I’ve just discovered Mr. Julian Roberts, courtesy of Danielle. He’s a designer and professor in London who has ‘invented’ a new pattern making/cutting technique called ‘The Subtraction Method’. It’s basically a freestyle way of pattern cutting that wants you to think in terms of the negative space created by a garment, rather than than the traditional translation of something 3-dimensional into 2-dimensional flat patterns.  His tutorial has just been made into a book, but he also has the majority of it for free on his website- all you need is the password, which I found in an article (bananamilkshake).

plug method

Many of the concepts are simple to grasp, and some I am having a really hard time with. I am so in love with symmetry and order in my own pattern making style that this method is definitely a stretch for me.  It’s messy, and will probably be a tortuous experience to leave the sensical mathematics behind. Nonetheless, it’s time to dust off the old lab coat because I am ready to experiment.

I am thinking about the ‘plug method’ for my imaginary Spring 2010 “Lake Superior Yacht Club” collection. The age old problem of a square peg vs a round hole has nothing on me. Coincidentally, the simple graphics of the nautical alphabet have been giving me an exciting case of the shakes these days.  It seems logical to incorporate it somehow into the collection, plug them right in there.  The shapes are simple, yet they mean so much! Gasp!

Since I was lamenting the other day how I never do anything funny anymore, wah, I am going to use the nautical alphabet to write some jokes on the clothes! Nothing but the most sophisticated humour though, of course.  So, if you could use a good chuckle, all you have to do is decode it with this handy guide.

ZINGGGGG!!