Arkdefo Studios

Stop copying patterns. Start designing clothes. We teach the craft and supply exceptional natural fabrics.

26/08/2026

I generally think that too many people are way too serious about clothes making. At the end of the day, it’s just some fabric wrapped around your body, and the only risk you’re taking is ruining some fabric. And to remove the fear of ruining the fabric, you simply must waste the fabric that you’re not afraid to waste. And the sooner you allow yourself to just be creative, and the sooner you stop looking behind your shoulder looking for an approval of someone who’s supposed to know better what you like, the sooner you’ll figure out what you really like and what you want to make, the sooner you’ll get that true joy of making clothes.

24/08/2026

You can change the length of the shoulder. You can change the width of the sleeve, and you don’t have to ask permission to try something. If you think of something and you go, “Hmm, I wonder what will happen if...” the correct answer is to give it a go. Because once you give it a go, more often than not, the answer will present itself.

Clothes making is a practical skill. Nobody has all the answers for your body, your preferred fit, your perfect design. You have to try things out yourself because you are the only person who truly knows what’s going on inside your head and what exact fit would you like to try. Have an idea? Try it.

19/08/2026

Oversized fit has nothing to do with your size

Here is the thing about the oversize fit. I know that so many of you are really afraid to wear something oversize because it will make you look bigger. It won’t. No matter what you wear, you always look your size. Oversize fit has nothing to do with your measurements. So this shirt has 40 centimeters ease, 40, 4-0. What does it mean? It means that I added 40 centimeters to my overall measurement, and that’s why it sits looser. At the same time, it doesn’t look like I stole the shirt from my grandpa because it is designed for me, for my measurements.

17/08/2026

The biggest misconception about relaxed fit clothes

The biggest misconception I hear about loose fitted clothes, relaxed fit clothes, is that you need just to size up. Yes, you can achieve similar results, but just sizing up does not mean that the clothes work for your body. The way the garment sits on you is determined by the ease. That ease is included in the pattern, and that’s why some garments sit tighter, some sit looser.

12/08/2026

Why wearing bigger clothes doesn’t make you look bigger

I will forever be an advocate for slightly oversized clothing because it’s much more comfortable than trying to squeeze yourself into something two, three, four sizes smaller. You always look the size you are, so wearing bigger clothing doesn’t make you bigger. Yes, there are all these styling tricks that you can use to elongate your body, to present yourself in the best way possible, but you cannot hide or add sizes to your body. Sizes are just numbers. They are artificial. They’re made up, and they differ from country to country. The best part about making my own clothes is that it doesn’t have labels. It doesn’t have sizes. It is made for my body the way I want it to be.

10/08/2026

The superpower to design anything you want.

Every single garment you can think of, from a bra to a jacket to a dress, anything at all, all of them start from a very simple, very basic pattern block, and that block has the measurements and the ease in it. So when you design any pattern from that block, it will always follow the same measurements and the same ease. And here is the best-kept secret of fashion design. You actually can learn how to design those blocks based on your measurements. And once you have those blocks sorted, you never have to ask the question, do you have a pattern for that, ever again, because you will have the superpower to design any garment you want.

05/08/2026

The pattern isn’t the problem.

If you keep trying ready-made patterns and they keep failing you, it’s not because the patterns are bad, it’s because they were never made to fit your body. The much better and quicker way to make clothes is to learn how to make your custom pattern blocks and then use them to create designs that you would love to wear. And the best part is, because these blocks are based on your body, the final garments will always fit you because they have you in them from the start.

03/08/2026

Most people think the learning stops when the garment is finished. It doesn’t. The final step is putting it on, going outside, living in it - noticing how it moves, how it feels, how it makes you look. You can make the most beautiful, neatly constructed piece of clothing, but if it doesn’t work for your body or your style, it doesn’t work. And the only way to find out is to wear it. Yes, you’ll make mistakes. Yes, things will go wrong. That’s not a problem. That’s how you build the knowledge that no book or video can give you.

29/07/2026

One of the biggest problems in clothes-making space is that too many people refuse to try, and instead, they go on the internet asking for permission.
Can I do it this way?
What happens if I do it that way?
What happens if?
And every time I see these questions, I have the only answer: why don’t you try?
What is the worst case scenario if you try something?
Are you operating an airplane with 300 people on board? No.
Are you performing a super complicated open brain surgery? No.
You are just cutting some fabric, and you’re trying to see what happens if.
So the easiest way to master the skill and to learn what happens if is to actually try. Instead of asking someone’s opinion because they might have a completely different experience that you might have, you don’t need to outsource those experiences.

You just have to try.

27/07/2026

When you just copy a ready sewing pattern, you have a really comfortable way out.
If something doesn’t work, it’s not your fault.
You followed the instructions.
You stitched everything perfectly.
The pattern must be wrong - right?
But here’s the problem.
That pattern was never designed for you.
It was designed for a generic idea of a woman your size.
It ignores your proportions, your posture, your curves and your fit preferences.
So you keep wasting time and fabric trying to force something that was never made for you to fit you.
But when you start with your own body - your measurements, your posture and your fit preferences - and build your pattern blocks around you - every design you create starts from a base that already fits.

Endereço

Avenida Da República 755
Vila Nova De Gaia
4430-201

Website

http://arkdefo.com/

Notificações

Seja o primeiro a receber as novidades e deixe-nos enviar-lhe um email quando Arkdefo Studios publica notícias e promoções. O seu endereço de email não será utilizado para qualquer outro propósito, e pode cancelar a subscrição a qualquer momento.