Pattern Puzzles

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.

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.

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.

In this post I hope to link up some of the illustration and patternmaking resources I have on the website so you can plan your pattern making creativity over the summer break.  These suggestions are a combination of free access blog posts, PDF worksheets with pattern making instructions and Digital Garment Blocks to begin all your pattern making projects.

This is a short but dedicated post for all those lovers of Vintage Style.  The focus is on using my fitted dress block to design and cut your own vintage dress sewing patterns.  To work your way through the fitting process you can go to SHOP on the menu bar and checkout My Blocks PDF (downloads).  The Fitted Dress block has to be one of my favourites and the best place to start for fabulous dress designs.

Following on from the Skirt Block and Design Options post I've separated skirt designs that use a stretch skirt block to start your pattern development.  You can use my skirt block to make a stretch skirt block to use with all these pattern puzzle posts.  Some of them have been sampled and those sample posts are also included here.

Moving beyond your first skirt patterns to drape skirt patterns:  To work with these more complex skirt patterns you would need to have confidence in your skirt block.  By that I mean you know if fits because you've used it to make number of skirt patterns.   A small fitting or shape error in your basic skirt block will have some impact on outcome of these skirts.  Try my graded set of skirt blocks for any of these delicious drape skirt patterns.  Or you can try this pattern for yourself.  You'll find my Drape Gather Skirt Sizes 6-22 on the website as a PDF download.
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