I’m going to share a dirty little secret with you: I don’t have the room to drape garments in my living space.

I currently reside in 450 square feet (41.8 sq meters) inside the heart of New York with my partner. Like me, they too have hobbies and friends and work to do inside the same 450 sq feet. Lay on top of that a needy cat, a kitchen, a bathroom, never enough closets and a need for an office desk; just the thought of having a dress form and space to drape is all but a fever dream.

Naturally, I can drape upon myself and I have draped on others in order to achieve a good fit, but when you lack space sometimes you’ll need to turn to other conventions.

I am, for all intents and purposes, a self-taught drafter. What I’ve learned was out of necessity more than anything else, since I’ve wanted to step away from blocky, geometric garments and on to more fitted things. I realized that if I was going to continue making multiple garments for people, I needed to keep drafts on hand because having to draw out the same thing over and over again gets real old real quick.

Am Drafting, What Do?

So, because I am a self taught drafter, it means that I don’t have a specific “one true way” to draft the garments I can make. I’ll even admit that my drafting skills are on the amateur level. What I can tell you is some of the best practices that I’ve picked up from the many tutorials, tips, and tricks I’ve seen from better drafters and from professionals.

One: Start and maintain a good organizational system for yourself

I currently have a handful of drafts stored in my apartment. I even dug one up recently to make a gothic fitted dress. That draft is from 2019 and if I had not put it in a manilla envelope with the name, date, and garment Identification when that draft was initially made I’d have absolutely not idea what I was looking at. Figure out how you want to store your drafts, and make sure that the writing on your labels is eligible.

Two: LABEL EVERYTHING

I’m not just talking about the folders or the containers. I mean every specific piece of draft you build. You are going to forget and you are going to regret it when you pull out the pattern a year or two later. You’ll want to label them with the name of the recipient, type of garment (sleeve, bodice, etc), what type of fabric you need to cute (fashion, lining, interlining, etc), and how many you’ll need to cut. These labels will determine your order of operations do you should definitely not skip on them.

Three: Notches are your friend, use them!

This one I learned from a pro. They can be incredibly helpful when you need to make sure your mirrored fabric sections sections match up, especially if you’ve drafted your patterns to have seam allowances in them. These notches are also helpful in matching edges and, with some time and practice, minimize the use of pins.

Four: Don’t be afraid to refine

This one I learned from transferring a mathematical draft from a website. The page itself didn’t include notches or markers for fitting gores and gussets. After creating a mockup I realized that my life would be a lot easier if I refined the original pattern to include them. As you continue drafting, it never hurts to go back to older drafts and refine them.

Five: If you have to, make a new pattern

Here’s an idea: your body is going to change. It’s not an opinion, that’s a fact. Something that you made five or six years ago may not fit you in the here and the now. Sometimes creating means having to revisit old projects to fit the new you. That doesn’t mean you have to get rid of the old drafting pattern, but it might mean you’ll need to make a new one.

Last Part: Have fun!

Drafting, like draping, is an important skill to have. In fact, you might prefer draping over drafting and vice versa. That being said, the entire point of creating your own garments is to have fun! You’re making because it brings you joy, or fills a necessity in your life, or it’s a hobby that keeps you connected with your community. If you’re not having fun, why do it?

If you’ve got more to share about drafting, or draping, or patterning in general, feel free to share them!