sewing Archives

Sewing pattern height – a chart – 2021 update

Everyone’s body is different. We come in all shapes and sizes, which can make it challenging to find a sewing pattern that fits your body. Luckily, some indie sewing patterns design for a particular body type. For example, Deer and Doe designs for an hour-glass shape, Cashmerette Patterns for curvy figures (cup sizes C–H), Sew DIY for tall women, and Skinny Bitch Curvy Chick Patterns (SBCC) and Petite Plus for petite ladies. Each size is designed for a particular bust, waist and hip measurement, but not every company provides the sewing pattern height.

I’m 5′ 7″ (170 cm) and when I first wrote this post in 2017, I hadn’t really given much thought to the height that patterns are designed for. That year I finished the Mimosa Culottes by Named Clothing, a Finnish pattern company that designs for 5’8″. (You can see my version of the culottes here.)

Named - Lexi A-line top and Mimosa Culottes

After that, I made Megan Nielsen’s Flint Pants. I discovered that she designs for a height 5′ 9″ (175 cm).

Behind the chart

That experience made me want to find out what height pattern companies use for their designs.And that led me to make a chart listing sewing pattern heights. The height they design for is typically the height of their fit model. I began with companies whose patterns I’ve made and then added more several others.

This is by no means a comprehensive list. But I am trying to update it annually. I did my first update in 2020.

Sewing pattern height -blog post - illustration of women of differnt heights and bodies

Size ranges

This year I added a column listing the size ranges for each pattern. Since I first began this chart, many companies have expanded their size range, are in the midst of expanding their size range, or offer new patterns . adding additional sizes or offer some patterns with an expanded size range; they are indicated with the single asterisk in the size column. Underneath the chart is a bulleted list of those companies.

I also updated the links to the size charts. There were many changes, including the links to the Big Four (Butterick, McCalls, Simplicity, Vogue), since they are now owned by British company Design Group. I linked to the U.S. pages for size charts. But you can also find measurements for Butterick, McCalls and Vogue on this PDF.

Sewing pattern heights

My 2021 chart includes links to each company’s body measurements/size chart (if they have one or a link to a pattern with the size chart), the height they design for, cup size, and size range.

Sewing Co. Size Chart	Height: in	Height: cm	Cup	Size Range
100 Acts of Sewing	5′ 5″	165	C	XS-4X
The Assembly Line	5′ 6″-5′ 7″	168-170		XS-L, XL-3XL*
Blueprints for Sewing	5′ 5″	165	B	A-P
Burda women’s regular	5′ 6 1/4″	168	B	6-34
Burda women’s petite	5′ 3″	160	B	6-20
Burda women’s tall	5′ 9 1/4″	176	B	6-20
Butterick-misses	5′ 5″-5′ 6″	165-168	B	4-26
Butterick-petites	5′ 2″-5′ 3″	157-160	B	4-26
Cashmerette	5′ 6″	168	C-H	12-32
Chalk & Notch	5’7″	170	A/B, C/D	0-24
Christine Haynes	5′ 6″	168	B	XS-4X
Closet Core Patterns	5′ 6″	168	B	0-20
Closet Core Patterns (expanded)	5’6″	168	D	14-30
Deer and Doe	5′ 6″	168	C, D	34-52
Friday Pattern Company	5′ 5″	165	B	XS-XXL, XS-4X, XS-7X*
Grainline Studio (0-18)	5’5″	165	B	0-18
Grainline Studio (14-30)	5’5″	165	D	14-30
Helen’s Closet	5′ 6″	168	B, D	0-30
In the Folds	5′ 7″	170	B	A-J
Itch to Stitch	5′ 6″	168	A-DD	00-20, 22-40*
Marilla Walker (size range 1)	5’6″	168	B	1-8, 1-10*
Marilla Walker (size range 2)	5’6″	168	D	6-14
McCalls – misses	5′ 5″-5′ 6″	165-168	B	4-26
McCalls – petites	5′ 2″-5′ 3″	157-160	B	4-26
Megan Nielsen	5′ 9″	175	B	0-20 (also XS-XL)
Megan Nielsen (curve)	5’9″	175	D	14-30
Merchant & Mills	5′ 6″	168	D	6-18, XXS-XXL**
Muna and Broad	5’6″	168	flexible	A-G, A-M*
Named Clothing	5′ 8″	172	B	0-24
Paper Theory Patterns	5′ 7″	170	C	6-28*
Papercut Patterns	5′ 7″	170	B/C***	1-8
Paprika Patterns	5′ 7″	170	B-C	1-10, 1-13*
Pauline Alice	5′ 5″	165	B	34-44, 34-48*
Petite Plus Patterns	5′-5′ 4″	152.4- 162.5	D	12-24
Pipe Dream Patterns (Beatha)	5′ 5″	165	C	6-20
Pipe Dream Patterns (Saorsa)	5’10”	177	DD	20-34
SBCC Patterns	5′ 1″	163	B/C	XXS-XL
SBCC Patterns (expanded)	5′ 1″	163	D/E	L-4X
Seamwork (misses)	5’8″	172	C	00-16
Seamwork (curvy)	5’9″	175	DD	12-26
Sew DIY	5′ 10″	177	C	0-32
Sew House Seven (standard)	5′ 6″-5’7″	168-170	B/C	00-20
Sew House Seven (curvy)	5’6″-5’7″	168-170	C/D-G/H	18-34
Sew Liberated	5’5″-5’7″	168-170	C	0-24, 0-30/34*
Sewaholic	5’4″	162	B	0-20
Simplicity-misses	5′ 5″-5′ 6″	165-168	B	4-26
Simplicity-petites	5’4″	162	B	4-26
Simplicity-women	5′ 5″-5′ 6″	165-168		18W-32W
Style Arc	5′ 6″	168	B	4-30
Today’s Fit by Sandra Betzina	5’5″-5’6″	165-167		A-J
True Bias	5′ 5″	165	C	0-18, 14-30*
Vogue-misses	5′ 5″-5′ 6″	165-168	B	4-26
Vogue-petites	5′ 2″-5′ 3″	157-160	B	4-26
Wiksten	5′ 7″	170	B	0-18, 0-22

