well-suited blog - Creative Design and Pattern Making.

Sleeve Pattern Alterations - Boat Neck Tee

Thursday, July 04, 2019

If you'd like to get yourself a classic Tee-shirt pattern, my Boat Neck Tee pattern is not overly tight, with soft shaping on the side seam, a boat neckline and three-quarter sleeves. For most of us the first pattern alteration, depending on the weather, will be sleeve length alterations. Keep Reading...

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Grading the Vintage Capri Pants

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Continuing on from my earlier post, Decoding Vintage Patterns, the following post covers the steps I'll take to grade the pattern for my own personal fitting. It also gives me the opportunity to share with you one of my favourite pieces of pattern making kit; my 'Variator' grading machine.

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Decoding Vintage Patterns

Wednesday, January 09, 2019

Since I've been online (6 years now) I've become aware of an enormous love for vintage style out there, and in particular vintage patterns. And in some strange way these patterns are so familiar to me. I must have used some of my grandmothers patterns when I was younger because the lack of instructions and complete absence of print on these vintage patterns does not confuse or put me off at all. Somehow it appears to me as a secret code I have to solve to uncover the exact intentions of the designer/pattern maker.

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Trouser Block - Fitting Toile

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

So often I'm asked how I make my fitting toile's for Trouser Blocks, so I'd thought I'd put together a short post with some detail. Many of the points are small but essential for a good #FirstFitting. You can access a download of my Trouser Block here. I've also uploaded a worksheet that covers the detail for the first stage of fitting the trouser block. The PDF worksheet includes detail instructions and technical diagrams to take you through every step of the process. Keep Reading...

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Fitting Commercial Patterns - FBA

Saturday, April 09, 2016

Fitting Commercial Patterns is a very popular workshop for home sewers and textile teachers. This week I've been going all-out to improve the workbook materials for this workshop in preparation for some professional development training I'm delivering in Melbourne next week to the Victorian VET textile teachers. I've decided to share a section of that new workbook in this post, covering the Full Bust Adjustment (FBA) on an existing shirt pattern.

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Pattern Fix - Back Dress too Long

Saturday, April 02, 2016

How many times have you experienced this; fabric pooling at the back waist in your dresses and shirts? Well I have the Pattern Fix for that! Unfortunately there is little we can do to save the sample, but we can do the pattern alteration to make sure it doesn't happen again.

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Pattern Fundamentals - Gape Darts

Monday, November 03, 2014

Last Saturday we swapped our regular #PatternPuzzle for some #PatternFundamentals. The focus of the conversation was GAPE DARTS and how to use them in your pattern making to get a better result in your first toile of new designs. You may know them as contouring darts as suggested by Alexandria of In-House Patterns.