Sewing patterns

Comfort and Creativity in a Classic Sewing Pattern

Originally developed as a comfortable fit in a corporate environment, my Corporate Shirt sewing pattern can be creative for all occasions.  It boasts classic shirt styling that includes details that can be highlighted using contrast fabrics.  It is a part of my Off-the-Rails Sewing Patterns collection that focuses on more classic designs that may last forever in your wardrobe.

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.

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.

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.

This is where it all started...  The Off-the-shoulder Twist Top from so many years ago.  This design was originally inspired by one of the dutch designers in a mens silk knit tee.  It has graduated from a mens tee to an off-the-shoulder model to finally a boat neck tee style.  It's this final version that I'm now preparing as an online PDF sewing pattern to add to the website.  Make sure you're subscribed to my newsletter so you're the first to hear about the pattern release.  You'll find the sign in box in the footer of my web pages.
The sewing pattern has been released:  Body Twist Tee PDF Sewing Pattern

The Retro Wrap was one of my earliest Pattern Puzzle patterns and easily one of the all-time favourites.  I've made the original pattern and all the adjustments necessary to prepare it for conversion into a PDF Sewing Pattern.  And I do admit that working out the grading plan for this style was a huge challenge.  When the grade document is returned I'll let you know if it was successful.

 

For a very long time images of the elizabethan shirt as a pattern or garment have fascinated me.  I've always favoured patterns that use every bit of fabric as they speak of a time when textiles were considered to be of great value.  A time when your household was valued by the quality of the textiles produced in the home and worn by the family and often sold to generate income.
 

Inspo from Butterick 4486 - especially the lace-up front.

When you'e making your own clothes the first and most important bit of information is what size pattern you'll be using.  To work this out you need the Size Chart (body measurements used to make the patterns), your own basic body measurements (bust, waist and hips), and if possible the pattern measurements as provided by the pattern company.  My Pencil Skirt Sewing Pattern has been designed for woven cloth with no stretch and I've allowed 5cm garment ease in the fit of the hip on the skirt.  So once you know your own hip measurement it's important that the pattern you use is at least 5cm (2") larger in the hip.  This 5cm (2") is added to the pattern as garment ease for basic comfort and good fit.

The fabulous thing about this pattern is that for many it can be made in a woven or a knit fabric.  The Drape Back Tunic sewing pattern is available as a one-size only pattern with instructions to increase the size and length printed on the pattern.  These images are for the sewing instructions for woven fabrics but I will make notes regarding the sewing instructions you need for knit fabrics.  If you cut this pattern as it is in a woven fabric it'll fit up to Aus Size 12.  If you cut it in a two-way (four-way in the US) stretch knit fabric that has some elastane content it can fit up to a Aus Size 22.

It was over ten years ago that I designed and made this shirt for sale and I've had so many different versions of it in my wardrobe since.  The fit of this shirt is tailored and body conscious with a back yoke, panel seams front and back, a two-piece collar and tab, and a dinner shirt style bib in the front.  There is a short and long sleeve version with the option of cutting the sleeves on either the straight or bias grain.  The Dinner Shirt Sewing Pattern is so versatile in design as to be both a conservative work shirt and fun party shirt in the one pattern.
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