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Switched from draping to flat pattern drafting last year
I used to pin everything on the dress form for hours. Found it took forever to get symmetry right. A teacher at FIT told me "the fabric lies to you on the stand." Now I do all my basics on paper first. Has anyone else switched their main method after years of doing it one way?
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taylor121mo ago
42 jackets in, and yeah @hugo_robinson25 I still drape for fitting tweaks but flat pattern saved me hours on symmetry and seam matching. Paper lies less about grainlines than fabric does on foam.
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taylor121mo ago
Paper lies honest. Fabric just slumps and pouts until you give it what it wants. I spent three years thinking I was bad at draping. Nope. Just bad at reading fabric's mood swings.
Still. Draping taught me things flat pattern never will. That little pinch at the shoulder blade? Paper never shows it until you're in muslin. But once you know that pinch exists, flat pattern keeps you from rediscovering it every single time.
Maybe we're all just trading one set of lies for another. At least paper lies are consistent.
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hugo_robinson251mo ago
The fabric lies to you on the stand" - I'd actually argue the opposite. Molding on the form catches fit issues paper drafts never show you.
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