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March 18, 2022
Why is the thought of making a core pattern so hard to do?
Here are some typical answers I get from students:
- They take so much time.
- What do I do with it after I've made it?
- How do I know I've gotten a good fit?
- I don't really see the purpose.
- It sounds terribly boring and a lot of work.
- Who wants to make up the same pattern over and over.
Well, you know what - those are some valid concerns. Let's unpack these and see what is really going on.
Core Patterns Take So Much Time
I'm not going to lie to you, yes they do. But it's time terribly well spent. Why? Because you have the fit, the flattery, the style, and the comfort already built into the pattern. All the stuff you love, is already built into the pattern
Here's what happens when I make up my patterns from my core patterns.
-I don't have to ever worry about fit.
-I don't ever have to worry about it being flattering. As a matter of fact - I'm usually shocked, because I fully expect to do some tweaking on the fitting, but I never have to do it. Let's just think about here for a minute - let's repeat that - I DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MY CORE PATTERN BEING FLATTERING. This is huge. So let's just imagine for a minute what this entails: 1. I don't have to go through putting in another side
bust dart, or raising the waist in the side seams or the front dart seams or the back dart seams.
2. I don't have to worry about the hem length
3. I don't have to worry about the skirt width
4. I don't have to worry if this will fit my hips
5. I don't have to worry that it will be too tight or too loose around my waist
6. I don't have to worry about the bust point being too high, too low, too close together, too far apart or anything else.
7. I don't have to worry that I won't have to make a sway back alteration
8. I don't have to worry if it won't fit on my shoulders
9. I don't have to add any more darts or re-do the fitting on the darts. (IOW I can rotate those darts and the fit will still be in the garment - that's way more powerful than you think!)
For all those things I don't have to worry about, spending a little extra time on that core pattern sure does look attractive. Especially the longer you have the pattern, the more you use it and it becomes a very close friend to you.
What do I do with it after I've made it?
With a little bit of help here, this doesn't become an issue. There are a number of things you can do with a core pattern that don't involve messing with the fit or making any alterations. Simple things like neck variations, sleeve variations and color variations are all great places to stop. But believe me, this is only the beginning. I'm sure you all have seen this before, but this is the same pattern, only made up with variations, but keeping the same
fitting, silhouette and comfort of the original core pattern.
There's more coming on this, but this shouldn't be one of your worries, and if it is, email me - just reply to this email - and I will be happy to work you out of thinking that there's nothing to do with a core pattern!!!
How do I know I've gotten a good fit?
Because you've already fit yourself. If you don't mess with the side seam lines, the dart lines (except to rotate them), and the basic proportions you've already worked out, then the sky is the limit. And I mean that seriously. (See the above picture to see how the silhouette remains the same but the look is totally different).
I don't really see the purpose.
OK basically this is what is going on:
You fit yourself just the way you like it, then you use the base/core pattern to make other patterns, only you never have to worry about darts, fit, bust point, hip point, waist height, hem length, hem width, sleeve position (this is sweet if you have shoulders that slope forward or backward). But there's more in this pattern. One of the things you work on is pitch of the garment. NONE of us has perfect shape and our garment can bow in or splay out or tilt
forward or tilt back, and all of that can be fixed and that information remains in the core pattern so that you don't have to worry about fixing it over and over with each new pattern you use. This core pattern takes all that fitting, shaping, tinkering, tweaking away - you simply make up your design the way you want using your core pattern, sew it up and poof - it fits and looks flattering!
It sounds terribly boring and a lot of work.
This may sound boring - working on tweaking one pattern, but remember you are going to use this over and over again. That's when the creative sparks start flying and suddenly after you've finished your core pattern, you start making one thing after another that looks good on you.
Who wants to make up the same pattern over and over.
Here's what my sweet Walt says to me: and he's sweet and he tries to be honest in a very sweet way, but bottom line - he's honest. But what he says is that I don't need to lose weight because I haven't really gained anything since we moved into our one-level dream home. HA! I've gained almost 10% of what I weighed in my 3-level home (yep, no inside Stairmaster to get those hips toned up).
What he doesn't realize is that my core pattern flatters me. As a result the tops I have in my closet are all based on my core patterns and so even thought it's from the same base pattern, I do not look like it's all the same thing. Additionally, I look like I haven't gained any weight because my core patterns are flattering to me. This is the biggest sign to me that well, yes, I feel good and look good, but others don't think I've gained any
weight since I've stopped with the auto Stairmaster!
So please consider using your core pattern. And if you don't have one, develop one. It does take some time, but it's so worth it. And of course the more you use it the more fun you can have with it.
There's something else to consider here too. We are in a very historically significant time in fashion right now. We've had a complete stop and then slow-down in the fashion manufacturing business. This has caused an entirely different way of thinking about fashion and manufacturing fashion and retailing and selling
fashion.
But there's a big problem that is still endemic in the whole system. That is that the consumer is so woefully ignorant about how clothes are made, that they are unable to pick out well-made clothing even if it had a sign on it. Here's the deal - a lot of well-made clothing does have a sign on it, and it still doesn't sell.
