Dressmaking. What Pattern Should I Choose?

Dressmaking. What Pattern Should I Choose? When you first start making your own clothes it is difficult to know where to start and what pattern to choose. We have put together a quick guide to try and help you understand who the main pattern companies are and which pattern to choose. The main pattern companies […]

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Dressmaking. What Pattern Should I Choose?

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Dressmaking. What Pattern Should I Choose? When you first start making your own clothes it is difficult to know where to start and what pattern to choose. We have put together a quick guide to try and help you understand who the main pattern companies are and which pattern to choose. The main pattern companies are based in the USA and are Simplicity and McCalls. Simplicity provides patterns under the brands Simplicity, New Look and Burda.  Whilst McCalls has the brands McCalls, Buttericks, Vogue and Kwik Sew. In addition to this there are numerous independent pattern companies. When you are first starting to make clothes you need to pick a pattern without too many tricky techniques on it.  Some of the pattern brands label their patterns to indicate how difficult they are. Examples of this are New Look – Beginners patterns are marked as Easy McCalls  – Beginners patterns are marked as Easy Vogue – Beginners patterns are marked as Very Easy Vogue.  Patterns with slightly more details included are Easy Vogue. These are still great for those with limited knowledge and experience of sewing. It can be difficult to find the difficulty rating on the pattern but if you look at the American website for both Simplicity and McCalls you can access their different brands and see the difficulty ratings. Getting the Best Fit Sewing patterns are based on a standard set of body measurements and if, like most of us, you do not fit the standard you need to make adjustments to the pattern to get a good fit.   Learning to adjust patterns is a more advanced technique and it is best to become familiar with the basics of dressmaking before you start adjusting your patterns.  However by choosing your pattern carefully you can help to reduce issues with the fit. One of the most problematic areas of fit is the bust.  Commercial patterns are based on a B cup size.  If you are bigger than B you can have a problem as choosing a pattern based on you bust measurement can take you into a bigger size than normal. This can mean that the fit on your shoulders and elsewhere may be too loose. If you are a C cup or larger, it is advisable to choose a pattern that incorporates different cup sizes.  Examples of pattern ranges that include these are Simplicity – Amazing Fit patterns...

Dressmaking. What Pattern Should I Choose?

When you first start making your own clothes it is difficult to know where to start and what pattern to choose. We have put together a quick guide to try and help you understand who the main pattern companies are and which pattern to choose.

The main pattern companies are based in the USA and are Simplicity and McCalls.

Simplicity provides patterns under the brands Simplicity, New Look and Burda.  Whilst McCalls has the brands McCalls, Buttericks, Vogue and Kwik Sew.

In addition to this there are numerous independent pattern companies.

When you are first starting to make clothes you need to pick a pattern without too many tricky techniques on it.  Some of the pattern brands label their patterns to indicate how difficult they are.

Examples of this are

New Look – Beginners patterns are marked as Easy

McCalls  – Beginners patterns are marked as Easy

Vogue – Beginners patterns are marked as Very Easy Vogue.  Patterns with slightly more details included are Easy Vogue. These are still great for those with limited knowledge and experience of sewing.

It can be difficult to find the difficulty rating on the pattern but if you look at the American website for both Simplicity and McCalls you can access their different brands and see the difficulty ratings.

Getting the Best Fit

Sewing patterns are based on a standard set of body measurements and if, like most of us, you do not fit the standard you need to make adjustments to the pattern to get a good fit.   Learning to adjust patterns is a more advanced technique and it is best to become familiar with the basics of dressmaking before you start adjusting your patterns.  However by choosing your pattern carefully you can help to reduce issues with the fit.

One of the most problematic areas of fit is the bust.  Commercial patterns are based on a B cup size.  If you are bigger than B you can have a problem as choosing a pattern based on you bust measurement can take you into a bigger size than normal. This can mean that the fit on your shoulders and elsewhere may be too loose.

If you are a C cup or larger, it is advisable to choose a pattern that incorporates different cup sizes.  Examples of pattern ranges that include these are

Simplicity – Amazing Fit patterns

Vogue – Custom Fit Patterns

McCalls – A/B, C and D cup sizes

Butterick – A/B, C and D cup sizes

If you want help to make your pattern up why not come along to our class Understanding and Using Paper Patterns?

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