freesewing/markdown/org/docs/designs/brian/notes/en.md

---
title: "Brian body block: Designer Notes"
---

Brian is FreeSewing's foundational body block for menswear.
It underpins many of our designs and has done so for many years.

It is inspired by the teachings of Gareth Kershaw, but has a number of
improvements such as handling shoulder slope, the ability to shift the shoulder
seam backward and forward on both collar and shoulder side, as well as a highly
configurable sleevecap.

Perhaps just as important as what it does, is what it does not do: It does not
fit the body. It's just straight down from the chest. No fitting of the waist
whatsoever. 

This is intentional to make it easier to extend this design in a variety of
styles.

joost