Dixie DIY

Ballet Dress Hack, sort of...

2013-05-17T22:28:00.000-05:00

What do you do when you ought to be working on legit projects or things on a time deadline or stuff that needs to get done before your vacation next week? Naturally, you make a perfectly unnecessary top and put off the other important stuff 'til later.

I found this black, thermal knit fabric on Girl Charlee (damn you, Susan!) and immediately I knew I had to have it. I mean - BOWS! It has BOWS ON IT! BOOOOOOWWWWWWWSSSSSS!

I made this top by adapting my ballet dress pattern (now also on Etsy!). I shortened the skirt and slashed and spread it to make nearly a full circle skirt and made it into a peplum. PEPLUMS AND BOWS, PEOPLE!!!

I also shortened the sleeves. Not as exciting as peplums or bows.

Then there was, um, accidental changes. For some reason the front bodice piece from test print of another of my patterns got stuffed in my Ballet Dress envelope (ugh, I've got to be more organized!). It's based on the same block but not exactly the same. I realized I used the wrong piece when I found that my front neckline was a lot wider than the back...

Another problem - that bodice was designed with a waistband so it was a bit shorter than my normal Ballet Dress bodice piece. I managed to make it work at the side seams but uh, it's a little shorter in the front. Oops. I didn't have enough fabric to cut another piece so I just went with it. Bows make up for all mistakes.

And I made my neck collar a little wider than the ballet dress pattern because like in my last turn at making this pattern I was using a fabric that was only stretchy in the non-printed parts. I worried I'd have the same problem as last time where the collar would get distorted if it was too narrow.

Anyway, ignoring some minor mishaps I really love this top! I can already tell I'm gonna get a lot of wear out of it. BOWS B*TCHES!!!

SwimAlong!

2013-05-15T14:39:00.000-05:00

Man, I feel like I'm working on a gazillion different projects but because of that none of them ever seem to get finished... At some point I'm going to finish them all and flood this blog with sewing goodies.

In the mean time I wanted to let you in on some stuff I'm doing, perhaps stuff you'd want to get involved in, too.

So, have you heard of SwimAlong 2013? It's music to my ears! You know me and swim suits - I love 'em! Well, I love sewing them anyway. Even though I rarely go swimming. The most swimming I do is usually in a river or a creek somewhere here in Austin. Austinites are really into floating down rivers in tubes or hiking out to some waterfall and splashing around on the rocks. Did you know I grew up right next to the beach and I had a pool at my condo building, too? Yeah, I had all this access to swimming and I hardly ever used it. If only I sewed my own swim suits in high school.

Anyway, Kadiddlehopper and Three Dresses Project are hosting SwimAlong, a swimwear sew-along. You can pick whatever pattern or design you like. The gals are offering helpful construction posts and lots of inspiration.

For my suit I'm going to be adapting Ohh Lulu's lovely lingerie patterns for swim wear spandex (and I promise to show you how so you can do it, too). How cute would the Gracie and Bambi patterns be for a bikini?

I bought a half yard of this wild and crazy swimwear knit from Stitched Fabric Boutique here in Austin. I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to use it. I'm thinking of mixing it with some solid black so the tacky, 70's explosion doesn't overwhelm me.

This fabric is really abstract and artsy but what you can't completely visualize from this pic is the shiny gold splotches and squiggles all over it.

If you're a little insane like me and actually like this print I found it on Spandex House's website. For some reason their site doesn't have individual pages for each fabric so if this search link doesn't work then just search for the fabric with this product number: PS-3772. There are two other colorways for it, as well: PS-3771 and PS-3770.

Anyone else planning on participating?

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In other news - my patterns are now up on Etsy! Etsy finally decided to get on the downloadable-product bandwagon so now you can buy from Etsy and instantly download your patterns!

Adding Bra Strap Carriers to your dresses and tops

2013-05-09T16:43:00.001-05:00

This is my new favorite method to making bra strap carriers. I've heard these called many things - carriers, holders, lingerie strap-straps, whatever. Basically they're belt loops for your bra straps.

Do you have shirts that constantly slip off your shoulders when you wear them? Or the other way around - do your bra straps refuse to stay in place? These nifty things help with both those problems. I've added them to clothes like the ones above that have wide or deep necklines. Attaching your shirt to your bra straps really helps and you can add these to clothes even after you've made them.

You'll need two sets of sew on snaps, thread, scissors, very narrow ribbon (I'm using 1/8"), and your sewing machine.

First, stitch the bottom part of the snap to your shirt/dress on the inside of the shoulder seam. I'm sewing it on to a facing but you can also sew to the lining or the seam allowances, just don't stitch through to the outside.

Start with your knot underneath the facing/seam allowance if you can, you want to reduce bulk around the snap so the snaps can hold together well. I made a basic blanket stitch around my snap and tied my knot under the facing when I finished.

Next cut a 2.5" length of ribbon (more if you've got really wide bra straps, less if you're working on a tank top or something with narrow shoulder straps) and thread it through the upper snap and match up the edges of the ribbon.

Attach the upper snap to the bottom snap and pin the ribbon flat along the shoulder seam.

Using a short, narrow zig zag stitch, sew over the ribbon close to the edges. Don't stitch across more than two or three times or else you risk putting too many holes in the ribbon. Trim your ribbon ends if needed.

Repeat for the other shoulder.

Now when you wear your dress/top you can unsnap your carrier, tuck your bra strap under and snap it all back in place.

The reason I like this ribbon method is because I used to use a length of serger chain but sometimes the threads would break or come untied from snap. Threading the ribbon through the snap helps reduce bulk compared to tying a knot at the snap.

Kwik Sew 30720 Baby Shirt v3

2013-05-04T19:25:00.000-05:00

This is just a quick project that I finished. It seems like I've been in the midst of so many projects that hardly any are finished. It's nice to be able to whip something out really fast, ya know?

So I know another person who's having a baby soon, and it seams like they're all having boys which is great for me 'cause I'm getting my money's worth out of this Kwik Sew pattern. This is the third time I've made this tiny top.

I made this one in a size M sew the kid will have a couple months before he can fit into it but that's fine.

I used some blue chambray and little blue plastic buttons. I stitched down all my seam allowances and topstitched my edges. It's in blue so you can't really see it but I like the extra stability it gives to the seams.

I even added a Dixie DIY tag at the back neck so that kid can remember who loves him. ;)

And then I was able to smoosh the shirt into a very tiny box which I then wrapped.

Me-Made Fixes

2013-04-29T12:56:00.001-05:00

I feel like I haven't posted much on the blog lately but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy with sewing projects. Mostly it's been smaller things like fixing old me-mades.

This maxi dress was never really worn for two reasons - it has no sleeves which I've realized is a problem for me. I'm just too lazy to coordinate the days I shave and wear sleeveless clothes so sleeveless items just stay locked in the closet forever, and also I added this really pretty beaded trim to the neckline but of course I can't throw the dress in the washer with that delicate trim on it. More closet-prison time for this dress.

So I chopped off the top, added elastic to the waist and made it into a skirt. I'm hoping I'll wear this more than the dress. I'm not too sure how much of a maxi-skirt girl I am. We'll see.

(shorter sleeves, shorter skirt, shorter hair)

I also altered my Elisalex Dress. After wearing it a couple times I realized the thick fabric just wasn't going to work with the hot weather we'll be getting soon so I shortened the sleeves and skirt to make it more summer-y. Now I'll get more wear out of it all year long!

This dress makes for a great platform for statement necklaces (yes, Miss Lulu, I liked your necklace so much, I bought one for myself).

Other things I've been working on -

Making a pattern from some RTW jeans (it's so cool, I hope to share soon!)
Stitching up my Refashioners project (hint, it involves dye!)
A rayon blouse from a new book I just got.
Tweeting!
An Archer top, a velvet Cordova Jacket, new swimsuit ideas, and re-sizing a bunch of older clothes to fit. I'm thinking of doing Me Made May this year but with some specific challenges like wearing more skirts and making myself alter some older beloved me-mades to fit me again (I'm lookin' at you, sailor shorts).

Well, I'm off to go work on more sewing. See ya around, blog!

An affordable guide for pattern grading...?

2013-04-22T13:57:00.000-05:00

I mentioned that I bought this book on Twitter a few days ago (yeah, I'm back on Twitter, go follow me and I'll follow you back!).

