Professional made-to-measure digital sewing patterns — PDF · PLT · DXF AAMA
Reference guides to garments and their parts: skirt and dress silhouettes, sleeve, collar and neckline types, and the anatomy of tailored pieces — the vocabulary behind every pattern.
36 articles
An oversized suit is not a regular suit in a bigger size. The extra room has to go to the right places, and the construction has to soften to match.
A high neck has to stand up, stay clear of the throat and still open wide enough to pass over the head. How funnel necks, stand collars and mock necks are built.
Cut suede, ready-made trim or fabric unravelled thread by thread: how each fringe is made, which skirt shape carries it, and how to control weight and hang.
Knife, box or inverted pleats in a light fabric: how to choose the cloth, mark and set the folds, attach a waistband and hem a pleated midi skirt so it swings.
A fur or shearling collar turns a plain overcoat into a winter statement. Pile fabrics need their own cutting, seaming and pressing techniques.
A cobalt or turquoise suit shows everything: every pressing mark, every wandering stitch line. Here is how to choose the cloth and adapt the pattern for color.
Ribbed cuffs and hem, a front zip, a smooth lining and a relaxed cut: the parts of a bomber jacket and how to handle leather and technical fabrics when sewing one.
Slim trousers leave no room for error at the seat and crotch. Here is how to taper the leg, choose ease for each fabric and sew leather successfully.
A band under the foot that keeps the leg straight and long: how to add a stirrup to a pattern, which stretch fabrics work, and how to fit the ankle and instep.
Bold shoulders are built, not just padded. Shoulder pads, sleeve heads, extended shoulder seams and the pattern changes that make a strong shoulder look intentional.
A made-to-measure jacket is only as accurate as the numbers behind it. Which measurements matter, how to take each one and the mistakes to avoid.
An overcoat is cut to go over a jacket, which changes its ease, length and fabric. A guide to the classic styles and how to choose and sew one.
From the three-piece suit to white tie, the waistcoat comes in more forms than most people realize. Here is how each style is built and how it should fit.
Gorge, notch, roll line, break point: the parts of a lapel, the three classic shapes and the sewing steps that make a lapel roll instead of lying flat.
One row of buttons or two is not just a style choice. The overlap changes the lapel, the buttonholes, the facing and how the jacket sits on the body.
For most of the nineteenth century, a gentleman's day coat was the frock coat. Then the morning coat took its place. Here is how day formal wear evolved.
The shoulder sets the character of a jacket. Here is how its padding has grown and shrunk over a century, and how to choose a pad when you sew.
The blazer began as a brightly coloured club jacket and a naval reefer. Here is how it became the navy jacket with metal buttons we know today.
The dinner jacket began as an informal alternative to the tailcoat and became the standard of evening dress. Here is its history and the rules of black tie.
The tailcoat began as a practical coat for riding and became the most formal garment in a man's wardrobe. Here is how that happened and how it is made.
A capsule wardrobe rests on a handful of well-cut essentials. Here is what those pieces are and the pattern each one is built on.
The hem is the last edge finished and often the most visible. Here is a reference to the main hem types and where each one belongs.
Outerwear names carry specific meanings rooted in function and history. Here is a reference to the main coat and jacket styles and what defines each.
The waistline seam is one of the most powerful proportion tools in a garment. Here is where each waistline sits and what it does to the figure.
The cuff and placket finish the sleeve and quietly set a shirt's formality. Here is a reference to the main types and how each is built.
Silhouette is the outline a dress cuts against space, independent of its details. Here is how the classic silhouettes are defined and shaped.
Pockets split into three construction families: applied, seam-set and inset. Here is a reference to the main types and how each is built.
Pleats are controlled folds that add fullness in an ordered way. Here is a reference to the main types and where each belongs on a garment.
Trouser styles come from two variables: the rise and the leg line. Here is a reference to the main silhouettes and how each is shaped.
The trench coat is a catalogue of functional details inherited from military use. Here is what each part is and the job it originally did.
A tailored blazer is an assembly of engineered parts. Here is a component-by-component anatomy of how it is built and why it holds its shape.
Collars divide into flat, standing and rolled families by how much they rise from the neckline. Here is a reference to the main types.
The neckline frames the face and sets the tone of a garment. Here is a reference to the main shapes and how each is drafted and finished.
Sleeves fall into a few structural families defined by how they meet the armhole. Here is a complete reference to the main types.
A dress is a bodice and skirt joined by a waist decision. Here is a reference to the main dress types and what defines each silhouette.
Every skirt style comes from how fullness is added or removed at the hem. Here is a reference to the main silhouettes and how they are built.
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