The techniques Natalie Bray pioneered and perfected revolutionised dress pattern designing, assisting the rise of the modern fashion industry. Her teaching has had a profound influence on design, production and education and her works are classics: fashions change but the principles of designing patterns in the flat do not.

To be able to understand what is happening when observing a defect is already to have an idea of how to correct it. Here problems of figure, posture and of pattern adjustment are clearly explained so that the dressmaker can, with the confidence that comes with practical experience, learn to identify a defect and choose the best method of dealing with it.