Thank you!
I just wanted to say thank you so much to the great many of you who took the time to share your opinions on the poll that I put up on yesterday's post about sewing patterns (it's still running, if you want to add to it) - I'm so appreciative of your help. Thank you.
I've started remaking the skirt (and hopefully next week the dress) to try and crystallise which might be a best first pattern for me to write (the summer blouse was lagging far behind, so I've put that to one side for the moment) and to try and start pinning down the pattern a little more. As you can imagine, this is a trying and awful thing to have to do as it means that I will end up with more clothes. Oh no! I have reworked the details on the skirt pattern a little - taken some things out that weren't quite working for me and added in other things that I think would be nice things to include. This photo is of the inside of the skirt (doesn't the corduroy look horrible from this side...it's really much more lovely on the outer side) - it's spending time on these details that really delights me and ones that I'd hope to include in a pattern. The skirt has bound seams and a hem faced inside with a thick band of colour: a geometric print from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow range - purchased from an online shop that's new to me - River Fabrics - they carry a relatively small selection of fabrics, but happily, stock colourways of the Modern Meadow range that I haven't been able to find anywhere else in the UK. Hurrah!
Florence x
* In answer to a couple of suggestions with sizing that were raised in the comments section of my last post: any pattern that I wrote would be available in a range of sizes and, I'm thinking, designed for a slightly more average height than I stand at, to avoid people making a belt rather than a skirt. When I originally designed both the dress and skirt I created them with darts at the bust or the waist to accommodate my curves and to improve the fit - these darts would increase in size proportionately over the sizing range to (hopefully) continue to offer a good fit for an increasingly curvy figure. After grading (the process of drafting a pattern in different sizes), I would then make some samples up to double check. Thank you so much for raising this - it's good to have things to keep in mind as I take my first steps in designing a clothing pattern. x
I just discovered River Fabrics a month or so ago when I was trying to find Modern Meadow fabrics in the Pond colorway!
ReplyDeleteAnd it would be super if you could include suggestions for adjusting the patterns for less curvy figures, too.
K x
Kristina, in the meantime (and apologies if you already knew how to do this): a dart basically creates a more rounded shape to an otherwise flat piece of fabric, so the curvier a person is, the bigger the dart required to create a curve-flattering shape. If you want to create less shaping to fit a more slender figure, then simply reduce the width of the dart. If you take 1/2 off the width of the dart though, you'll then need to take 1/2 an inch off the outer edge of the pattern - easy to do if there's no seam allowance included in the pattern. Hope that helps and is vaguely comprehensible. x
ReplyDeleteThat is the best description of a dart ever. I know they "create shaping" but that's it...thanks for the explanation! I'm guessing you're starting with the skirt? (that was my favorite :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! K x
ReplyDeleteSounds great and I would love to have a pattern for the dress. Just remember though that you can't please all of the people all of the time ;-) All you can do is produce patterns to standard sizes, offer advice on how to try and accommodate the pattern to different requirements and then stand back! Shop-bought clothes don't fit everyone, nor will sewing patterns! I'm sure any pattern of yours will be flattering as a pattern can be to all sizes. Good luck with the drafting process.
ReplyDeleteOoh lovely - it's details like you have pictured on the inside skirt finishings that would really make this pattern stand out from the average.
ReplyDeleteAs I read down your post I was trying to guess what you were making. Thinking all the time how unusual it is to put limey/mustardy yellow with grey and how wonderful it looked. Then I discovered it was the inside!! - I love insides a beautiful as outsides - spotty or flowery linings for tweed or even lusciously decadent matching underwear under a work suit. I am looking forward to your patterns - taking your advice I made wide legged trousers from the Cal Patch book at the weekend. I am the opposite size to you - 5'10'' size 16 and it is a joy to have things that fit perfectly (if not first time at least after I had reapplied the waistband!)
ReplyDeletexx
c
Oh yes, I love that skirt and I'm most definitely interested in that pattern!!!
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