Pattern Puzzles

09 Jun

Posted at 16:35h in Pattern Making Instructions, Pattern Puzzles, Stretch Patterns, Vintage Patterns, Womens Knit Block by
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So it's a weird one this week.  Over sixty years old and born of a time that valued efficiency in manufacture over effective use of resources.  Patent #2,454,208, invented by Ruth E Richman in 1946, was filed as:
'An object of the invention is to simplify the manufacture of blouses, coats and similar garments by constructing them from a blank consisting of a single piece of material.'

02 Jun

Posted at 17:02h in Pattern Making Instructions, Pattern Puzzles, Stretch Patterns, Womens Knit Block by
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This weeks #PatternPuzzle is a thing of genius from our regular contributor, Mioara Cretu, gifting us the most baffling #PatternPuzzle of all time last Saturday.  You may remember her first contribution from  last year, featured here.  Mioara teaches pattern making at a Romanian university and has a weakness for jersey one-piece patterns!
And for all my fans, you've done a wonderful job this weekend finding the answers to such a challenging puzzle.  Congratulations  :)

19 May

Posted at 13:05h in Pattern Making Instructions, Pattern Puzzles, Womens Skirt Block by
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With some very clever spatial reasoning our fans we able to solve all the detail in Saturdays #PatternPuzzle.  They were cutting up bits of paper and making impossibly small skirts into the wee hours to reveal all the answers.  They make our Saturdays so much fun.  :)  This weeks #PatternPuzzle was inspired by one of those pins without a link to the source but I'm pretty sure it's a Donna Karan.  I did leave off a bit of the frippery (small drape near the waist) as I prefer a cleaner style and there is already so much going on in this skirt.  Pinstripe fabric is the driving force in this design, with the directional use making so much of the intricate panels.  The Colour Map below will help make sense of all the pattern pieces and where they belong in the skirt.

12 May

Posted at 13:37h in Fitted Dress Block, Pattern Making Instructions, Pattern Puzzles by
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Oh, good grief! was the first response to our Saturday morning #PatternPuzzle.  However, by mid-afternoon all was solved and the sketch delivered.  The Cowl Drape Dress features a wide, built-up neckline that leads to a folded cowl.  The front dress panels are led out of the cap sleeve armhole and head toward the low waist area on the left side of the dress.  Deep tucks are set into the skirt panel and meet the side body panel in a waterfall drape.  The Back panels are also led out of the cap sleeve armhole and end just above the seat.  There is a CB invisible zip from the neckline to the hip line.

28 Apr

Posted at 14:03h in Pattern Making Instructions, Pattern Puzzles, Womens Knit Block by
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Every week new fans turn up to comment and solve my #PatternPuzzle and this week was no exception. Steph Go was in early with a comprehensive answer revealing the main parts of the pattern piece. Then Julie and Lynn turned up a little later to finish off the puzzle. This elegant evening dress is a little daring, showing lots of leg and decolletage. It will always look good in soft drapey fabrics such as silk crepe, lightweight stable knits, silk, and polyester chiffon.  With a little experimentation, I think it could be cut in either knit or woven fabrics. The style relies very heavily on the fit on the high hip where the twist is formed. This feature holds the entire dress in place. 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.

14 Apr

Posted at 14:42h in Pattern Making Instructions, Pattern Puzzles, Stretch Patterns, Womens Knit Block by
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Once again the much favoured Jersey Twist is featured on the Saturday morning #PatternPuzzle.  A big thank you to all our fans that come along to play and watch.  :)
This week there is an addition to our #PatternPuzzle post with the inclusion of imperial measurements for our US fans.  Huge thanks to Lisa at Poldapop Designs for pointing out how much easier this would make the teaching of our worksheets in the states.  Lisa is one of the first teachers to take on our Basic Skirt Draft Worksheet as a teaching tool in her classes.  The results have been positive so we will work hard to provide imperial equivalents in all our pattern making instructions.  :)

07 Apr

Posted at 14:48h in Pattern Making Instructions, Pattern Puzzles, Stretch Patterns, Womens Knit Block by
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This weeks #PatternPuzzle was a tough one!  When you look at the weird pattern shape we posted on Saturday, you are looking at the most complex pattern piece in the style.  In this weeks puzzle, in addition to the side seam drape, it's all about understanding the construction of the front wrap and how that relates to the CF seam.  It is a mock wrap in that it is secured at the side seams to create a more reliable shape.
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