Fashion Incubator » Patterns http://www.fashion-incubator.com How to start a clothing line or run the one you have, better. Thu, 16 May 2013 00:39:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=220 Always get your patterns. Always. No exceptions http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/always-get-your-patterns-always-no-exceptions/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/always-get-your-patterns-always-no-exceptions/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 00:39:24 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=12856 this bears iteration (albeit paraphrased a bit):
... every time you pay an invoice for pattern services, you should get the electronic file for it. If you’re having manual patterns made, request that the provider drop a tracing in the mail.* If you don’t get the file or the tracing, you don’t contract for more work until you get what you want. It doesn’t matter if you can’t sew or don’t have a CAD system, you save these as an insurance policy. If it all goes south, you’ll only have to worry about having your last pattern made because you have all the others.
It is important to have this expectation built in from day one because the relationship is just lovely in the beginning. A real honeymoon. Service providers who can do the most damage are the ones who slowly gain your confidence. If you limit your exposure by expecting pattern delivery after invoice payment from the beginning, you’ll be able to manage a mess if it comes to that. So what messes are these?

Red flag: Not being billed for pattern work.

If you're working with a provider who is doing everything from patterns to production, examine your invoices carefully. If you're not billed for pattern work, you do not own those patterns and won't get copies of them. This means the provider has you over a barrel and you will find it very expensive to move to another provider should need be. Unfortunately, needing to move onto another service is more common than not because holding the customer hostage is a common problem associated with package services.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/always-get-your-patterns-always-no-exceptions/feed/ 4 Pattern Puzzle: Style #22005 pt.2 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pattern-puzzle-style-22005-pt-2/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pattern-puzzle-style-22005-pt-2/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:16:26 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=12694 ee_v2At long last -having been interminably delayed- comes the solution to last week's pattern puzzle. The upper bodice of which you can see at right. As I'd mentioned in comments, I didn't know how the neckline was going to present itself but this is what I came up with. With a cascade -as Ann correctly deduced- there are a wide variety of options. You play with the folds and fullness until you find something palatable and congruent with the style. Before I get ahead of myself, here is a list of image files which provide more detail on how the style was put together: Left side seam Close up of gusset at left side Full size front view Front bodice, straight on Three quarter view of front bodice cascade (from left) Three quarter view of front bodice cascade (from right) Right side seam Three quarter view of right side seam (from rear) Right side seam, skirt folds & gusset Back bodice Full back view Larger view of left side seam Another angled view of front And still another view of the front]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pattern-puzzle-style-22005-pt-2/feed/ 22 Pattern Puzzle: Style #22005 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pattern-puzzle-style-22005/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pattern-puzzle-style-22005/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:40:02 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://fashion-incubator.com/?p=12664 PP22005_smThe site feed has been broken. Let's hope this entry is delivered... This style amounts to an experiment I'm working on, it's being cut as I write so I have no idea if it will come out as I envision*. It is entirely possible it will come out looking rather horrid -as my last project did. I had done something incredibly stupid to it, I took screen caps of it as an example of what not to do so maybe I'll post it next week. It is as self explanatory as these things go. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to draw a picture of what you think this style looks like. I will give you one clue, it is supposed to be a dress.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pattern-puzzle-style-22005/feed/ 10 I’m being taken advantage of, how do I regain control? http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/im-being-taken-advantage-of-how-do-i-regain-control/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/im-being-taken-advantage-of-how-do-i-regain-control/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:44:49 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://fashion-incubator.com/?p=12633 While working at a fabric store, a business owner asked if I could sew prototypes for him. He said he only needed someone who could sew simple items. He was paying $10/hr so I went on to sew many prototypes for him. Two months later he said that he wanted my pattern. I asked for a raise for the hard work I made on this pattern. He doesn't want to give me a raise nor will he give me credit for creating the pattern. He said he would write me a letter of recommendation and mention my contribution as "HELP IN DEVELOPMENT". Bottom line is, no one helped me. I worked alone in the office he provided for me, and created the whole instruction manual myself (with detailed, symmetrical computerized how to pictures). Since the duties and required skills of your job had increased, the best time to have asked for a raise would have been when you began to develop the pattern. As it seems to stand, you'll have to rely on your employer's good will to get a bonus. The only exception would be if you developed the pattern on your own time and for which you were not compensated. If you were on your own time, your employer wouldn't be entitled to anything you'd done -barring of course, that you were salaried or had signed an employment contract.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/im-being-taken-advantage-of-how-do-i-regain-control/feed/ 11 Giveaway: Drape Drape Vol.3 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/giveaway-drape-drape-vol-3/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/giveaway-drape-drape-vol-3/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:17:32 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://fashion-incubator.com/?p=12601 dd3_f1_sm As I mentioned yesterday, thanks to the generosity of Laurence King Publishing, we're having a give-away of Drape Drape Volume 3. Yay! For my review, I constructed style #14 which is on page 74. I picked it because one couldn't tell what the style looked like because it was cut in black fabric or close enough to black as to make no difference. Which reminds me, for fitting purposes, you should never cut a style in any dark color even if the final design takes said color. It is too difficult to see problems or fit issues in dark colors. I cut this style in garage sale nasty fabric; its only saving grace being its light color -which I would describe as the decor du jour for US Army offices. Chairs, desks, walls, bookshelves -I tell you, this dress would fit right in. But I digress.