By: Charlotte Bistodeau

Many people want to get into fashion designing but don’t know where to start. You might think you need fabric, special notebooks, special pencils (which is all true eventually but not in the beginning). Here I’ll take you through some of the simple things that will make getting into fashion design easier overall.

The first thing you’ll want is a fashion book. Any notebook can be a fashion book, but there are many things I’ll suggest here that will make things simple.

1. I suggest a notebook that has blank pages (think sketch books). Having lines on your paper may distract you from the final product.
2. When choosing your sketch book you want to think about what art supplies you’re going to use most. Example, If you are going to be using a lot of watercolor then choose a sketchbook with watercolor paper.
3. Your sketchbook does not have to be fancy, in fact you can purchase one at Five Below and you’ll be fine.
4. Small sketchbooks are a great starting point especially if you have no clue what to do or design. Less space means less stress on the line and makes it seem like you’ve done more.
5. A bigger sketchbook might feel like a nice idea (not filling it up as fast, having more room) but it can make you feel threatened by how little you seem to have drawn or how much you still have to draw.
6. Don’t pick out your sketchbook for ascetic purposes. Just because it looks nice doesn’t mean you’ll like the feel of it. You should check to see if you like the feel of the grain and if it works with the main art supplies you choose to use. If you really are worried about it looking nice, you can always decorate the cover yourself with paint, paper, stickers, etc. and make it your own.

The second thing you might want to do is create a stencil to make it easier to draw your design. So, here are the steps to make a stencil.

First, you’ll want to sketch out a picture of a model template. After you finish your drawing and are happy with it, you should take a photo for a later step.

Second, you’ll want to glue your drawing down on a piece of cardstock or thin flat cardboard. Example, I used a side from a box of ice cream (taken out of recycling).

Third, you’ll want to use an exacto knife or box cutter to cut out the drawing from your template; make sure if you have extra pieces (example, for me it was the gaps between the body and arm) that you find a way to keep them connected to the rest of the stencil. Also make sure to have an extra piece of cardboard, cutting mat, etc, to make sure you don’t scrape whatever surface you’re cutting on.

Now you can take a pencil and trace it. Notice I drew on a lined sheet of paper; I did this as an example and if I am actually going to use the template I’ll draw it on a blank sheet. Going back to the first step, look at the photo you took of the original drawing and add anything you may have missed with just the basic stencil (Red is what I added to make it look better).

Now you have your fashion book and stencil and can start your fashion drawing experience!