When I opened 10 spots for beta testing my custom parametric blocks service, I thought that would be enough.
It wasn’t.
Not because something went wrong. Because something went right.
Every client taught me something about a body type I hadn’t fully accounted for. Every measurement review revealed something about real bodies that no drafting textbook had prepared me for.
So I kept going.
The original plan was simple: 10 clients, refine the system, scale.
But here’s what I discovered: 10 clients gives you 10 body types. And 10 body types, while valuable, is still a narrow window into the full range of human proportion.
I’ve now worked with:
A short waisted body where the hip level sits 4 inches from the waist
A body with natural asymmetry requiring full front and back pieces instead of half pieces cut on fold
A body with evolving scoliosis where measurements shift over time
A body with a protruding abdomen that affected every waist measurement
A brick shaped body with minimal waist to hip difference
A body with a high rounded back and forward sloping shoulders
A body with asymmetrical shoulders and asymmetrical bust apex heights
A body where the shoulder slope was creating armhole problems that no commercial pattern had ever solved
Every one of these taught me something I couldn’t have learned from a drafting manual.
Real bodies are the only textbook that matters for this kind of work.
And I want more data. More body types. More variations. More of the real-world complexity that standard patterns were never designed to handle.
So I’m continuing.
I’ve been working on updating The Basic Pattern Set for a while now.
And beta testing has slowed that process down, but not in the way you might think.
It’s not that I don’t have time. It’s that what I’m learning keeps informing what needs to go into the update.
Every client reveals something about how bodies differ from the standard assumption. Every measurement discrepancy teaches me something about how to explain a measurement more clearly. Every body variation flag reminds me of something that belongs in the book.
I could publish the update faster. Or I could publish it better.
I’m choosing better.
That means the update is taking longer than planned. But it also means that when it arrives, it will reflect not just what I knew when I started, but what real bodies taught me along the way.
The Basic Pattern Set update isn’t a complete rewrite. It’s a refinement.
Here’s what I’m working on:
Clearer measurement instructions based on what I’ve learned from clients measuring themselves
More context for body variations (short waisted, rounded back, asymmetrical proportions)
Better explanation of the measurements that most patterns never ask for — but that matter most for fit
Refinements based on feedback from readers who’ve been using the book
That last point is important.
I’ve received so much valuable feedback from readers of The Basic Pattern Set. Questions about specific measurements. Observations about where the instructions could be clearer. Stories about what worked and what didn’t.
That feedback is shaping the update as much as anything I’ve learned from beta testing.
The book is getting better because of the people using it. That’s how it should work.
If you don’t yet have The Basic Pattern Set, you can get it here:
📖 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-basic-pattern-set-Kehinde-ebook/dp/B08LXVPV37?
📖 Gumroad: https://kehindeoni.gumroad.com/l/basicpatternset (I’d appreciate if you purchase here, more of your purchase comes directly to me)
I share updates about the book, and about everything else I’m working on through my newsletter.
Not Substack. A separate newsletter through Kit where I go deeper on specific topics, share things I’m still figuring out, and keep a smaller, more direct conversation going with people who want that level of detail.
I want to keep sharing the book update progress there. The decisions I’m making. The things I’m adding. The things I’m reconsidering. The feedback that’s shaping what it becomes.
And I want to keep hearing from you.
The feedback I’ve received from book readers has been genuinely valuable, not just for the update, but for how I think about teaching pattern making altogether.
I don’t want that conversation to stop. I want more of it.
If you’d like to follow the book update journey and everything else I’m building, you can join the newsletter and get a free guide on turning a basic skirt block into 5 different patterns.
You’ll hear from me directly. Not just posts and notes. A real conversation.
Beta testing: Continuing. More body types. More data. More refinement.
The Basic Pattern Set update: In progress. Taking the time it needs to reflect what real bodies have taught me.
The newsletter: Where I’ll keep sharing both.
Custom blocks service: Still open. If your body has been fighting standard patterns. If you have variations that no commercial pattern has ever accounted for, reach out.
✓ Bodice block
✓ Sleeve block
✓ Skirt block
✓ Seamly2D parametric files (yours forever)
✓ A4 + A0 PDFs ready to print
✓ Detailed instructions
✓ Two rounds of adjustments
✓ My direct support throughout
Reach out via DM (Direct message) and let’s talk.
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