Dear friends, as this shambolic year grows to a close, I’ve been thinking a lot about process, and the ways and whys of how we do things. As Grace Hopper famously said, “Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, “We’ve always done it this way.” I try to fight that. That’s why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise.” I do try to push back and question things that aren’t working, or seem off, or maybe the information just isn’t valid anymore. However, I’ve been a bit stuck in my thinking and habits these days (thanks, Pandemic), and I desperately want to hop out of stagnation, so join me for a bit of thought exploration!
Recently, I’ve seen a lot of information floating around the Instagram sew-sphere these days, some right, some wrong, and a lot of in-between confusing flotsam, that makes it really hard to tell what information to trust. Everyone seems to have tip videos, tutorials, individualized methods, Patreons with exclusive content, and of course, accounts that like to refer back to (IMO) rather outdated pattern books as “Golden Standards That We Can Never Deviate From.” What’s right? What’s wrong? Who can tell? The worst part is that repetition breeds familiarity, which breeds believability.
So what am I getting at here? A couple of things! Just because someone has a YouTube channel does not mean they know what they’re talking about, or because someone toiles endlessly doesn’t mean they’re a fit expert. Sure, it’s fine to blog/story/post a creation process, and it can be really enjoyable to follow along. But just as Facebook makes it really easy to spread disinformation, Instagram can do the same thing. When people use massive platforms to share their journey, it’s important to know before you share, if their information is good or questionable. Vet your sources! Infographics do not an authority make!
If you are coming in as a beginner looking for help getting started, I’m going to tell you to read some pattern books, go to trusted publications for how-to videos and information, and talk to people who really are experts, before starting with Instagrammers, Influencers, and Bloggers. If you can, take classes (virtually for now, in person when it’s safe). There are a lot of great and affordable options available; skip through to the end of this post for a resource list.
Once you’ve had time to learn “proper” techniques, it’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff. Think about what felt crappy. What information did you learn that seemed hard to parse? How about methods that don’t account for modern fabrications? Or maybe fitting advice that condescends to larger bodies, or doesn’t include information for extended sizing? Are things called “flattering” a lot? Ableist or privileged assumptions? Are there faster and less confusing ways to do something? Always Be Questioning! ABQ!
And… this is where I tell you that just because something is “The Way It’s Always Been Done” doesn’t mean we have to keep doing it that way. There’s such great information in a lot of those “Golden Standard” books, and in those trustworthy publications, and in the minds of all those experts. But there’s also:
- A lot of judgmental writing about figures and gender.
- A lot of assumptions that don’t account for:
- Bodies of different ages
- Bodies of different ability
- Bodies of different gender expressions
- Bodies of different cultures and ethnicities
- Makers/sewists who are not neurotypical
- Makers/sewists who don’t have the ability or funds to buy every single specialty supply
So now, what’s the right way? Can we innovate on what came before and make a better option? Or at least one that’s more customized? Keep in mind that in patternmaking and sewing, there are often several different ways to get to the same end, and it’s a matter of finding the best particular way for you. Just because Helen Joseph Armstrong says not to do something using her method, doesn’t mean you can’t do it using your own. Additionally, these are fields that love tradition, but the world keeps evolving! The worlds of performance textiles and cradle to cradle denim come to mind as examples, and are quite staggeringly cool. I believe there’s no reason patternmaking practices can’t change, especially after receiving all of your excellent feedback for this year’s pdf pattern feedback posts #1 and #2!
Keep in mind, though, there’s a difference between innovation and invention. Anyone can come up with a hot tip that works just for them. Now, accurately testing it, making sure it produces reliable results time after time, and that it can be reproduced precisely and easily by someone else — that takes skill and time, and why I brought up the importance of using trusted sources as your body of base knowledge. If you’re innovating on an imperfect system, you may end up with something unusable. Experimenting is totally fine, and actually a great creation tool! But using bad source material can lead to burn out and poorly fitted garments, which is always a complete and total bummer.
Tl;dr– is there a right way of doing things? Not always! Sometimes it’s just about being flexible, and evolving along with the world, and giving ourselves permission to experiment and create. Also, watch out for suspicious shortcuts that seem too good to be true…
Change for the better, strategic vision, and innovation are a few things I’ll be trying to center going into a new (and hopefully less-stressful) year. I’d love to know what you’re thinking about, and what your plans are for the next year!
“Golden Standards” Resource List For Beginners
Patternmaking Books:
- Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Joseph Armstrong
- Metric Pattern Cutting for Womenswear (also available: Men’s/Children’s) by Winnifred Aldrich
- Patternmaking for Men’s Wear by Gareth Kershaw
- Pattern Magic Series by Tomoko Nakamichi
(These are all Amazon links [but not affiliate links]; however, ebay has been known to have various editions of these books, and your local public library may have them, or be able to find them for you through interlibrary loan programs. Also, many libraries have regular sales of books they can’t lend, and I’ve found so many treasures for not much money — definitely worth looking into.)
Classes:
- Bluprint is now Craftsy again, and they are running a LOT of specials on subscriptions, so this can be a very affordable option.
- Check with your local fabric store, or colleges with fashion design programs. Community and Technical colleges often offer fashion design courses and certifications that are less expensive than a private college.
- Burdastyle Academy offers à la carte online classes that are oriented for beginners.
- If you’re really serious, you may want to invest in some classes from Motif, which is a partnership with Alvanon (most known for developing industry fit forms globally) that offers professional development courses specifically for the apparel industry. Some offerings can be heady, but there are also really great fitting workshops available.
Please feel free to add suggestions for this list in the comments; I hope community-sourced “Golden Standards” will be added here as an additional resource for us all!
