Patterns and a Process for Adaptive Custom Design

The Fair Fit Method is an online sewing and design curriculum that will teach you how to create custom clothing for yourself that adapts to your personal shape and style.

Watch the video to see the latest spring collection, showing 8 variations of the dress that you can make as you learn the method and how to customize the different sewing and pattern options!

Video Credits: Directed and Produced by Jill Hall, Director of Photography and Cinematographer Abe Felix, Song by Paul Eastin, Dresses Modeled by Erika and Megan, and special thanks to Joshua Wheeler, Diane Leightman, Tom LaPann, and Chris Bergeron.

Hey there sewing Unicorn! Do you know how unique you truly are??

I'm so happy you are here, and I hope you don't mind me comparing you to a unicorn, because I mean this compliment in the highest regard. I consider wardrobe sewists to be very special people because who the heck is dedicated in this day and age to sew your own clothes?! You are a rare breed in this age of fast fashion and the loss of craft knowledge and skill. Thank you for coming here to read about the Fair Fit Method and the program I designed. Even if you don't ever take a course from me, we do share the love of sewing and likely have a lot of other things in common too!

Maybe You found me because you not only sew, but you also love other areas of art and craft and work these into your creative life too ?

I feel that I have a lot to share with folks looking for an unconventional and adventurous learning path. I can help you if advancing to you means learning new and interesting techniques that will challenge you by adding disciplines from the visual arts to the craft of garment construction.

Would you like to try a new approach to your sewing?

Because if you do, I have a unique series of courses to share with wardrobe sewing enthusiasts, and can help you advance in your craft if any of these descriptions sound like you:

You dedicate some of your sewing time to learning from other teachers, practicing their technique, and creating conversations with them.
You want to make garments that are highly customized, and develop more of your own voice in the design of what you wear.
You seek opportunities to add your own perspective and approach to sewing patterns.

If you would like to advance in the craft of sewing, and grow beyond the limits of strictly sewing with cut and sew patterns, I'm Glad you are here!

With the fair Fit method, YOu will learn a new process and approach to sewing your own clothing

In my online video course series, the Fair Fit Method, I share with you my personal design process and patterns that I have used in my creative practice to design and develop custom clothing that explore expressive and innovative sewing techniques. In order to teach the method, and all of the pattern sets, and every sewing, draping, fit, and alteration techniques encompassed in the method, I have created a series of online courses. Each course, and the pattern sets that you will learn to use, allow you to create a diverse wardrobe of personalized garments.

I want to help you personalize your sewing beyond fabric choice and color. In the Fair Fit Method courses, you will learn a process of sewing, draping, and custom design that provide a process and template to develop and hone your unique expression and valuable perspective to the clothing you make in the courses.

And I’d like to think the designs we are going to make and customize are pretty cool too!

a fun way to advance your sewing skill set is to learn the freedom and playfulness that comes with customization.

Let me explain...

A standard cut and sew pattern can not give you as much freedom of expression as the Fair Fit Method, because they are generalized templates that are built on average measurements. In a traditional pattern, you are sewing a project that’s been designed for you from start to finish. You do get to choose your fabric, and maybe a little bit of how you sew it, but you don’t have as much choice in the design of the garment, which leads to lots of frustrations in sewing when you want to change a pattern. When you want to change a pattern, you need a whole other skillset.

That’s where the Fair Fit Method comes in...

With the Fair Fit Method, you get a lot more choice in the design, while learning how to problem solve. My courses teach you the process of how to customize clothing using the Fair Fit pattern system. Yes adventure seeker! You will will be challenged and you will develop a new kind of discipline required with the freedom to customize.

I call my approach “Fair Fit” because I believe it is fair to teach the skills and empower you with a self directed process to solve a problem and trust your own choices, rather than keep the secrets I've learned in my professional career held tight to the vest. With ready to wear and sewing patterns, you rely on a designer to determine fit, style, and choose your design concept, and because of this, you just don’t have as much freedom and can’t work as fluidly.