I don't exactly remember how I stumbled upon this little booklet, maybe it was through a review of this authors pattern design books. Anyhow I was intrigued when I found the "Grading Workbook" on FashionPatterns.com.

The author, Connie Amaden-Crawford has some legit pattern and sewing related books published but this "workbook" is nothing more than than printer paper photocopied and spiral bound... kinda sketch... but at less than $20 it was worth a shot especially since I've had no luck finding so much as a textbook on pattern grading online, and if any existed they were out of print and very expensive.

I was hoping this would be a good reference book for the kind of at home grading I want to do - luckily it seems to fill that need just fine!

I know there are a lot of you out there interested in this sort of thing be it for releasing your own patterns or just sizing up vintage patterns for your own use.

This book teaches you the shift method of grading while showing you pictures of slash and spread for reference (to show where space needs to be added in a particular pattern piece).

It covers the basic bodice, skirt, pant, sleeve, yoke, collar, waistband, facing and cuff pieces. If you understand the concepts of pattern drafting you can apply all these grading methods to more advanced pattern pieces (because in essence, every pattern piece is just a variation on a basic design).

Learning on these basic pieces are important because they show you where the pattern pieces "grow" and where they don't (like how darts can often grow longer but not wider when grading).

The shifting concept is relatively easy but what you have to figure out about your grade are the "breakdowns," the length and width increase between each grade. In the worksheet examples they give you precise measurements to shift each portion of the pattern piece up, down, out, or in. However when working on your own you need to figure out how much width and length to add and where based on your own measurement charts.

The book gives you some blank pattern pieces to practice with and a little 'fill in the blank' quiz in each section.

What's nice about the shift method is that it's easy to use in Adobe Illustrator but the pictures for the slash and spread method are helpful if you have a hard time visualizing the grade (like me). The book offers decimal conversions in addition to fractions for each shift point, nice when the computer only takes decimals.

Unfortunately this book is only printed in imperial, not metric measurements.

The book mostly covers women's wear patterns but it discusses some of the changes you'll need to apply to men's and children's patterns.

Overall the workbook is brief - less than 90 pages and it's pretty uncomplicated. If you're just starting with grading and want a good guide without paying an arm and a leg I'd definitely recommend it. For the price you can't go wrong. There's lots of space to add in your own notes and it's spiral bound so it lays flat. I think this book's going to get a lot of use in my sewing room...

An Amy Butler Bag and Teaching

2013-04-11T14:02:00.001-05:00

Some unexpected news for me - I got a job offer to teach a sewing class over at Remnants:fiber[culture], a quilting/fabric store not far away from my house.

My first class will start on June 8th and I'll be teaching how to sew this monster size tote bag, Amy Butler's Spice Market Tote pattern.

I've never taught a real class before so I'm going to try my best to be prepared. I recently talked about teaching my friend how to sew and what a new experience that was for me. Any advice for teaching a group?

Anyway, as for the bag itself - it's huge! And I was in for a big surprise when I started working with this pattern. I've never used an Amy Butler pattern before so I couldn't believe when it called for two layers of interfacing on each exterior and interior panel! That's four layers on each side of the bag!

There's an interior pocket (the pattern calls for two but I only made one) that's also pretty roomy. The bag even has a cool false bottom that stiffens up the base of the bag but you could take it out if you want to throw the bag in the wash.

***Ok, I also need to mention this: I know I announced that I was going to NYC in May and wanted to meet up with some people. Well, now it looks like that plan is scrapped. No NYC for Dixie. :( Sorry all! I really wanted to meet a bunch of you and I've already emailed some to say the bad news. I'm hoping I'll get another opportunity to go soon but if so I'll make sure my tickets are already bought before I get too excited. Thanks!

Welcome back, Beignet!

2013-04-05T18:21:00.000-05:00

This is just a quick post about a skirt I made over two years ago. After I lost some weight hardly any of my old skirts fit anymore. Finally I took the time to cut this Colette Beignet apart, shave off the side of each individual piece and stitch it back up.

No more baggy waist! Yay!

I cut off the whole hem 'cause I was too lazy to unpick it but then I blind stitched the new hem by hand! Too lazy to seam rip but not too lazy for carpel tunnel... *eye roll at myself*

Since this skirt is in panels it was easier to alter than trying to re-make darts or take off an entire waistband and re-gather a skirt. Plus the way the the pattern is designed I didn't have to mess with re-doing the pockets, easy peasy.

Last year I had made a resolution to not make any more skirts - I had, like, ten of them, but I hardly wore any of them because I didn't have enough solid colored tops to go with all my patterned skirts. This beignet is the only solid skirt I have. So then I tried to acquire or make more solid tops but now none of my skirts fit. Well, some really don't fit, others are just annoyingly baggy.

In any case it's made me want to go back and alter some of my skirts (I'm pretty tired of a few of them and will probably just send them to Goodwill) and re-introduce them into my wardrobe.

If I get enough skirts back into a wearable state I thought I'd make a little challenge - the Week of Skirts - to force myself to find creative ways of wearing my makes and get all those lonely skirts out of the closet.

Do you have clothes you've made that you never wear? If so is it because you not have a place to wear them or nothing to wear them with, like me?

A Hazel for Easter

2013-04-03T01:02:00.000-05:00

This dress took me longer to complete than other more recent makes. It wasn't a difficult pattern but I was just taking my sweet time and practicing the "sew 15 minutes a day" idea. I was working slippery charmuese and I was never totally in the mood for sewing it but working on it in small sections helped me not get frustrated and eventually it came together just in time for Easter (my Macaron is hanging up at Fabricker as a sample so I needed a new "church appropriate dress")!

The Goal: To sew something, anything, to slowly pull myself out of my sewing-funk - success!

The Pattern: Victory's Hazel which is a cute beginner level, kind of loose fitting dress with a bow tie and style lines that make a great canvas for color blocking. I cut a size 4 but the arms were too tight (not surprising, it's a usual adjustment for me with tight sleeves) which made me wonder if I should have gone up a size but then when I look at the dress it fits perfect everywhere else. Even the darts are perfectly pointed. I guess it's just an arm thing.

The Fabric: A pink/coral and navy silk charmeuse. You know, most of the time the clothes I sew wouldn't necesarrily be any cheaper than what I could buy in a store but because this is an all silk dress, I know I've saved money by making it! I didn't have enough coral to do the bow so I made that in Navy.

The Changes: Nothing other than making the arms slightly larger which was easy because the instructions have you attatch the sleeve cap before sewing the side seams so adjusting the arm width was easy, just sew a narrower seam allowance.

The Results: It's a really nice dress! I like the colors. I hand stitched the cuffs on the inside and I got to use my machine's blind hem stitch for the bottom of the dress. It's not perfect but it's a cleaner look than a regular hem.

I've already worn this dress twice and got lots of compliments - score! ;)

Teaching Others to Sew

2013-03-26T14:58:00.000-05:00

This last week was a first for me - I taught a friend how to sew! I've had other friends say to me they'd love to learn or ask if I could teach them but nothing ever came of it until now.

My friend, Virginia (who's in a cool band called Pagelings, by the way...), wanted to learn to replicate a cool shopping bag that turned into a wallet, you know, since Austin recently banned plastic bags (I even made some resuables of my own!) so I went to her place to teach her the basics.

(virginia has a bunch of collections, including collections of ceramic squirrels on her mantle piece. the one on the left holds both a small child and some pixi sticks! wtf?)

She borrowed her sister's machine but turns out the tension spring was busted and the machine wasn't usable. Luckily I brought mine, too, but now she doesn't have anything to practice with until she gets it fixed. :(

I showed her the parts of the machine, how to wind a bobin and threading. I taught her about stitch length, width, tension, needle sizes and a couple types of stitches. After stitching on a scrap she was off and I helped her make a tote bag from scratch (I had pre-cut the pieces and used woven belting instead of making our own straps, also to save time. Sometimes you need that first project to be quick, ya know, so you can feel accomplished right away and encouraged to try more).

She sewed the sides and bottom, pressed open her seams, pinked her seam allowances and stitched and pinked the bottom corners. Then she attached the straps and hemmed and top stitched the top of the bag. Quick and easy and she was already sewing!

