Buffi's Dress Design

Buffi's Dress Design by Buffi Jashanmal

Published by Storey Publishing

1st January 2014

Hardback edition



In this fun, hip, easy-to-follow guide, Project Runway contestant Buffi Jashanmal shows you how to design and make your own custom-fitted dresses from start to finish. You'll learn how to create custom patterns for three basic dress shapes - the shift, the sheath, and the princess seam - and how to make them rock by exploring nine variations for each basic shape. Buffi also shows you how to revamp secondhand and vintage dresses, for a total of 30 unique and stylish dress designs. Your dresses will fit your body, suit your taste, and express your individual style like nothing you can buy in a store!


I was given this book by the publisher to review, written by one of the contestants from the American tv show Project Runway.  From three basic styles, you can make and adapt the patterns to get 30 dresses in total.  Basically you make the basic pattern, called a sloper, and then adapt it to suit the look you want.  It all sounds fairly straightforward!!!!

The layout of the book is really clear, breaking down fabric types, stitches, and the tools of the trade needed to make each item, as well as the actual projects themselves.  Unfortunately I can't show you any pictures from the book as it's only been made available to review online!  However, you can go onto Amazon and click to look inside the book - this won't show you the actual dresses themselves though which is a bit disappointing if you are thinking of buying the book.


The dresses you can make are broken down into three categories: shift, sheath and princess seam and then from there you can do the adaptions to make variants on the same theme.  I don't know how many of the actual dresses I would make for everyday use (I'm not going to any proms anyday soon!) but it's a clear, well explained book that would be ideal for a younger dressmaker to try out.


G x