WOW!! Love the new collection. I can hardly wait to surprize DH with a few items and make some tailored shirts and pants for myself. THANK YOU SO MUCH everyone!!!
Elizabeth

It was alot of fun to beta test! Measuring DH was a whole new experience and quite entertaining! Some of us discovered that as soon as you got them in a garment, they started to wiggle and dance! Bad as kids! VBG Enjoy! Luz

I want to add that yes it was alot of fun testing, we had a super, super group and I hope that we can continue together onto the next line. I think that we built up a great sense of community with each other in the process too.

Poor Kaaren and Bob, we did not cut them any slack whatsoever. I honestly don't know if they were prepared for everything we threw at them. We were relentless in our desire to help. I bet you Kaaren will say that sometimes we just overwhelmed her mailbox with information. I think that everybody will enjoy this collection if you sew for men because it really has something for everybody.
Linda Flint

I just bought the New Mens Essential Collection and am disappointed to find that there are no patterns for a mans suit jacket to go with the dress pants...I would think you would get a least one formal or dress jacket in a set of essentials for men. Any plans for one to be added to this collection??

A little bit about testing and designs.

There is now a possibility for a number of pattern variants that go in the 10's of thousands! If you count by the big 4 type standards. With changes to neckline/sleeve types/lengths etc as a variant!

That means even with a very dedicated group of testers and endless hours of testing, reviewing,debugging,blah blah blah something CAN get missed!

This collection is HUGE...its actually as big as some entire versions of Dress Shop.

The mens collection includes some very new design elements.

There is a possibility to do a real welt/pipped hip pocket on pants backs, inserted curved and angled pockets ,the classic shoulder yoke which is the back yoke running over the shoulder to front.that was a complicated bit of code that breaks the pattern not only at the arm hole ( done before with the raglan sleeve) but also the neck edge (at the same time NOT done before.)(all applicable to ALL patterns mens, womens etc.)

In addition to these new elements, new fit levels, new standards for men,NEW patterns we did go in and correct some OLD patterns we felt could be improved.

We expanded new user choices. Its now easier to adjust many of the "design elements" than it was before and you have even more choices.

Remembering we have a broad range of sizes and shapes for women as well as men we chose our "defaults" or starting points very carefully.but a default is just that..a starting point.

the reason we give you user defined choices is so you can ammend the start point to what YOU want.

Its quite apparent if you consider that a size 4 work out every day gal is not going to wear her clothing with the same ease values ( by percentages!) than a gal with 60 inch hips and a 54DDD bra.


And a womans fit is nothing like a mans.

Men dont have bust lines, their center of gravity is up on the chest,a woman's is centered in the pelvis.

The shoulder lines of a woman's top of arm to neck is different from the mans, even the neck shape is different.

But we DO NEED a starting or default point.

We didnt "manify" a womans pattern for men.
We made MAN patterns.

After months of work between designer and programmer the "package" was given to the testers....there were items where 8 variants on one element was supported by different testers.

Discussions were sometimes passionatly supported.

The user winds up with 2 versions of them.

Normally a test cycle goes through variants from a to r or s...this one went thru the alphabet the first time and most of the way thru again before we got to a "release candidate" then thru to the install candidates.

The usual amount of over a 1000 emails expanded to over 2400 emails!back n forth from the testers thru to the funnel of the project manager vetted thru to the programmers and looped back again to the testers in new builds.

The testers didnt just "prove" the new stuff but worked thru the changes on the old patterns as well.

Forgive me for tooting the tester's horn here.But they did a spectacular job!

Their suggestions, sometimes wonderful, sometimes crude drawings developed many of the designs and how they are coded from a concept to a finished element.

They are amazing.

It has been my prvilege to sit in the middle chair.

Kaaren

This collection grew so large and so fast.we had to do some limiting.

Since we wanted to offer linings and interfacings, chest shields, sleeve heads.everything!!!!!!!

we decided to do it right which meant putting off suit jackets, top coats and etc that need thsoe extra elements.

We will also recork the womens designs so all those elements, including welt pockets, in lining chest pockets etc etc will all come out in a separate collection.

The pattern list on the web page clearly shows mens suit jackets are not included.

The 90 plus other patterns in the collection fill the "mens casual wardrobe" claim
Kaaren

Thanks for the explanation on why no jackets were included. It sounds like it could be a whole collection on it's own. Like I have time to make a jacket right now anyway...LOL....