Bradford class homework May 12, 2019

It's hard to believe it's already May!  I'm still trying to reconcile the fact it's past the end of January!  Of course the weather is not helping the situation, still wearing winter coats :(

Well the bright spot is this class, they are such a ray of sunshine and good humour!  Today we studied pants fitting there were some pictures, notes.. lots of notes and finally fitting the mock ups.  The students fit their pants one at a time going over in detail the adjustments that needed to be made, by far the most important class in the session giving a glimpse into the human anatomy and how to fit the negative space inside the crotch.  It really bends the brain to wrap it around how to make the adjustments but they are troopers and keep marching on, even the one who was sick last week came to class and was wowed by the mock ups and how well they fit even though they were only a "rough draft" of the pants! 

Evident flaws are for the most part preventable especially when pants are custom made.  The most common problem is the length.  Second most common is the gaping at the centre back.  Next comes the crotch length, too short, too long and this is only the men, women have even more issues because of child bearing there is a tummy, hips, glutes, thighs and the list goes on…. The most confusing part to making adjustments is the negative space inside the crotch, because it is a negative space the obvious adjustment done in the usual manner may create more problems than it solves, for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction, meaning that a tailor has to think outside the conventional, proverbial box to find the correct course of action and then take.   

There is usually a lot of praying and keeping fingers crossed but once a tailor gains experience they will recognize the body issues when taking the measurements, this will enable them to make the necessary adjustments when drafting the pattern eliminating a whole lot of problems later in the process. For example I already know that women don’t need as much space at the front but more at the back so I start with that in mind when drafting, changing the crotch curve to reflect this leading to a better fitting appointment and a happier customer. 

Homework is to draft a new pattern taking into account the findings from the mock up as done in class today to see the difference between the initial draft and the new adjusted draft, show all the markings; the notches at the knees, hips, front, back, tailor tack or mark with tracing wheel all horizontal lines but most important the pressing line. 

Create a pyjama pants using the new pattern as a mock up with an elastic waistband.  There is no casing for this method, the elastic is serged on to the fabric and turned once; allowance will depend on the width of the elastic.  The pant leg can be as wide or as tight as you like, however the length will be full length.  This is to be sewn at home, try it on to see if the fit is to your liking, if it is then draft a new basic pattern using personal measurements to add a front fly zipper and pockets next class.  Please bring everything to the next class for fitting and to check the patterns over.  We will touch base in two weeks to see the progress to better plan the next class send pix of the pyjama pants trials please. 

Also to draft a knit top with Dolman or Raglan sleeves, your choice, this is to be a draft only for practice, I will be asking to see this next class. 

May 30th is the next class, be good until then!