How To Adjust A Pattern

As most of you sewing fanatics have come to find out, purchasing a commercial pattern in your size is not always a safe bet. Even though the pattern guarantees the piece of clothing you will make will fit like a glove, sometimes, this “glove” ends up fitting more like a mitten.

Since most commercial patterns usually need some alterations, knowing how to adjust a pattern prior to construction is a useful skill and very much a necessary one to have.  The steps listed below will outline the essentials of adjusting a pattern.  Let’s get to it!

MEASUREMENTS

Accurate body measurements are key  when selecting a pattern. Take and record your measurements periodically to ensure your sizing will be correct before buying a pattern. In relation to the type of garment you will be sewing, keep a chart of your measurements and the date and update it once in awhile.

PATTERN COPY

If you need to make any pattern modifications and want to preserve the original pattern, trace a copy! This way, you will always have the original as a reference.  

EASE

For wearability, each pattern has a certain amount of ease. Although the amount of ease is not always specified on the pattern envelope, it should be noted on each pattern piece. This will tell you how much “allowance” each garment has, so you can subtract and/or add accordingly.

WHERE TO ADJUST

Knowing exactly where to adjust the pattern exclusively for your body type is crucial when attempting to achieve the ideal fit. This skill takes time to develop, since you will need to sew a few garments (or muslins) in order to take note of which areas need improvement. Great news is, once you have figured out which revisions you need to make, you can apply this to most patterns in the future.

 Follow these four fundamental steps and slowly but surely, you’ll have garments that fit you just right in all the right spots! Send me your questions and comments about adjusting patterns below!

Published in LoveSewing Magazine on March 17, 2014

DIY: Copy Your Clothes

Making patterns from scratch might, at first, seem daunting and time-consuming. It certainly does take awhile to perfect, but, in the end, having the ability to create a pattern suited specifically and only for your body is a great reward and a highly-coveted skill. And like anything else, once you’ve made a few (patterns), you will find your groove and actually look forward to making more.

Before diving into scratch-making patterns, though, try making patterns from an existing garment you own as a warm-up for the real thing. Register for a Copy Your Clothes course at The Sewing Studio and learn to create a pattern from two existing garments. You will get to recreate your favourite item(s) and learn the basics of pattern making. The clothing you choose to copy will stay perfectly intact and what’s even better – the pattern you draft will be reusable. Woot! So if you want to make that black pencil skirt out of a cheetah print fabric, the same fabric as the one you own, or even a Valentine’s Day version (with printed hearts and roses, of course), the choice is yours, Cupid.

Copy Your Clothes is an intermediate course and runs for four weeks. Each week, you will attend a two-hour class filled with drafting paper, straight and curved rulers, the sharpest pencils you have ever seen, and a few other like-minded individuals who are probably there for the same reasons you are. Your instructor will most likely be totally awesome. Hey, I’m just speaking from experience. You’ll have to go and see for yourself.

Knowing how to make patterns gives you the freedom to choose fabrics according to your style and, more importantly, to create clothing which will suit your body shape. Total customization!  

 PUBLISHED IN LOVESEWING MAGAZINE ON JANUARY 22, 2014