Patternmaking top 10 books and overview

[anastasia_gr]

Hello,

I am a patternmaker at the Greek National Opera in the costume department. In Greece patternmaking is not especially developed or taught and I am always looking for information and references.

First of all, I would like to know what your top 10 reference books would be for patternmaking. If you think that they relate with particular construction or fitting books you could post those too.

I am also wondering if anyone has done some sort of overview of the different methods. It would be nice to have a book that goes through all the main ways of working these things out, so that you can get to the essence of it. Also it would be important to have an overview of patternmaking historically, to see what the end result people were aiming for was and why.

[Steelmillal]

Woo-Dang, Anastasia, I'd like all that, too, so I could quit spending hours and hours of research matched with specious studio time trying to figure all this out so I can make some real money doing this...

https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED183835/page/n13/mode/2up

Found looking for a compound surface development book for some curvy stuff I'm doing. My perspective isn't traditional textile trade so I look at things 'different' and pull from many vectors. It's a bit dry but at 1000+ pages it takes a minute to digest. Dive in. The waters fine. The bit on hand-worked grommets is fun. All in, it's very utilitarian, but functionally accurate in a regimented way.

Dig into this, too:  https://archive.org/search.php?query=ERIC%20Archive%20%20sewing

I'm curious what your peers at work said when you asked them for their suggestions. There's gotta be some "old'uns" there still that have forgotten more than many will ever know. Super-secret-stuff is hoarded by some of those folks and is why they get paid the big bucks.

Good luck, Ma'am.

[Gerry]

M Rohr's early books (later editions have even less explanation, so are even more cryptic). Don't be put off by the publications being for ladies garments. The method for shoulder placement is ingenious (treating the shoulder tip like a coordinate that can be plotted with two measurements) and works equally for men.

Basic bodice draft starts a few pages in:

https://vbook.pub/documents/patternmaking-mrohr-1948-x256vk58yqop

Don McCunn clearly modelled his method on Rohr's, and he adds to it. His book, aimed at home sewers, provides a good grounding for the basics. For novices, I'd start with McCunn. Neither book is the be-all-and-end-all of cutting, but at least their systems are intuitive and easy to understand. Plus they actually use body measurements.

Which brings me onto my main gripe about historical methods. Although not advertised as such, they're basically methods for creating a basic block. Not one that necessarily complies with a client's measurements. Most old systems rely on the predictable proportions of the body and the 'formulas' given are merely estimates that create a rough fitting garment for an individual.

Many tailors would argue that creating such a block is no big deal, because everything can be sorted out in fittings. Personally, I think if one takes multiple measurements they should actually be used in the draft (rather than serving as an elaborate display to make a client feel catered to). Furthermore, many archaic systems cater to what was considered ideal posture and fit for that period. When we further factor in the change in body types over they decades/centuries, those drafts don't always turn out as expected (in some cases, they're not even in the same ball park).

Having said that, whenever I've trawled through old books (and I've looked at many), I've always come away with some nugget of knowledge. Another piece in the jigsaw that helps me piece together the big picture.

Nowadays, even though I draft stuff only, I'm mindful of what I've seen in, and learnt from, draping videos. There are old courses from the 80s/90s on youtube that institutions made for their students.  Terrible quality, but they've been digitised and made free because the fundamental information is sound. There are also contemporary drapers who have their own channels. I had a lot of revelations about seam and dart placement as a result of watching them work. All stuff that has influenced my drafts.

[TSjursen]

To start off, any modern system aimed at the professional user should do you well. The Müller & Sohn system is widely used in the industry and has a lot of reference material especially aimed at costumes and period clothing. The Metric Pattern Cutting series by Aldrich is another good modern alternative.

Personally I do not like the Müller system but that is mainly because I think it is far more complicated than it needs to be in a bespoke tailoring setting. The Müller system is loaded with cryptic calculations and unexplained methods that shroud the whole process in mathematical mystery. Stylistically I think it is quite ugly as well, and the reliance on calucating every line and point sort of traps you in that ugliness, especially if you are an inexperenced cutter and don't know which lines are up for discussion and which are not. This is just my opinon though and it is not to say that it is impossible to create beautiful well-fitting garments with this system. I just prefer leaving more of the lines to the eye.

I second having a go at doing some draping. It really helps to train the eye for what happens in the cloth on the body when changes are made to the flat pattern. Take an in person course if that's available near you, otherwise there are many good videos on youtube as pointed out earlier. Draping usually aims at making a tight fitting body block which is then used as the basis for all other types of garment. In men's tailoring the traditional method is to go directly to the pattern for the finished garment, as the variations in style and seam placement are much more conservative. In a theatre setting it might not be a bad idea to use such a block system for men as well. Reading up on patternmaking for womens wear will also teach you about dart displacement, which is a concept sadly lacking from most traditional men's tailoring books. When it comes to pattern manipulation I can highly recommend the Pattern Magic-books by Tomoko Nakamichi.

When it comes to traditional men's tailoring I can recommend:

Modern Tailor, Outfitter, and Clothier (the first edition is available as a reprint and is very good, the 1949 edition is digitized on this forum somewhere and can probably be found on openlibrary as well).

The Art of Cutting and Fitting (J. King Wilson): a very good book on cutting in general and fitting in particular.

The Art of Fitting Gentlemens Garments (Reuben Sytner): a comprehensive guide to various fit issues, also has some good general info on cutting.

The old Cutter's Practical Guide books are interesting systems in themselves, but also contain a some good information on fitting, anatomy etc. Pocket editions continued to be published into the 1950s (edited by F.R. Morris) but I'm not sure the scans are available online. They used to be somewhere on the old forum, you might be able to get at them via the wayback machine.