After a break she sewed a practice zipper into some fabric. (I've forgotten the name of this type of zipper pocket...) We did it this way because this was how an outer pocket on her wallet looked and I wanted to teach her something relevant.

Sometime later I'll probably go back and teach her how to make the rest of her bag/wallet but for now she's learned enough to practice with.

(gratuitous cat photos! this is Harvey, Virginia's cat)

All this got me thinking about what it's like to be an absolute beginner. I'm mostly self taught through trial and error so I wanted to make sure she had the best habits to start with like beginning a little away from the fabric edge and back stitching, always turning your wheel forward to avoid jams and pulling your threads to the side so they won't get tangled.

I read a couple beginner tutorials online and a sewing book trying to keep in mind all the things that I take for granted but that she wouldn't know.

I also tried to let her do everything by herself hands on, only helping with extra tricky stuff like sewing over the bulky straps. Also the magnetic seam guide really helped to keep her seams straight! It's always nice to feel successful on your first go at something new.

I had a hard time trying to not overwhelm her with different tools, techniques, supplies and fabrics. I tried to keep the lesson to specifically the things she wanted to learn. I'm proud of myself that I didn't get too impatient, either, which is one of my faults. It helped that she was a quick learner. ;)

Getting into the mindset of a beginner is something I struggle with but it's important especially when I'm designing pattern instructions so this was a good experience for me, too.

Have you ever taught anyone to sew? And if so, do you have any advice for me? Were you taught by someone else/took a sewing class and what was your experience? Is there a style of teaching you like more than others?

Oh and sorry for the bad quality pics. It was night time in doors and I only had my phone camera.

Are there trends in sewing?

2013-03-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

Here's something I've been pondering lately - are there "trends" in online sewing?

Often there will be a popular pattern that pops up on a bunch of different blogs all within a couple weeks of each other but is there ever something (pattern, fabric, style, feature) on garment sewing blogs that appear so much that is seems like everyone is participating?

I'm not talking specifically about fashion trends, like, say, color blocking, peplums, lace overlays, neon, although I think those do appear on sewing blogs (I love me some peplums so maybe I notice those more often), but more like overarching themes or specific types of garments.

I guess I would compare this idea to when, about two summers ago, it seemed every food blogger was making kale chips. You'd think the Earth's entire population was munching on crispy, olive oil drizzled kale bits if you went on the internet. (Does anyone else read food blogs?)

Here are a few things I'm considering "trendy" on sewing blogs at one point or another in the last couple years:

(A Fashionable Stitch's awesome wool Clovers)

Pants/Trousers: Around the time the Colette Clover pattern came out it seamed like everyone and their mom was sewing pants. It was like the new frontier in sewing. All these people who had sewn shirts and dresses and skirts were venturing into leg territory some with great success, others - not so much. I remember a lot of posts about figuring out crotch fitting issues (I even had one) and also sewists trying their hand at jeans (Sallieoh did a whole series on making the Clovers look more like jeans).

(The original kit bra from the Coletterie)

Bras/Lingerie (and to a lesser extend swimwear): I think this one also took off around the time Sarai posted a bra made from a Bra Maker Supply kit. I remember I had just found that supplier a day or two before I read that post so I must have found it through someone else... I saw so many bras on blogs that I went a little mad finding kits and info that I made my supplier list. There also seemed to be an influx in other lingerie patterns, the Ruby Slip, So Zo's undies pattern and Cloth Habit's Rosy Lady Shorts come to mind, among others.

Then last summer I remember seeing a number of swimwear posts (although I might be biased because I made a lot of swimsuits then) like Heather's cute emerald one-piece.

(Lladybird's cool B&W chevron Renfrew)

The Renfrew/Everyday sewing: This pattern was/is hugely popular and I think it started two things: more people discovered working with knits and it began a conversation on sewing basics and wearable, practical clothes (the frosting vs. cake debate). A Fashionable Stitch launched the Everyday Wardrobe challenge. There's even Cake Patterns based on this concept!

There might be some other smaller/debatable trends - sustainable sewing/restyling, outerwear, indie patterns. I think sewing vintage is so prevalent and popular that it is beyond mere trend status. I'm sure a lot is slipping my mind. I also think my view of trends might be skewed based on my own interests.

I think sewing trends are marked by a need for challenge. Many sewing bloggers are at a similar skill level so when someone breaks out of the box and tries something new others get inspired to do the same.

Sometimes the word "trendy" gets a bad rap, like it's a fad. I don't mean to say that these sewing trends are silly or trivial, rather they're more like examples the dynamism of the online sewing community and it's fun to see how sewists' preferences grow and change. I think trends encourage us sewists to learn new skills and expand our creative repertoire. (Who knew so many of us could make our own bras!?!)

So here are my questions: do you think sewing trends exist on the internet and are there any ones that you can think of? Do you agree with my assessment of trends or am I just making connections that aren't there? Are there trends in fabric or garment types or colors? Any predictions for the next big thing in sewing (I'm hoping it's leather!)?

Vogue 1247 version 2.0

2013-03-21T15:38:00.000-05:00

The Goal: This shirt was rather unintentional. It began as another top, a way too big top that wasn't working for me in both fit and drape so rather than set the project aside to become a UFO like I knew it would I decided to salvage it immediately into something else and avoid its otherwise sad fate.

The Pattern: I scrounged through my pattern collection to find something that would work with the already cut out pieces and this one (Vogue 1247) fit the bill. I made this shirt over a year ago in a size 10. It was still pretty big then and only got bigger as I lost a little more weight. The thing barely stays on my shoulders now. :( For this version I cut a size 6, the smallest in the package. I normally cut a 12 in Vogue so that shows how large this pattern design is.

The Fabric: It's a cotton voile from Amy Butler's new line of apparel fabrics that I bought locally at Remnants. This stuff is super soft and the print is so nice that I had a hard time figuring out which side was the right or wrong side. So hard in fact that I accidentally sewed the back of the shirt the wrong side out so my pleats go in different directions at the shoulders.

The Changes: Since I had to squeeze out this shirt out of and existing half-finished top I had to sew the side seams narrower than on the pattern, which turned out fine because this top is already really oversized.

I also cut almost three inches off the end of the sleeves. They're originally really long. And now I'm just realizing I cut the back on the fold instead of in two pieces, which I guess doesn't matter because the center back seam is straight...

I serged all the seams instead of doing French seams like the pattern says 'cause I'm too lazy to mess with that. And I didn't bother following the directions for the neckline either so, whatevs...

The smaller size makes the v-neck a little less deep but the neckline is still pretty wide so I added my fave feature - bra strap holders!! Those things are the beeeeesssssstttttt!

The Result: For a shirt that two days ago I hadn't even planned on making I'm pretty satisfied. The narrower sides give a slightly sleeker fit and I like the shorter sleeves better and I love this fabric.

And best of all I saved a sewing-fail from the death heap! Dixie FTW!

This is a public service announcement...

2013-03-19T23:54:00.000-05:00

Hey readers - some quick things I wanted to let you know about:

First off - if you've been emailing lately and I haven't gotten back to you, my apologies, this last week or so has been uber busy. I'll try to reply soon, promise. ;)

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Secondly, I'm participating in The Refashioners again! In case you missed last time The Refashioners is the brainchild of the lovely Miss P (who is a thrifting and restyling queen!) who picks out a surprise garment from a charity shop and mails it to participating bloggers who then take the thrifted find and turn it into something amazing and wearable with our seamstressing skills and/or magic.

This year are some returning favorites and some new additions! I can't wait to discover what comes in the mail and see what everyone else makes. Look for the finished projects begining in June.

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I'm planning a trip to NYC! Around Memorial Day in May. If anyone living around there or passing through wants to get together for a little meet-up, be it fabric shopping, FIT museum viewing or just lunching, let me know in the comments or shoot me an email (dixiedavis at gmail dot com). I'm seriously open to getting to know anyone and everyone I can while I'm up there! Also I know it might be tough 'cause people have jobs and all but most likely I'll be there on weekdays rather than the weekend. Maybe a little afternoon/evening dinner and a Mood visit?

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So I've decided to start opening more sponsor spots on my blog. Because... well, why the heck not.