* These pattern companies have some patterns available in larger sizes or are working on making all patterns available in an expanded size range:

Some Assembly Line patterns are currently available in larger sizes. See their FAQs for info on larger sizes.
Friday Pattern Company is working on making all designs available in the expanded size range, some go up to XXL, others to 4X or 7X. The goal is for all designs to go up to 7X.
Some Itch to Stitch patterns are available in plus sizes but the majority are not.
Marilla Walker‘s Belemnite Dress is available in extended sizes (bust 42″-48″/107 cm-147 cm)
Plus-size pattern company Muna and Broad is extending its size range from A–G (bust 40″/102 cm–52″/132 cm) to A–M (M: 83″/211 cm).
Paper Theory is adding sizes 22-28 to all of its patterns.
All Paprika Patterns are available in sizes 1-10, some are available up to size 13; they are working on making all designs sized up to 13.
Newer Pauline Alice patterns go up to 48.
Sew Liberated size range varies depending on the pattern: 0-24, 0-30, 22-34.
Some True Bias patterns are available in sizes 0-18 and some 14-30.

**Merchant & Mills says their patterns are not tailored/fitted so they don’t really design for a particular cup size but if they had to say, they say D. Some patterns are available in size range 6-18 and others in XXS-XXL (6-28).

***Papercut Patterns says it usually designs for B/C for sampling but, “We always advise to go by bust measurement … rather than cup size.”

Not all of the indie designers include this info on their websites so in some cases, I contacted the companies to find out. They graciously answered my queries within a few days. I hope you find the information useful.

Height is not everything

Sewing pattern height is an interesting measurement but it’s not the most important one. Patterns can easily be adjusted for length. The critical measurements are bust, waist and hips. The finished measurements are also very helpful when it comes to pants and skirts. When I make skirts or pants, all I first look at the hip measurement to pick my size. What measurements are the most important for you when you choose a size to sew?

Note: This post was originally published on May 1, 2017. I first updated it in 2020.

Array top in rayon

I got the Papercut Patterns Array Top pattern last year at Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics‘ Valentine’s Day event (printed version is sold out on the New Zealand company’s online shop but you can get PDF version). Thinking back, that visit was likely one of the last times I was physically inside the store. Wow.

A month after the event, Alameda County issued a stay-home order. Now it seems like years ago instead of less than a year. The Berkeley store’s doors have remained closed for in-store shopping but they put the majority of their merchandise online and it is open for curbside pickup and they also ship worldwide.

At that same event, I got some lovely Nani IRO double gauze at Stonemountain to make the tunic version of the Array pattern, which you can make in three lengths — top, tunic, and dress. I’ve been trying to add more teal to my wardrobe ever since I made Papercut’s Sapporo Coat in a teal wool coating.

Nani IRO double gauze fabric - teal blue background with lines in dark blue and bright blue creating shapes

I didn’t want to cut into Nani IRO fabric until I made a muslin (a mockup or test version). Over the holidays I finally made a muslin of the Array Top to get a sense of how it would fit. My shoulders are a bit square and I wanted to see how the dropped shoulder would hang on me. I had this purple rayon in my stash and decided to use it and attempt a wearable muslin. There is plenty of ease in the pattern so I figured it would fit even if I cut it as is.

Size range

The size range for the Array Top goes from 1 (bust 29.9″/76 cm , waist 22″/56 cm, hip 32.3″/82 cm to 8 (bust 46.5″/118 cm, waist 38.6″/98 cm, hip 48.8″/124 cm). I made size 5, which has these measurements: bust 39.5″/118 cm, waist 31.5″/80 cm, hip 41.75″/106 cm.

Pattern adjustments

It’s a simple pattern — front, back, sleeves, and tie pieces. The rayon fabric I was working with was a bit fiddly so I decided not to make bias tape for the neckline, which is what the pattern calls for. Instead, I made a facing by tracing the front and back pieces around the neckline, making to about 2.5 inches (6.3 cm) wide. Then I had to figure out how to finish the raw edges and opted to pink them so the facing wouldn’t be visible. The fabric is lightweight and has a soft hand. If I folded over the raw edge or even serged it, I was afraid the facing would be visible.

The Array top design has a bias tape neckline that’s finished with topstiching. I didn’t want a topstich around the neckline so I handstiched the facing in place. I think the neckline looks pretty good. Here’s what the Array top looks like without the ties.

Array Top - Papercut Patterns - in purple

I topstiched the hem as instructed because I didn’t want to hand stitch it. This patterns has a center back seam, which you can barely see here.

The design has you sew one tie piece to each side seam at the waist. But that means you must always tie it or you’ll have two long ties dragging behind you. If you attach the tie, you’d wrap it around and then tie it in front. But, I thought, what if you didn’t want the tie? So I decided to make it optional by sewing the two tie pieces into one long tie. This means that you’ll have a shorter tie and it will have a center seam.

I tied this with the center seam in front, criss-crossing in the back.

Here’s the top tied with the center seam placed at the back and then criss-crossing at the front and then going around to tie at the front, which makes the ends quite short.

When I make the tunic version with the double gauze, I will add a little more ease around the hips. But otherwise the pattern fits well.

The sleeves

The sleeves are nice and full at the bottom and will be more poofy if you use a fabric with a crisper hand. You could finish the sleeves with elastic like I did here or just hem them. If you hem them then you’ve got statement sleeves with dramatic flare as you can see below from this image from Papercut’s website. You can make the fabric in a variety of fabrics — from wovens to knits.

I have long arms and the sleeve length is fine. I think the sleeves would be long for most people so pay attention to the length of the sleeves, particularly if you make the version without elastic at the wrists.

Fabric weight

The weight of the fabric will have a big impact on the sleeves. This rayon is lightweight with a soft hand so the sleeves aren’t that dramatic. If I made the Array top in a medium-weight woven, the sleeves would be quite puffy at the bottom. If you want statement sleeves, use a fabric that is more crisp.

Heres another look, wearing it tucked in front.

