TIL my old design teacher was right about the 80/20 rule for fabric swatches

Back in design school, my teacher told me to always order 20% more fabric than my pattern called for. I thought it was a waste of money, especially on a student budget. For my final project, I cut it close and only got 10% extra on this expensive silk. I ran short on a sleeve panel and had to piece it together with a seam down the middle. It looked awful and dropped my grade a full letter. Looking back, that extra $30 in fabric would have saved the whole piece. Anyone else have a hard rule from training they ignored and later regretted?

2 comments

2 Comments

burns.ryan23d ago

Sometimes you gotta learn the hard way though.

victor_taylor3223d ago

Isn't that why we keep touching the hot stove, @burns.ryan?