3 Easy Ways to Pattern Your Own Clothes

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Learning to create your own sewing patterns is essential in cosplay, because so many costumes require garments that you can't find commercial patterns for! Here's a quick rundown of the three methods I use most often for patterning my own clothes for cosplay.

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[riuphane]

One trick I learned from my mom that's similar to your first method:
-find something similar that fits that's cheap
-use a seam ripper to take it apart into each panel
-you now have a pattern that you can use over and over. Ironing the fabric and/or tracing it onto paper makes it much easier to transfer onto your final fabric.


a great thing to use for this is cheap costumes from halloween stores (go the day after halloween for a great deal) or look for a sale at your local theater company. You can easily turn something that was just designed to fit and doesn't look very good (or is poorly made with cheap fabric) and turn it into an amazing pattern you'll use over and over.

[renderedtoscale]

Whenever you're feeling embarrassed of being self taught, remember Harpo Marx taught himself to play the harp and he had harpists from professional orchestras trying to learn his unique style.

[seanathanbeanathan]

"Iron your clothes"
You're not my parent, let me live 😂

[gaarasgurl]

I'm not really a cosplayer. I just wanted to pattern everyday outfits for myself. This was really helpful.

[alexoconnor]

This is the first time ive even remotely understood the concept of patterns. Makes me feel like quite an idiot for the very fundamental mistakes ive made before

[NeverAskedtobeMade]

This is so helpful! As a plus-size person, it's hard to find pre-made patterns that have anywhere close to my sizing. I've always wanted to make my own patterns because of that and I could never figure out how without completely destroying clothes I already own

[mahoumelon]

That cheater's draping is a game changer 😲 Thank you!!

[unepommeverte]

also, you can make a dress form out of duct tape and stuffing! just wear an old tshirt you don't care about, maybe wrap your neck and farther down your arms with saran wrap, have a friend wrap you in 2 layers of duct tape, cut up the back, get out, tape it back together, stuff, cover the holes, and voila a dress form that only costs the price of a couple rolls of duct tape and some stuffing instead of hundreds of dollars. (the real dress forms are obviously better for at least a few reasons, but duct tape dress forms are probably better than the janky adjustable ones since they actually match your size and shape

[faemerothgoblinbane]

This is going to be so helpful; stepping into amateur cosplaying and I'm running into the issue of commercial patterns not being close enough or just lacking the knowledge to alter them to what I need. Thanks for the vid Ginny!

[alto]

you can also make a pattern from an existing garment by covering each panel separately with masking tape- using small pieces to block out the edge and then filling in with long strips, then peel the masking tape off as a sheet and stick it to some patterning paper, wrapping paper, etc. I use this for almost every cosplay and it's never done me wrong, especially because the more boob your shirt has to accommodate, the trickier it is to copy directly onto paper

[ashleynevill]

You are a great presenter - you come across very confident and your voice is clear and pleasant to listen to. One of the better how-tos I've ever watched. Just wanted to pass that on!

[crystalchronicler]

I found this video while trying to get more info on draping, and this was fantastically informative on a newbie level, thank you! Also, this is literally the first time I've ever understood how darts are used!

[OhColorMeAmazing]

The cheater's draping is a gamechanger, omg. It makes so much sense but I never thought of it!

[scouttyra]

If you want a dress form, there are tutorials on how to do them with duck tape online. Not only is it probably cheaper than a pre-made one, it will be to your exact measurements.

[Febiza]

This might be my favorite sewing related cosplay video ever. After exploding my brain with patterning videos over the last few weeks, I think this is the one I needed to see. Thank you so much, especially for the encouragement at the end.

[TheShorelReneeHair]

When I tell you you made it so understandable, I’ve been trying to learn how to make patterns for 3 weeks.🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️ thank you.

[tea]

Thank you so much for this!!! I realize this video is two years old at the time of my comment, but I have been looking for a beginner's guide to creating your own patterns and this fits the bill perfectly! So glad I found this channel :D

[MourningStarSageDP]

Gonna watch and absorb this later. Added it to my watch later list, but just wanted to drop in for 10 seconds to add a view, a like and leave a comment. Thanks for the new video Ginny!

[JohnPorsbjerg]

for your last technique you can also use a pattern from a sewing store or even print one from online! i did that for my Connor Kenway, i used a raincoat pattern and sewed it in muslin, then cut new seams in the right places and traced the pieces on patterning paper. I'm still not sure how 17 y/o managed to make a costume THAT nice because i was new to cosplay at that time, but i think that just goes to show how solid of a technique it is. Literally makes the most complex things super easy

[Mrs_Homemaker]

As a sewist myself, you did a great job explaining things at a base level!

I'll add, for those new to sewing, there are amazing PDF Pattern companies out there with great base patterns and super clear directions. It's an amazing starting point for learning basic construction methods.