Your Wardrobe Unlock'd

What if you want to "standardize" your patterns and sell them? It's not as complicated as you might think... Jennie shows how.

Monique begins a series on drafting a pattern and constructing a 1906 Summer shirtwaist, with tucked front, high collar and elbow sleeves.

Jennie demonstrates how to draft different styles of sleeves (long and short), skirts, and finishes up the 1812 dress.

How to transform a basic bodice pattern into three Regency bodices styles: gathered and two different styles of crossover bodices.

Taking the basic bodice slopers from part 1, Jennie provides several examples of how to transform them into a new design.

Who better than the founder of Sense and Sensibility Patterns to walk you step-by-step through the art of patternmaking?

What books would have influenced fashion choices for a lady of 1912? What dress advice would a "stout" lady have been given?

When making a costume, an extant garment is the ideal research source. Once you have one,  how do you analyze it?

I'm back with a tailoring topic that some of you requested and I'm more than happy to supply: how to cut and sew a pair of gentlemen's trousers. 

Sleeves can be one of the most daunting challenges for old and new pattern makers.

However as long as you keep one simple principle in mind, you can draft sleeves easily.

Marion McNealy shares with us her secrets of drafting stress free fitted sleeves that set into the armscye easily every time.

Vicky Clarke has a mission: to bring back historical fashion that flattered curvy women so well in the past, and make it practical and wearable for our 21st century lifestyles.

The skirt we'll be making in this article is a hybrid of original 1910s design, 1970s revival and design simply intended to flatter the body as it is.

We'll start by drafting a custom skirt block, which we'll then slash and spread to get the pattern we want. There are also instructions for an optional applique panel to accentuate the waist: another nod to the original Edwardian style.

How to make your own personalised custom Victorian corset pattern - a tutorial suitable for beginners!

One of the most frustrating challenges in corsetmaking is to get the darn thing to fit properly. Corsets are such unforgiving, tightly fitted garments that a good one must have a perfect fit; there's no room for error.

After getting frustrated with commerical patterns, you're probably starting to wonder how to draft (draw out) your own patterns from a list of measurements. Here's how, in a step-by-step format specially designed for complete beginners.

I've devised these instructions for you based on corset designs of the late 1870s. You'll still need a mock-up to check before cutting the expensive fabric, but you will be very surprised how well it fits...

The single most freeing skill that a dressmaker can have is to learn to draft his or her own patterns. To take your own measurements and a blank sheet of paper and draw a pattern that fits you individually frees you to understand the makeup and adjustment of a pattern better, not to mention the scope it gives you to shape the design.

Yes, the traditional process of pattern drafting is complicated and mysterious. Sparsely explained diagrams dizzy us with geometry and jargon. But I want to change all that for you. With sixteen years of sewing and a Maths degree under my belt, not to mention three year's training as a teacher of Mathematics, I'm well-placed to take the mystery, the jargon and as many numbers as possible out of the process. Baby step by baby step, I'll show you how you can harness the freedom of drafting your own patterns.