Unlocking the Secrets of Pattern Drafting: A Recap of the MHW Pattern Making Retreat
The My Handmade Wardrobe Pattern Making Retreat took place at the beautiful Winstanley House hotel.
9 guests joined myself and Cath McBean to take a step towards unlocking their creating potential and becoming their own designer!
The retreat commenced with a warm welcome gathering, as any great social event should. After guests checked in, everyone gathered at the opulent art deco-themed bar within the Black Iron restaurant, setting the stage for our first delightful evening meal of the retreat.
All the guests enjoyed getting to know each other before we were joined by our special guest for the evening, Debra Drake, contestant on the 2022 Great British Sewing Bee.
Debra joined us for dinner, sharing snippets of behind the scenes gossip and her extensive fashion and art knowledge. It was the perfect start to the inspiring and creative experience.
After dinner, Debra shared an interactive discussion about Channel and her influence on the way we dress as modern women.
She showed us one of the beautiful Channel style jackets she made herself and the intricate hand detailing that goes into this.*
Her presentation was fascinating and I am now even more disappointed I failed to get tickets to the Channel exhibition at the V&A… But that’s another story for another day!
*if you are interested in learning how to make your own French style jacket, Debra is teaching a course at her studio in Wales in July this year (I am so tempted to join if I can just incorporate it into my family holiday…)!
Find out more at https://sewingwithstyle.co.uk/products/24_07_22-french-style-jacket
We all retired to our lavish bedrooms, well fed and inspired! Our deluxe double rooms were beautifully furnished. Mine featured a beamed ceiling, large bath with copious fluffy towels and the MOST comfy bed!
There was also a Nespresso coffee pod Machine which was a godsend for a cuppa in bed before the teaching day began!
Breakfast was served in the main Black Iron restaurant and consisted of a range of cereals, yogurt, fresh fruit and juices, tea and coffee aplenty and then a full range of cooked breakfast choices. I chose scrambled eggs and smoked salmon and it was delicious!
The guests assembled in the teaching room after breakfast and teaching started at 9.30 with a discussion about blocks and how to use them. We then moved in to an interactive measuring demo where everyone learnt exactly where and how to measure themselves and we noted all the measurements needed to draft a bodice block plus some extras for future pattern drafting.
After this we complete the step by step stages of drafting a bodice block.
The students all had a workbook to follow and were encouraged to work through each section and makes notes. This was designed specifically for the retreat as a resource to be referred back to as they develop their pattern drafting.
After lunch, we dived into a fascinating interactive workshop with Cath on Dart manipulations- these really are the key to becoming your own designer and making full use of your bespoke block.
Students worked with half scale blocks to practice moving and pivoting darts around the bodice, into seams, into gathers and pleats and into flared styles.
Working with half scale blocks allowed them to quickly visualise and grasp the concepts and soon all the interesting and creative design ideas were flowing!
After this we split into 2 groups, one group focusing on full bust adjustments where required, whilst the other made toiles of the bodice blocks and started fittings. We shared tips on pinching out excess to contort the block to the body and moving it into seams and darts to gain a good close fit. We discussed ease and how it is subjective, empowering each maker to choose their own desired fit.
We discussed how to fit yourself and how to be a good fit buddy to others.
We looked at best practice for marking up a fitting toile, transferring your fit amendments to the toile and then from this to the paper block including how to create and amendments check list to make sure nothing gets missed!
By the end of day 1 we were all, as one of the guests put it, “at capacity”!
Everyone was exhausted but very happy with what they had learnt and we enjoyed another very well deserved 2- course meal and a VERY good nights sleep!
Throughout the retreat our guests were sustained with hot drinks, pastries, homemade biscuits, flapjacks and macaroons. All Dietary needs were well catered for.
We enjoyed hearty mushroom soup and fresh baked rolls for lunch on the first day and we congratulated ourselves for our successful learning with a lavish afternoon tea on the second!
On day 2 as toile fittings continued, we also made sleeve blocks and looked at how to design a garment and make a pattern using the block. We discussed how to annotate your pattern pieces and write your own construction notes and instructions.
By the end of day 2, all guests had completed a well fitting toile and transferred this to paper and to card. We discussed next steps and said a fond fair well to our new sewing friends.
The retreat is designed to equip you with all the tools you need to start your own pattern making journey.
However, our support doesn't end once the retreat concludes. I set up a WhatsApp group to share info in the run up to the retreat and Cath and I are really enjoying continuing to interact with the group via WhatsApp as they share their design ideas, experiments and questions. Now they have their fitted bodice blocks, many of the guests are starting to experiment with their toiles and it is wonderful to see their designs ideas come to life!
It is also wonderful how supportive the group is of each other, I’ll continue to share their progress over in my Instagram feed. I can’t wait to see what they create!
I am planning to run another retreat next year so if you are interested in this please sign up to our newsletter and drop me a message at Myhandmadewardrobepatterns@gmail.com
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