May 27, 2022
The woven core pattern for my wonderful student who has volunteered to be my model is almost finished. And this gets to an excellent point about finishing a garment.
When is a garment really finished?
I remember going through this answer in art class.
And then I remember seeing this, thinking that this is an ongoing exercise in answering this question.
The truth is that no one can tell you when a garment is finished -- except you.
Sometimes it takes growing into the garment. And that sounds goofy, but that's exactly what happens. We sewists are used to looking for this or that error, to the point that we are looking for an error when there really is no error.
Additionally when we are going through our list of things to fix in the fitting stage of our garment adjustment, we sometimes get carried away, and on about the 14th or 15th adjustment problem it might be well to remember Fred Babb's wonderful poster above
"Art is: working on something 'til you like it - then leaving it that way!"
That said, there are times, when after a few wearings I may make a slight adjustment here and there in comfort or use or looks area. Maybe the pocket slit could be a little larger, or smaller or should be a little higher. Maybe the waist could be nipped in a little more or a little less. Maybe the back could be a little looser or a little snugger or a more comfy
feel. Being finished doesn't mean you can't make these small adjustments. You may even make them and then come back and decide you don't like them.
Here's one fascinating thing I've discovered. I made this great Claude Montana jacket.
 I know it doesn't look that great, but believe me - this had all the correct lines and was totally fabulous. It was so fabulous that after about six months, I wanted one for spring/summer in a gorgeous khaki cotton that was the perfect summer weight for a summer jacket.
But after I finished it, it didn't feel like the other one and I thought I had made a terrible mistake.
My mentor taught me that after you wear clothing for a while, it takes on it's own shape on your body. When you make the new pattern, it doesn't have that shape and it will take a couple of months to get that shape. I wore both jackets for years - or at least until the shoulder pads were out. I still have fond memories of that jacket and remember that when I make something new from my core pattern, often I have to wear it for a couple of months to give it that
special feel that makes it my look.
Here are some very interesting shots of how we are progressing with the woven core pattern.
  
You can really tell the difference here and the real almost finished garment in the far right looks even better than the mock-up I made. My model here actually looks like she's had some sort of posture surgery to correct her posture, but I guarantee you that she is standing the same in all these photos, and her figure is the same. Her sleeve is fitted and not wrinkled, (note: I should have ironed the sleeve before we modeled it, but dang it was so good looking
on her I didn't think about it), her front and back are hanging beautifully, the hang, drape or tilt of the garment is dreamy. It's so dream that it makes it look like she's really sitting straight.
When a garment isn't draped, or hanging right, it not only makes her stomach look bigger, it also makes it look like her posture is more sloped and like she's leaning forward. Even my mock-up of what I knew we could do with this fitting, doesn't do justice to the almost finished garment. We have just a little more to do - mostly marking the location of the sleeve head and correcting the ease at the top of the sleeve.
Here's something to remember in all this. Taking this first shot -
Most of us look at this, and think - this is as good as it gets - maybe I can wear a scarf or jacket or sweater over this and it will hide my huge weight.
First - this model is not that big - certainly not as big as this fit makes her look,
Second - Fitting well takes time - this took one day a week for 3 months,
Third - This is the typical fit that we see in RTW and think, well, this as good as it gets. This is the really big LIE that RTW has drilled us into thinking.
And this is what we think when we see this fit:
Well, this is easy for her because she wears a perfect size ____(fill in the blank)____! That is NOT what is happening here, but that is what we think - we don't realize that this was not a matter of adjusting a few things here or there and poof it's done.
Additionally, although we have a few tiny things left to do, we are pretty much finished. That means this pattern contains:
- Sleeve hanging information
- Garment hanging information
- Sleeve location information
- Silhouette enhancing information
- Shoulder placement information
- Comfort information
All in one pattern.
The whole purpose in going through this process with this student is to emphasize, that this takes a while - it may even take months. This actually took about about 12 fittings which happened to be over the period of 3 months. That's pretty standard on a core pattern. You don't need to do all of this successively to succeed. If you do put it down, I would write notes to yourself on where you are - things like sleeve has wrinkles, hem not hanging right, back
seems short and you can even draw a little drawing showing what you mean. Believe it or not that's all it will take to bring your brain right back to where you were when you left off.
It's also important to note that although this took a lot longer than what you would work or a normal pattern all that information (in the bulleted list above) is carried into this core pattern, so that you don't have to do this ever again. The information that is in the core pattern is there for you to use again and again.
Most of all, please know that your figure can be fitted and comfortably and flatteringly fitted. We all have various shapes and sizes, but that doesn't mean that we can't be shaped and fitted flatteringly. This is what has been done for centuries in Europe with the couture designers. After they do a runway show, to think that all the models are the size of the waifs on the runway is a joke. It takes decades to have that kind of money and most young
waifs haven't got anything close to that kind of money. It's the older more mature figures that do, and the designer has to fit that person as well as the waifs on the runway, and they do. If they can do it, so can we.
https://sewingartistry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Resource-LIbrary-2.jpg
This is a beginning guide on what to do with your core pattern after you have fitted and worked on it.
All the work that you have done in your core pattern contains all the information to make a garment that you will totally love. This means you really don't have to buy another pattern for making skirts, pants or leggings. Variations on your core pattern makes it possible for you to have the styles you see in a photo or on Pinterest without having to look for the pattern that looks like it might work. You can now simply trace it onto your core pattern and
you're done.
This resource also contains some other important resources at huge discount because they are so important to this creative process of varying your core pattern. It also contains some downloads that aren't available in the Resource Library at all, but are vital toward making good design.
In this world of crazy, illogical fashion, we sewists are having to turn into designers. That sounds really hard and foreboding, but it's not. Unlike designers, we simply haven't had all the experience they have, most of that experience they got when they went to design school. More than anything I wanted to make this process encouraging, empowering and enlightening without having to worry about whether or not you could vary your core pattern.
You can! It isn't that hard. It is knowing some guidelines and charging out into the unknown. That's what we sewists do and we do it very well most of the time.
This is the beginning of the series into variations on core patterns. I wanted to start with something basic, so that you wouldn't feel so intimidated. It takes a while to write these up, cause I'm an idea factory, and coordinating and organizing these ideas can be monumental with the sewing muse yacking in my ear 24/7.
The resource is available now at a discount so that you can enjoy it before spring starts in full force. Right now, I'm thinking happy, colorful and pretty. Those are all fresh looks for future clothes. When things seem upside down, it's great to have something to make us happy and often bright, springtime and summertime fabrics are just as much as drab, dark and somber fabrics. I'm ready to be beautiful, comfortable and look flattering in my clothes and
I'm dying to share that with you.
Skirts, Core Pattern Variations, Part 1 (but there's more than skirts in here)
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