I had enrolled in Pattern Making Level II but it was cancelled. It appears that most of the fashion part-time courses have been cancelled except Pattern Making Level III. I tried to enrol in the other fashion courses but they too have been cancelled. I guess it is because of the economy. Therefore having said this, how can I keep up my skills from Pattern Making Level I? I do not want to lose what I have learned. New courses do not start up until September and the way things are going, there may be more cancellations.
Thanks
Replies
Practice what you have learned. You have done enough pattern making to make simple and not so simple garments. Keep on making your own garments. Keep drafting and keep sewing. Work with what you have learned for yourself and for others you wish to sew for. Keep on learning on your own. See a garment that you are curious about? Try drafting it in 1/4 size just for fun. Turn RTW inside out to see how it is put together. Try sewing patterns without the guidesheets to see if you can figure it out yourself. Challenge yourself and keep on going. You need to refine what you have already learned, and use those skills. Cathy
I agree with Cathy. There's a good article in the current issue of Threads about a designer who works in 1/2 scale sizes. The 1/4 scale Cathy suggests would be even better - would use less fabric, etc. You could also apply your designs to several different types of fabric, to get a better feel of what to expect. Working in a smaller scale makes it less expensive to try luxury fabrics, as the article points out.
Quarter scare garments will fit the small drawing dummies, or almost a Barbie or Fashion doll. Even if the pattern is never taken to the completed garment stage, the drafting and muslin stage is enough to check to see if you are on track before going full size in a garment. The pieces will then fit into a binder for future reference as well. Cathy
I agree that you could keep in practice by drafting patterns and then making slopers from them. I do not think that drafting patterns to 1/4 or 1/2 size would be of much use at your stage of experience. As for making up tiny garments, you may get sewing experience by doing that but gain no knowledge of draping or discovering how fabrics would behave on a real person.If you did work with 1/4 size garments, it would be much easier to work in centimetres than in inches.
I agree with the other posters but have an additional suggestion: do an independent study class by yourself. If you have the list of techniques and projects from the next class, schedule yourself to learn those on your own, using online and library resources. Keep a notebook, set a certain time each week to work, and apply the skills you have learned from the first class in approaching new projects and challenges. You can also reflect on the teaching methods from the previous class and selectively use those which worked the best for you and discover new ways of learning (self-teaching) that work even better.From previous posts, it seems that few of us have ever had formal instruction in pattern making, but most of us do it often and successfully. By doing an independent study, you'll gain valuable practice at the very least and possibly even learn enough not to need a formal Level II course! Keep us posted on your progress.
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