Kenneth D. King's Smart Fitting Solutions: Foolproof Techniques to Fit Any Figure

Wish I bought this years ago! Unlike the plethora of pattern and fitting books I’ve bought previously, this one is specific and technical. Instead of “for this problem add a dart” this explains how to capture the exact size, shape, and location of the excess fabric. The grid method is fantastic, finally a repeatable process I can follow for altering the pattern based on what I pinned out in my test muslin garment. Book covers both excess fabric and too little fabric, as well as when you have a seam line you can take out of or if the excess or too little fabric is in the middle of a large pattern piece. My only complaint is I wish he had examples of pants! I know he is an expert in pants as he teaches courses on it. But I’m hopeful I can figure it out by applying the methods in the book.

This is a GREAT book. King’s writing style is easy to read, his instructions are clear, the photos are great, and the methods are useful to any body of any age and any dimension.He had me at Understanding Good Fit. I’ve been appalled and at times horrified at some social media images of garments that have pulls, drag lines, side seams that veer to the front or back, vertical and horizontal wrinkles and other indicators of poor fit. Yet followers of these accounts fawn over them and exclaim how perfectly they fit the wearer’s body. Sorry to piddle in anyone’s cornflakes folks, but it just ain’t so. While design ease is a feature of patterns, and closeness of clothing to the body is a personal choice, there are some telltale signs that a garment simply doesn’t fit, and many (most?) people have not been trained to identify those signs. Kenneth King has, and he generously shares that knowledge in this book.There are only two downsides, IMO. As King himself admits, this method isn’t easy (I’d go so far as to say it’s really hard) to accomplish if you don’t have a fitting buddy or a custom dress form. That is a real downside, but it is not insurmountable. Also, and this is a really minor nit, I would have loved it if the book showed the before and after garments side-by-side on his model subjects so you don’t have to flip from the back of the book to the front to see the changes.Other than that this is a terrific resource. Do I think it’s a must-have in any sewing aficionado’s library? YES!Don’t hesitate on this one. You’ll be really glad you bought it.

I love that there are different body types featured. Kudos to the women who volunteered. I've already tweaked a tunic pattern to fit my particular issues. I was able to select the features/issues that I have from several different models issues, because we are not all built the same. This is my new go to for all sorts of fitting issues. This is does not include pants fitting. The demonstrations of the techniques made it very useful. I finally can utilize a muslin and understand what changes I'm making and why before cutting into the good fabric! My personal croquis revealed issues of which I was previously unaware. If you've struggled with fitting issues, this is an excellent resource for making patterns work for you.

Liked that the author used real sized women models to demonstrate alteration techniques creating exact scenarios of body area that looks off. Book covers skills I haven’t found in other fashion fitting books. Thanks for showing exactly how to work with muslin and pattern

I have been sewing for many years, and this book answered many questions about how to make things look great. Clear text, great pictures. He does way more fittings that I will probably ever do, but using just one of tow of them has made a difference in how I can make things look really good, well fitted, not at all "handy hands at home".

FANTASTIC book!!! This containes so much information that I have been searching for now all in one place. Clearly written, wonderful photographs and using "real" everyday women to illustrate how to fit clothing. (Thanks to all of the women who allowed Mr. King to use their body type in this book.) Mr. King said his "mission for this book was to help the female sewist better understand the shape she has and the best way to fit it." MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. A must have. Thank you Mr. King.

This man is a genius with fabric! It doesn't matter if you can sew, if you can't fit ,and this book will help you do it. Real life women, with real life bodies. Watch him read the wrinkles and fit each body type. It's a wonderful addition to my library.

This is absolutely the best book on fitting muslins I have read. It is clearly written, the photographs are excellent and it shows step by step how to read wrinkles and drag lines to make the correct alterations to both the muslin and paper pattern. Highly recommended.

i bought this even though I've been sewing 50 yrs, i have found Kenneth D King to be a Master of his trade, it just goes to show there's always something to learn, I worked in the clothing industry from the 70s to the 90s making for amongst others Marks and Spencers , that was the days when they would send whole shipments back if the colour of the buttons were wrong. At £20 its a fair price for a hardback and it needs to be read slowly to take information in and process it.

Pour moi ce livre est un peu raté. On voit de belles images du couturier et des personnes pour les ajustements . Mais les photos des ajustements sont indéchiffrables. Impossible de comprendre ce qu’il se passe ou ce qu’il fait. Et puis les photos sont floues quand c’est pour les ajustements,alors qu’elles sont net quand ce sont des photos de groupe ou de lui. Donc très déçue de ce livre

Anyone wanting to create a perfectly fitting garment should read this book - and use it as a textbook to perfect fitting muslins and then tweaking (if necessary) the fashion garment. Very clear pictures, clear wording and Kenneth King's awesome, unique style - this is a great book to have.

Superou minhas expectativas. Todo trabalho mostrado minunciosamente.As fotos com pessoas reais, nos ajudam a entendem vários tipos de corpos.

Man darf sich nicht vom Layout täuschen lassen - das wirkt zwar etwas altbacken, aber der Inhalt ist super. Anhand vieler Bilder werden Passform-Probleme erläutert bzw. erklärt, wie man erkennt, was überhaupt das Problem ist. Dann wird gezeigt, wie man die Probleme behebt. Mir hat es auf jeden Fall geholfen!!