Instead, the Fair Fit Method teaches you a process of design, and this process will help you understand your own body, shape, style, and proportion. Having the skills and knowing ways that clothing is designed on a professional level and the ability to problem solve your own fit issues, will give you more freedom in your sewing while building your confidence. You will work for this freedom, by working through the lessons demonstrated in the course work.

working with Fair Fit Patterns, will build the confidence to make your own decisions, sew things your way, and fit them yourself.

I believe that is how you grow in your passion for sewing.

The Fair Fit Method is a curriculum in which you will make several garments and learn intermediate and advanced fashion design techniques. Each course and project builds on itself, introducing new proportion, fit, pattern, sewing principles and techniques that advance your craft with each project. The projects are planned so that as you create a garment, you learn a new skillset, and each garment helps you advance to the next. You are learning a process of design. The Fair Fit Method courses follow this specific plan:

Pattern

You choose how you will use the pattern by selecting the set of blocks to achieve your desired final result. These blocks are even more interchangeable as more sets are added and you advance through the courses. The Fair Fit blocks are comparable to a set of fashion legos, they can be switched out and elaborated upon to achieve a custom design.

You will get:

Core patterns for the initial design
Pattern sets to adjust to specific proportions
Additional pattern sets to customize the look
Video instructions on how to use them

The Fair Fit Method - Patterns and a Process for Adaptive Custom Design

Check Fit

The Fair Fit Method uses sewing methods that I’ve developed to create innovative and unconventional garments. This kind of sewing you will not find in commercial cut and sew patterns. We do make a muslin- but the garment you use to learn your drape, fit, and proportion will be sewn in my raw finish method. That way, you still get a wearable garment from your check fit garment, and this method of sewing enables you to make your pattern alterations much more easily. When your check fit is complete, we apply the alterations to your pattern and then you are free to create a second garment featuring a different sewing method.

Sewing

As you progress through the courses, you will learn many custom sewing methods to advance your material understanding and muscle memory, while teaching you how to approach sewing creatively and artistically. In each course, you can choose from mixtures of clean and raw, serged and sewn, topstitched and pieced, the options of sewing in this program are diverse and truly exciting!

INCLUDES

Raw Finish sewing method for test garments
Serged and Sewn Method for thicker fabrics
Completely Clean Finish Method for refined garments
Heirloom Repurpose for sustainable practices
Patch and Piece for craft practices
And more will be added as we continue to innovate!

Fashion draping

All of your Fair Fit projects will be draped. By the end of this program, you are going to have a greater understanding of how designers think through their projects, adding and editing as they go, and learning to develop a fluidity that you can’t get with cut and sew patterns.

“One of my key takeaways from the course work has been learning to think (and act) in three dimensions throughout the whole sewing process, not cutting out a pattern, sewing it together, and hoping it fits when you put the finished garment on. The Fair Fit Method and working with the dress form helped me practice fine motor skills and hand/eye coordination hadn’t been used in that way in a long time.
”

— Fair Fit Student Angela Lalley

The draping portion will teach you about fit for your body. You will learn principles and practices, but more importantly the problem solving skills and confidence to fit for yourself. I love seeing the lightbulbs turn on as a student learns that fit is often over thought- and that you can tackle it swiftly and effectively and still have fun.

Pattern Adjustments

The videos in the courses tackle the most common alterations that are discovered during your check fit.

I know it would be impossible to think up every alteration that can and will occur, so as more students take the courses, new alterations will demonstrated as needed.

The videos in the courses are filmed in real time in my studio to enable me to be responsive and adaptive to student fit and draping questions that arise. During our course durations, alterations and demonstrations are added as they are needed, creating an archive of fit, design, and pattern customization lessons. When you do your check fit, if something isn't right, you are going to take a picture and send it to me so I can send you the recommended adjustment.

You will Learn:

Individual pattern adjustments for specific fit questions.
Archived pattern adjustments from previous students.
Workshops on how patterns are drafted and graded so that you can better understand all sewing patterns.

We make 2 garments in every course

When you make your second garment, you get to design further, applying what you have learned in the first garment and taking your second garment to new areas of exploration. This is where you can change the up the type of fabric for your dress, play with pattern and print, repurposing, or use interesting methods of topstitching and sewn lines. As we progress throughout the year, you will learn a new method of sewing each time to add to your arsenal of skills.

NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT

LEARN AND MAKE THE FAIR FIT SKIRT

In the first course of the Fair Fit Method, you will learn the foundational skills used to make all Fair Fit garments. In Learn and Make the Fair Fit Skirt, you will learn beginner draping skills and how to analyze your body shape, size, and proportion to pad out your dress form to create an accurate fit. This aspect of the course will help you learn how to optimize your use of a dress form, benefiting how you make all garments moving forward.

We will also dig deep into skirt fit and the most common fit issues. In our first project, you will learn how to determine your own unique body length, circumference, and foundational principles of proportion that will help you create a flattering custom skirt.

All of your Fair Fit garments will be draped, and you will also learn pattern alterations to further customize the fit. After the pattern is finalized, you will move onto your second skirt, choosing either another pattern variation or implementing the sewing methods taught in the course.

In this course, you will learn the the two fundamental sewing methods used in Fair Fit garments, raw finish and clean finish. For our first garments, you will learn the raw finish method, as it allows you to customize the draping and the pattern without sacrificing the first garment. For your second skirt, you can use the Fair Fit clean finish method after you finalize the fit of your skirt.

This course will give you a foundation in draping, pattern fit, body proportion for your lower half, as well as the core principles as to how Fair Fit garments are made. It is the prerequisite to Learn and Make the Fair Fit Dress, and sets up your skills for all upcoming Fair Fit Method courses in 2018.

This online course can be used on all of your devices - laptop, desktop, tablet, and mobile. It includes over 40 + videos of step by step instruction, worksheets, workbooks, the Fair Fit Skirt pattern and pattern book, fashion design modules and workbooks, as well as instruction on how to build and sew 3 skirts.

LEARN MORE AND ENROLL HERE $97

Learn and Make the FAir Fit Dress

In the second and most extensive course in the Fair Fit Method, Learn and Make the Fair Fit Dress, we will focus on design, pattern fit, and intermediate draping for the top half of your body. This course focuses largely on fit, and will tackle body features and fit approaches to the bust, shoulders, neckline, armholes, torso, and lower back. You will learn an intuitive and playful approach to the draping, learning how designers think through their projects and problem solve all along the way.

We will be customizing and padding a dress form for your unique size and shape, as well as creating your first dress with the raw finish method so you can learn more about draping and pattern alterations while still making a wearable dress.

Like Learn and Make the Fair Fit Skirt, the draping modules are taught first on the form to demonstrate the principles and how to use the pattern. Then the draping is again demonstrated with an actual student so you see the process of applying the practice in real life.

This course also includes in depth teachings into pattern fit, alterations, and how it applies to all garments that you wear or make.

Included in this course are also bonus pattern sets for your torso and neckline, so you can further customize your dress and make it as you like. I've also included bonus videos of excerpts from our live workshops with the pattern so you can see even more of the draping process.

You will be able to iterate several different styles of dress from this course, customizing it as you advance and learn more about the pattern. You will have access to an archive of pattern alterations for yourself as well as alterations used by previous students. This valuable module will be a resource for you for many years to come and is updated periodically with more alterations as more students enroll in the course.

This course teaches you intermediate to advanced methods of fit and draping, and along with Learn and Make the Fair Fit Skirt, is a prerequisite to Fair Fit Method customization workshops offered later in the year.

This online course can be used on all of your devices - laptop, desktop, tablet, and mobile. It includes over 50 + videos of step by step instruction, worksheets, workbooks, the Fair Fit Dress pattern and pattern book, pattern fit lecture, modules, and workbook, and bonus patterns to customize your dress.

LEARN MORE AND ENROLL HERE $147

Heirloom repurpose - coming soon!

Heirloom Repurpose is a method of repurposing cloth, me mades, or previous garments and using fabric manipulation and creative sewing methods to add texture, richness, and history to an unconventional garment.

This process of repurposing works well with the Fair Fit pattern blocks because their small size and shiftable nature will allow you to approach repurposing from a whole new perspective. Repurposing is already an inventive process, and the method I teach will grow the ways that you can rework cloth and add more craft to your garment.