Stay tuned for the Array top in the Nani IRO fabric. I’m not sure if I’ll go with elastic on the sleeves or just hem them. My issue with flared sleeves is that you have to watch them when you eat. If you reach over, the sleeve will just dip into whatever’s on your plate when you’re eating. Which sleeve do you like? The elastic poofy one or the flared? Let me know in the comments!

The rest of the ensemble

I’m wearing the Joan Trousers by the Friday Pattern Company. (I have only blogged about the pair I made in yellow.) I’m also wearing a self-drafted six-section cap I made several years ago and suede boots by Børn that I got on sale at Nordstrom last year.

Note on photos: I took these photos four days after the insurrection at the Capitol and did not feel much like smiling. These are grim days for democracy. Sewing is my respite from the enormous challenges we face with the pandemic raging in the United States, the dangers of white supremacy, and economic catastrophe. Stay safe.

The Elastic Tie Sweater in a wax print fabric from Africa

Elastic Tie Sweater - pattern by The Assembly Line - wax print fabric - CSews.com

I discovered the Assembly Line patterns at Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley at a Bay Area Sewists meetup in June 2019. The first pattern I bought from this Swedish company was the Three Pleat Skirt pattern. (I will blog about the skirt after I’ve made another one because I didn’t quite follow the instructions – though I am happy with the results.) In November, I had fun shopping Stonemountain’s two-day 25 percent off sale and decided to buy two more Assembly Line patterns: the Elastic Tie Sweater (pattern here) and the Puff Shirt. Their patterns are available in digital and paper versions.

Over the holidays I decided to make the Elastic Tie Sweater. In case you’re wondering, the pattern is not drafted for sweater knits. It’s for woven fabrics; on the website page for this pattern, they suggest “mid weight fabrics such as cotton twills, denims, lightweight canvas.”

I thought this would be a great pattern to use a wax print I was gifted by a lovely colleague at work (thanks, Rachel!). She got this border print fabric in Africa a while ago. The border of small and large circles runs alongside both selvages. The selvage says “Veritable wax block print Hitarget 2016002F.”

I did a brief Google search and I was reminded that Hitarget is a Chinese company that often knocks off Dutch designs from companies such as Vlisco (read about Dutch wax prints and counterfeiting in this informative article, “West Africans ditch Dutch wax prints for Chinese ‘real fakes,'” by Northeastern University anthropology professor Nina Sylvanus). I used a Hitarget wax print for the maxi Chardon skirt I made a few years ago.

Elastic Tie Sweater - pattern by The Assembly Line - African wax print - CSews.com

Border print details

You can see the border on the sleeves at my wrists. I cut the sleeves perpendicular to the grain so the border would be at the bottom of the sleeves. There is a dart at the elbow so the bottom of the sleeve has a curve to it. This means that you won’t be able to match the border print at the seam line. I decided that wouldn’t bother me and who looks at the sleeve seam anyway, right? 😉

It was fun to figure out where to place the border. This pattern has a center back seam so I decided to cut the back pieces so that the border was on each piece. The small circles of the design weren’t quite equidistant so I deliberately cut the pieces to make sure the smaller circles didn’t line up.

African wax print - center back seam - CSews.com

Then after sewing the 1 cm (3/8″) seam, the back looked like this.

The smaller circles are cut in half by the center back seam and that creates a different design – sort of an “S,” which wasn’t quite intentional.

The trickiest part of this pattern is sewing the front shoulder to the center back collar. But the instructions are clear and there’s a nice illustration to show you how to sew it. Here’s what it looks like before I topstitched the seam.

Here’s the inside view. My serger isn’t working at the moment so I used the zigzag stitch to finish my seams.

The Elastic Tie Sweater has four sizes: XS, S, M, and L. All measurements in the pattern are in centimeters. I did the conversions to inches (yes, in the United States we’re still using the old Imperial system, which we began when we were a British colony). The pattern has a lot of ease. I made size L, which has the following finished measurements:

Length: 59 cm (23.2 in)
Bust: 119 cm (46.9 in)
Bottom: 127 cm (50.8)
Front center neck to end of sleeve: 84 cm (14.8 in)
Upper sleeve (bicep): 46 cm (18.1)

For size L, the pattern calls for 150 cm of 140-150 cm wide fabric. This means about 1 2/3 yards of 55″-60″ wide fabric. However, my fabric was 44″ (112 cm) wide, which meant that I used more (and wasted more) fabric because the front and back pieces couldn’t be placed side by side. I probably used more than 2 yards (~183 cm) to cut out all the pieces. This is why the pattern calls for 140-150 cm wide fabric. You waste less fabric.

I have a small bust so it is quite roomy on me. I’d say that the Elastic Tie Sweater can easily fit a C cup and maybe even D, depending on how much ease you prefer. I have broad shoulders and long arms and it fit well. No need for a wide-shoulder adjustment.

Side view of the Elastic Tie Sweater - pattern The Assembly Line - CSews.com

I really love the high neck and the elastic tie detail. There’s interfacing in the neck facing, which is what ensures that the collar doesn’t flop over. I used Pellon Shape-Flex woven fusible interfacing, which I got from Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics. I had some thick elastic cord in my stash that was perfect for the Elastic Tie Sweater. You need cord that’s 3 mm in diameter. This cord gets threaded through four holes that you have to make through the facing.

Close-up of elastic cord in the front - CSews.com

Buttonhole stitches

The instructions direct you to use a buttonhole stitch around the hole to finish the raw edges. I used black Coats & Clark Dual Duty Plus Craft & Button thread in my stash – leftover from hand sewing various skirts from the Natalie Chanin’s 2012 book Alabama Studio Sewing + Design (affiliate link). (In fact, I’m wearing a handsewn knit skirt using a pattern from that book.)

Elastic Tie Sweater - pattern by The Assembly Line - CSews.com

I made the buttonhole stitches by hand using this heavy duty thread. Because the thread is so thick, you can’t make too many stitches. Regular thread would be fine, too. But do practice the stitches on a scrap if you aren’t familiar with this stitch. It took me a little time to figure it out and make stitches in a circle.

