fashionary
Okay. So a couple of weeks ago I decided to clear out our attic space, particularly a certain corner (which I’m convinced every house has) that was stacked with old boxes, bags and junk, which had pretty much been there since we moved in, which means it had pretty much been there for two years.
There’s not much to enjoy about clearing out household junk corners. Most of the time, the stuff in that corner is there for a reason, and I usually support the motion to dump it all straight away (if you haven’t used it for two years, you probably won’t miss it, right?). But for some reason I was feeling inspired and, rather than disposing the contents en masse, or (as John and I usually tend to do), simply moving the items from one corner to another, where they’ll likely remain for two more years, I actually sorted through everything, item by item.
Call me crazy, but readers, it was worth it. If only for one reason: I found my FASHIONARY!
You probably won’t know what this is, so let me break it down for you. The Fashionary is the creation of one brilliantly obsessed and meticulous fashion designer (I assume), Yip Chi Hung, and this creation is, essentially, the mother of all fashion sketch books. This thing is ridiculous. While the majority of it is blank pages (though not really blank, for each page has three faint silhouettes to draw on - clever), the foreword matter (I’m getting a bit jargony here, sorry) is basically a compilation of everything you could possibly want/need to know for designing and constructing your own clothes.
There are:
- Guides for circles and button sizes
- Rulers
- A list of all the fashion brands known to man (not verifiable, but I’m claiming it)
- A guide to all relevant male/female body measurements plus charts for standard measurements in different countries
- Pattern blocks
- Spec sheet templates for garments/clients
- Charts outlining the basic styles of shirts/blouses, jackets, skirts, dresses, pants, collars, cuffs, pockets
- Holy ? This even comes with a pattern for a dickie bow!
I could go on and on in praise of this book and how useful it is to me right now as an amateur couturier. Lord only knows why I bought this a few years ago before getting my sewing machine, but let’s not worry about that now. What’s important is that it’s here now and it’s not junk.
Readers, if you’re serious about garment tailoring and pattern drafting, or are interested in designing, get one of these books!
Oh - and clean out your junk corner, you never know what you might find!
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rachmakes said:
Fashionary books are amazing! All the instructions for tying bows and scarves at the back is great too. You must’ve been over the moon!
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