A 1961 pattern system from archive.org

https://archive.org/details/PatternDraftingAndGradingByMichaelRohr1961

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Thank you very much, @alex.farlie. I was just browsing through this PDF… It has some amazing information in it.

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It’s a shame it’s too recent, to use it as a basis for ‘pre-supplied’ blocks. There is a need for an open-source drafting system, to go with the Seamly program, as most existing published systems with a fit contemporary with 21st century sizing are still under copyright.

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It is an interesting text and I know colleagues who have copies of it. Great period styling details! Interesting that it is developed with only the waist dart rather than a shoulder dart, or a combination of darting.

I think one issue with all the Pattern making systems/books/drafts is they are based on what was/is considered standard sizing and proportions of their time.

Most of them are great in and of themselves, but what I find lacking for people trying to learn is the lack of explanation of how the draft works. I’d say the system that comes closest to demonstrating the why and how is Guido Hofenbitzer’s drafting system.

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Given the origins of the publication, I am thinking that the users of it would know enough to be able to add their own alternative dart points.

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I found, at a quick glance through, that the method is very similar to Helen Joseph-Armstrong, and a few others, where the centre waist to shoulder tip measurement is used to determine the slope of the shoulder. If you would like a shoulder dart, you can always slash & spread a portion of the waist dart to there.

Also in my quick glance, I saw a section that very well explains the dimensions from the model to the pattern piece, making it very visually understable.

I’m really not bothered with the measurements in the book because they also explain, very well, how to take your own measurements and Seamly2D, being what it is, will resize the pattern according to whatever measurement file you load. So you can use more recent measurements and still get a very perfect pattern.

What reall struck me about the book is the multitude of design that one can achieve but slashing and spreading, joining and adding gussets. These are aften only touched on in other systems or you need to buy the next book and the one after that. Here you have a multitude of options, so your creativity can run wild :grin:

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