The other problem is that well-made clothing is not cheap/fast fashion clothing, and as a result it costs a lot more than cheap/fast fashion clothing that is made by slave labor. I mean this isn't rocket science. When slave labor makes your clothes, you don't pay them, so the clothes are cheaper - ugh! The additional problem is that the slave labor doesn't really care if it's good work or not good work, and the work gets sloppier and sloppier to the point
that it's really not any value at all.
What's worse is that designers are still overcome with this post-apocalyptic style that is depressing, old, and frankly bland and boring. Can't we find something else besides too-tight tees? ...hipster pants? ....sloopy long sleeves?
I'm sick of seeing this nonsense fashion - we've had it for 30 years - that's enough ugly to last is forever.
  
  
These are all from the 2022 Fall shows. It's old, tiresome, redundant and totally useless for FALL! I'm not going to wear a bikini top for fall nor am I going to wear a see-thru skirt for fall. The top on the right is too small, while the jacket on the left is way too large (those shoulders are completely hanging off both sides) while the shoes are completely out of proportion. The second row has all the jackets and clothes with shoulders so totally out of
proportion and style that there's no waist, no silhouette, nothing even remotely flattering about any of these garments.
This is the penultimate clothing that's available for fall for 2022 for the consumer. It's a mess. None of it is appropriate for the office or even remotely projecting a professional attitude. Fashion has fallen so far short of the needs of the consumer, that it might as well be some sort of costume from a science fiction movie - only those fit better!
Now I know this sounds like I'm doing a 180 from the blogs below, but here's the thing: That's why those runway shows below were so exciting. They were such a breath of fresh air in the midst of all the doom and gloom of most of the shows, that look like the styles above. And if most of the shows look like the ones above, how can the consumer pick out anything that's pretty.
For the consumer - they can't. They have no choice. They are relegated to only what's been manufactures or only what's been deemed as okay for people to wear by designers. You would think with the plethora of clothes out there, you could find a lot of choice. But you can't. You have a certain style, a certain look that is offered because that's what this band of post-apocalyptic obsessed people think is appropriate.
We don't have to be subservient or dependent upon those buyers at the stores, those manufacturers using slave labor or those retailers who can't step out of their little bubble of safety - this is what has sold, this is what will sell, and therefore this is what is offered. Nothing new, nothing different.
 
Here are two takes on my core patterns. The one on the left is my woven core pattern, while the one on my right is my knit core pattern.
Both of these portray exactly the person I want to be - hip, modern, and yet responsible and most of all professional, without looking frumpy, or weird.
Not only do we not have to be victims of what someone else thinks we should wear, but we can also stretch way outside the boundaries of what is available and into the world of professional, grown-up, fun, with-in, modern, hip, and even a little edge clothes that can be happy, flattering and comfortable
What a concept!!!!
For the first of the year, after things have settled down, time to start thinking about new projects. But what to do? Here you are with all this time and BAM! Your memory and creative juices have all dried up. Why is that?
Where do you start?
It's all about Steps...
It's not that hard, and it's not that big. Let's take this in steps, and just like any big project, when you break it down in to steps suddenly you see how to go about doing this.
Easier as you go along...
The fun thing here is that as you start, it's slow, but as you get going, it gets easier and easier, and finally when you get close to starting your project, you're so pumped it's hard to stop!
As usual these are all offered separately, and at a nice discount, but an even bigger discount for the whole package. If you have some of these already, no worries, cause you don't have to get it again, that's why I do these all at a discount.
Inspiration - this is a great guide on getting you through blocks, explaining what they are, and it includes the new "The Artistic Process" which is more up-to-date information and guidelines for whipping your creative juices into action.
Arranging Your Studio - is just as vital as those steps toward creating your project. Without the right environment, it can be a real task to keep going. With the right environment, you will naturally feel good about your space and want to be in it creating.
Time Management is key for getting through this process without going down those time-steeling black holes, and again corporations have studied this up the wazoo, and there's no reason we can't use their techniques and methods to make our precious time spent as well as possible.
Sketching - This is like an artist's cheating secret. With sketching it's so easy to work through one design after another, after another.
My Favorite Inspirational And Idea Books - There is nothing like great books that are filled with ideas that become your go-to resource books. As well, it's great to understand the concept of creating and what we can do to better create - here's my list of these books I have used for decades. Some are out of print, but the
used versions are just as good.
The Whole Creative Inspiration Package is here. This contains all these resource from the SewingArtistry Library as well as some bonuses - like Space Dynamics in better designing your studio space, lists of my favorite inspirational and idea books, list of my
favorite inspiration and idea books which will really get your creativity juices running and some other gems.
As usual these are all at 20% discount but the Inspiration Package is at a further discount with extra goodies.
On the Blog
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This popped up on my feed for some reason, and the first thing I saw was this: And thought - ...
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...if there simply seem to be prettier styles...but more from Spring/Summer 2022. It could be the designers are sick and ...
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And yet another wonderful Spring/Summer 2022 couture show. For so many decades it's been so discouraging to watch season after ...
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