D TUTORIALS - BURGO METHOD - Home

Like you, I haven’t been able to afford the Mueller & Sohn books yet :frowning: Although I’d love to study through them :slight_smile:

I find Helen Joseph-Armstrong very nice. I’ve made up 1 or 2 articles from her book that seem to work very well, but they were pretty loose fitting articles, so it’s difficult to tell. What I like about her book is that it covers men & children pattern-making as well as women. So you can make for the whole family. It also covers structure differences quite in depth (uneven shoulders, curved spine, rounded / straight shoulders, things like that).

For men, I’ve been looking at what I can find on the internet about Gareth Kershaw’s book. It seems very nice but I’ll have to refrain from commenting at this point :slight_smile:

We’re doing this all the time :slight_smile: so I think you will find that the Craftsy course will help you a lot in the future when you are taking your basic pattern created with any of the books available and design it into some quite amazing :slight_smile:

I haven’t taken that course, though.

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Aa! I don’t know how many times I have read the book, but not once have I payed attention to this! I had no idea! Then it all makes sense to me :slight_smile: Thank you for pointing that out!!

I will take a look at your blog! And yes - dart manipulation is fun, so far I have only done it on paper (not in Seamly2d)

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I am totally undisciplined and have scattered thoughts and let my mind bounce all over the place. I learned to sew when I was 10 and have made many things using patterns available in the US (McCalls, Simplicity, Butterick, Vogue). Somewhere along the line I started using guesswork and intuition and doing things like adding fabric where I needed it for my body and taking bigger seam allowances. My body has always been shaped such that I need at least 3 different sizes from “ready to wear” to fit just the mundane measurements (bust, waist, hip).

When the multisize patterns came out (1980s or 1990s) I started cutting a pattern by extrapolating between the sizes printed on the paper. Meanwhile, I had little money and was in the military in the 1970s and had to learn to tailor my uniforms to fit well enough to pass inspection as I gained and lost about 30 pounds several times within 4 years.

I was working and had little time to pay attention to sewing until I retired in 2008. I had started (in the late 1990s) to experiment with patternmaker software Leena's.com: PatternMaker Tutorial Web Site Unfortunately, Leena passed away and the program she created went with her estate to a group who sells it at a price I am unwilling to pay.

I started making costumes for community theater in 2009 and used the free fitting bodice from patternmaker to help me to adapt commercial, paper patterns to fit individuals. I did not take the time to begin to understand patternmaking “by the book” until 2017, when I discovered Valentina, then Seamly. I bought Don McCunn’s books in 2009 and was using those. I started trying to create tutorial materials based on McCunn’s books in 2017 or 2018. I have since decided that his method is not precise enough to give me the results I want and I am currently working on a template using Lori Knowles books.

Here are some of my books that I keep on the shelf hoping that the knowledge will spill into my brain (which has not happened yet). In conclusion, if you want a rational discussion of patternmaking systems, ask @Grace. @slspencer is an expert. I am a quick study and will figure out anything I need to know when I need to know it, but my attention span is annoyingly short.

Also, most of my career was spent in troubleshooting hardware and software in the early computer days and writing and fixing software in the 1980s and 1990s. I once taught a community college class in C programming. (about 1987) I was paid to program in many languages including Lisp, very early C++, and object oriented Ada.

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I found something really valuable in “Patternmaking for Fashion Designers” by Lori Knowles. At the end of the chapter on measurements, there is a list of learning activities.

The first one: Try taking the measurements of an elderly woman. How do this person’s proportions compare with those of “average” adults? Ask her how she feels about the way clothing fits. How can the fashion industry better serve this customer? Which aspects olf the market are the most important for this customer: fit, comfort, color, style, price, quality, or availability?

I find this more useful than the technical details of fit.

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Don McCunn is still active with the forum he created to support people who bought his patternmaking books. There is a great deal of discussion there that is relevant to patternmaking in general. I bought his books and would recommend them. You can see his forum at https://forums.how-to-make-sewing-patterns.com

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