In Fitting Fashion

The Fitting Essentials course is currently in full swing. If you missed your opportunity to enrol in the current session but would like to get a peek inside one of our Live Group Sessions, this video is for you.

This session ran at the end of our third week of the course so the students have worked through the first three steps of the Fitting Essentials process. They've chosen their pattern size, completed their pattern measurement worksheet and were in the midst of finalizing their initial pattern adjustments.

Since these three steps happen before the first sample is created, I thought it was a good time to review and summarize the lessons to paint a full picture of everything that can be learned an accomplished when you approach the fitting process in a step by step methodical way.

If you'd like to put the guidance I've offered in this video into action, get your copy of The Perfect Fit Guide. In it you'll get the Fitting Essentials framework which outlines all the fitting...

No doubt you've heard this cliche before: "practice makes perfect". Although this is generally used as a form of encouragement, I prefer the phrase practice makes progress.

Of course in order to make progress it's important to practice new skills mindfully, with focus and attention. As this author states: 

"An hour training session with a wandering mind can drastically decrease the learning process. Eight minutes a day of mindfulness has been shown to be the minimum amount of time to start seeing physical changes in the attention centers of the brain."

Eight minutes minimum. I point this out because, based on the "minutes viewed" data on my tutorials, most of us struggle to stay attentive for more than 3 minutes. While this could say something about my ability to create engaging videos, consider how much information you may be missing in those remaining 5 minutes.

Of course this equation becomes...

Last week, I shared the four stages you generally go through on the path to fitting mastery.

As you move along the path through the four stages you'll undoubtedly be confronted with failure. While we all try to avoid it, failure is an extremely important part of achieving mastery in a subject, as long as you are able to consider it a helpful friend.

I know you've heard it before, but have you embraced it?

If you're not quite there yet, the key is to learn from the failure. Take a step back, zoom out and consider what may have gone wrong and how you might approach it differently based on the new knowledge the failure brought to the surface.

Those who succeed are those most willing to experience failure first.

With failure comes new knowledge as long as you move through the process like this: develop a hypothesis, test it out, analyze the results, develop another hypothesis and continue until you succeed.

This looks alot like the sample...

As we approach the beginning of a brand new year, my inbox has been filled with "year in review" emails. While I do feel it's beneficial to look back on what you've already accomplished, it's important to use that knowledge to make decisions about the future you want to build so you can keep learning and growing.

Learning and growing leads to mastery which is something I constantly strive for as someone who teaches others about pattern making and fitting.

Mastering any skill can be a long road so I googled "the path to mastery" and landed on this article. It certainly provided some insight-especially about the 10,000 hour rule. If you're not familiar with that rule it basically states that if you spend 10,000 hours doing any one thing, you'll achieve mastery of that subject, but here's another perspective.

The author of the article makes this statement:

"The number of hours is arbitrary, and what really matters is "deliberate practice" where we are highly focused, have integrated...

In the last video lesson I shared all the pattern refinements for the Bria lounge pants. We altered the waist line, refined the hemline of the shorts and talked about the back crotch extension and how to alter it if you need to. Your draft should now be refined and ready for the addition of seam and hem allowances.

In this video we’ll talk about what seam and hem allowances to use, the steps to assembling the garment and a take a look at the final garment.

Watch the video now to get all the details for finalizing your Bria lounge pants.

I hope you enjoyed the Bria Pattern Design Project! If you've been following along, I hope you'll share your make in the In-House Patterns Studio Facebook group! Join the group HERE!

If you’re looking for more projects like the Bria pattern design project, I invite you to try out Ava. The Ava pattern design project will teach you to develop a new style from your personal bodice block.

For more step by step classes be sure to check...

In the last video lesson we completed the basic draft for the Bria lounge pants. I hope the draft went quickly and easily for you. If things are looking a bit odd, double check your draft calculations, often this is where things get a bit off track.

In this video I want to share some tips on refining the draft before we create the final pattern. We'll alter the waist line, refine the hemline of the shorts and talk about the back crotch extension and how to alter it if you need to.

If you missed getting the Bria drafting instructions, you can get your copy by clicking on the image below.

Once you have completed the pattern refinements, you're ready to add seam and hem allowances. In the next lesson I'll share all the details on what seam allowances and pattern labeling to use, give you a general guide to assembling your Bria's and give you a peak at the final garment.  

While you wait for the next lesson to drop, double check your pattern work. I’ve shared...

Welcome back to the Bria pattern design project. In the last video I showed you how to take the body measurements needed for this draft and shared some tips on how to interpret the draft instructions and make the draft calculations. Hopefully you gave that a try but If you’re new to pattern drafting, you may have struggled a little with understanding how it all works. If that is the case, you’re in the right place because today is drafting day, and I’m going to walk you through the process one step at a time.

If you missed getting your copy of the drafting instructions, just click on the image below.

After you draft your Bria's you'll have the basic shape and size of our lounge pants defined but there are some additional refinements and fitting considerations to make to the draft before we create the final pattern. I’ll be guiding you through those steps in the next lesson.

While you wait for the next lesson to drop, check your draft calculations one...

'Tis the season for cozy evenings, indoor projects and handmade gifts so let's make your evenings extra cozy, your indoor projects extra fun and your gifts extra special by creating made to measure lounge pants for you, your friends and your family.

New PJ's or lounge pants are always a special treat, especially if they are made to measure in the prints and fabrics you love. They also happen to be a great pattern design project for budding pattern makers because they are easy to draft, forgiving on fit, and quick to sew.  

I'm excited to get started on this fun project with you so when you're ready, download and print the drafting instructions and follow along.

Click the image below to get the Bria drafting instructions sent straight to your inbox.

Watch the video with the drafting instructions in hand, I'll share some guidance on what you'll need to get started and show you the best way to proceed to make the draft go quickly and easily.

If this...

In order to make the most of the sewing patterns in your collection, it’s a good idea to review them from time to time and consider styling tweaks that can modernize or refresh them, especially if you have achieved a particularly good fit. All you need is a little creativity and some basic pattern making skills.

This week I am sharing a little styling tweak that I’m making to the Belle sewing pattern. My plan is to remove the pleats from the front and back of the pattern. I think this small styling change will make the top a little more versatile. You might think that this is just a matter of leaving the pleats unstitched but in fact there is a much more effective way that will also increase your pattern intelligence.

Watch the video to see how it's done.

There are definitely other styling changes you can make. You can raise the front neck drop to shorten the collar, change the collar width and shape or remove the collar entirely. These are all ways that you can tweak...

In the last video you got a sneak peek at the cup size adjustment I made on my sewing pattern. This week I’m going to show you exactly how to do it.

Before you make your cup size adjustment make sure you have completed any length adjustments you may need. Pattern adjustments are best approached in this order: length, contour, width, girth. You’ll find that working in this order will help you eliminate fitting issues one step at a time. You can find more details on fitting order and method in The Perfect Fit Guide. Get your copy HERE.

Watch the video to see how to increase the cup size of the Belle sewing pattern.

When you’ve completed the cup size adjustment, be sure to make the corresponding length adjustment to the front facing. Make it a habit to always consider the corresponding pattern pieces that may be affected by any pattern adjustment you make.

If you’d like to see how to reduce the cup size of the pattern, click HERE for a blog post on the topic. I...