Pattern Cutting Book Review: Beginners 1 of 5

The layout is presented nicely with a lot of white space surrounding illustrations, text and diagrams. The instructions and illustrations are very intuitive. It was the layout of the book that really caught my eye. It contains a lot of information without feeling too crammed. It is cleanly written and concise. The pages contain fashion photographs from top fashion designers, and with text that is nicely laid out so don’t have that overcrowding feel. The book is slightly on the large side and thick, so it is not a book you want to carried around all day with you.

The technique being taught is mainly flat pattern cutting and not the traditional way of draping on the stand using pins and cloth. Not everyone has a mannequin at home to drape patterns from, so that is a plus. It does cover a little on draping.

The author covers all the basic blocks for women which includes the bodice, skirt, dress, sleeves, and pants block. He also explains how you can combine a skirt block and bodice block to make a dress block. CLICK

Compared to other flat pattern cutting techniques, this book seems to hit the right spot since it is very straight forward with the technical language, which some of my students find difficult to follow when they use the Winifred Aldrich technique. You may find you might have to tweak the patterns a little to get it to fit your individual body types, but most pattern cutting books always require you to do this anyway since no two bodies are the same. As for fashion students, you can’t really go wrong. Especially most students will be finding models to fit into the garments than trying to make a garment fit a model in the first fitting. 

The book covers work from fashion designers such as Yohi Yamamoto, John Galliano, Comme des Garcons and Issey Miyake.

This is not just another boring pattern cutting book but one that containing real life examples to show you what the design should look like so you can make comparisons. Easy to understand and a lot more intuitive compared to other pattern cutting books out there I have seen. There are also some radical designs to inspire you along the way so not just a book telling you how to cut a basic pattern. It is encouraging to know the author also teaches at the London College of Fashion and has a fashion label, Lo and Cabon. I find the book is especially aimed at students studying fashion, entering the fashion industry or pattern cutters that need a refreshers course. Not really a book for the home sewer but there are many useful things in there that makes this book worth having. Especially if you want to understand more pattern cutting techniques and advance in some pattern cutting skills of your own. CLICK

The book starts with showing you the basic, fundamental tools you require for drafting patterns. This includes using a pattern master and other pattern drafting equipment. A lot of people drafting patterns at home all this time may not have realised, times have changed and there’s a lot of equipment readily available on the market which they may not have known, existed.

The author covers information on how to label your patterns to industry standard and codes manufacturers use. There is some information on CAD/CAM software but I skipped that bit since I was more interested in the pattern drafting side of the book.

The book is great for understanding the basic concept of pattern cutting. The book is aimed at beginners as well as students that have some knowledge in pattern cutting, showing you how to interpret the human form and look at clothing through the eyes of a designer, and enabling students to experiment and create patterns to their own designs. This book is perfect for the inquisitive types who like to break from the norm. The people with knowledge of pattern cutting already but like to challenge what is being taught. The book inspires and encourages the individual to experiment with style, design, and fit. It takes you from simple pattern cutting ideas to more advanced creative designs.

The author explains why certain rules cannot be broken and why some rules are standard. While most pattern cutting books just tell you how to draft a pattern, this book shows you why a pattern is drafted this way. A chapter which is a good example to demonstrate this is on sleeves, where he explaining the effect of different sleeve crown heights, how you can change the design using set measurements. I find this is a great reference book for teachers, especially if you have been pattern cutting for years and you need to brush up with the latest techniques. There is something new to learn. CLICK

Though this book does cover a lot of information I feel you might want to have another pattern cutting book to compare it to or work along-side with. This is because, although the book doesn’t assume you already have some knowledge of pattern cutting, it doesn’t seem to cover much on the slash and spreading technique of dart manipulation. Those that don’t understand this technique may find it a little confusing at first. If you are a beginner, you might want to check out my dart manipulation blog or search somewhere else for more information on this subject. I find dart manipulation is a vital technique that needs to be covered extensively, especially in women’s wear. Garments that fit a woman’s body will require the need of darts. Sometimes it may be necessary to require you to move or manipulate darts to fit the design. This will affect the style and look of the garment.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book for beginners, intermediates, and some advanced home pattern drafters who are interested in a new approach to pattern cutting. A great source book for students at college and universities. A book to have for referencing when drafting patterns in the future. Definitely one of the better pattern cutting books I have found over the years of teaching. Do note, this book is more focused on British fashion design but it doesn’t stop you applying these techniques to your own clothing. Even though I have had this book for quite a few years now, purely for reading and referencing, I still haven’t had the chance to study in depth 100%. Compared to what I was taught at university and what we used at the college to teach, this book should definitely be part of the curriculum.