What’s the Secret to Sewing Great-Fitting Garments? The Rub-off—the Insider’s Technique for Creating a Great-Fitting Pattern! Do you love to sew your own clothes but find it difficult to make commercial patterns fit? Has your favorite blouse seen better days but is no longer available in stores? Have you gained or lost weight so that your most flattering skirt doesn’t fit quite right, or would you like to update it by remaking it in a new fabric or adding new details? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’ll find the solution right in your own closet—by creating customized sewing patterns using garments you already own and love to wear. In Patternmaking for a Perfect Fit, Hollywood and theater costume designer Steffani Lincecum demonstrates the rub-off, a method of pattern drafting used by fashion and costume industry professionals that traces an existing garment or accessory without deconstructing or damaging it. Steffani starts with the basics, outlining two rub-off methods—tracing onto paper or draping with fabric—and explaining essential tools, materials, and sewing techniques. She then shows how to duplicate a skirt, a dress, a blouse, and a handbag, from rubbing-off the original, to creating the pattern, to cutting and sewing the new version, to making adjustments and incorporating a variety of other elements and details—not only refreshing your favorite fashions but replenishing your whole wardrobe with brand-new looks.

"Joi will guide you through evaluating the body, compensating for figure variations, taking extensive measurements and applying them to a commercial pattern to see how these vital pattern adjustments affect fit."--Provided by publisher.

Learn how to fit clothes and alter sewing patterns. Sew clothes you love that fit.

The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting is the ultimate reference for fitting test garments and transferring accurate adjustments to patterns. No matter what size or shape you are, wearing garments that fit perfectly makes you look and feel better. Rather than making commonly accepted changes to a commercial pattern, the method presented in this guide focuses on the way a test garment fits the body. The fabric is manipulated to improve the fit, and then those specific changes are made to the pattern. The result: patterns that fit perfectly! With The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting, you'll learn: The importance of a fitting axis and how to use it during a fitting How to recognize fitting issues, such as drag lines and folds How to manipulate fabric to solve common and unusual fitting problems How to transfer the fitting changes to your pattern easily Basic pattern-making skills to ensure accurate alterations See the fitting process from start to finish on basic garments, fitted on real people. Then follow fitting solutions on different body types. Hundreds of large color photos illustrate the techniques and concepts in simple step-by-step instructions. With these lessons, you will get the perfect fit for any body.

Fitting is more than learning how to adjust patterns. It is achieving a feeling of self-confidence that comes from knowing that your clothes are comfortable and attractive. Well-fitted garments that are oversized look fashionably loose-fitting rather than baggy; garments that are close to the body allow you to move comfortably because they are not binding. Whatever the style, a good fit eliminates unattractive wrinkles and gaping that draw attentions to problems. The Perfect Fit comes packed with clear, easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step colour photography that will help you master the art of fitting in no time. When you have successfully completed fitting adjustments on one pattern, you can take similar steps with other patterns and gradually develop expertise through experience. In the process you will educate your eye to see additional improvements worth making. Every time you work through a fitting technique featured in The Perfect Fit you will learn something of value. Compiled by the editors of Creative Publishing international (CPi).

Explains how to adjust patterns to fit different body shapes and discusses the basics of fitting and body measurement