You've probably already noticed my sponsor section on the side bar which features an ad for a great local fashion fabric store, Fabricker, which luckily for you also has an online store. ;)

If you're a sewing minded business or blog looking to get your name out there check out the sponsor page for details.

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Then there's this... I've felt compelled to talk about this random pattern for awhile but didn't want to dedicate a whole post about what is sure to be a rant but look at this thing!
This is a tailgating party pack of fleece designed clusterf---s. I think this pattern came out in the winter catalog, you may have already seen it...

Ok, I can maybe understand a chair cover and an apron with your favorite team's logo but a keg cozy!? A cooler cover?

And worst of all is the BEER BANDOLIER. You know, if you want to be Pancho Villa at the Cowboys game or something. How much beer do you really need to carry on your person!? If you're wearing that wouldn't all the beer get warm by the time you drink it? Even if you're using it to pass beer to all your buddies in the parking lot wouldn't the beer get hot just chillin' on your chest like that? Who wants a luke warm Pabst?? Plus, what if you want to sit down on your fleece covered fold out chair? Wouldn't beer cans all down your back be really uncomfortable as you are sitting?

As for the cooler cover. Yes, I could see that it technically could be functional, but it's also kind of dumb. Whoever designed this pattern must seriously hate sports. < / rant >

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And lastly, as you've probably learned by now Google Reader is shutting down. Anyone have a recommendation for an alternative reader? I don't mind Bloglovin' but I don't love it either...

Thanks all! Happy sewing!

Shopping bags - for the environment!!

2013-03-16T16:04:00.000-05:00

Austin recently enacted a ban on all disposable plastic shopping bags at grocery and retail stores.

Now, I know that in Europe and other progressively minded places elsewhere in the world this is the norm. You can't just go buy your granola and yogurt and expect them to give you a bag for free in Prague or wherever. You either gotta buy a bag or carry that crap home on the metro while people give you weird looks (not that that's happened to me...).

Well, it's a new thing here, and while I do have some re-usable bags I always forget to bring them in the car/store.

No more available ~~litter box cat poo bags~~ plastic shopping bags are a good excuse to make some fun new bags, amiright!?

I took a class at Stitch Lab to sew these bags which I really think was great for helping to get my sewing mojo back. It was nice being in the company of other sewists and with no home distractions and I could totally focus on my sewing project.

And, randomly, someone there recognized me from my blog. It was pretty awkward 'cause that hasn't ever really happened and I didn't know how to respond, really, but it was nice. (Hi Becky!)

I texted Justin about that and his response was to send me the Kristen-Stewart-Lazy-Clapping-at-the-Oscars-gif. Thanks, babe...

Another woman in my class asked for my blog address but after I gave it to her I realized my most recent post had been about undies and felt the need to warn her and explain myself lest she thinks she landed on some strange webpage... more awkward! ("I'm not wearing them, they're like, on a table...")

But back to the important bits - I bought both patterned fabrics from Remnants, another store in town (who also finished my quilt).

The class offered two patterns to use: one tote bag style that folds into a cute clutch, and a second bag that is modeled after the classic plastic bag shape so it can fit nicely on the bag holder stands at the self checkout line.

The clutch/tote is very similar to this Heather Bailey design with a couple minor differences (thanks Susan, for finding that one for me!)

As for the other bag, I've yet to find a pre-made pattern like it but this tutorial is similar. I don't know if someone at Stitch Lab designed this pattern or if they got it from a book or something. If you know a pattern like this tell me about it so I can put up a link in case others want to make one. ;)

The teacher suggested we add a loop of elastic at the center bottom so we can roll up the bags and use the elastic to hold it all together when the bag isn't being used.

Both were pretty quick to make and now they're going into the back seat of my car. Maybe next time I'll remember to get them out before I walk into the store...

***On a side note, I also made my necklace! It's just three wooden beads connected by some wire and strung on a chain, simple but cute!

The Unmentionable(s) Post

2013-03-14T10:20:00.000-05:00

Ok, I cleaned up my sewing space for the most part. It's at least usable now but I think I'm overdue for a supply overhaul. And with that I was able to do a little sewing work!

Thanks again to all the kind responses on the last post, I probably can't get around to replying to every comment but know that I appreciate the advice which all seemed to come from personal experience. ;) I even had a friend offer to come over and help me clean and another friend set up a sewing "play date" in hopes of getting my mojo back. ;) You all made me feel a little less grumpy about my sewing funk.

So here is what I finished - first up the Amerson Undies by Madalynne.

Once I finished them I really liked them (you know, after I got new elastic...). The elastic makes a cute ruffle effect that you can't fully see from this busy print.

I've heard comments that ruffled woven undies might not work under a lot of clothes but actually these undies aren't that ruffled. It's more of a cute ruffle edge effect at the waist and leg openings but other than that these undies really aren't very bulky at all. I'd totally wear these with shorts or jeans or dresses, maybe not with a clingy knit dress but these aren't just "lounge" undies!

I made these with leftover rayon challis (stash busting!) which I should have starched. It was slippery when cutting out and shifty when trying to attach the elastic. Next time I'll use a cotton voile for a nice lightweight summer pair (easier to work with) and can you imagine some cozy flannel undies??

The next undies I made were Cloth Habit's Rosy Ladyshorts (both these patterns are free, ya!).

Both used leftover jersey (even more stash busting!) and some elastic and stretch lace I bought locally. Unfortunately only one of my stretch laces was long enough to accommodate at least two leg openings (I wouldn't mind mixing and matching lace but two different colored legs would be too much) so my second pair used some more narrow lace-style lingerie elastic.

On the first pair with the blue lace I thought the scallops would look too weird at the waist so I stitched the lace upside down - bad idea, it just flips up when I wear it (I realise I could just stitch it down but I'm too lazy to go back and do it). It's ok 'cause it looks fine, not that anyone would see to notice...

If I were to make these again using the more narrow elastic (these shorts are designed to be all lace or knit with lace edging) I'd add a little more coverage in the back, ahem... but that's only if I didn't have any stretch lace trim.

In either case they both turned out great! Fit really well, very comfy, easy to whip together and how cute is using lace trim?

I hope that finishing these small projects will help me get back into a creative mood. ;)

Lost My Sewing Mojo??

2013-03-07T18:50:00.001-06:00

Update: Wow, thanks everyone for the genuine and empathetic advice, seems we've all "been there." I've cleaned up most of my room and it's definitely helped already!

Every once in awhile I have to take a break from sewing because all my creative juices have been squeezed out of me. I need time to get inspired again. I'm sure most of you can relate. Usually those breaks only last about a week for me but lately I've been struggling to get back into my creative pursuits.

Oonaballoona made a good assement of her missing mojo last year and I think some of her points are applying to me. I also think that this pattern development process is wearing me out and I'm still no where close to being finished with any of my patterns I'm working on. I like the gratification of wearing clothes I make and computer pattern work doesn't give me that satisfaction.

So I've kind of been stepping away from my sewing table for a bit in the hopes of riding out this sewing-funk I've been in and just absorbing others' creative energies and/or playing video games.

But I haven't just been sitting around moping...

I've printed out or traced a bunch of patterns, Victory's Hazel Dress, Grainline's Archer shirt, the Sewaholic Cordova jacket. And I've prepped fabric for a lot of projects.

I've hemmed some of Justin's pants and shorts and I've added tags to already sewn clothes (I always forget to stitch them on during assembly).

I've also made some candle and scent cube things, you know, for those electric candle wax warmer contraptions.

But what could be the cause of the prolonged missing mojo?

Could it be annoying set backs like this:

These were elastic loops I made for the legs of my Amerson undies. I took a break from sewing them and when I came back I found them half eaten. By my cat. Yes, my cat, Peanut, likes to eat elastic... and yarn... and computer wires... and xbox controller cables... and shoe laces...

Gosh, cat, you could at least try to look guilty!

Now I'm out of elastic and have to buy more to finish the undies. I also sewed some Rosy Ladyshorts and as soon as I finish the amerson's I'll blog about both...

Or perhaps my mojo ran away in fear of the ~~sinkhole~~ mess in my sewing room.

