introductory Tag

01 Dec

Posted at 09:00h in Pattern Puzzle Sewing Patterns, Sewing patterns by
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It all started with this image I found on the interweb many years ago and resulted in a #PatternPuzzle post to unpack this fascinating idea.  And finally it's a digital sewing pattern for everyone to download.  Like many vintage sewing patterns they use fashion illustrations rather than photographs to promote the pattern.
And the cover suggests you can wear this wrap top wrapped to the front and to the back.  In my experience it didn't work out that way and worn with the wrap at the back it was far too tight across the throat to be comfortable.

03 Nov

Posted at 10:00h in Sewing Pattern Alterations by
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Imagine joining me in one of my many pattern making workshops and enjoying the new techniques and skills that'll up your creative game.  My Sewing and Learning Packages include a sewing pattern or block and a related set of detailed tutorials that are the very resources I use in my pattern making workshops.  So something a little different: The Sleeveless Shift Dress - A Dress with a Lesson.

06 Oct

Posted at 10:00h in Garment Construction, Pattern Puzzle Sewing Patterns, Sewing, Sewing patterns by
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For those of you that follow my 'well-suited' blog closely you will have realised that every month I've been releasing a new sewing pattern.  With each release I've also been offering my newsletter subscribers exclusive fabulous discounts.  For the month of October the focus is on my two #zero-waste sewing patterns: The Eura and The Elizabethan Shirt.

04 Jun

Posted at 10:00h in Pattern Puzzle Sewing Patterns, Sewing patterns by
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At long last I've finished the PDF Sewing Pattern for the Body Twist Pattern Puzzle.  It's a very large one piece pattern for the body of the garment with a double layer sleeve and ribbed neck trim.  It's a soft and generous twist without being too tight.  The construction is as simple as a tee-shirt without the need to finish any hems.  Body and sleeves are double layers turned back on themselves.  You'll find the history of this pattern development in these blog posts.

14 Apr

Posted at 14:45h in MeStyle, Opinion by
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The tug of war between our creative drive and our ethical aspirations can be so confusing.  How can we adjust our own consumption of fabric/fashion so that we can satisfy our creative needs, alongside supporting our social, ethical and environmental ideals?
To begin with we're so fortunate if we can sew.  Already we're able to side-step the ugly world of fast fashion when we have the skills and resources to make our own clothes.  So what are the key issues we need to consider if we are to grapple with our creativity and still hold some ethical views on consumption.

23 Sep

Posted at 11:00h in Opinion by
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What do you do when you're between workrooms?  When you're used to a large cutting table, a number of specialist sewing machines and all the materials and trims you could ever desire.  It’s quite devastating but not impossible to work around.  Just imagine you're a creative on a long journey, traveling the countryside with very little space to store creative materials or equipment, but still wanting to expressive your creative self.

14 Feb

Posted at 06:00h in Off-the-Rails Sewing Patterns, Stretch Patterns, Womens Knit Block by
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It all began when I came across this fabulous Dior Dress from 2012, and decided it was the perfect idea for a classic dress design.  Imagine a stretch bodice, that fits easily and is very comfortable to wear.  Then add a very special skirt, using signature fabric.  The simplicity of the idea was just so attractive to me.  And simplicity is something I really admire in both the design and construction of fashion clothing.  And now that classic simplicity is available to you with my new sewing pattern:  The Dior Dress, available in 6 sizes, including detailed cutting and sewing instructions.

12 Feb

Posted at 16:03h in Garment Construction, Off-the-Rails Sewing Patterns, Sewing by
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If you have a single retro bone in your body you will have come across a circle skirt at some point in your sewing life.  And they are fabulous, no question.  However they have two possible drawbacks in the making.  They are:  you waste a lot of fabric and you always have to level the hem and in some fabrics that can be an ongoing process. In this post I will only be dealing with the waste fabric from cutting circle skirts.  You'll find more information about Circle Skirts in my other blog posts.

26 Oct

Posted at 12:53h in Garment Construction, Pattern Puzzles by
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We've all seen this particular style over the past few years on the catwalk and in the shops.  But unlike many fashion trends I think this one will be good for quite a while.  It's so flattering with the distracting diagonal drape across the tummy and hip area.
I've featured this particular pattern making move twice on this blog:  Twist and Turnback Top 2013,the Twist Jumper 2013 & Turnback Thinking 2014.  I've also made a number of samples in the past few years, testing different materials and design details.  I'm going to share those samples here and let you know which of the features and fabrics work the best for this design.

12 Oct

Posted at 16:19h in Fitting Patterns, Grading Patterns by
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Although it may appear complicated, grading sewing patterns is based on a few simple rules with definite numbers added to very specific parts of the pattern for each size up and down the size chart.  These rules are used in repeat for all garments within a category (mens, women's or children).  The image below is of a black fitted dress block graded from Size 8 to Size 10 by cutting through the crucial grade points and adding the extra required to go up one size in the pattern.  The white lines are these crucial grade points where the extra is added.  It is the example I use in my pattern making classes to assist in the understanding of where patterns grow between sizes.
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