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/giveaway-drape-drape-vol-3/feed/ 50 Ooh pretty. And another site migration http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/ooh-pretty-and-another-site-migration/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/ooh-pretty-and-another-site-migration/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:22:20 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://fashion-incubator.com/?p=12592 pfp_style_109_colorblockedAt long last, the site is being moved to a whiz-bang provider that won't knuckle under with too much traffic. It's been a significant problem over the past year -frankly, I've become afraid of my own site- hence my reluctant posting of late. The site has become too large and with too many visitors for middle of the road hosting. So, we're being moved to a VPS. That will happen tonight at 9:00 PM CST. You'll know you're landing at the new location when the most recent entry is a give-away for Drape Drape Volume 3. I even sewed up a sample for you. Speaking of, the sample shown at right is not from Drape Drape #3. The red and yellow bodice is a mock up of style #109 from my completely re-filmed video, Pattern Making for Professionals which I hope will be ready for sale mid May. Those of you who bought the 1996 edition will recognize this bodice; I used the same styles in this video as the earlier one. I didn't make color blocked mock ups for all the styles, only this one because it has unique style lines. I'll be sure to let you know when the DVD is available so you can learn how to remove darts and shift them into style lines (such as this one) via flat pattern making. So, give or take 48 hours (probably much less), we shall meet again. Until soon!]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/ooh-pretty-and-another-site-migration/feed/ 7 A Treatise on Sleeve Drafting http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/a-treatise-on-sleeve-drafting/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/a-treatise-on-sleeve-drafting/#comments Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:53:07 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://fashion-incubator.com/?p=12547 armsyce_primary_range_of_motion_pivotCourtesy of Timo Rissanen who found out about it from Holly McQuillan -those links aren't gratuitous, you should be keeping an eye on those two- comes word of a a Ph.D dissertation. It is a treatise (I hope) on sleeve drafting written by Morris Campbell, lecturer at Massey University in New Zealand. The full title is The Development of a Hybrid System for Designing and Pattern Making In-Set Sleeves. At right is but one of many images from the dissertation. I picked it because it illustrates the primary range of motion as I illustrated in my book on page 168 (chapter entitled Fundamentals of Fitting which as far as I know, remain undisclosed in any fitting books today). I am not suggesting this work is the definitive beginning and end of all things sleeve drafting (although I hope it is) because I have only scanned parts of it. I won't have time to read it until, oh, June or July, as you should safely surmise by now considering my posting tardiness of late. Other than looking at the many interesting pictures and the many math equations that I don't have the understanding to process, I did scan the bibliography.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/a-treatise-on-sleeve-drafting/feed/ 31 SOP: CAD pattern making processes pt.2 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/sop-cad-pattern-making-processes-pt-2/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/sop-cad-pattern-making-processes-pt-2/#comments Wed, 09 Jan 2013 03:58:26 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://fashion-incubator.com/?p=12420 the earlier post as folks left useful suggestions that deserve more exposure. In reference to my quest for solutions in better tracking of prototypes, muslins and samples, Lorraine suggested:
Regarding marking mock-ups–we sew in either a blank care label or will make a label cut from interfacing. Every prototype and fit sample is marked with the pattern number, date and name of the sample maker.
There were others of course but this most closely resembled what I was looking for. I also liked Dana's suggestion of tagging which would work for me since I'm often working off of samples coming in. She said:
I designed a paper tag (string/pin) that I had printed and I attach to all samples. Gives me more room to record date, version, approval status, and any other notes about the piece.
I told her that I had been doing something very similar because most samples I receive from customers aren't tagged with style numbers. None of my customers are attaching a paper tag but it would be so nice if they did. What is most needed is a simple tag, about the size of a shipping tag with the style number written on it. On the back, the designer's name and any other pertinent information would be helpful (because I'm not the only one processing incoming items).]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/sop-cad-pattern-making-processes-pt-2/feed/ 3 Pattern Puzzle: Q Twist pt.2 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pattern-puzzle-q-twist-pt-2/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pattern-puzzle-q-twist-pt-2/#comments Sun, 06 Jan 2013 02:38:38 +0000 Guest Author http://fashion-incubator.com/?p=12306 this puzzler -quite a challenge! For a radical departure from our usual pattern puzzle solution, we have the designer herself to explain it all for us. Please, a warm welcome to Martha Palaza who will explain it all for you! -------- Yes, Marita and Natasha were correct in their assumptions. This dress -called the Quaver Twist- was designed during a creative cutting course at the Academy of Art University while I was working on my MFA in fashion design. The basic assignments for the course included 38 different schematics which were stitched and then placed on the form to create at least 15 different samples. The catch? This degree was completed entirely online so you can imagine the number of samples I have photographed for potential garments. Once the basic assignment was completed -in this case “Quaver Twist”, quaver referring to the movement of the fabric- we were required to create our own interpretation. Hence the full title of the design: “Quaver Twist Interpretation.” Although the dress may appear complicated, the process was quite simple. The fabric was marked according to the stitching plan below (click to see a larger image).]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pattern-puzzle-q-twist-pt-2/feed/ 10 SOP: CAD pattern making processes http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/sop-cad-pattern-making-processes/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/sop-cad-pattern-making-processes/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:05:53 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://fashion-incubator.com/?p=12384 the previous entry, I needed to create a list of reminders for myself to navigate the differences between making CAD and manual patterns. Some of you may find this list to be a bit funny since you've never made patterns any other way than with CAD but I sincerely hope you will add suggestions and refinements. I'd appreciate it very much. SOP (standard operating procedure) pre-flight checklist for CAD patterns:]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/sop-cad-pattern-making-processes/feed/ 12