Order Your Books Today

The Moulage - $24.95 US *
The Basic Sleeve - $19.95 US *
Advanced Sleeve - $24.95 US *
Trouser Draft - $24.95 US *
Birth of a Bustier- $24.95 US  *
The Collars- $24.95 US  *

Necklines and Draping-

$24.95 US *

Tailored Jacket - $27.95 US *
Die Wienerin #200 -$26.95 US

Record #199 - $27.95  *

Handbag Construction-$24.95 *
Brush Fringe-$17.95 *
The Skirts-$24.95  *
Dress Lines-$19.95 *
Making Patterns From Existing Garments- $24.95  *

*INTERNATIONAL ORDERS: Please add an additional $8 per order for shipping & handling costs. International Orders are shipped through Global Priority Mail.

Order any of the
books by:

Telephone
  212. 353. 3626
Email
  Kenneth D. King
Paypal
kennethdking@earthlink.net


Send a check or money order to:

Kenneth D. King
30 East 18th Street, Third Floor
New York, NY 10003

(Please allow 1 week shipping)

If you have questions regarding
the books or your order,
please E-mail us.


*Please note, each book requires
the free Adobe Acrobat Reader
on your computer to be able
to open the book(s)
.

 

 

 

 

Here are more complete decriptions of the books I have on offer.  The technique books are grouped together, and the pattern drafting books are below.  If you have any questions about the books, please email me and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have!

If you are interested in the Vintage Pattern Magazine CD's click here.

To return to the book home page click here.

 


Birth of a Bustier
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD Book*
• $24.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included.

If you've ever made strapless garments, you will know how difficult it is to make a garment that fits well and stays in place. This book is expanded from an article I wrote in Threads Magazine.  After a brief introduction, the steps to a well-fitting strapless pattern are covered. (I base this book on The Moulage, so if you don't have it, I recommend it.)  From there, materials for construction are covered, along with a resource list.  There are two types of construction covered--bustier construction, which is a garment that stops at the waist, and corselet, which is an inner foundation to support a full-length dress.  A section on high, faced waistbands, which also utilize this technique, are also covered.  Illustrated with lots of photographs in color.

Back to list


Tailored Jacket
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD Book, 289 pages*
• $27.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included.

My aim was to create a book that illustrates the process so well that one would feel confident to try an tailored jacket. This book covers the construction of my tailored jacket by following a jacket, from the cutting out to the finishing. The text is illustrated with over 300 photos, showing even the smallest details in the process I use to make my tailored jackets. Some of the topics covered are:

Materials and tools
Patternmaking to create the linings, facings, and other corollary pieces so that all pieces fit together perfectly
Interlinings
Complete construction of the garment, with "sidebars" at different points in the process. For example:
The perfect way to ease a sleeve cap
Constructing the notch lapel, as well as the shawl lapel.
Handling uneven shoulders
Constructing the lining, including installing the hidden lining pocket and piping

And more!

Back to list


The Moulage
By Kenneth D. King

• A CD book* - 130 pages
• Includes Video Demonstration on CD-ROM.
• $24.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included

The moulage is the foundation of the couture pattern drafting system taught by the Ecole Guerre-Lavigne in Paris. This is a system of measuring the figure, calculating, and drafting a pattern that will fit the torso like a second skin, incorporating any of the infinite variations of shape the human figure can take.

The book starts out with an introduction and some history of the development of pattern drafting systems. This is followed by a discussion of the proper way to measure the figure, for this system. The CD-ROM, which is made for QuickTime Player, shows a video demonstration of these measurements.

Calculations of the measurements follow. Measurements are in both inches, and metric. The book then proceeds to show, step by step, how to draft the moulage back, then the front. Common adjustments to the muslin is next, followed by instructions on drafting the men’s moulage.

From the Moulage the book will cover how to add wearing ease to create the sloper, or block (the basic unit of pattern drafting). A chapter on “special cases” follows, covering unusual situations such as osteoporosis.

Finally A discussion of how to use your sloper to check a commercial pattern will enable you to use this tool as a fitting aid, making it easier to adjust patterns to your figure.

This book uses Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download for free from Adobe. The CD-ROM video uses Quick Time Player, which you can download for free from Apple.com.

The follow-up to this book is, The Basic Sleeve.

Back to list


The Basic Sleeve
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD book* - 89 pages
• $19.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included

Once you get your slopers, you will need a sleeve. This book continues with the Ecole Guerre-Lavigne system of couture pattern drafting, to draft the three most basic set-in sleeves: Shirt sleeve, fitted sleeve with elbow dart, and two-part tailored sleeve.