Heirloom Repurpose is a repurpose of a repurpose. It takes what would be an heirloom (a me made or art project) and reconstitutes it to bring new life. Get ready to add even more sustainability, creativity, and purposefulness to your sewing practice while trying out more inventive sewing methods.

coming soon!

TESTIMONIALS FROM PREVIOUS STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONAL MAKERS

“Sewing is generally something that you do on your own so it can be difficult to learn new things. Going through this course I learned new tips that I’ll use to improve my sewing and save me time. After doing certain things the same way for a long time, learning new ways of doing things really felt like a game changer.”

— Bridgit O'Donnell

“All sewing teachers know it’s really hard to teach fit. The Fair Fit method breaks down this tricky topic by creating zones of the upper body/bust, midriff, and hips/lower body. Each sewer can then adjust the zones to perfectly fit their own bodies. The overlapping pieces of the Fair Fit garments allow users to easily play with the fit. Plus, the fun sewing methods let each sewer experiment with colors, fabrics, stitching patterns, and more. It’s like a choose your own adventure book for sewing!”

— Casey (over 25 years of sewing experience - 9 years professional teaching experience)

“The Fair Fit dress is a unique learning tool that encourages a creative approach to fashion and fit. If you want to break out of the usual cut and sew approach to patterns, this course will help you find alternative ways to approach your sewing practice. I learned a lot from Andrea’s instruction on draping and I really enjoyed her positive approach. It’s not hard to get a really great fit with this dress and it can be customized in so many ways. This course and pattern is truly one of a kind; a unique and awesome experience!”

— Helen Wilkinson

“My experience with Andrea and the Fair Fit Dress Project has been exceptional. I have been sewing and designing clothing for close to six years and until now I had never made a garment for myself that fit and looked nice! I was able to learn so much about my body shape, clothing fit, and draping techniques while making my dress.

I have discovered a new level of confidence in my design ability, and being able to make a dress that fits me has boostedmy self-esteem tremendously. I can’t wait to wear my dress and to make more!”

— Megan Romans

“My key takeaway was knowing the freedom that I can customize and do the customization in my own way. Instead of thinking about perfect lines, I was confident to go at this project artistically, which was really fun for me. After the class now I think I have more confidence to customize and really make something the way I want to make it. I feel like I can take something basic and make it my own.”

— Melissa McHugh

“I was fascinated with how all of the unusual-looking pattern pieces worked together to provide a custom fit. It was fun to work with pattern pieces that each worked independently, but also with each other piece, to fit everyone’s unique body. Going thru the fit process with the Fair Fit pattern made me realize why it’s so hard to get a good fit with typical commercial patterns. ”

— Marie Rourke

“I really loved learning the draping! It all made perfect sense once I saw it complete and the fact that the pieces could overlap really helped. Had the pattern pieces been made to where they had to fit perfectly as in a traditional pattern, that would have changed the skill set needed to start. But I loved learning how to shape it to fit my body.”

— Jenny Hall

“The Fair Fit method of fitting is a really great break from standard fitting methods and allows for a lot of creativity. It’s the perfect alternative approach for anyone who has struggled to make sense of flat paper patterns and how they work to fit a 3D body. Even if you’re really experienced with garment fitting, this course will inspire you to think differently and give you the tools you need to approach a fitting problem from a different angle. I thoroughly enjoyed it! And the mix-and-match lego-like pattern pieces are addictive - you’ll want to collect & try them all! ”

— Brooke (over 30 years of sewing experience - 16 years professionally)

“Absolutely love the dashboard. The videos are a great help, especially the start/stop/sew aspect. Still flying high on the fact that I made something that I actually want to wear!”

— Lori Steib

“The Fair Fit Dress course is excellent. Andrea has dedicated a huge amount of time and energy to the patterns and the class materials, and it shows! Her instructions are clear and easy to follow, and she gave me the confidence and know-how to construct a truly one-of-a-kind garment. You won’t find a dress or a class like this anywhere else!”