Here’s a closer look at the buttonhole stitches around the hole. You can see how thick the thread is. If you use button craft thread, you may need to make 4-5 mm holes, rather than 3-4 mm per the instructions.

Close-up of buttonhole stitch detail - CSews.com

Once the stitches are in place, you fold the cord in half, push it through the holes and knot the ends. I had a tough time pushing the cord through the holes because the thick thread made the hole smaller. I later realized I could use a loop turner to grab the cord and pull it through the holes.

I really like this pattern and will be making more of them. Quilt-weight fabric will work well with this pattern. The only drawback with the roominess of this top is that you need to wear a loose-fitting coat or jacket if it’s cold outside. If you don’t wear something loose over it, it will get wrinkled because of all the ease.

Here are two more photos of the Elastic Tie Sweater.

Congratulations! You got to the end of this post. I hope to blog a little more regularly in the new year. But I needed to take a bit of a break from my blog and social media after I started a new job and my mother passed away during the second week of that job.

Though I was still sewing, I had absolutely no interest in taking photos of anything I made or blogging. But finally, over the break, I got inspired by the fabric, the pattern, and walking by this interesting abandoned building with its rusting exterior and bed of small pink flowers. I made note of the street and decided to take my photos there – just me, my tripod, and my phone. I will revive my newsletter but likely only send it out every other month rather than monthly.

My Frocktails skirt – finished

Hi, I finished my Frocktails skirt in February to wear at the Bay Area Sewists Frocktails event earlier this year. I finished it just a few hours before the event began. It began as my Sew Frosting project but I didn’t finish it in November and then I thought of it as my #SewHappyColor project. However, I didn’t take photos in time to post it during the Reds and Pinks week of that Instagram challenge hosted by Katie Kortman. Ultimately, I consider it my Frocktails skirt.

Frocktails skirt for Bay Area Sewists event using Marimekko fabric - CSews.com

I wrote a WIP post in February about sewing the pleats and attaching the ribbons. For this skirt, I used three different fabrics – the main fabric is the Marimekko print. I had 1 1/3 yards (~1.2 meters) of the Marimekko fabric, which was 58 inches wide (147 cm). I wanted to use all of it for a nice full skirt.

Side note: When I did a search on my blog for “Marimekko,I discovered that I blogged about this Marimekko fabric in 2013, the year I bought it. I wondered how long I’d had this fabic.)

Colorful skirt using Marimekko "Tultakero" fabric - right view of skirt, hand in pocket - CSews.com

Because I didn’t have enough for a midi length – my favorite length – I color-blocked the skirt – adding a red panel at the top and a deep violet panel at the bottom. The pleats are in the red panel. If you look closely, you can see the topstitching on the Marimekko fabric in the photo below.

Inverted pleat detail in color-blocked skirt using Marimekko "Tultakero" fabric - CSews.com

I first thought about making the skirt back in December when I blogged about my Sew Frosting plans. It took my a long time to figure out the pleats – how deep to make them to use all the fabric, how far apart to place the pleats, and how much space to put between the two front pleats for an adjustable waist.

The deep violet panel at the bottom is a quilting cotton I got at Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics. I brought the Marimekko fabric with me to find a fabric for the bottom panel. It’s a nearly perfect match for the color in the print.

Detail of color-blocked skirt hem - print - Marimekko "Tultakero" - quilting fabric for the topstitched bottom - CSews.com

I topstitched the violet panel. This is a machine-washable skirt and topstitching will make it easier to press.

Color-blocked skirt for Bay Area Sewists Frocktails - Marimekko "Tultakero" fabric - CSews.com

When I wore the skirt to Frocktails, I realized that the ribbons weren’t staying tied and it was gaping in the back. I thought the Petersham ribbon would stay tied. Plus, the red fabric was a stretch cotton, which didn’t work well for that part of the skirt. I used that red fabric because it was in my stash and it matched the Marimekko fabric. I was attempting to sew my stash.

To solve my problem, I added a hook to one ribbon …

Adjustable waist of colorful skirt - hook attached to Petersham ribbon - CSews.com

… and an eye on the other side to ensure that the skirt would stay together. Here’s what it looks like when it’s hooked together.

Skirt hook and eye attached at waist - CSews.com

Here’s what it looks like when I unhook it.

Skirt detail - unhooked at the waist - CSews.com

I got the Petersham ribbon from Britex Fabrics. The ribbon was also in my stash and perfectly matched the trees in the print.

Inside the Frocktails skirt

I lined the skirt with a soft cotton rayon from Britex that complemented the print. I drafted a facing and attached the lining to the facing. Here’s an inside view of the skirt waist.

Inside view of skirt facing and lining - CSews.com

The skirt has horsehair braid at the hem, giving the skirt a nice fullness without the need of wearing any petticoats or tulle.

Inside view of hem and horsehair braid - CSews.com

More views of my Frocktail skirt

Frocktails skirt for Bay Area Sewists Frocktails - holding out ribbon ends - CSews.com

Frocktails skirt for Bay Area Sewists Frocktails - CSews.com

Frocktails skirt for Bay Area Sewists Frocktails - view of left side - CSews.com

Frocktails skirt for Bay Area Sewists Frocktails - 3/4 view of back - CSews.com

Frocktails skirt for Bay Area Sewists Frocktails - back view - CSews.com

Frocktails skirt for Bay Area Sewists Frocktails - right view - CSews.com

I’m really happy with how the skirt turned out. I think it could use a bit more support at the waist – maybe I’ll add a stiffer interfacing – but I like the length and the colors.

Do you hold on to fabric for years before you sew it? Or do you sew your fabric right away? I’d love to know!

Update: Here are a few photos from the Bay Area Sewists Frocktails event. You can see more photos on the Meetup page.

Frocktails photo on the stairs at Tupper & Reed in Berkeley - CSews.com — Beth, me, Tee and Pauline on the steps of Tupper & Reed, where we held Frocktails 2019

WIP Frocktails skirt with Marimekko fabric

My Frocktails skirt is slowly coming together. I haven’t worked on it very much over the past few weeks and now I’ve got to finish it by Saturday – when the Bay Area Sewists Frocktails in February event is happening.