Ugh, I can't believe I'm even posting that picture! You'd think a meth addict lived in this room. Unfortunately my sewing room has become a dumping ground - unfinished crafts, shopping bags, laundry in need of ironing, silk drying, orphaned pattern pieces and all those fabric scraps that I have no idea what to do with. Also it seems that lots of stuff on my tables and ironing boards likes to fall off onto the floor... I just need to get off my bum and clean it up but cleaning's no fun, right!?

I have a couple UFOs I could work on but mostly I think I just need to dive in and finish something and get myself back in the game.

I'm looking for your advice - what do you do when you're feeling uncreative and uninspired? And bonus points if you admit your sewing space has ever been as messy as mine. ;)

Velvet Rose Ballet Dress

2013-02-27T15:31:00.000-06:00

I feel like I've been neglecting you, poor blog. I've been working (somewhat) diligently on new patterns but pattern development takes so long for me that I lose steam without having a tangible finished project in my hands. Sometimes you need that quick sewing fix, ya know what I mean?

So this is it - a short sleeved version of my own Ballet Dress pattern. I lost weight since I originally made this pattern so I re-printed the whole thing and started from scratch one size smaller (it fits!).

The pattern was pretty easy since I've made it before, of course, and I decided to go with shorter sleeves, less to cut out, and it's a simple design which makes for quick sewing. Just what I needed!

My only issues were with this fabric. It's super cool looking - a heather gray jersey with velvet rose outlines all over. I bought it at a new Austin store called Stitched Fabric Boutique that specializes in knits (a store full of knits, be still my heart!).

The problem is that while the velvet is a little stretchy it isn't nearly as stretchy as the jersey. I had to cut a thicker collar because trying to stretch the original collar to fit the neck would distort the fabric, meaning the velvet kept the jersey from stretching evenly. I didn't cut my collar any longer but just wider to compensate for the distortion.

Also the velvet seemed to exacerbate the tunneling with my twin needle and trying to run the textured lumpy fabric through my machine stretched out the hem on the sleeves (and probably the bottom of the dress, too, but it's not as noticeable).

It's annoying but I'm going to run it through the wash and iron those sleeves and they'll probably shrink back up. My answer to every problem is ironing!

Believe it or not my twin needling was even worse on my test scraps so I tried some of Susan's tips from her recent post on twin needles. I used some stitch witchery on the hems to stabilize it a bit (those areas didn't need to stretch much) but I think I should have used thicker witchery because I can tell where my stitches must not have gone over the stabilizer.

Also the variation in thickness between velvet and jersey made it difficult to get the needle tension just right.

My serger had no problem with this fabric, just my regular machine. Maybe next time I'll add bands at the sleeves and bottom rather than just hemming to avoid using my twin needle.

I still love this fabric and I have some left. Next time I'll take what I've learned and approach working with it differently.

Also, I'm feeling kinda "meh" on my picture posing lately. I need some new posing inspiration. There's only so much "one hand on the hip, the other fluffing my hair" pictures I can do. I need to channel Rachel Pinheiro or something, get creative. Do you know of any bloggers with fun photo poses??

A Time Saving Quilt, plus cat pictures!

2013-02-15T15:25:00.000-06:00

I made a quilt recently - a real live pieced-into-squares quilt. I've finished (which is the key word here) two quilts before but this one is different - it's a "normal" quilt, meaning I used a pattern with regular ol' quilting cotton fabric (no weird fleece monsters made from scratch).

It's kind of a big deal because I normally don't quilt because it takes so long to finish but there's a new quilt store in town close to where I live where I bought all the fabric (kind of ikat themed) and the pattern (this one, sans border. the patterns are printed on post cards).

But the most important thing was that I didn't actually quilt this quilt myself. The store, Remnants, has two big long-arm quilting machines.

If you've never seen one before they're big, long (this one was probably 10ft) machines that wrap the layers of the quilt (back, batting, top) taught and a sewing machine arm kind of floats over the whole quilt stitching everything together.

The end result is perfectly quilted (you can even pick from several stitching designs) and all you have to do is take it home and bind it yourself. Amazing!

This is really a game changer for me and quilting. Clothes sewing is still my focus and I may never crank out quilts like I do garments but if I feel the desire to make a quilt for myself or others this whole long-arm thing really makes a difference. My last quilt too me months to make. This new quilt with a very simple design took me about 3 days of my own sewing time. That's nothing!

Which has got me thinking about patience in sewing. I'm completely impatience when it comes to sewing quilts but am I also impatience with clothes? Do I avoid sewing certain garments because they're too tedious or require slow construction methods like hand sewing? Do I cut out linings from dresses because I think they're too hot in the summer or because I don't want to take the time to sew part of a garment that will never be seen? Do some of my projects turn into UFOs because I dread the amount of time it will take to complete something complex?

I do love instant gratification projects (knit tops with no darts, Scout tees, patterns with only a few pieces to cut out) but am I missing out on having a great learning experience by sewing something like a detailed trench coat or jeans with lots of top stitching because I don't want to take a month to work on a project?

Do you have "project impatience" like I do? Has it kept you from finishing or starting a new pattern or project? Is there something I can do to fight it? I'm trying to be more relaxed in general lately when it comes to sewing, maybe that should include not stressing about sewing that may take more time than I usually want to spend on one garments.

Oh, well. In the mean time I'm just gonna chill on the couch with my cat and my new quilt!

Update: Since some of you asked, the cost of the long-arm quilting was $0.015 (one and a half cents) per square inch. My quilt is 60in by 45in so my quilt was about $45 after tax. That might seem like it would add up quick but I totally think it was worth it. I never could have done the stitch pattern that they made on my own machine and it saved me sooooooo much time. I'm not sure how much other stores charge for this service.

New free pattern from Madalynne!

2013-02-11T15:31:00.000-06:00

I'm in the midst of some pattern designing myself lately and I always appreciate the effort of others to give this sewing community free access to patterns to experiment with and explore our creativity. And I believe that more people out there creating patterns and sharing them only helps to make the online sewing community grow.

The lovely Maddie from Madalynne just released her first free pattern - the Amerson Undies, a pair of woven ruched undies you could whip up in an hour with some of your scraps you've been wanting to use.

What's great is the pattern comes in five sizes and includes finished measurements for leg opening in addition to hip. It tells you exactly the length and width of your zig zag stitch, helpful sketches and even though it's a pretty simple pattern (only three pieces) she has detailed instructions.

The gridded layout will make it easy to print out and assemble and the illustrations done by Anto are stunning, at first I seriously thought the drawing was a photograph. She is so talented and skilled at her art!

You can go download the PDF and tryout the pattern over at Madalynne and you can see the version Maddie made, as well as some of her other creations (which will hopefully become patterns!), here.

If you've never made your own undies before, give it a try! It uses so little fabric you probably already have enough on hand, construction is pretty simple and it's relatively easy to make fit adjustments when it is something so small. Maddie even has a post on how to grade underwear in case you don't fit into the five sizes on her pattern.

Yay for new patterns!

Channeling my inner Elisalex

2013-01-31T18:21:00.000-06:00

The Goal: I've been eager to sew this dress ever since I got the pattern in the mail (all the way from England!) and I also wanted to do some stash busting. I don't have a huge stash but I do have some fabric that's been sitting around forever yearning to be made into a super cool garment.

The Pattern: By Hand London is a new indie pattern company! Right now they have the Elisalex Dress and the Charlotte Skirt pattern out, both named after some of the ladies who founded BHL.

(from by hand london's website)

The packaging is pretty cool - the pattern comes with a cover with a cutout to reveal the design illustration. The inner envelop has pattern info, more images, instruction booklet (with lots of graphics, yay!) and the pattern itself.

What's nice is that they list each size in typical US and UK sizing and the instructions are thorough and detailed. Luckily this dress is pretty self explanatory so I didn't even need to reference the instructions that much. The whole dress came together surprisingly quick!

The Fabric: This geometric print was bought locally at The Common Thread about two years ago. I originally intended to make a strapless Vogue cocktail dress with it but let's face it - if I haven't made it in two years it ain't ever gonna get made. Might as well use the fabric for something useful.

I don't remember exactly how much fabric I had bought but it wasn't enough to make the long sleeve version but I managed to get the shorter sleeves out of this fabric.

The fabric is quite stiff. The pattern calls for almost upholstery weight fabric to get that crisp look from the skirt pleats and I think this fabric holds its shape well.

