Who writes this
About Blockdraft
Blockdraft is a small, independent journal about pattern drafting and home tailoring — blocks, fitting, and the plain mechanics of putting a garment together. It isn't run by a pattern company, and it doesn't sell patterns.
Why this journal exists
Most pattern instructions assume a body that matches a size chart closely enough that small differences don't matter. For a lot of home sewists, they do matter — a shoulder that sits slightly forward, a waist that's higher on one side, a bust that needs the dart moved an inch. Refitting a new pattern every time is slow and repetitive. Drafting a personal block once, correcting it deliberately, and reusing it is faster in the long run, but the process of getting there is rarely written down in any detail.
Blockdraft collects that detail: how a block gets measured, what an adjustment actually changes, and how the pieces of a garment come together once the block is right. The notes are written from direct experience at a cutting table, not summarized from a textbook.
Who's behind it
A small group who compare notes rather than a single voice. Names are used the way most home-sewing communities use them — first name and initial.
Marisol A.
Bodice & fitting notesHas drafted the same fitted bodice block through six revisions over four years and keeps records of every one of them.
Devon R.
Sleeves & assemblySpends more time than anyone would guess thinking about sleeve cap ease and why the printed number is rarely the final one.
Ines P.
Skirts & marking systemsBuilt the notch-and-label system referenced across several notes here after losing track of one too many pattern pieces.
Content policy
Every note published here reflects something tried at an actual cutting table — a measurement taken, an adjustment made, a seam sewn and unpicked. We don't publish drafting advice we haven't tested. When a method has limits or doesn't work for every body type or fabric, the note says so rather than overstating it.
We don't accept payment to feature a specific tool or brand, and we don't run affiliate links through the journal's articles. Blockbook, the companion notebook referenced in some notes, is our own project and is described plainly on its own page — no note is written to promote it.
Corrections: if a note contains an error, a note is added at the bottom of that article with the date it was corrected. We don't silently edit published claims.
Get in touch
Questions, corrections, or a block problem worth writing about — reach the journal at hello@blockdraft.shop. We read everything, even if we can't reply to all of it.