This was my #SewFrosting project that I started in January. I sewed the pleats in the back about a month ago. Here’s what the back initially looked like when I basted the pleats. You can see bits of white thread that I used.

WIP Frocktails Skirt - Marimekko fabric - back inverted box pleats - CSews.com

But I decided not to sew all the way down the red fabric. Instead I sewed about 2/3 of the way down and the back now looks like this.

Frocktails skirt - inverted box pleats on the back- CSews.com

I pinned the ribbons in place to see how it would look and then realized that the Petersham ribbon is a bit stiff and quite wide (2 inches, ~7.5 cm), it would be hard to bring the two sides close together. I chose Petersham ribbon because when I tied it, it would stay tied. The problem with a satin ribbon is that it’s rather slippery.

Ribbon tie for Frocktails skirt - Marimekko fabric - CSews.com

So I decided to fold the ribbon in thirds and then sew it to the top piece. Before I sewed the pleats with the ribbon ends inside, I fused some interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric to give it some extra support.

Frocktails skirt - ribbon at waist - CSews.com

It took me a long time to figure out how I wanted to place the pleats in the front. I needed to have some extra fabric for an adjustable waist – but not too much fabric or the waist would be too loose. (See my Chardon Skirt with adjustable waist.) So I played around with how deep those last two center pleats would be and how far apart to place them. I finally put them about 8.5 inches (~21.5 cm) apart.

Frocktails skirt - ribbon at waist sewn into inverted box pleats - CSews.com

I don’t have a dress form so I spent some time looking at different placements in front of my bathroom mirror. I mostly make garments from existing sewing patterns so I really didn’t need a dress form. Plus I don’t have space in my apartment to store a dress form.

However, this is a skirt that I’ve drafted and it would have been helpful to play arond with the pleats on a dress form.

I decided at the last minute to have a facing because I want the top of the skirt to have some body and it will also look more tidy on the inside. So I drafted a facing over the weekend and I’ll attach some lining to it. The box pleats are rather deep and I’d like to cover them up.

Here’s what’s left to do:

buy lining fabric (red? purple?)
attach lining fabric to facing
sew facing/lining to skirt
decide on whether to add an invisible zipper to the side
hem the lining
hem the skirt

If I can do a little bit every day I should be able to finish this by Saturday. How long does it usually take you to finish a project? I feel like this WIP Frocktails skirt is taking forever.

I also promised my husband I would help fix a sweater of his. I’m hand sewing suede elbow patches to a favorite sweater. I finished one patch yesterday – one more to go!

Refreshing an old coat by recovering the buttons

I’ve had this DKNY coat for several years. When I bought it, the raw edges were trimmed with pleather as were the buttons. After a few years, the pleather bias tape began peeling. I still liked the coat so I removed all the bias trim and replaced it with premade black bias tape I found at Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley. It was a synthetic fabric that had a sheen to it that make it somewhat similar to the pleather – and hopefully would last a bit longer. That was my first go at refreshing an old coat.

A few years later, the pleather on the buttons was peeling and looked rather unsightly. So it was time for another refresh – this time it would be the buttons. Nearly all of themlooked like this:

I bought a 1/4 yard of some very nice Italian polyester from Britex Fabrics. I thought I could pry apart the buttons and replace the pleather.

But they were custom buttons with a plastic backing. I couldn’t pry them apart without damaging the back. I used pliers and tried to coax the pieces apart but they wouldn’t budge. Darn.

The other alternative was to purchase covered buttons and make new ones. I like covered buttons (see the covered butons I made for a top). However, these buttons weren’t a standard size. They were about 1 3/8 inches (3.5 cm) – in between the standard sizes for covered button kits. The other thing about covered button kits is that the back of the button is silver, which wouldn’t look great. Black is better.

So I opted to cover the original buttons the old-fahsioned way. I cut circles of fabric, hemmed the raw edges by hand and then sewed a gathering stitch. I placed the button in the center of my circle, pulled the threads tight and then stitched around the gathering to ensure that it stayed in place.

Covering coat buttonsn with new fabric by hand - CSews.com

I’m happy with the way they turned out. It took a couple nights in front of the television to finish. I should also mention that for my first button cover, I cut too large of a circle of fabric. After I gathered the fabrics, the gathering was too close to the button shank. I didn’t have enough room to maneuver my needle to sew the button on.

As you can see below, the button at the botton has too much fabric; the one on top was made with a smaller circle of fabric, leaving enough space for the needle to reach the shank and sew the button on my coat.

Here’s a close-up look at my refreshed buttons. There was one that wasn’t peeling so I left it as is. It’s the one on the left in the second row. I covered six buttons altogether. (One button was missing when I got the coat so I replaced it with a slighter smaller button. It wasn’t a functional button.)

Refreshed coat - covered the buttons with new fabric

And here’s a view of me wearing the coat with my newly covered buttons.

Refreshing an old coat by recovering the buttons

It’s nice when you can refresh an old coat and continue to wear it. Have you refreshed an old garment? What did you do to make it wearable?

Sew Frosting – Marimekko skirt plans

Hi, I got a late start to the Sew Frosting party – the sewing challenge hosted by Heather Lou Closet Case Patterns and Kelli of True Bias, encouraging people to sew “frosting” (frivolous and fun!) as opposed to “cake” (basics and staples). For more about the challenge, see Heather Lou’s blog post and search the hashtag #sewfrosting on Instagram to see all the wonderful makes.

When I thought about what “frosting” fabrics I had, I immediately thought about this striking Marimekko fabric I got at Crate and Barrel several years ago. I remember it was discounted –not by much – but I loved the colors so I splurged on 1 1/3 yards (~1.2 meters) of this cotton fabric from Finland.

Even though it was holiday fabric – note the trees – the colorway didn’t quite say Christmas so I thought it could be used for other purposes. Yesterday I searched for this fabric online to see what it was called. I found other colorways of this fabric and learned that it was called Tultakero. The selvage of my yardage didn’t have the name on it.

Tultakero

I spotted this red, green and white version of Tultakero on eBay. As you can see, it has more of that holiday feel.

