In this week’s live session, I decided to start a personal project and take you all along for the ride: making clothes for myself!

I wanted to create a new top inspired by one of our past projects: a design with a beautiful, effortless drape created by a curved hemline.

Instead of draping from scratch, I decided to show you how to take a pattern from a favorite, well-fitting t-shirt and then use that as a base block to draft a brand-new design, a process I call “pattern hacking.”

Demonstration Steps:

• Started by taking a pattern from my favorite Ralph Lauren t-shirt. I carefully laid the t-shirt flat on paper, pinned it down, and traced around the front and back pieces separately to create my initial blocks.

• “Trued” the front and back patterns by walking them together at the shoulder and side seams to ensure all the lengths and curves matched up perfectly, making minor adjustments for a clean, accurate block.

• Once my t-shirt block was complete, I traced it onto a new sheet of paper to begin drafting the new design.

• First, I created a dropped shoulder by extending the shoulder line out and lowering the underarm point for a more relaxed fit. I also showed how to curve the shoulder slope for a softer, less structured look.

• Redesigned the neckline into a wider boatneck style.

• To create the signature curved hem and drape, I used the slash-and-spread method. I drew several lines across the bottom half of the pattern where I wanted the drape to be.

• I then cut along these lines, leaving a small hinge at the side seam, and spread the pieces apart to add fullness and create the new, curved hemline.

• Finally, I blended all the new lines to create a clean, finished pattern for a drop-shoulder top with a beautiful, asymmetrical drape at the hem, ready to be cut and sewn.

This session was all about showing you a practical and powerful way to create custom clothes.

By starting with a pattern you know fits you well, you can confidently play with design details and techniques we’ve learned, like this curved hem, to build a wardrobe of unique pieces that are perfectly tailored to your body and style.

I can’t wait to sew this up and show you the finished top next week