The black is some cotton sateen leftover from former projects which I used for the sides of the bodice 'cause I couldn't squeeze out any more space from the geometric print. I think it's a happy accident!

The Changes: Because of my fabric limits I had to cut the skirt shorter (by about 7"). The original length is quite long but the pattern allows you to make any size hem you want so it's nice to have the pieces longer just in case.

I also made a neckline facing rather than lining the bodice. The only lining fabric I had was a poly which gets hot, yuck, so I made a facing by tracing the neckline pieces. I managed to piece together the facing out of scraps, interfaced it, stitched it on and understitched to keep it from rolling out.

I used an invisible zip because I couldn't find a long enough zipper locally for that cool exposed zipper look. If you're in the US and take the time to plan, unlike me, you can order super long metal zippers from WAWAK (the #5's for jackets are probably your best best, they come in several colors, thanks Susan!)

One thing that helped though - making a muslin. The bodice is very fitted (they even tell you that on the envelope!) and while it fit great on my b-cup frame, ladies with more generous busts might need adjustment (but princess seams are pretty easy to alter, the pattern even suggests sewing smaller seam allowances at the bust apex area for more room for the girls, great idea!).

I made a partial muslin first and discovered that the size 6US was too tight so for my real version I made a size 8US and the fit in the bust and waist is perfect. I'm 5'6" and the waistline hits right at my natural waist.

I had some issues with the sleeve cap, though, like the cap part itself was too wide for my arm. I shaved off a little on the back side but I think I need to do more. The fabric keeps wanting to fold in on itself around the armhole. I think with this busy print it's not that noticable, though, so I won't bother with it.

The only other thing I might change next time is adjusting the shoulder angle, my outer shoulders are pretty square.

The Results: This design is super cute and very "me". Elisalex and I must be kindred style spirits because this dress has lots of features I like in a dress - a cinched in natural waist, wide scoop neck, a skirt that's flared at the hips, and sleeves! They should have called it the Dixielex dress (btw, yay for girls with X's in their names, it is the most badass letter of our alphabet afterall...)

Sewing with less stress...

2013-01-25T11:00:00.000-06:00

(join in So I Sewed This' Focus on Enjoyment Re-sew-lution)

I didn't do a big sewing resolutions post this year. I felt that my resolutions last year really helped guide me last year so much so that I don't need new general resolutions this year. Sure I want to do specific things like sew a coat and use my stash but I don't have enough of those things to make a full list.

However I do have one thing I genuinely want to work on this year regarding sewing and I want to know if anyone else has this problem, too...

While a lot of sewists make resolutions to sew more in the coming year I think I'm going in the opposite direction. In the last two years I've made a boat load of garments. Not all have been winners but many have and now a majority of my everyday wardrobe is handmade. I don't do a "Me-Made-May" or a "Self-Stitched-September" - I do a "Self-Stitched-Life!" I feel a big sense of pride that most of my clothes are me-made. I love getting compliments from friends and family in real life and I like showing off my projects on the blog.

But it's gotten to the point that I feel disappointment in myself if I go out and I'm not wearing a single me-made garment. Or even worse if someone asked me if I made something I'm wearing and I have to say "no." I feel like I am pressuring myself to sew all my clothes. Maybe this me-made pride is getting a little out of hand? I even feel guilty if I have to go buy clothes in a store because I just don't have the time to make something or do a lot of fitting. And those damn Gap jeans fit so well, too! I just can't compete! (Breathe, Dixie, breathe!) This is a legitimate problem, I'm telling you! It's like, "sewist's guilt" or something!

This manifests in other ways, too. I am constantly inspired by new styles but heaven forbid I buy a trendy garment from a store like a normal person. I can make that myself, goshdarnit! So then in my quest to make every idea that pops into my brain I get distracted and the projects that take a long time to develop, like designing my own patterns, take a back seat to the quick and dirty "fashion fix", the instant gratification I can get from sewing with pre-made patterns. Sure, I can crank out several garments a month but my pattern development schedule suffers.

Perhaps giving in and buying the occasional piece will free up some time for me to make more patterns or work on more complex projects?

So this year I resolve to chill out when it comes to buying clothes vs. making them. It is just impossible for me to make all the clothes I ever have an idea for and sometimes there are clothes that I like and would be great in my wardrobe but I just don't have the desire or excitement to sew them (which is perhaps why I have one button down top that I've been working on for months 'cause I'm a little bored with sewing it even though I know I'll like it when it's done).

Plus, I already know that I can make jeans or coats or bras or some other difficult item but that doesn't mean I have to make them. I should sew what I like making! I'm going to try to focus on enjoying sewing and not feel pressured to fill every corner of my closet with stuff I've made.

But I will try to at least buy clothes that are decent quality and buy from designers I admire like what I've decided to do since reading Overdressed.

Phew, ok, I'm glad I got that out of my system. It's going to be a hard resolution to keep - not necessarily buying clothes but not feeling bad about doing so. Does anyone else have this problem or am I just crazy???? I think I'm a little crazy...

Self Drafted Cut-out dress

2013-01-23T16:55:00.000-06:00

I feel like I've been slacking a bit with this blog the past couple weeks. Sorry peeps! But I've been busy with other stuff - painting my house, building nightstands, cleaning up post Christmas and sewing!

This is my first draft of a dress that you may have seen my sketch for. It needs some tweaks but other than that it's not so bad for a first try.

Let's talk features! This dress has:

a boat neck
angled side parts
short sleeves with a notch on the side
a side invisible zip
a 6 panel gored skirt that basically makes a half-circle skirt
a cut-out in the back with a button placket (non functional) holding the two back sides together
grosgrain ribbon to stabilize the back waist
bra-strap holders at the shoulders
and it's fully lined!

Overall it fits great but the back needs adjusting, which I'm not surprised with, it's the most detailed part of the dress. I was making the back cut out to be just high enough that I can wear a regular bra under it. As it is right now the highest part of the cutout comes right below the back of my bra so I'll need to adjust by making that part lower and making the button placket a little longer.

Also since there are no darts in the back the lower back at the sides gaped so I adjusted by shaving off a bit from the sides of the back pieces. I'll transfer that adjustment back to my pattern, too.

All in all I'm going to make the back cutout smaller. It's one of those things where you can't tell if you like it until you try it, ya know? In this case I think less is more but you get the idea of how it will look in later versions.

I think I'll also make the neckline a little less wide.

Sorry about the kind of crappy pics. It's cold-ish outside so I settled for indoor pics and I realized I should have ironed the dress a little bit. I even noticed one thing I hadn't seen before taking pics - this is a yarn dyed ikat so it natually has some variation in it. It seems that I cut out my bodice pieces with a darker area running horizontally right across my bust and mid back. Hmm, kind of annoying. Oh well, it's just a trial dress anyway!

So what do you think? Should I add any more changes other than the adjustments I'm already going to make? I already bought the fabric I'm going to use for the 2nd draft!

Starting an Indie Pattern Company Pt. 3

2013-01-17T09:00:00.000-06:00

Whoa, Part 2 of this series was a little wild, right? Lots of heavy hitting stuff on grading. Now, I think this part is more fun. We'll be talking about the "packaging" and selling of the patterns.

If you're just joining us be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2.

If you are planning on making printed patterns rather than PDFs some of this info won't apply to you, but that's ok, other stuff will.

Since giving away my first patterns I've learned a lot about what needs to be included in a pattern you intend to share or sell. Some of these points seem obvious but in the beginning I didn't always think to do all of these things (maybe I though "hey, it's a free pattern, don't complain!" not the best approach...).

What You Need to Include with you Pattern Pieces:

(gainlines, size designation, pattern piece labels, page match lines)

Grainlines, center front and back markings if needed.
All necessary darts, notches, gather points, pleat lines, buttonholes, zipper markings, arrows, etc.
Label every pattern piece with the company name, pattern name or number, pattern piece designation, and how many pieces to cut of what fabric. If you don't include seam allowance elsewhere in your packaging or if a certain piece has a special seam allowance list it on the pattern piece. (I used to not include all of this in my very early patterns until I realized how easy it is for pattern pieces to get lost in my sewing room and it's hard to match up pieces if I don't know what pattern or company it belongs to!)
Clear size markings. I like to make each size cutting line be a different dash pattern. Makes it easy to find your size on every piece.
Extras, if needed, like lengthen/shorten lines or even finished measurements for pattern pieces.

