Pattern Drafting Book Review Series – Part 7 – Designing and Patternmaking for Stretch Fabrics by Keith Richardson

For the 7th part in my series about pattern drafting books, I am covering Designing and Patternmaking for Stretch Fabrics by Keith Richardson. This book is massive. 477 pages in total, but mine is a spiral (not sure if they are all), so it is easy to lay flat to use.

This book is not for beginners. It gets pretty technical with the grading size charts, but once you understand them, it is a wealth of information. If you want to understand how to grade knit patterns, this is great, even though I’m not even reviewing grading books. I would also not attempt grading knits until you attempt to grade a woven pattern. Again, not this review. I have a whole bunch of grading books I can review also, but I might just wait to cover those when I am ready to release my grading book.

This is certainly a one stop shop for all things knit related, including mens knitwear. This book does cover a certain amount of draft by measure, but the steps might be difficult to follow if you have not started with an introductory book. This book covers everything and I mean everything related to knits.

What I love: This is virtually everything a knit designer would possibly need to draft a knit collection. It is chocked full of information, 477 pages of information.

What I don’t love: The steps to complete a design are basically one picture with a little paragraph. I can follow without a problem, but I am a seasoned pattern maker. I would say this is not only not introductory, but advanced in nature. I’m not sure if there is an introductory stretch pattern making book out there, but I get the feeling there isn’t. This book also has the draft by number/letter instructions, which my now, you get I don’t like.

I definitely recommend this book for advanced skills. Put it on your wishlist for the day your skills can be put to a challenge. There is so much valuable information in there and this is probably the best book for knits.

You can score a copy of your own here. You can probably find one on Amazon used, but this is the product listing that looks active. Designing and Pattern Making for Stretch Fabrics by Richardson, Keith Published by Fairchild Books (2008) Paperback Note that this is an affiliate link. Affiliate links help support my business.