Spent yesterday with a friend designing and drafting a pattern for her. My inspiration was a tunic top that had a cowl collar that formed a hoodie that she bought on trip in Italy. The hem of the tunic had angled "wings". It also had front pockets. She loves the top and wanted a pattern to make more like it. I started out taking her measurements and examining the tunic to see how it was constructed. A lot of educators recommend taking apart a garment when making a copy. However, I found that was not necessary. Using Judy Kessinger's master top pattern as a base, I created a basic scoop neck tunic length top, added "wings" (triangles) to the sides of the pattern front and back. Then I created a sleeve that fit her measurements and ended it just below the elbow. Like me, she has a large bicep so I had to accomodate for that. I created a cowl neckline pattern piece and then a hood. The two pieces can be joined together at the center back seam to give her the hoodie she wanted. I showed her different ways that the neckline can be changed around for a V-neck, a boat neck or a higher jewel neckline. I also created other looks with different collars. For the pocket, I created a large, rectangle pocket. I showed her how the ends could be rounded for a different look and created a flap for the pocket. The flap could also be used to create a V in the top of the pocket for another look. All in all, it took about 3 hours and we had a lot of fun. She is so happy with her new pattern. I cannot wait to see the tunic made up. After she left, I cut out another pair of pants for me and removed elastic from the pair of pants that I made the other day. I did not like how they looked. A fun sewing day all in all.
Marty