Before drafting these sleeves, there are calculations to be done to generate the values for the draft. Inches and metric are both used here. The three sleeves are demonstrated with step-by-step illustrations that will lead you through the entire draft.

Finally a discussion of common adjustments to the sleeve, and other considerations, are covered.

This book uses Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download for free from Adobe.

Back to list


Advanced Sleeve
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD book* - 215 pages
• $24.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included

Advanced sleeve picks up where The Basic Sleeve leaves off. Using the drafts from The Basic Sleeve as a starting point, first covered are the more advanced set-in sleeves, like puffed sleeves, leg-o-mutton, bell, square-cut, and emmanchure bateau. From there, how to draft the different raglan sleeves are demonstrated. Finally, the book covers the kimono sleeves (those cut-as-one with the bodice) and gussets. At the end of each section, a discussion of common adjustments is given.

This book uses Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download for free from Adobe.

Back to list


Trouser Draft
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD Book* - 178 Pages
• Includes Video Demonstration on CD-ROM.
• $24.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included.

Trouser Draft discusses the system of drafting trousers (for men and women) from measurements. After taking the proper measurements (which is covered in the text, as well as on the video on the CD), we cover calculations for the draft, and drafting the trouser. Once the trouser is drafted and made, the next section of the book covers common adjustments that might need to be made to the test garment, to ensure proper fit. Finally, after a well-fitting trouser has been made, the directions for adding style, such as pleats, pockets, waistbands, and the like, are included. The object of this book is to give the information to make any type of trouser you desire.

This book uses Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download for free from Adobe.

Back to list


The Collars
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD Book*
• $24.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included.

The Collars is another installment in the series of couture patternmaking CD books. After drafting sleeves, the collars are the next step in developing a pattern.  This Cd starts with the collars on a round neck, which are drafted on a rectangle.  Examples are the band collar, men's shirt collar, the Peter Pan, and petal overlap collars.  V-neck "rules" are next, followed by collars on a V-neck.  Examples are the all-in-one standing, and all-in-one roll collars, the insertion collars, and the semi-collars.  As the other CD's, this one makes use of numerous step-by-step illustrations to ensure a successful draft.

Back to list


Necklines and Draping
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD Book*
• $24.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included.

This is the next installment in the series of couture pattern making CD's. The book starts out with what I call "blouse necklines, such as the boat, oval, and high faced necklines.  My teacher invented the "neckline theory" in this CD book, which enables one to make a neckline that is low in front, as well as in back, one that will not gap or slip off the shoulders.  After learning the neckline theory and its group ofnecklines, the draped necklines, such as the cowls are next.  We finish up with flat-pattern draping theory, as it is related information.

Back to list


Handbag Construction
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD Book*
• $24.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included.

Handbag Construction is a CD book, based on the popular classes Kenneth teaches at www.patternreview.com.  In this CD, he outlines what he calls "soft" construction, and "rigid" construction.  He uses these techniques, either separately or in combination, when making his evening bags.  There is a separate section on handles and closures, as well as a gallery chapter.  This gallery chapter, shows photos of Kenneth's favorite bags, and tells how he constructed them.

Back to list


Brush Fringe Jacket
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD Book*
• $17.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included.

This is a CD that is an extension of the Tailored Jacket CD.  It deals with how to make fringed edges on tailored garments.  This volume covers patch pockets, pocket flaps, cuffs, and jacket fronts.


The Skirts
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD Book*
• $24.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included.

The Skirts is another installment of the Ecole Guerre-Lavigne system of pattern drafting.  It covers all of the classic skirt lines, such as flares, straight, pencil line, gored skirts, pleated skirts, divided skirts, and circular skirts.  Once you get this CD, you can draft any skirt you desire.


Dress Lines
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD Book*
• $19.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included.

The Dress Lines CD is the final installment of the Ecole Guerre-Lavigne pattern drafting system.  In this CD, you will learn how to draft the princess line dresses, the A-line dresses, the tent dresses, and the empire-line dress.


Making Garments from Existing Garments
by Kenneth D. King

• A CD Book*
• $24.95 US - shipping and all applicable taxes included.

If you have a garment that you love, one that you'd like more of, you can use this way of taking a pattern from it without ripping the garment apart. Based on the classic "rub-off" technique, the innovation here is to use buff-colored organza (which is see-through), to retrieve the information from the garment.  Once this information is retrieved, you will learn how to transfer it to paper, and then to create the corollary pieces, to produce a working pattern ready for construction.  Also covered is how to find grainlines when the fabric doesn't show them readily.  All in all, this is a useful book for studying garment construction, as well as making copies of a loved piece.