What you need to include with your pattern packaging:

(line drawings, description, seam allowance, materials and fabric recommendation)

A Size Chart for all your sizes, finished garment measurements are great, too
Yardage needed in standard fabric widths
Materials needed and recommended fabrics
Seam and hem allowance
A description of the design
Line drawing of front and back
Cutting layout
Pattern piece inventory (I like to combine this with cutting/printing layout to save space)
If you need to you can include a glossary of terms or symbols. I usually like to explain terms in the instructions to avoid needing a separate glossary.
If you don't have sample photographs in the pattern itself at least have them available to view where a customer buys the pattern like your blog or the site you use to sell patterns.
Copyright and licensing info

Tips on how to write instructions:

Go in a logical order. You can even divide instructions into sections like bodice, skirt, collar, etc.
Be thorough, it's good to remind users to finish their seams if you don't tell them to do it from the beginning. It's also nice to suggest techniques like understitching or how exactly to sew that baby hem. Try to think like a beginner, don't assume a user knows what you're talking about. It doesn't hurt to tell people how to put in a zipper...

(example illustration of a gathered tulip sleeve)

Include clear illustrations or photos. Sometimes good pictures are better than any text instruction. I don't think you need pictures for every step but it always helps!

With illustration be sure to designate right and wrong side of fabric/pattern.
If it helps you can have arrows pointing out specific parts of the illustrations.

(can you guess what the above illustration is?)

If you don't know how to make good illustrations it helps reference other patterns, most companies have similar pictures for common techniques. Better yet, ask a friend who sews (don't ask your boyfriend, he won't know what a gathered sleeve cap looks like) to view at the image without the text and ask if she can figure out what the picture is.
I make my instruction illustrations in Illustrator and just scale my pattern pieces down way smaller and use them to make graphics where I can.

Your writing "voice" is up to you. You can be formal or casual so long as your instructions are clear.

Design and Layout:

Since I design for downloadable, print at home PDFs efficiency is important to me because I want to have the fewest number of pages as possible for the instructions and the pattern pieces. If you make pre-printed patterns this isn't as much of an issue.

I lay all my pieces out on a template that is then divided into individual printer paper sizes. A 7" by 9.5" page template will fit on both A4 and letter size paper. Many home printers cannot print all the way to the edge. Some can't even get close to the edge. You have to make sure your pages can work with a variety of printers and standard paper sizes.

You also have to remind users to print with "no scaling" or 100% scaling. Some PDF readers like to "fill out" the whole page and blow the image up bigger. Bad!

Each of my template pages has a solid border and numbered and lettered notches so the whole grid can be matched up once it is printed out. Every pattern company is different, some have gridded pages, some have numbers in each corner. Just so long as each page connects logically in an order of assembly and the pages can be easily lined up on each side then you're good to go. It's a puzzle but you don't want it to be a difficult puzzle.

I always include a 4" test square completely contained on one sheet of paper. If the test square spans multiple pages it defeats the purpose of being a good size reference! Sometimes home printers will want to print your PDF out in all different sizes. The test square allows users to make sure their pages are printing at 100% scale and 4" makes it easy for metric users 'cause it equals a nice even 10cm.

I also include a printing layout so users can make sure they've got all their pieces together and in the right order.

This is just a personal preference but I don't like to have slivers or edges of pattern pieces printed on one page if I can avoid it. When you tape the skinny edge to the other pages it's floppy and I think those tiny pieces can easily be lost or accidentally discarded when cutting.

I also like to have all my pattern piece labels contained on one sheet rather than spanning sheets. This isn't always possible, though, but I try. Again, it's just me being finicky about details.

I don't like to have a lot of different colors in my PDFs. People like to save ink and I know I always print patterns in B&W. You should at least make sure it looks legible in black and white if you have many colors in your pattern or instructions.

Distribution:

Here's a good question: one PDF document or two? Some companies have the instructions and pattern pieces in separate documents (Victory, Grainline). I do it all in one because of how I sell my patterns. On Craftsy, last I checked, they can only support one PDF for patterns. Maybe you can do a zip file with two documents but I'm not sure. Burdastyle's free patterns only have one document upload and they ask you to add instructions directly to their website. I find that users get confused by that system so I include the instruction with the pieces.

Finally, the website I use for instant downloads through Big Cartel is called Pulley and they only accept one document per product.

Which brings me to the topic of where to sell the patterns - the most obvious choice would be Etsy but I don't use it because it doesn't have an affordable (for me) option for instant downloads. I just don't have enough time to be checking my email every day to email out orders and I don't want my customers to wait. There is a new third-party website that works through Etsy for instant downloads called crafthub.me but their pricing is by number of transactions while Pulley's pricing is by storage (PDFs are very small files) and number of products. One may work better for you than another.

Craftsy offers a free service for selling (or giving away for free) your patterns and Burdastyle is a good place to post free patterns. PatternReview.com has a few companies listed for download patterns for sale. You could email them to see if you could be included.

Does anyone else know of a good place to buy or sell PDF patterns?

***Ok, well that's about it. There's obviously more details you can include in your pattern if you do choose but I think what I covered is the most important.

If I work my bum off I can make an average level pattern in about a month. But of course, I'm kind of lazy so it takes me a lot longer. The longest part is grading and creating all the packaging and instructions.

If you've got any questions or want more explanation on any part of this process leave me a comment or email me and I'll try to get you an answer ASAP! Thanks for reading!

Starting an Indie Pattern Company Pt. 2

2013-01-15T13:19:00.000-06:00

(my finished hot cocoa sweater pattern as it looks in Adobe Illustrator)

Ok ladies and gents, get ready to roll up your sleeves and dig in. We're getting deep into the seething underbelly of this pattern drafting thing. First we're gonna get that sucker on the computer then we're gonna draw up some charts and graphs and after that we'll gonna slice 'er open and check out all those crazy mathematical insides. It's gonna get messy up in here!

Vague references to hog butchery aside, this is the tricky bit in the pattern company process and requires some attention. If you need to catch up be sure to read Pt 1 on the How I Started and Indie Pattern Company!

I'm assuming most of you know some basics about pattern making and terminology. You may or may not know about the software I'm using and there's a chance you'll need to remember your high school geometry class. However, if there's anything you don't fully understand, leave a comment and I'll try my best to clarify.

The software I am using is Adobe Illustrator CS6 on a Mac.

Getting the base paper pattern on to the computer

There are two ways (maybe there's more but I'm only writing about two) to digitize a pattern. The first method is one I don't use because I think it takes too long - it's the scanner method. Basically, you cut up all your pieces to fit on individual printer sheets of paper then scan each page in to Photoshop or Illustrator. This method works best with single size pattern or if you make multi-size patterns you will be better off doing all your grading by hand and scanning all the sizes nested together. Otherwise you'd need to reassemble all your pattern pieces, re-trace the lines and then grade from there in your image editing program.

Here's an explanation of how to do the scanner method.

The method I use is this:

(a bodice piece that I'm going to digitize)

I tape each piece on to my big grid cutting mat. I use another ruler and protractor and I measure all my lines and points and recreate the pattern outline on a gridded Illustrator document. I do this for each piece. Rectangular pieces like collars or cuffs or some waistbands are easy, you just need two measurements. Since I grade digitally this takes me much less time than scanning.

(on the left, all my reference line measurements help to make the final pattern piece, on the right, in Illustrator)

From there I remove seam allowances if the paper pieces had them. If my paper pieces didn't have SA then I'm good to go. Your pieces need to be SA-free in order to properly grade them.

Here is a helpful video of how I add/remove seam allowances in Illustrator.

Creating a standard size chart and how grading works

In order to grade a pattern up or down multiple sizes you'll need to create your own size chart. The key here is proportional consistency between sizes.

Above are size charts from several pattern companies: Grainline Studio, By Hand London, Victory and Colette. You'll notice that their sizing differs from each company but in each chart their sizes change proportionally. Colette's size 6 is 36"/28"/38" which has an 8" difference between bust and waist and a 10" difference between waist and hip. Colette's size 8 is 37"/29"/39", a 1" increase overall from size 6 but the bust-waist-hip ratio is the same. It is proportional.

