Understand to create better.
The dp studio method guides you step by step through learning patternmaking and the construction of garments. A structured approach to understand volumes, master cuts and give shape to your ideas.
dp studio’s vision rests on one conviction: technical mastery widens the field of creation.
The dp studio method is the way we pass on that conviction.
It offers a structured approach to fashion patternmaking, grounded in understanding the garment, its construction and its possibilities for transformation.
The aim is not only to know how to draft or assemble a pattern. It is to understand why a shape works, how it is built on the body and how it can be modified to give rise to a new silhouette.
Build the fundamentals
All creation begins with a solid understanding of the fundamentals.
Working on the bases of patternmaking makes it possible to grasp morphology, proportions, volumes and the principles of garment construction.
From these bases, the patternmaker can gradually learn to construct the different pieces of the wardrobe: bodices, skirts, trousers, sleeves, collars, jackets, coats, dresses and other specific constructions.
Flat cutting is one of the historical foundations of the dp studio approach. It makes it possible to translate the construction of the garment onto the flat with precision, and to understand the relationships between measurements, lines, volumes and proportions.
But a base is never an end in itself.
Transform to create
The true power of patternmaking appears when a base becomes a starting point.
Moving a line, modifying a dart, transforming a seamline, developing a volume, changing a proportion, creating a new construction: transformations make it possible to move from a known shape to a personal creation.
The dp studio method teaches you to understand the rules so that you can transform them.
It is this progression that leads from learning to experimentation, then from experimentation to creation.
A progressive and demanding method
The method rests on a clear progression: start from the fundamentals, understand the principles of construction, put them into practice, then gradually develop one’s ability to transform and to create.
Each step must bring a new understanding.
Our approach favours precision, rigour and legibility, with standards inspired by professional know-how and high-end garments.
The aim is to make a demanding technique accessible without simplifying its richness.
Tools for learning and practising
Today the dp studio method is passed on through different formats: reference books, technical files, base patterns and models.
The three volumes of Le vêtement féminin — Modélisme, coupe à plat, devised by Dominique PELLEN, form the historical foundation of this transmission. They bring together the fundamentals needed to construct the women’s wardrobe and remain an essential reference for the dp studio approach.
Around this method, new content and new tools are now being developed to support different levels of practice, from discovering patternmaking to creative research.
The reference method in three volumes: the fundamentals of the womenswear wardrobe.
Discover the books
Learn one technique, step by step, without going through the whole method.
See the filesWhich path for you?
Whether you are a beginner, an amateur dressmaker, a fashion student or a professional wishing to perfect your practice, learning patternmaking can begin at different levels.
- I’m new to patternmaking Start with the fundamentalsUnderstand the body, proportions and the principles of garment construction.Discover the fundamentals
- I already sew Understand the basics of patternmakingAcquire the basics of construction and discover how to transform them.Discover the wardrobe and the books
- I want to improve Go deeper into techniques and transformationsDevelop your mastery of volumes, proportions and the possibilities for transformation.Go deeper with the books
- I want to go further Put my knowledge into practiceDiscover the base patterns, the models and the dp studio tools to start experimenting.Move on to practice
Learn. Understand. Build. Transform. Create.
The dp studio method does not only give answers. It gives the means to understand how to find them.
The Fundamentals
- Glossary
- Supplies
- Measurement chart
- Basic principles for designing drafts
- Taping the dress form
- Imprint of the padded arm
The Wardrobe
- Skirts
- Bodices
- Sleeves
- Collars
- Trousers
- Jackets
- Capes
- Kimonos
- Bustiers
- Blousons
- Knits
- Dresses
- Coats
- Hoods
- Swimsuits
- pockets and more
- Linings
- Seam allowances
Transformations
- Seamlines
- Dart pivots
- Volume development
- Line research
- Proportion analysis
- Mastery of constructions
Techniques
- Flat cutting
- Transformations by tracing
- Fitting
- Rigour
- Precision
- Quality
Standards
- Rigour
- Precision
- Mastery
- Transmission
- Tradition
The dp studio tools
- Books
- Technical files
- Base patterns
Our vision gives the meaning.
Our method gives the means.
Where to buy the dp studio method in print?
To get the dp studio method in print, visit your bookshop or an online retailer. Below is a selection of retailers, by edition language.
French edition — dp studio
- France: Amazon, Fnac, Decitre, Cultura, Lalibrairie.com, Mollat, Gibert, Rakuten and Cdiscount…
- Belgium and Switzerland: Fnac…
- Canada / Quebec: Renaud-Bray…
Spanish edition — Editorial El Drac
Diseño y confección de moda. Patronaje. Las bases- Spain: Editorial El Drac’s online shop, Casa del Libro, Fnac, El Corte Inglés, Agapea and Buscalibre…
- Mexico: Casa del Libro México…
- Argentina, Chile and Colombia: Mercado Libre…
- Chile: Golden Book…
- Colombia: Casa del Libro…
- Paraguay: Ediciones Técnicas Paraguayas…
Chinese edition — Donghua University Press
法国女装结构与纸样设计- Mainland China: JD.com and Dangdang. You can also search for the books on Taobao/Tmall…
- Taiwan: Sanmin and Books.com.tw (博客來)…
English edition — Hoaki Books
Patternmaking for Womenswear- Publisher’s shop: Hoaki Books.
- United States: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org…
- United Kingdom: Hatchards and Browns Books…
- Canada: Indigo…
- Australia: Kinokuniya, Booktopia and Angus & Robertson…
- New Zealand: The Nile…
- Ireland: Easons and Dubray Books…
- India: Aditya Books…
- France: Cultura…
This selection is not exhaustive. The titles and volumes listed, their availability and delivery terms vary by retailer and country. To make your search easier, or to order through your bookshop, have the ISBN of the volume you want to hand.