Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (March 1, 2010) PDF 144 pages

An accomplished fashion designer shows women who make their own garments how to improve on store-bought sewing patterns by adjusting the clothing item's length and other details to reflect personal taste and create a custom fit. The book's opening chapters present an illustrated guide to the tools, equipment, and fabrics needed for making garments, while also serving as a miniature textbook to teach basic sewing techniques. Chapters that follow offer detailed instruction in adapting and altering a store-bought pattern to suit individual tastes. Alterations include adding flare, and modifying the shapes of bodices, arm holes, neck lines, sleeves, and skirts. The book's concluding chapters instruct on designing one's own patterns from scratch. Author Lee Hollahan demonstrates to her readers that once they understand how to adapt a store-bought pattern, they are well on their way to custom designing their own wardrobe. More than 500 instructive illustrations.

From the Inside Flap
(back cover)
Making clothes is fun, fashionable, and thrifty--but how can you find a pattern that fits you just right? And how can you adjust it if it doesn't?

This book shows you how to get the most from sewing patterns--from choosing the right size to understanding all the different markings and translating flat shapes into wearable garments. You will learn how to change the shaping, length, and detailing to suit your own body shape, taste, and style.

Once you understand how to adapt a store-bought pattern you are well on your way to designing your own clothes. You'll understand how to make a new pattern out of a ready-made store-bought one, or draft your own from scratch.

This book is suited to dressmakers' patterns of all shapes and sizes, styles, and skill levels. 

About the Author
Lee Hollahan teaches pattern cutting in fashion and fashion textiles at the University of West of England, Bristol. She has designed costumes for TV, film, and the stage, and she frequently lectures on the subjects of pattern construction and the history of fashion. hion.