If the size 6 was 36/28/38 and size 8 was 38/29/40 that would not be a proportional grade. If you wanted to do a disproportional size grade you'd have to draft two completely different master patterns.

This proportion idea is why cup sizes in pattern pieces always stay the same throughout sizes rather than a size 4 having and A cup and a size 14 having a DD. It just doesn't work like that. That's why those "pick your own cup-size" style patterns from the big 4 companies have separate pattern pieces for each size and cup size.

You can go though any pattern company's size chart and do the math. If ever the bust-waist-hip ratios change from one size to another then you know the makers drafted a whole new pattern for that other set of sizes.

Typically you draft a middle size and then grade up and down from there. The trick is that you can only safely grade up or down two or three sizes before you start to warp the edges of the pattern and lines get wonky and skewed. That's why companies often draft two sizes like a 6 which can be graded up to an 8 and 10 and down to a 4 and 2, and also draft a 14 and grade up to a 16 and 18 and down to a size 12, or something like that. If you fit one of your own "middle sizes" in your size chart then great! If not, find a buddy to do test fittings and pattern tweaking.

If you are making children's patterns you'll probably have to draft an infant size, toddler size, child and tween size (or something like that) because children's' body proportions change so much between development stages. In fact, this post from Sew Mama Sew has a lot of good info on kid pattern drafting and also general pattern selling info. Definitely worth reading!

Grading methods for a program that's not meant to grade

CAD (Computer Aided Drafting or Computer Aided Design) programs like Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw are not designed to be pattern drafting software. Real pattern drafting and grading software that isn't for personal use only is extremely costly and you'd still have to convert the pattern pieces from the specialty software into something like Illustrator for home sewing use. Maybe one day I'll buy software for drafting but I in no way have the budget right now.

Obviously you could hire someone to do this for you but if you did that you wouldn't need to read this post so I'll just show you what I do.

The two manual methods of pattern grading are the slash and spread (where you cut up a pattern into sections and spread each section apart from the other) and the shift method (where you shift the whole piece outward at specific points). Here's a tutorial on shifting and Elegant Musings has a great tutorial for slash and spread.

With these methods you determine how much to increase your pieces horizontally based on your overall garment measurement (say, a 2" increase) and divide by how many sections your pattern is (one half piece for the back and one half piece for the front makes four "fourths" so you divide your overall increase by four, or 1/2" on the front and the back piece). You do the same vertically as well.

In Illustrator you'd use the shift because the program makes it simple to select lines and move them vertically and horizontally by specific measurements. After all your points are shifted you still have to go back and reconnect all your lines. It's a little time consuming but pretty accurate.

Here's a very simple video to show you what I mean with the shift method in Illustrator.

Another non-kosher method, and I'll explain why, is what I like to call the "percentage" method. This is something I totally made up so don't take this as gospel.

Essentially, you find the percentage increased vertically and horizontally between each size based on the most important pattern measurement (hips for pants, bust for a top or dress, etc).

(scaling in Illustrator)

Take this bodice piece above for example. My size 4 has a bust size of 34" and my size 6 is 35". The bust measurement is the most important measurement of this pattern I'm designing. The increase from 34" to 35" is ~2.941%. That's my horizontal increase. Let's just say my vertical increase is 2.2%. I copy my entire pattern piece and scale it up by these percentages.

I like this method for a couple reasons. In many cases it works very well. I think it even creates nicer armhole curves than the manual shift method. Unlike the other grading methods I don't have to divide some overall measurement by half or fourths depending on my number of pattern sections. The same percentage works for everything.

In the image above you can see lines from a bodice piece (side seam is on the bottom left) that I graded up one size. The black lines were manually graded by shifting points and then adjusting all the points back together. The pink lines were "percentage" graded. In this case I think the percentage grade is nicer than my (sloppy, in this case) hand grading.

Both of these methods have the problem that if you grade up or down more than two or three times you run the risk of lines getting skewed.

The percentage method has more problems, however. It works best when the pieces run the full length and width of a body section, meaning a bodice piece should go from shoulder tip to waist and side seam to center front. If you're grading a bustier type bodice piece that doesn't extend to the shoulder and you try to increase it by a vertical percent that piece won't lengthen as much as a full shoulder to waist piece because you don't have as much length to lengthen to begin with. Make sense? Ok, maybe not, I'll give some more examples.

A shirt piece like this won't take too kindly to the percentage method either. When grading horizontally you are increasing around the body from side seam to center front (if you are using a 1/4th section bodice piece). In a kimono/batwing sleeve like this the computer wants to increase from the far end point, which in this case is the wrist of the sleeve, not the side seam. You're better off grading manually or breaking the pattern piece down into two sections (basically, cutting off the sleeve part) and percentage grading separately.

Here's another example - set in sleeves. The percentage method works well with set in sleeves (that are positioned upright, like the pic above). You increase using the same amounts that you used for the other pieces (based on the most important measurement, like the bust, be consistent!).

But for a gathered tulip sleeve like the pic above the standard percentage method won't work because this pattern piece is oddly wide.

What I did instead was overlap the pattern piece like a regular set in sleeve would look like with side seams on the left and right and graded from there then reassembled the pieces back like a tulip pattern piece.

What about a front bodice piece that isn't on on the fold but rather has an extension past the center front for a button placket? You need to grade based on the side seam to center front so you'd have to chop off that extension and add it back after you've graded. Odds are that the placket would probably be the same dimensions no matter what the size so you wouldn't have wanted to grade that bit anyway. Gotta think about these things!

The percentage method works ok with pants and skirts (use the hip measurements) sometimes. I don't always use this method because it doesn't work in every situation but even if I do use this method I always need to double check my work. I'll usually check by shifting specific points on my pieces up two sizes at a time to make sure everything matches up.

Yeah, grading sucks. It's time consuming, is uses a boat load of math and it makes me wish I had 10 grand to drop on some sub-par poorly designed software made specifically for grading but I don't so I'm just going to complain about it instead.

The more you practice the quicker it gets. I make up plenty of charts denoting increase percentages for every size to reference.

After you finish grading you can add back your seam allowances. The reason why you have to grade sans-SA is because your SA always have to be consistent. You can't be slowly increasing your 5/8" SA by 2-4% each time you grade up or by the time you get 6 sizes larger you'll have 1" SA rather than 5/8". No bueno!

***Phew, that was a lot to take in at once! But you made it out alive and now we forge onward deeper into the abyss (wow, I started out with some weird surgery metaphor and now I think I'm referencing Heart of Darkness, see what a mess pattern drafting makes of me!!?!?).

Next time we'll talk about easier, but still important topics like pattern piece labeling, printing layouts, instructions, line drawings, graphics, and selling. So go grab a snack and we'll meet back here later. Remember to stay hydrated!

Software for Patternmaking (sort of...)

2013-01-11T22:49:00.001-06:00

Update: Hmm, perhaps there is a catch to this, if anyone looks into this, let me know. I keep reading that you may or may not need a CS2 license. Still, it might be worth looking into it if you're interested in Illustrator.

Hey readers, I'm popping in real quick between sewing projects to tell all you budding pattern makers something you may find useful...

I don't use software specifically designed for pattern making to create my patterns. I mainly use Adobe Illustrator along with Adobe Photoshop for graphics and supplemental things.

The current versions of those programs are very expensive (unless you can get a student discount) but right now Adobe seems to be offering the CS2 version (the current is CS6, CS2 is about 8 years old but it is still totally functional and contains most of the features I use in my version of the programs) free for download on both Mac and PC.

There's some confusion about why Adobe is doing this but from what I gather Adobe doesn't want to keep running servers for old software support. Basically you can download it for free and get a free serial number but don't expect any updates or support or cloud services or anything.

I'm not sure how long Adobe will do this but if you want an opportunity to try out Illustrator or Photoshop or InDesign (another program some indie pattern developers use, I don't have it, though) go ahead to the Adobe site and download it for free!

I haven't downloaded any of this CS2 software so I can't guarantee anything or vouch that it will work on your computer. If you do download it let me know how it goes! From what I read it's legit and may be worth it to you if you're interested in learning a program like this for pattern drafting.

You can google "Adobe CS2 free" and find more info on what the deal is and if you might have any issues with loading old software on more recent operating systems.

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