The colorway I have doesn’t have any green in it; instead, it features red, magenta, purple, deep yellow and dark violet. Here’s another section of the fabric.

Sewing my stash

I have been (mostly) sticking to my fabric fast this year, trying to sew my stash rather than shop for new fabric. This fabric is 57″ wide and I will cut it in half and use one piece for the skirt front and another for the back.

I want to use inverted pleats or maybe a combination of inverted pleats in the back and one big pleat or fold in the front. I’ll use one of my favorite skirt patterns – the Deer and Doe Chardon as my jumping off point. I’ve made five versions of it – from color blocked to maxi. The most recent one I made I changed the waist by removing a few of the front pleats to make an adjustable waist with a silk ribbon tie.

I tend to gravitate towards the same shades of red, rose and plum. I knew I had a solid red cotton and a fuchsia cotton. I just had to dig around to find them (which bin? which drawer?). I found the two fabrics and also discovered that I have a wide Petersham ribbon that perfectly matches one of the colors in the Marimekko fabric as you can see below.

I will color block the skirt with maybe the solid red and fuchsia above and below the print. Or maybe the print at the top? I’m not sure.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to start or finish sewing this before the Sew Frosting deadline of Nov. 30 because I sprained my right ankle just before Thanksgiving. 🙁 So I needed to stay off my foot, instead of standing to cut my fabric or using the pedal on my sewing machine. But the good news is that my ankle is feeling much better and I can start making this skirt!

Thanks to Heather Lou and Kelli for the inspiration!

Sweater knit fabric and Olgalyn’s online course

Hi, I’ve blogged about Olgalyn Jolly’s online course “How to Cut and Sew a Sweater.” If you haven’t read that post, here’s a little background on how I know Olgalyn, a sweater knit designer and teacher. Nearly two years ago I interviewed Olgalyn, on my blog and hosted a giveaway of a sweater knit fabric kit. I had been following her blog and her Instagram account (@ojolly) for a while and met her in person on a trip to New York in 2016.

Earlier that year, I had also purchased the lovely 100 percent cotton sweater knit fabric featured in the above photo and later decided to get some matching ribbing from Olgalyn, which she kindly delivered in person when I met her. (You can still but the ribbing from one of her online shops.)

Olgalyn is just as lovely in person as she appears in her photos. She also blogs about cutting and sewing sweater knit fabrics on her blog O! Jolly! Crafting Fashion.

I’m writing again about her online course because she is reopening registration this weekend, offering a 20 percent discount from Saturday, September 29 to Monday, October 1! The regular price is is $59 – with the discount, it’s just $47.20 (affiliate link: How to Cut and Sew a Sweater, regular price now but still worth the price). When Olgalyn asked me if I wanted to be an affiliate again, I immediately said yes.

I’ve had time to watch each lesson and feel so much more comfortable about cutting and sewing the fabric I bought from her. There really isn’t any other online course available that focuses specifically on sweater knit fabric, which is not the same as jersey knit or other knit fabric.

Olgalyn is great at explaining how to find the right size pattern for your fabric – it’s a combination of looking at the finished pattern size and the stretch and recovery of your fabric. Here’s an image from her online course:

She very clearly explains every step for how to cut and sew sweater knit fabric, including:

how to mark your fabric,
basting vs. pinning,
what type of pins to use,
sewing pattern suggestions,
how to finish your seam allowances,
how to finish your necklines and hems,
and how to care for your fabric.

I wish her course had been available when I tried to sew a cardigan for my husband a while ago and it ended up being too big! Now I know where I went wrong. 😉

Plus she include many files for you to download – everything from a “Sweater Sewing Guide,” which she describes as “An outline and checklist for planning the construction of your sweater” to helpful worksheets.

I really appreciate the time and care she took in putting this course together. And that’s why I wanted to help spread the word about Olgalyn’s course. If you’ve ever wanted to sew sweater knit fabric, you’ll find this online course to be an invaluable resource.

~~Once again, to get a 20 percent discount on the course, click on this (affiliate) link (or on the image below) from Saturday, September 29 to Monday, October 1~~. This discount is no longer available but you can still register for the course at this affiliate link. I think it’s a great value at $59. Olgalyn is an excellent teacher.

Striped knit top from She Wears the Pants

Hi, I’ve had this striped rayon fabric in my stash for quite a few years – an impulse buy from Discount Fabrics in San Francisco (back when they were still around 11th and Mission St.). I didn’t have any particular pattern in mind when I got it; I just liked it. Since I’ve been on a RTW fast this year – and somewhat of a fabric fast, I have been making an effort to shop my stash. And that’s when I decided to make a striped knit top with this fabric.

The pattern is the Top with Epaulettes from the Japanese sewing book She Wears the Pants by Yuko Takada (affiliate link here). I made it in 2015 using a medium-weight striped knit. You can see that version on my review of She Wears the Pants – just scroll to the end of the post to see photos of that top. I made size L and added more ease in the hips. I used the same pattern pieces.

What I really like about this top is the classic boat neck design and slightly belled sleeves, which you can (sort of ) see in this photo.

If you use a heavier weight knit, the sleeves will have more body and stand out a bit more like they do in my first version. I think if I make it again, I would use a heavier weight knit to show off the sleeve shape.

This fabric was a little fiddly. I had to take my time cutting out the front and back pieces so they would match on the side seams. First, I cut the back piece because I knew I wanted the dark stripe to be at the top. Before I cut the front piece, I carefully placed the back piece on the fabric, lining up the stripes. Then I placed the front pattern piece on the fabric so it lined up with the back.

I also knew that I wanted the hem to end on a black (or is it navy?) stripe, which meant I could just cut along the bottom edge of the white stripe. My plan was the fold the hem on the bottom edge of the dark stripe.

I pinned each stripe at the side seams, set the pressure on my presser foot to zero and sewed a zig zag stitch on my sewing machine. It was a nearly perfect match! I sewed a test piece before I sewed it. I didn’t use any stabilizer and it was fine.

Looks like a perfect side seam!

