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Books
🕑 Added 2023-01-16 12:47:49 +0000 UTCBelow is a list of patternmaking book that I have read in no particular order. If your favorite book is not in the list please let me know in the comment. These books are particularly focused on patternmaking, not sewing. As a general tip for English speaker, choose books that are written natively in English (book from US, UK or by Korean authors) because many translated books are not well translated - they may use unconventional term which may confuse you.
1. Aldrich. ISBN 140518292X - Compact and straight to the point, but may be hard for beginner to navigate. Has version for women, men and children. The men block has built-in seam allowance which annoy me who make garment mainly in 3D. However I find the pattern is faster to create because it require less measurement. Unlike other books which enlarge basic block to make other garments, this book has already modified blocks for shirt, knitwear, jacket, coat, etc. Use metric measurement. Digital version available.
2. Myoungok, Injoo. ISBN 160901944X - Comprehensive. Highly recommended. Compared to other book, this book is published quite recently, so it has modern concepts like slim-fit. Author also collaborated with Clo to recreate every garment in 3D, so the instruction work well in 3D. Ebook available via Vitalsource. Use imperial measurement. Menswear only.
3. Armstrong. ISBN 9332518114 - Good for women's wear especially for dress and Haute couture. Very little on men. Some techniques like contouring guidelines are not available in many other book. This is an old book that has been republished many times because how popular it is. Downside is the block/sloper need a lot of measurement and a lot of steps, so a bit outdated compared to other more recent simplified techniques. Digital version available. Use imperial measurement.
4. Donnanno. ISBN 8415967098 - One of my favorite. Has instruction for all type of garment if you collect all his books (author has write at least 7 different books, even on fashion accessories). Sadly no digital edition published. I found some bootleg version of them in my local store for cheap. Use metric.
5. Cole. ISBN 1501305042 - Knit only. Recommended only if you are extra interested in knit fabric garment, or if you want to make a very stretchy skin-tight garment like swimwear and panty. Seldom use it because in 3D we can always adjust fabric property unlike in real world where knit and woven fabric has very different approach. No digital version published. Use imperial.
6. Kershaw. ASIN B0B2NX2FH5 - Step by step instruction for men's wear. If you are just starting and has no knowledge whatsoever, this is a good book to get your feet wet. Literally one specific garment has one whole chapter dedicated to it, so no need to jump between chapters like other books. However, this make it less comprehensive. If you only making pattern for 3D purposes, ignore the seam allowance, facing, linings etc. Kindle version is only 3 dollar. Use imperial.
7. Knowles. ISBN 1563673290 - This book has a lot of clear and easy to understand diagrams. But the book design (not the garment design) is a bit ugly for my taste. Author has published both women's wear and men's wear book. There is also book specific for knitwear under the same series. No digital version published. Use imperial.
8. Bunka ISBN 4579112385 - Bunka style block is probably the most fitting block there is. It also require the least measurement (but a lot of calculation). The technique also is kinda new. Sadly, only womenswear version of book in this series are translated. Unless you are making real clothing, I will not recommend this book because a big chunk of the book is about garment construction instead of patternmaking. You also need to buy all five books in this series to make it comprehensive, but they are expensive and low in stock. I also found the translation lacking. Most of the time I need to read the instruction more than 10 times to understand it. No digital version published. Use metric.
9. ESMOD. ISBN 2377810276 - Comprehensive but some version in this series of books is poorly translated and formatted. ESMOD has published many translated book from french including women's wear, men's wear, outerwear, knitwear, children's wear, lingerie and grading. The instruction is simple but some parts are not translated properly. Also, some french text in diagrams is not removed, which make them extra cluttered. The epub copy that I purchased from google play book is badly formatted. Even when using the recommended ebook reader, some text are jumbled. Use metric.
10. Vanderlinde. ASIN B09LYBK94X. Step by step instruction but not for beginner. I have both books for dress and outerwear. No instruction on how to make the basic block/sloper. Only buy this book if you already have other more comprehensive book. Digital version available. Use mainly emperial but equal metric amount written.
11. Chunman Lo, ASIN B08XQWF2TG - The kindle version is very cheap. Very good explanation on basic concept, but the technique is harder to apply digitally. Probably more suitable for fashion designer, not pattern maker. Only the most basic pattern covered. Digital version available. Use emperial.
12. Burgo, ISBN 8890010150 - Good book if you already have the basic pattern making knowledge. Original in Italian but bilingual version also available. No digital version published. Use metric.
13. Mykyung, Injoo, ISBN 1563672162 - Clear text and diagram for womenswear. Quite an obscure book because it has not been republished for a long time. Last time I check there is a digital version in google play book but it so expensive that I think it is not worth it because this book only cover basic womenswear. You can browse it for free here (this will probably get restricted or removed because they are being sued). Use imperial.
14. Injoo, Myoungok, Zachary ISBN 150136023X - If you want to keep only one book, I recommend this one. Probably the most recently published good patternmaking book. Very comprehensive. Cover both men, women and children. Digital version via VitalSource. Use imperial.
15. Jungclaus ISBN 3754341766 - A step by step instruction for classic menswear. Womenswear version is also available. Digital version available. Use metric.
16. Muller&Sohn - I only have their book on menswear fundamental and trousers and currently saving up to buy the rest. I recommend them because they are used by sewing schools in German/Europe. Biggest downside is that they are quite expensive, especially when you have to buy separate books for separate type of garment. Their reference books except the fundamental one are not beginner friendly. They clearly target fashion students and pattern makers. You can buy most of their books in PDF. Use metric
17. Duong The only hanfu patternmaking book that I know. Hanfu looks simple but there is a lot more variations than you think. Digital version available. Has metric and imperial version. The author also published other patternmaking books that you can read for free in you have kindle unlimited.
18. EDA Come from Spain and claim to use European techniques. Translation for many terms is very different, as if the translator never read any English patternmaking book before. What make it worse is that the translation is not consistent, using different term for text and charts. Nevertheless, I can see that they have done extensive research and survey among Spanish population to produce their formula. Only womenswear books have been translated. eBook version available. I wish they consolidated all the books into a single book. Use Metric.
19. Book in languages other than English - Many pretty books in Japanese. I also have my eyes on chinese books (from their diagram, I think the Chinese use the Bunka system).
20. Some books are nice to have but are not useful, depending on what you do. For example, the pattern magic book is very popular but I never once use this book. People who sew in real life may benefit from books that explain the sewing steps. Fashion designer should collect more fashion magazines for inspiration.
21. Old books - You can read older version of reputable book in archive.org like this one and this one, from your web browser. However, this will probably get restricted or removed because they are being sued.
22. 'Free' books - during zlibrary era, you can easily browse and download scanned copy of books (now many books expunged). Alternative are libgen, pdfdrive and anna's
