Patternmaker Pro patterns don’t come with instructions or fabric cutting layouts. This is intentional and will result in garments of higher quality.

I’ve been sewing for a very long time and I always used purchased patterns. I was constantly disappointed in how things turned out. Not only was fit a persistent problem, but the construction techniques were often vague and confusing.

As it turns out, the problem was not always the instructions. It was my lack of knowledge. I didn’t really understand what I was doing and why.

It really wasn’t until I started drafting patterns and seeing how they relate to the body that I started to understand garment construction.

So rather than an instruction sheet that tells you to put a zipper up the back of a dress, I’m going to teach you how closures work and how to incorporate them.

This gives you an immense amount of freedom. You may think this is harder, but actually it is much easier. You’ll see a top and know that you can close it with a zipper, buttons, snaps, lacing, frogs or toggles. You’ll know what you need to do to accommodate all of those options on the patterns.

You’ll understand how garments pull on fasteners and therefore the best placement and spacing. You’ll learn that the utility of the garment and the weight of the fabric has everything to do with closures.

You’ll also learn about sewing seams and all the seam finish options. Again, this is a huge function of the fabric you use.

You’ll have the confidence to sew anything with a deep understanding of construction. Not only will you know how to do all of this, you’ll understand why and that’s everything.

Some of this content exists in this manual now and some will be added in the near future.