Patternmaking for Menswear: Classic to Contemporary SPI Edition

This book is a priceless piece for any starter. The book is 85% of Patterns with details and instructions. The other 15% teaches you how to understand the terminology, process and execution.

Ok folks, so I waited a while before I wrote this review because I wanted to actually draft something first. Well.....I drafted the sloper for the shirt and the pants and I must say, it is very accurate The slopers fit perfectly on the first try. Once you take care in measuring your figure, and you get your perfect sloper/block to fit, all the other exercises in the book are easy. With that said, I contemplated whether or not to give this book 4 stars instead of 5 but because of the accurate draft, this book well deserves the 5 star I have given it. It is not easy to find good Patternmaking books, especially for men where the draft is so spot on .Pros .. That made this book a 5 star -- it is VERY accurate, Diagrams are clear and concise. It is an easy read as the pages are well laid out with nice explanations for the differences between a woman and a man where Patternmaking is concern. This was much appreciated. A beginner can have great success with careful attention to details.Cons--- WISHED that as a seamstress/tailor who wants to teach with this book that people like us would have been more appreciated by the author and made the Ancillary resources available to us and not just for big colleges. We paid for the book just like anyone else. With access to the instructors guide including the course syllabi would have been appreciated .As for those like myself who like things in the metric, ALL you have to do is take your measurement using the metric system, and divide by the number they have given you. Example let's say on page 23 in the book It said D-A ( chest circumference /2)+2" . YOUR chest circumference is 96cm. Well divide 96 cm by 2 = 48cm now add 2"which is ( 5.1cm) to it.Hope this review helps someone in their purchase of this book. As for me, reading reviews always help make my decision somewhat easier.Here are a couple of pics. of the very first draft using this book. This is the classic fit.

Though I am a beginning sewist, I’m have done a lot of publishing in various media, including academic texts, and this is a great resource.I looked at several other similar books in PDF and tried some of the slopers, but didn’t think they were that great when i held what i traced up to other patterns I already had. Not only are the slopers very good, but everything is explained in an extremely thorough yet concise manner. By reducing the number of points and lines one needs to draft and using body ratios for measurements rather than certain arbitrary figures, this book provides easy to use methods for creating patterns accurately and quickly. It also provides comprehensive information for more up to garments compared with other options including extensive information on working with knitwear which is increasingly more common. Now most people tend to buy more knit wear off the rack, but don’t make much because they don’t have the information or the tools. Combine that with wanting information about menswear, and you’re left high and dry with few options.There aren’t many good patterns for contemporary styles out there - even if independent companies that allow for download and print options. You can get what you need from a handful of vintage patterns and some instructional videos online, but in the end, if you want to make your own contemporary menswear and especially knits - you’ll ultimately end up wanting to just draft things yourself - so get this book. The many years of experience of the authors in the garment industry and both as academic researchers shows through in this wonderful resource.Before writing this review I tried a few slopers and made muslins to ensure accuracy.

I've recently caught the bug of wanting to make my own clothing, or at least try to make my own clothing. I came upon this book, and a companion book, by the same authors. The text is concise and well written. So far, there isn't anything that has seemed outside my capabilities. A must for any budding pattern maker and sewer of quality clothing!