Custom clothing

[mtbc]

I have been curious about sewing patterns. Humans are an awkward shape but somehow tailors measure people and figure how to cut pieces of material so as to assemble them garments that fit well. Naturally I wondered what the challenges are in producing software that, given one's measurements, provides one the patterns.

One issue that people face is the limited selection available off-the-peg in stores. I do okay but I know some people who just don't seem to be the typical shape so even after finding some desirable garment in apparently the correct size, it turns out that some part of it is too tight even though the rest is fine. Personally I suppose I have seen a similar issue with my feet: they are not very unusually shaped but sufficiently so that I cannot just assume that a random's shoes standard fit will work.

It is thus with some pleasant surprise that I now discover the Freesewing platform: free sewing patterns drafted to your measurements:

All our patterns are free of charge. We provide detailed instructions to make them into garments, and can help when you get stuck.

It appears to be a bunch of GPL-licensed PHP5 mainly from one guy; I have yet to peruse it with any care. Still, kudos to him for creating and sharing software to provide customized sewing patterns.

I figure that perhaps sewing such clothing may be within my ability. mst3kmoxie owns an adequate sewing machine. Tailoring intimidates me but perhaps if we clear off the dining table then that will provide enough room for me to learn how to cut, line and assemble panels from given patterns.

Next week I plan to make use of a visit to the US to do some more clothes shopping for myself in a consignment store rather than, say, Kmart or Target. Some of our children's better clothes comes from charity shops but I miss the large American ones that are more sure to have something worthwhile and findable. The exciting possibility of custom tailoring at home does mean that I should first check if material is even available affordably or if the clothing in cheaper stores is sold for even less than it would cost me to buy the material to make it.

Comments

[muninnhuginn]

Home sewing--great for tailoring to fit. However, fabrics are expensive, depending on what you go for. You won't save money over buying from the cheaper end of the retail spectrum.

But good luck--it's very satisfying when you achieve a unique piece.

Which reminds me I have a pair of trousers to finish (started three weekends ago and not quite finished in one go).

[mtbc]

Last time I visited my mother I helped her to look for something, perhaps knit, that she'd not managed to finish in time for Her Majesty's silver jubilee; she thought she might do a bit more of it. Good luck with the trousers.

Maybe the premium for reasonable material isn't too bad? I should think about where to look. I do recall that years ago John Lewis in the center of Cambridge used to sell fabric but, well, I suspected that in general they avoided awkward price-matching by not stocking discount-branded goods in the first place!

[muninnhuginn]

Ah, sweater knitting: I've been making one for my husband for about a decade. I recently suggested that amputating an arm* would speed matters up no end ;-)

Cambridge used to be great for fabric shopping. Now there's only the ever-shrinking range in Robert SaylesJohn Lewis.

Online's the place (and it'll come from Germany where things still amazingly get manufactured).


* His, obviously.