Pattern Magic

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There’s a dress with a group of knots in the front. What a great idea! The knots create an interesting texture. I made a different version by inserting the knots on the shoulders of a bodice and added some gathering, too. Gathered bodice with knots

The first book teaches how to insert knots, twists, cubes, holes, craters etc into your basic bodice. A version of the bamboo-bodice is in this book, too. Some techniques are surprising, as you literally attach the element with tape or pins on the garment and use style-lines to melt it into the pattern. The designs in these books are pretty unique: not exactly your everyday garments! The approach is definitely creative. It opens your mind to a completely different way of constructing patterns. It’s mostly flat-patternmaking, although many times it looks like one would have to drape to get such results.Thank you. 🙂 You can find these books in many bookshops, also online. I’m not sure which shop you have available where you live, but I think you should be able to find the best place for you by doing a google search. If I recall correctly, I bought mine from Book Depository. They ship internationally. Then there’s a design called ” Like a jungle” where the bodice front is separated with stylelines into slices that overlap each other. I had an idea that I wanted the overlapping area to create a flower-shape in the middle by leaving little holes in between the slices. Well, I’m not too happy with the result, but probably I could make it work by editing the pattern some more. Jungle-flower I first discovered these books during a sewing course. One of the fellow-students had brought the first two books with her in class and we were all leafing through them, amazed by the designs. Of course I then had to get the books myself, too. There isn’t much information to be found about the author Tomoko Nakamichi. I searched on the internet, but I could only find the same information that’s also written in the Pattern Magic -books: She was a professor at Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo and now delivers lectures and holds courses both in Japan and internationally. All the garments in the pictures are actually in half-scale. Nakamichi created them with trial-and-error approach and they served to help her students understand better how patterns work. Basics Here’s a picture of a vanishing tie I made with some changes to the pattern. I think this way the pattern became more simple. I added stripes as well. Vanishing tie with stripes

by cutting and opening out the pattern, but a flare that is subtly concealed on the underside of the fabric. Making a pattern Íor the kakurenbo design with a drawing is easier than you think. Easy-to-follow, detailed instructions make it easy to create stunning, sculptural clothes with a couture look This series of booksis ideal for intermediate & advanced fashion designer/dressmaker. In the series, Tomoko Nakamichi has written4books, 3 which usewoven fabrics and one of which usesstretch fabrics. I would be lying if I said these books are good for a beginner as you need some knowledge of pattern cutting and sewing to be able to use and understand the processes required to make the designs. That said, they'realso greatbooks if you would just like some design inspiration for a collection or for fashion illustrations. It’s difficult to say which one is my favorite. Each book has designs that I like. However I’ve done most variations on the pieces from book number 2, so I guess this means that it’s the most inspirational for me. What is Pattern Magic?All the projects include step-by-step instructions with diagrams and lots of photos. Some are more difficult than others to understand, depending on your experience. Personally, I often use the books as inspiration, even just by looking at the pictures. Having served for many years as a professor at Bunka Fashion College, Tomoko Nakamichi currently delivers lectures and holds courses on pattern making both in her native Japan and internationally. This book brings together the results of the research she has carried out on garment patterns to help instruct her students. She is also the author of Pattern Magic, Pattern Magic 2 and Pattern Magic: Stretch Fabrics.