Dear Dress Shop Family

Just got my software up and running and was printing out my pattern pieces. From the view on my computer, I see alot of symbols I am not familiar with. The Dress Shop documentation gives me insight into alot of them (like the + symbol for the bust point and the sideways T for matching areas up when sewing a curved seam). However, some of them still escape me.

Any chance you might know what this jagged symbol means?



I know that Dress Shop's interface isnt always intuitive to everyone's visual learning process but I think I would definitely not mind getting a full symbol breakdown on all symbols that Dress Shop might put on people's pattern.

The pokey triangles are not a symnbol but a visual result of a bad measurement. This appears to be a side to center seam allowance from a princess at near abd or hip level from the cropped graphic.

The program will draft to the measurements you input even if they are too long, too short.

Always do a test fit gament BEFORE doing something from real fashion fabric.

Kaaren

Kaaren,

You would be correct. It is a princess lined jacket. I had already done the muslin fabric without cutting in that "jag" and it fit just fine.

One thing to note since writing my original post: I had taken my pattern and gave it measurements that werent mine. Instead, I gave it standardized measurements (measurements of someone who is more proportionate to industry standards.) and the jagged areas went away. One of the reasons I am sewing my clothes these days is because the clothing industry cannot seem to produce clothes that account for my proportions. Looks like Dress Shop is no exception.

Honestly, DressShop has had a habit of producing pictorial errors in the past. Here is another such snafu:


So, I wouldnt be surprised if the program is freaking out. Someday, I had hoped to create some clothes that would fit over a "fat suit" but I bet that Dress Shop will freak out when I give the fat suit's "measurements" much in the same manner it did in this instance.

quote:

Honestly, DressShop has had a habit of producing pictorial errors in the past. Here is another such snafu:

<photo>

So, I wouldnt be surprised if the program is freaking out. Someday, I had hoped to create some clothes that would fit over a "fat suit" but I bet that Dress Shop will freak out when I give the fat suit's "measurements" much in the same manner it did in this instance.

I'm afraid you are mis-interpreting the meaning of the bad pattern you had sent the photo of. Dress Shop is quite capable of drafting correct patterns for large or small people, for those with wide hips and narrow shoulders or the reverse. If it can draft fitting patterns for a 12" doll, it can certainly draft for the extremes of the human body.

There is a photo of some of the variety of body types that Dress Shop has accomodated here:

http://www.livingsoftnw.com/images/group.jpg

These are not the most extreme photos we have had sent to us, but ones we have permission to reproduce and which illustrate some of the variety accomodated.

99% of the time, when a pattern draft is clearly bad, the reason is not extreme measurements, but inconsistent measurements. Even a single number entered wrong can create a bad pattern. Try drafting a pants sloper and change Floor To Hip to be greater than Floor To Waist, for instance. You get a bad pattern.

This is not an indication that Dress Shop has failed to work for that person, but rather that it drafted the values provided to it and one of those was not consistent with the others. We see this all the time in problem reports. Sometimes it is a typo, sometimes a mish-mash of decimal and fractions. Sometimes a number put in the wrong box.

When you see a bad pattern, draft it again with a standard chart (even the largest or smallest). If that pattern is good, then you need to look to your chart for errors. If you cannot spot it, send in a problem report and we will take a look. Generally, it is difficult to guess what value is wrong by just looking at a photo...

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I'm afraid you are mis-interpreting the meaning of the bad pattern you had sent the photo of. Dress Shop is quite capable of drafting correct patterns for large or small people, for those with wide hips and narrow shoulders or the reverse. If it can draft fitting patterns for a 12" doll, it can certainly draft for the extremes of the human body

Yeah. Im not sure which one of the 2 images I have put here that you are referring to. In the case of the one where the bottom side twists into a "bowtie" shape, I noticed that upon telling it to give me a view of the front-right side (instead of the front-left side) the twist did not exist. That is why I was mentioning it as a possible inperfection. I checked all my measurements and put on the sloper garment created from this pattern (muslin). Nothing seemed off.

quote:

99% of the time, when a pattern draft is clearly bad, the reason is not extreme measurements, but inconsistent measurements. Even a single number entered wrong can create a bad pattern. Try drafting a pants sloper and change Floor To Hip to be greater than Floor To Waist, for instance. You get a bad pattern.

How one would find the erroneous measurement, I am not sure. Those measurements were taken 3 or 4 times and it seems only this pattern with a 20 flare seems to produce the 2 errors (from the 2 pics I posted). When I tell the garment to give me no flare, the jagged lines go away and I do not get the bowtie twist. So, maybe that combination of the modification for a flared jacket and my bodytype are not mixing, rather than it being caused by one or the other.

quote:

When you see a bad pattern, draft it again with a standard chart (even the largest or smallest). If that pattern is good, then you need to look to your chart for errors. If you cannot spot it, send in a problem report and we will take a look. Generally, it is difficult to guess what value is wrong by just looking at a photo...

How would I send in my measurements for the problem team to diagnose?

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How one would find the erroneous measurement, I am not sure. Those measurements were taken 3 or 4 times and it seems only this pattern with a 20 flare seems to produce the 2 errors (from the 2 pics I posted). When I tell the garment to give me no flare, the jagged lines go away and I do not get the bowtie twist. So, maybe that combination of the modification for a flared jacket and my bodytype are not mixing, rather than it being caused by one or the other.

How would I send in my measurements for the problem team to diagnose?

I'm not seeing it with the charts I have on hand.

To send a problem report, run Dress Shop, get the problem on the screen, then select "Help - Problem Report". Add a brief note so we know what to look for and submit it. It automatically attaches a copy of the pattern you are using (including every option and setting you have selected) as well as your full measurement chart. With those, we should be able to duplicate and track down whatever is happening.

Sorry- that snafu is directly related to a bad measurement chart.

Fix the chart the pattern will also right itself.
Kaaren

quote:

Originally posted by Kaaren Hoback:
Sorry- that snafu is directly related to a bad measurement chart.

Fix the chart the pattern will also right itself.
Kaaren

Thanks so much. Im still getting to the bottom of it. Its like building a card house slowly and figuring out what makes it teter. Hip to floor:hip to waist measurement check out as well. This jag appears right above my waist, so theres a start.