— Kelly Spell

“In all of the preparation, I had a few doubts, but I trusted myself and knowing that I can make good sewing decisions. Trusting my gut really gave me confidence to take on more projects. Now that I have made my first top, I kind of wish I had gone a little more crazy with it and experimented more with the stitching. At first I was nervous and then I realized I can just go at it. ”

— Erika Kampden

About your teacher

Andrea Eastin has pursued sewing and the design of clothing since age six and has designed her career and life around the exploration. She is the owner, designer, and educator of Fair Fit Studio and for the last 4 years has taught people how to sew and make their own clothing. She is the creator of the Fair Fit Method, a pattern system and a process for adaptive custom design. Her teaching philosophy is to help people learn more advanced concepts like draping, fit, and custom design in a playful and approachable way to grow in your skillset while earning confidence to make clothes your own way.

Eastin’s passion is to bring unique garments to the world where the intersection of fashion and craft combine. Her elaborate couture collections have been featured in runway shows and presentations that showcase her expertise as an experimental creator, storyteller, and surface designer.

Eastin graduated with honors for her BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Iowa, and in 2010 she earned her MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her studio practice integrates personalized clothing design and construction with mentoring and educational curriculums. Eastin is an expert and teacher of innovative surface design techniques, fashion design concepts and craft, and unconventional approaches to pattern making and garment pattern systems.

Refund POlicy:

If you are unhappy with the course for any reason, you will have an option of a no questions asked refund within 10 days of the start of the course. After that, no refunds or exchanges are provided due to the digital nature of the courses.

With the fair Fit method, YOu get to choose how you want things to look and feel.

You can continue working and sewing the way you know how to sew.

Or by learning the Fair Fit Method you will enter into an intensive study to change and advance your approach to sewing.

The question of what to do next...

When I started my blog a few years ago, readers would ask me for more advanced fashion methodologies. They already knew most of what I was describing and demonstrating for beginners, and were honestly looking for a challenge. At the same time, I was also receiving weekly emails describing the woes of fit and the disappointments many had faced when attempting to learn how to fix specific pattern and garment fit problems. I was asked to help, and of course passed on general information that applied to the commercial sewing patterns on the market. But in the back of my mind, I knew it was my experience of making Fair Fit garments (the way that I will teach you how to make them) that gave me an advantage when problem solving garment design issues.

Fit is difficult to teach...

Because you are not just teaching a series of steps that anyone can work through and get the same result. Rather, fit is taught in methods, and design is taught in methods, and to leap into this next area of expertise will require you to approach these topics from a visual thinking stand point. This process of visual problem solving will show you how to find solutions and trust your gut, rather than relying on simplified explanations that might not apply to the problem you are facing.

This process of critical thinking, visual problem solving, and a positive solution oriented approach not only benefits your wardrobe sewing, but doesn’t that help ALL areas of any creative practice?

Sewing often a solo craft, something you learn on your own, but there are limits to this approach.

By participating in Fair Fit Method courses, you will learn all of the approaches to fashion design and creating custom clothing that I have used throughout my creative practice and professional career. You absolutely, without a doubt, will learn something new. I believe these new methods and approaches will build your confidence and open up a new creative outlook in your personal sewing practice.

That’s why I’m sharing my secrets with you

When I was learning, I had to figure everything out on my own. This was often under pressure to perform or sell a finished product that would be fit for retail. I try to be the teacher I was looking for at that time, when I was in competitive professional settings or competitive educational institutions it was extremely intimidating learn that way. And with sewing and fashion design, I found out that you don’t know what you don’t know. It always felt like there was something I was missing, something I could do better, or a solution someone else knew that would solve all of my problems. And I learned that was just not the case.

Rather, improvement comes with evolving your process, learning to think about things from another angle, and try new methods that might seem intimidating or uncomfortable. This is how you grow, and this is how creative practice works. With the courses in the Fair Fit Method, you will be asked to try new and unconventional, sometimes even uncomfortable, ways of sewing and building a garment. Even if you don’t like it, you will still grow and use these skills in other garments that you make.

Are you ready to try something totally new?

What would it mean to know how to fit for your own body, how to customize a pattern fluidly by applying draping skills, while building creative garments that reflect your creativity and perspective in design?