Designer Joi's Fashion Sewing Workshop: Practical Skills for Stylish Garment Design

Mahon (Creating the Perfect Fit), an experienced pattern designer and sewing instructor, zeroes in on garment design in this skill-building, workshop-style book. Pattern making and draping are essential skills for sewists designing their own clothing, and Mahon walks sewists through the basics of constructing a flat pattern, using slopers, draping, and pattern drafting. Each topic's introduction thoroughly explains the technique and its uses, an overview of the approach in action (e.g., the draping tutorial demonstrates how to apply the method to a bodice, a sleeve, and a skirt), and a series of exercises that illustrate different ways to employ each technique. Mahon also features a chapter on fitting (which she covers in more depth in her first book), fashion illustration, and developing a fresh outlook as a designer. Five half-scale slopers printed on heavy cardboard are included in the back of the work.