When I cut out my sleeves, I just cut them so the hem would end on a dark stripe. Hems get dirty and this is an easy way to hide the dirt. I wasn’t concerned about matching stripes across the body. I like the way it looks. I’m wearing my denim knit skirt with this striped knit top.

Here’s another view of the back.

The pattern for this striped top calls for topstitching the neck facing and the hems. I opted to hand sew the facing because I didn’t want to see topstitching around the neckline. But you can tell where I made my stitches – see the slight shadows in the white stripe below?

For the hems, I fused fusible stay tape on the wrong side of my fabric to stabilize it. Then I used a twin needle to sew the hems of this striped knit top. The stitches blend into the fabric so you really can’t see the stitches.

In case you’re wondering about the hat, it’s a vintage straw hat with a veil and a fun ribbon detail. I got the hat from All Things Vintage, a delightful shop in Oakland which always has a lovely selection of hats. The label on the inside says The Hat Box, H. C. Capwell Co., Oakland. I did a quick online search and discovered that Capwell’s was a department store in Oakland.

The building is still there in downtown Oakland. A Sears store was in the space for several years. Capwell’s also had branches in other parts of the Bay Area. You can read about Capwell’s history on the Department Store Museum blog and you can read more about the building on this Oakland wiki page. Uber bought the Capwell building in 2015 but sold it in 2017.

I love hats with veils – though they don’t really fit in with life today. In public, I usually wear my veiled hats with the veil up, tossed over the top of the hat.

Bomber jacket sewing patterns – inset or raglan sleeves

I was on a crowded BART train and saw this bomber jacket on a woman standing next to me and immediately thought, “I want to make that!”

I love the look of the venise lace sleeves. I have a large scrap of venise lace that I got in New York a couple of years ago for just about $2. It would be perfect for the sleeves. Here’s the lace.

I have no idea how I would deal with the raw edges. I could leave them unfinished but I would rather have a cuff of ribbing. I don’t know how that would look. Or maybe I could line the sleeves with a mesh and then sandwich that in between the ribbing. If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments below.

I began looking at bomber jacket patterns. Because I have a limited amount of lace, I think I need to avoid raglan sleeves, which would use too much fabric. I’m going to include some of the raglan sleeve patterns at the end of this post for future reference. I think raglan sleeves are the classic bomber jacket design.

I’ve made plenty of longer jackets so it will be fun to make something that’s shorter than the four Pilvi Coats I’ve made (ponte knit, colorful fabric, big faces fabric, blue version).

Bomber Jackets with Inset Sleeves

Here are a few possibilities, in alphabetical order.

Amelia Bomber Jacket, PDF sewing pattern by Wardrobe by Me, $12, sizes 0-16 (US), 30-36 (European)

This pattern is designed for medium-weight woven fabrics. The PDF is for letter-size and A4 paper. Note: no copy shop version.

Jalie’s Charlie Bomber Jacket, $12.99 (Canadian), paper, $11.99 PDF, $17.98 for paper and PDF, 27 sizes (girls, women, plus sizes)

This pattern is for knits or stretch wovens. I’ve always heard great things about Jalie patterns, which focus on knit fabrics. I have one cardigan pattern by them but I still haven’t made it. I love that their patterns come in so many sizes. My lace isn’t a stretch lace so I can’t use this pattern but I will keep it in mind for a knit fabric bomber jacket.

McCall’s M7637 Misses and Men’s Bomber Jacket, $19.95 paper and PDF (cheaper at Joann’s or when there’s a sale), sizes S-3X

This pattern has collar and pocket variations, plus you can also make a hoodie sweatshirt.

Mimi G Bomber Jacket 8222 – from Simplicity, $12.57, sizes 6-22

Mimi G has lengthened the traditional jacket from high hip to mid-thigh. This pattern is for stretch knits.

Mood Fabrics’ Free Reversible Bomber Jacket

You can get this PDF pattern as a free download when you sign up for Mood’s newsletter. The pattern includes women’s sizes (0-16) and men’s sizes (XXS to 4X).

Bomber Jackets with Raglan Sleeves

BurdaEasy Zip Up Blousons FS/2014

This pattern has three variations (short sleeves and pocket variation) $5,99, sizes 34-44, no seam allowances in this PDF pattern

Burdastyle Plus Size Hooded Jacket B6489, $7.77, paper pattern, sizes 18-32 (US), 44-58 (European)

You can make a jacket or a hoodie with this pattern.

The Midway Bomber Jacket, a PDF pattern by Greenstylecreations, $10, sized XXS-3X

New Look Flight Jacket 6545, $4.29, sizes 6-18

Papercut Patterns Riegel Bomber Jacket, $30 NZD for paper, $20 for PDF, sizes XS-XL

This is a little shorter than the traditional bomber jacket and the neckline is also a little lower. It’s a sexy cropped version.

Style Arc Bobbi Bomber Jacket, $19 AUD, paper; $17 AUD, PDF, sizes 4-30

The description says it has “panelled raglan sleeves.” From the photo, it appears that the sleeves have three panels, instead of being one pattern piece.

Obviously, I found more raglan-sleeve patterns than inset sleeves. I think I need to measure my lace scrap and see exactly how much I have. Maybe I should see if I could squeeze two raglan sleeves on it. What’s your favorite bomber jacket pattern? Which one would you pick?

My denim knit skirt – Alabama Chanin pattern

Earlier this month I thought about making some trouser jeans for a job interview at a tech startup. But I soon realized I didn’t have enough time to make a mockup and then make the jeans without stressing out. So I decided it would be better to make a knit skirt, using the mid-length skirt pattern from Alabama Studio + Design. I’ve made it before and to save time, I’d skip the hand sewing and just sew it on my machine. So I popped over to Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics and found this great heavyweight cotton denim knit fabric (5 percent lycra). Perfect to make a denim knit skirt!

In the above photo (taken after I washed the dried the fabric), it looks black. But in person, it looks like a dark indigo denim. You can buy this heavyweight organic cotton knit fabric in black on Stonemountain’s website. The weight feels great and it’s so soft! It was worth the price of $26.70/yard, the most I’ve ever paid for a knit fabric. All I needed was 1 1/3 yards for my denim knit skirt. The pattern calls for 1 1/4 but I got a little extra in case of shrinkage.

