well-suited blog - fashion design, illustration, pattern making.

Folk to Fashion - First Sample

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Trawling through the samples on my rail I see so many garments that I haven't posted to follow on from the original pattern puzzle. So to re-cap I cut this first sample based on a folk costume pattern for a Mantle Dress, Inner Garment referred to as a Eura Costume. Like many folk costume designs it uses all the fabric and qualifies as zero-waste. It's from a time when all textiles were considered of great value and no amount of cloth was ever wasted. Keep Reading...

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Pattern Puzzle - Triple Twist Jersey Dress

Monday, May 07, 2018

Here we have another re-issue of my very early Pattern Puzzle posts. I've up-dated the images and improved the instructions. I'm really enjoyed the regular Saturday morning Pattern Puzzles on my facebook page and hope to return to them sometime soon. Here is the sketch, pattern plan and pattern pieces for the front of the Triple Twist Jersey dress. Please note this style only works with my knit block and two-way stretch jersey fabric.

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Pattern Puzzle - Transparent Tuck Dress

Monday, April 30, 2018

Congrats to Mioara and Gemma solving the Pattern Puzzle in just one comment! I think I am going to have to up my game to give you all a bit more of a challenge. This creative design is just the kind of pattern we make in my Draped Dresses workshop at Studio Faro. Below is recent design development I have decided to use for the Pattern Puzzle this week. The inspiration comes from Comme de Garcon frock I saw in the late nineties. The image has always stayed with me. I so love their work. This post was originally published 17 June 2013 and is one of my earliest Pattern Puzzle posts. In this post I have updated the graphics and improved the pattern making instructions for this release.

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First Sample - Twist or Cowl Shift Dress

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Well it's been a long time since I posted this Pattern Puzzle - Twist or Cowl Shift Dress. And I've just rediscovered the sample photos to share with you. Here's the original image from the Pattern Puzzle to remind everyone where we started. Keep Reading...

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My Drape Pattern Making Method

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

The origins of my passion for creative pattern making start way back in 1980 when I first went to fashion college. It was at this time that I was introduced to an amazing pattern making book that just lit up my brain. Natalie Bray's technical diagrams leapt off the page and made immediate sense to me. I could hardly contain my excitement at the potential of pattern making. To this end I believe I was quite the pesky student in our pattern making classes. The student with 20 questions every session, that drove the pattern making teacher crazy. You'll find Natalie's books on all the usual book selling sites and the prices vary dramatically, so do your research. Keep Reading...

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Vintage Inspired Round-Up

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Trawling through my blog post archive I've come to realise that many of my posts have vintage content, and I discover there are at least twenty vintage posts! So this Vintage Inspired Round-Up is to refresh your memory of some of my earlier Pattern Puzzle posts and to share a few points in history where vintage style has influenced my work. Where does it all start?

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Pattern Puzzle - Rectangle Drape Skirt

Saturday, April 23, 2016

For this #PatternPuzzle post you have an elegant Drape Skirt that can be cut from a basic skirt block or any pencil skirt pattern. My Skirt Block is now available here as a PDF download. I've included some interesting seaming that works well with the drape feature that's included in the front left skirt.

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Pattern Puzzle - Issey Miyake Single Twist

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Does anyone remember this little pattern puzzle from last year? It's been a long time waiting in the wings for posting. An innovation on an existing theme, this single twist is ingenious in that a cowl is built as part of the twist pattern. The final effect being a more subtle twist with a relaxed fit. If you'd like to learn my method for creating Twist Drape Patterns I have a detailed worksheet for making Jersey Twist Patterns. For just a few dollars you'll get the same training you'd get if you came to the workshop in my studio. My Knit Block is also available as a PDF download.

Issey Miyake single jersey twist pattern.

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First Sample - Pinstripe Panel Skirt

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Do you remember the Pinstripe Panel Skirt? Blogged in May 2014, and first sampled by Capital Chic, this very creative piece of corporate wear is stylish, wearable and very popular. :)

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Pattern Puzzle - Twist Overlay

Friday, February 26, 2016

Did you ever think there'd be so many designs using Twist Drape? I was totally captivated with the asymmetric aspect of this design and the layering effects that can be achieved using two different fabrics and my knit block. Like the majority of previous twists you'll definitely need a two-way stretch knit for this to work well. The elastane (Lycra/Spandex) in your knit fabric is the best tool for achieving a snug fit with this method of making twist patterns. If you'd like to learn my method for creating Twist Drape Patterns I have a detailed worksheet for making Jersey Twist Patterns. For just a few dollars you'll get the same training you'd get if you came to the workshop in my studio.