The Theory of Garment-Pattern Making

The Practice of Garment-Pattern Making

(Both by W. H. Hulme)

The Clothing Trades Industry (B. W. Poole)

[Steelmillal]

Another link to sift through for content. Lot'sa gold here.

https://web.archive.org/web/20191202131320/http://www.cutterandtailor.com/forum/index.php?showforum=25

[anastasia_gr]

Thanks to everyone so far for your suggestions.

I am not a beginner actually, I was more curious what people thought on the matter. I have read lots of relevant books over the years and I find it strange that it is still such an underdeveloped subject. I was thinking of starting to write a book myself actually to start putting what I have learned over the years in order, and I was wondering if there is something essential I was missing. Of course every time I read another book or re-read one I read before I get a new perspective, so its a never-ending process.

In every day life I use Aldrich most I would say, and for historical stuff I of course love the Janet Arnold books, but I have also used others. I would actually love to be able to do a Janet Arnold type series on historical/traditional Greek/Balkan/Ottoman dress.

I also agree that draping is very useful, and here in Greece it is practically an unknown concept.

[TSjursen]

I'm not sure I agree that it is underdeveloped as such but I get what you mean. I think it boils down to the fact that in the end the variety of body shapes and the practical difficulties in taking accurate measures means that the process will always depend on the cutter's judgement to some degree. Formulas combined with measurements taken by a person can never fully replace the need for visualising how the body shape requires alterations to the pattern and how the pattern should look to create the desired effect on the body shape. After all we're not usually making skin tight suits but something that appeals to style, proportions and different degrees of ease/utility. These are the added layers of complexity that to a large part explain why it has taken so long to develop a machine that takes accurate measurements and produces a pattern to fit them. The difficult question in this regard is "what is (a good) fit?". Every other tailor will have a different opinion. Without an answer the programmer has no reference/starting point. The mathematics of approximating a 3d shape on a 2d plane is difficult enough, but programming a good fit essentially requires a programmer-mathematician-tailor. The economic aspects of that don't couple well with the dominance of fast fashion.

There are interesting things happening though. Digital prototyping in programs like clo3d for example is a very powerful and potentially cost/time saving tool. Combine it with a 3d scanner and you will get the ability to have an idea of fit and style before the shears cut any cloth at all. A lot of research is being done on how to translate 3d scans to patterns as well, check out the Hohenstein institute for example.

[Steelmillal]

Only a quick comment on 3D, etc. We use it all the time for surface scanning to CNC. It's crazy accurate, but pricey as you said, especially on large jobs. Where it fails, as I see it, is the movement a human body needs to make. I use ProE Creo and Solidworks for surfacing and have avoided automating patterns that I can use to construct a suit to fit any shape. There's fun in drafting, discovery, and mystery mistakes, otherwise it is a job and no longer art. The math for 3d amounts to geodesic parametrics. Think matrices. Dull, dull, dull...


In the old forum, someone from Moscow posted some drafts that were just that, geodesic and beautiful; and DZ posted a cpl from East Germany that had similar attributes in their development complexity. Neat for nerds and accountants, but soul destroying for artists, I think, who can just "see" "balance". Clear as mud, yeah, but explain shading with graphite on heavy parchment when it's "just right in whatever light"... You can't get there with technology. I've said too much... Find Buckminster Fuller; He'll explain it


Apologies Anastaisa for thinking you a newbie. The error was mine, Ma'am.

[Gerry]

I didn't assume you were a Newbie, Anastasia, just wanted to recommend the best books for any novices reading this thread. Apologies though, if you thought otherwise. 

Re 3D scanning, I watched a youtube talk about a UK institution who are developing body scanning tech. It became very apparent that they're still reliant on old-school cutting methods to actually create garments. Unless they develop a radical new way of cutting, it doesn't offer much other than one or two measurements (albeit invaluable ones) that are usually estimated (crotch width etc). It could potentially help with creating the ideal curving into the backside and crotch for trousers. And correct lines for shoulder slope too. But nothing that radical. Much of their research was to ascertain modern, average measurements to create better-fitting blocks for ready-to-wear.

Scanning has the potential to speed up the measuring and design process. However, I don't think it'll be putting any cutters out of work.

[TTailor]

As a theatrical costumer myself, I don't think there is any one book that will explain it all.

Personally I have developed my own drafting to use what I think is relevant from a variety of sources.
When I started there was no internet and information was scarce. A photocopy of the  Modern Tailor and Cutter, The Blue Book of Men's Tailoring, The Climax System of Cutting Gentlemen's Garments, Corsets and Crinolines and  books like 20,000 years of fashion and The Cut of Men's clothes were popular and useful to a degree.

I have since read and used Müller et Sohn and Der Zuschnitt Der Herrenkleidung. I found that the sections on fitting and pattern alterations in these German books are so much clearer than the Sytner  book mentioned in another post. The Janet Arnold series is great for historical research.

Since the internet, so much is available that it is difficult for people to assess what is actually good information.

I just use most of them to inform and inspire.
If I am making a tailcoat from 1830 or one from 1950, I try to find as much information as I can. If there is a draft available I often draft a garment  in half scale just to see the proportions, how the seam placements are determined, and how the draft works.
I have to make it fit the actor in front of me, so I need to know that my own drafting will work. I do not follow the drafts slavishly. I use what I need from them and I draft using my own methods.


For me the important thing is to try to understand the body shape and how to accommodate it two dimensionally in my drafting while achieving the desired period look.