Design question: draping vs construction

[thefrancofille]

I have a question: I took and intro to fashion course which covered a lot of stuff and we learned how to take measurements and make patterns. This would be clothing construction, correct? Is the draping technique pinning clothes to a mannequin and sewing that way? Just trying to get some clarification. Thanks,

 

[fourboltmain]

Draping for me was using material rather than just measurements. You end up going back to laying your pattern out and making a master pattern form the fabric you cut, so it's a mixture of the two. I wasn't too impressed, but it was educational, definitely.

 

[thefrancofille]

Thanks. I'm going to look into taking a draping course.

 

[SalemK]

If you work from a basic pattern (a "block") and alter it to make new patterns, that's patterndrafting.

If you drape on a form with muslin, then make a pattern from that, it's draping.

They're both incredibly useful. Drafting uses lots of precise measurements and some math, while draping is much more free-form.

 

[Feline]

We did both when I was at college & they are both very useful. It depends on the style of garment/part of garment you are making which technique will work the best. Sometimes you need to experiment with both to get the look you want.

 

[educo]

I have a question: I took and intro to fashion course which covered a lot of stuff and we learned how to take measurements and make patterns. This would be clothing construction, correct? Is the draping technique pinning clothes to a mannequin and sewing that way? Just trying to get some clarification. Thanks,

Here is a breakdown.

Either way (draping or PATTERNMAKING is what you described above) will lead to a PATTERN. How you get to that would be flat, (taking measurements, plotting them down, etc) and the onther way is draping, which you drape a design on the dressform in a cheap fabric that closest resembles the actual fabric, mark it, fit it, and with that you can transfer that to paper that will go through another round of fine tuning and then you get a pattern.

Construction is the actual MAKING of the garment, you know, hand sewing, machine sewing, all the other labor involved in making your flat pattern pieces into an actual garment.


Hope that helps.

 

[superbeautiful]

Also draping for some designers is faster because , if experienced, they can skip the muslin sample, and start off with the actual fabric.

 

[Justjeans]

I have always preferred draping to pattern making, much more creative, you don't get stuck in the measurements of pattern-making techniques. As most clothes are produced & manufactured somewhere else for most countries around the world now, you need to have flat pattern making skills in the commercial design world, to send electronically to factories; but if you are like me and only create one off designs, then draping is important to learn, as the nuances in hanging fabric is my design ethos. Learn it and you have the best of both worlds!

 

[thefrancofille]

Very informative. Thanks!

 

[gius]

drafting for menswear vs. womenswear

bump*

From my experience, using instructions for womenswear to make men's clothes doesn't work... because there are bust lines...
When I used a menswear book to create men's clothing, it worked ...after lots of trial and error.

However in some books (for example, costuming) they will have a "general" pattern, in which they say to use the pattern for menswear, just get rid of the bust measurements...

--

My question, if I am doing "couture drafting" does it matter if the course is geared for womenswear or menswear? I mean they will be using MY measurements. The pattern should look like a guy's body
The course I am considering to take is labelled "couture drafting" --I don't know if there is anything different there to any other kind of pattern-drafting... Any suggestions?

 

[declan_steed]

No, it doesn't work. The proportions for the male body are different than womens'. Have you tried any of Aldrich's books?

 

[gius]

Yeah ^ His Metric Pattern Cutting for Menswear is the very book I was using

Do you think it would be worthwhile to learn womenswear drafting?
Maybe there would be a lot more complicated things that I could learn and apply to menswear

When I first started learning pattern drafting on my own through Aldrich's book, I just had troubles with altering the pattern... For example, knowing where to add to make it wider or if there was excess fabric, how could I get rid of it, etc. ... Maybe I wouldn't need to study specifically menswear drafting for those ideas?

 

[educo]

well guis, it's worth trying. Especially since womenswear uses so many details like pleats, tucks, etc. The directions are the same for men. Couture drafting is basically made to measure, so it shouldn't matter. Women have a Bust line where men have a cross chest line. Same thing. You're measuring the widest part of the persons chest. The proportions are different and so certain details that apply to womenswear will not apply to menswear, but this is where trial and error come in.
did you try this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Gui...=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215393496&sr=8-3

I have her womenswear book and it's pretty informative.

 

[gius]

I think I remember finding that book a long time ago and found it confusing.. but that was a long time ago I'll try to find it here, thanks!
Yeah, I think it's nice if I learnt some basic patternmaking on my own, but I guess a course or two from an instructor wouldn't hurt I'm kinda feeling more isolated lately anyhow lol, now that school is over

 

[fourboltmain]

Just eliminate the darts, or make them smaller for menswear. Everything on a person is different anyway, just adapt, improvise and overcome. The same principles apply. If you can do womens clothing, you can do it all.

Ahh... pattern making class... I remember the teacher asking us to hold up our darts, I held up a paper airplane...

Anyway, the book I had to buy I still have, unlike other books for school that are bartered and sold for beer money ASAP. It is:

http://www.amazon.com/Patternmaking-Fashion-Design-Joseph-Armstrong/dp/0131112112

Patternmaking for Fashion Design (4th Edition) (Paperback)
by Helen Joseph Armstrong (Author)

$100 USD last I checked. 800+ pages. It is a WEALTH of knowledge. If I had more time I'd be applying these skills, but this next semester I may be taking a CAD programming class that builds patterns to send to robots. Maybe...

This one's really good too, and about $25. It has nothing about patterns, but seams and techniques, etc are covered.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Sewing-Readers-Digest/dp/0762104201/ref=pd_sim_b_4

 

[LANZO_358]

I bought that book you reccommended ^^ and I must say it is good. Am a bit impatient for for patternmaking tho so my next step is getting a dress form to practice more of my draping.

 

[decadentdiamond]

I found starting with standard pattern blocks so tedious and it really got on my nerves. I really struggled at uni with this until my final year when I had a new patterncutting tutor, he looked at my designs, grabbed some random fabric on the floor and started pinning it on the stand and showing me how to do it. It was such a revelation to me! I quickly figured out I worked a lot faster and got my ideas across quicker when I draped them.. and that is how I continue to do my patterns. Although, it is a pain transferring your draped garment, into an actual pattern! Howeer, most of my graduate fashion collection didn't even have patterns, I made pretty much all of it on the stand with the actual fabric.

 

[gius]

i think the nice thing about knowing how to draft patterns than draping is that you can make clothes for yourself ...

 

[decadentdiamond]

Yes that's absolutely true!

Although I think a little bit of knowledge from both areas is important. If I knew nothing about drafting patterns, I don't think I would be able to transfer my draped design into an accurate pattern to be repeated.

 

[gius]

Can anyone show some examples of things that can only be done with draping?
Or at least would be harder to do, using the drafting method

I was surprised when I found out a cowl neck can be drafted

Also this top's drapes and gathers at the neck are also drafted

(marni.com)