Gabby is a technical designer, fit specialist, and prolific googler. She lives in Denver, raises tiny littles, reads, embroiders, makes, experiments, fails, learns, tries again. See her on instagram @ladygrift.
When I started watching Peggy Sagers at Silhouette Patterns FREE webcasts fitting became understandable and easy for me.
Thank you for the recommendation, and extra credit for including cost info- very appreciated 🙂
I mostly taught myself how to sew by reading blogs & trying stuff. I made all my own clothes for years. Then, this year, I enrolled in fashion design school because I decided I really wanted to pursue a career in the industry. I kinda assumed that I already knew how to sew & the construction classes would mainly consist of jumping through hoops & executing the assigned patterns. Boy, was I wrong! I have learned SO MUCH from actual industry professionals! I had never, in all my years of reading sewing blogs, heard the term “taut sewing”. Sure, I’d heard about how you can train yourself to sew without pins & how much faster it is & how that’s the industry standard, & I even did it myself a lot of the time. But in my very first apparel construction class, the instructor walked us through taut sewing & just that one little change to the way I hold my fabric has been such a game changer. I’ve also learned cutting tricks that make things go a lot faster, & pressing techniques, how to ease a sleeve head without thread, & I sewed buttons on by machine for the first time. These are all things I maybe could have learned in time, but I’d been sewing for almost ten years & hadn’t come across any of this stuff yet. I’m a convert. If you have access to classes with someone who truly knows what they’re talking about, they’re invaluable.Most of my classmates are pretty new to sewing (only one had ever sewn a dart before) & I wonder if they realize how lucky they are to be starting off with such great instruction.
All of this! I’m so glad you had such great results!! 😁 I had a similar experience, I’ve drawn and painted through my childhood and high school years, and taken local classes, but my first fashion sketching studio class at college changed *everything*. It was night and day, just having that professional instruction and critique and collaboration. Thank you for sharing your experience!
i always enjoy your posts!
I seem to learn the most when I make mistakes…. and then have to figure out what went wrong. I am also a firm believer that there are always multiple ways to achieve success when one makes a garment.
aw, thanks for reading! Yes- you’re absolutely right 🙂 I know making mistakes can be such a bummer, but it’s a very good way to learn ❤️
*roaring applause* It took me years of sewing and involvement in the online sewing community to realize how much privilege and gatekeeping is present in certain areas. I’ve seen so much fitting advice that’s full of thin privilege, tools and fabric advice that’s full of financial privilege, and general condescension towards self-taught sewists. I love posts like these that encourage people to evaluate information on their own, take what works for them, and discard what doesn’t.
Great post. As a last bullet on assumptions, you can add fabric snobbery. I have been sewing many years, and know while fabric recommendations are helpful, a sewist’s choices are by no means limited to them. Yet over and over, in blogs, forum threads, etc. I see guidance to buy the best fabric you can afford, and buying quality always. It seems limiting to the discussion, as well as creatively limiting. What the pattern should recommend are the specific qualities that the fabric should have to achieve the results the designer achieved, and nothing more. I saw one Vogue pattern that had one recommendation: silk noil. Please…. how about describing the characteristics of the fabric that silk noil has? Maybe that way too we can learn something about textiles, and how to evaluate them.
You know what’s crappy? A former Sewcialists editor took a certificate course through Burda to become a teacher, and they wouldn’t let her sew the basic garments in her size – the only option was to make the basic pencil skirt etc in the small size range, like Burda didn’t have a million similar plus size patterns? Bullsh*t.
Given Burda’s history, where I feel like they hold plus size patterns and sewists away like a stinky diaper, why does it not surprise me that they did something like this?
wow that is ridiculous!!
I hope it’s ok to post this: I am a patternmaker and technical designer and have just started offering one-on-one virtual classes. Inquire at http://www.caam reative.com
I have a backwards running clock in my office! Love watching people notice it for the first time…
Long ago, I got very bad marks in ‘Home Ec’ because I didn’t want to follow the class pattern to the letter…and most of my life I’ve done my sewing alone, and with lots and lots of books. I recently joined a sewing group and I really love the interaction and discussion with other sewists – I am trying lots of new things and get a lot of inspiration. I do still love my books though, and I often find just the information or technique I need in my really old books from the ’30s-’50s (very t&t)!
The sewing world has sort of exploded into a craft with ‘personalities’ and a lot of people follow bloggers and especially YouTubers that entertain instead of those with real sewing skill and teaching talent. But a lot of time those personalities are also way more approachable than people who have been sewing for decades and demand that everyone follow the RULES. I’m active in a couple of sewing forums and so many times I’ve seen those new to sewing excitedly ask a question and they’re almost berated because they don’t have the right machine or notions, or they’re starting out sewing with knits (inexpensive ones at that) and EVERYONE knows that you have to master wovens before you move to knits 🤨.
This post made me so happy – I have ADHD which affects every aspect of my life, I live with chronic pain, I have narrowish shoulders, a narrow back (two dress sizes down from my front ribcage), and a very large bust… so many reasons I don’t fit inside the norm. Thank you so much for recognizing that the ways in which we are all different impact every aspect of pattern adjustments, fitting and sewing. Aaaand now I need to wipe the tears from my eyes. It’s been a year….
Couldn’t agree more. And as someone who wants to contribute to the sewing community, I formed my company to share *A* way we sew – not *THE* way we sew. I LOVE learning new techniques and approaches, but I when I see outdated techniques swapped and shared and referenced again and again, it does something to my sewing soul. I think what I feel most upset about when I see bad advice get replicated is that I feel sorry for the new sewist trying the technique, and can only imagine the frustration they must experience. Thanks for writing this.