I used the pattern from this Alabama Chanin book, which is now out of print but you can find copies of Alabama Studio Sewing + Design on Amazon. I’ve made the bolero, a tunic, and two other mid-length skirts from this book. You can see the second skirt I hand sewed in my Toaster Sweater 2 post.

I bought the fabric on a Saturday, finished sewing it on Sunday and wore it to my interview on Monday. So that’s why I didn’t have any time to hand sew it. I rarely ever sew fabric that quickly. It usually sits in my stash for a while before I sew it.

If you’re familiar with Alabama Chanin aesthetic, it’s all about organic cotton knit fabric and hand sewing. I’ve hand sewn my other Alabama Chanin outfits but for this one, I just used a zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine. 😉

I cut size XL but because there wasn’t a lot of stretch on this denim knit fabric, I decided to increase the seam allowance to 5/8 to give my self enough ease. Then I quickly basted the skirt to check fit and took the waist in about an inch. I usually have to grade up in the hips so this wasn’t a surprise. Then I removed the basting from the side seams and zig-zagged the two front pieces together and then the two back pieces. Now I was ready for the elastic.

This skirt pattern uses foldover elastic at the waist but with this heavyweight knit fabric, I didn’t think that would be strong enough. So I looked for something similar but wider and a little more substantial. I found this soft elastic that was 1 3/8 inches wide (~3.5 cm) and wouldn’t add too much bulk. It wouldn’t fold as easily as foldover elastic but it was pliable enough to do the job.

It was a little tricky to sew it to the waist. I had to rip out my first stitches because I decided to use double-sided fusible at the waist to hold the elastic in place before sewing it. The idea was to avoid pinning the elastic. I used a wide zig-zag stitch and then tried on the skirt. If you’ve worked with knit fabric before, you can probably guess what happened. The waist was too wide and stood out from my waist. I realized I needed to slightly stretch the elastic as I sewed it – similar to sewing neck binding on the t-shirt.

So I ripped out my stitches – luckily, very easy to do because of the wide zig zag – and then used a small zig zag to sew the elastic to the wrong side, stretching it slightly as I sewed it. Then I folded it over to the right side and sewed a wide zig zag in the middle.

Here’s the wrong side of the front. You can sort of see the small zig-zag stitches just above the wide zig zag.

And here’s the right side of the front waist. This fit well.

And here’s the finished denim knit skirt, which I wore to the Bay Area Sewists meetup at Britex Fabrics last weekend with my Pilvi Coat (ponte knit) and my Toaster Sweater 2 (black French terry). It’s my all-knit ensemble! I took the photos with my iPhone and the lighting wasn’t the best because I’m standing in the shade. You can’t really see that the skirt is a dark denim, not black. In this photo the skirt blends in with the Toaster Sweater.

I used a photo timer app (gives you a countdown and lets you pick how many photos to take and how much time between each shot) and attached my phone to a tripod using the Promaster Mobile Phone Tripod Mount (affiliate link). I got mine at Adolph Gasser Photography, an independent store in San Francisco, which sadly closed last year. The tripod mount expands from 2 inches (~5 cm) to a maximum of 3.75 inches (9.5 cm). It fits my iPhone 6 and it’s battery case.

Here are a few more views of this A-line denim knit skirt. This fabric has a lot of body and not much drape so it stands out at the bottom. You can really see the silhouette of this skirt in this photo.

I got my hair cut two weeks ago – lopped off a couple of inches. It had been covering my neck before I got it cut.

Here’s a back view. It was a warm day so I didn’t wear a hat – plus new hair! It’s so nice to have my hair off my neck!

Here the denim knit skirt looks a little more like denim rather than black.

I didn’t get the job but I have a skirt I love. I know I’ll wear it all the time.

Toaster Sweater 2 – big print ponte fabric

Hi, I had big leftover scraps of this large-print ponte fabric after I made my fourth Pilvi Coat earlier this year. So I thought, why not make another Toaster Sweater 2 but make it tunic-length? You can get the pattern on the Sew House Seven website. I had also made this pattern in French terry and jersey knit – making size XL, shortening the sleeves 8 inches to make them to 3/4 length. Each of those versions has a hem that hits at the high hip.

I used the same patterns pieces as my first version with the shortened sleeves and added 5 inches of length to the front and back.

This pattern has side vents with mitered corners. You can see the vent next to my hand in this photo. I added length below the area where the vent starts.

Here’s my earlier version of the pattern made at the pattern’s length. You can see the vent in this photo.

This fabric, which I got at Britex Fabrics‘ moving sale last fall, was easy to work with. I love the print. It looks different on each side of the garment.

One sleeve of this Toaster Sweater 2 has more of the navy blue print on it…

… and the other has more white on it.

You can really see the print here.

Here’s a closer look at the back…

… and the front.

The pattern calls for finishing the hems by cover stitching or using a twin needle. I hand sewed the hems because I didn’t want any seam lines. I did the same thing for my Pilvi Coat in this fabric.

Here’s a look at my hand stitching from the inside. I switched thread colors according to the color on the right side.

Here’s the right side of the front bottom hem.

I also didn’t finish my raw edges because folding it over would have made the hem a little thick and create a line like it did in the sleeve hem of my Pilvi Coat. See that faint line just above the sleeve hem? I ended up unpicking the sleeve hem on this Pilvi after this photo was taken and then hand stitching it again.

Here’s a look at one of the mitered corners of my third Toaster Sweater 2.

Ponte knit fabric doesn’t ravel so it’s fine to leave the edges raw.

And here’s one last photo of the front of this Toaster Sweater 2.

I really like this version of the Toaster Sweater. It’s a bit too warm to wear in Berkeley right now but I’m sure it will get a lot of wear when the weather starts to cool. I could also wear it on a cool summer day in San Francisco. Summers are not very warm in San Francisco because the fog rolls in and keeps the temperature several degrees cooler than other parts of the Bay Area.

Have you made anything with a big print? What did you make?

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