Patterns

by

How to cut a sewing pattern

So you finally bought your first sewing pattern. But not you’re sitting with the next question. How to cut your sewing pattern. There are so many confusing lines and things. What if you cut the wrong part of the pattern and mess up the pattern? After all, the sewing pattern cost a lot of money and now you have to go cut it!

The first thing you need to know before you even consider how to cut a sewing pattern is NOT TO USE THE SHEARS YOU BOUGHT TO CUT FABRIC. You need a completely different set of sewing shears to cut a sewing pattern. The reason is that the sewing pattern is made of paper, however thin that may be, and the fabric scissors cannot cut paper. If they do, the fabric scissors may go blunt, or most certainly will go blunt over time. This means you won’t be able to cut the fabric anymore.

Alright! Get on with it! I came here to learn how to cut a sewing pattern! Not to read about sewing shears! Well it’s fairly easy. The sewing pattern is made to cut along the size that you need. I will assume that by the time you are reading this page, you have already found out how to measure yourself or the person you are going to be sewing for. The measurements you took, along with the measurements on the back of the sewing pattern’s envelope should give you an indication of which pattern size to cut. So to go ahead, you can cut along the size line of the size of the sewing pattern that you want to cut.

But STOP! Do you want to use this sewing pattern again for something else? Do you want to use the other sizes too? Because if you do, I wouldn’t just go ahead and cut the sewing pattern. I would firstly cut the biggest size, the outer layer of the sewing pattern. That way, you have the other sizes too. You correct the size issue when you cut the sewing pattern on the fabric by making folds in the pattern that you have just cut. I can show you how to make the folds in the pattern if you click on the highlighted link.

Many people will tell you that you do not cut a sewing pattern using only the outside line (biggest size). They have their methods. That’s all good and fine. They can have their methods for cutting a sewing pattern. I have my own methods that have worked for me over twenty years.

The sewing pattern has now been cut to the biggest size. The next trick is to put it down on fabric and cut the correct size of the sewing pattern for the garment you need to make. To find out more about how to cut the sewing pattern out on the fabric you want to use, click here to find out how to lay out a sewing pattern on fabric.


by

Which sewing pattern size?

How do I know which sewing pattern size to use when I get a pattern for sewing? I mean, it’s confusing. Do I just pick my size from the local clothing store and cut out that size on the fabric? What if I need to convert it to another measurement or worse, the size I cut out of the pattern does not fit!

Patterns do not work that way. They are fully adjustable. That means you can cut the pattern to fit your body. You don’t need a specific size all the way around the pattern. Your sewing pattern size will be the one that fits your body. Let me explain how that works.

Firstly, on the front of the sewing pattern is a size that the particular pattern is sold for. For example 6-10. If you need a different size, you need to ask for one, say 12-18. See the image below. In this image the size of the pattern is in the top left corner under the pattern number.

Now, when you flip the pattern over and look at the back, you will see a size chart. The sewing pattern size chart starts with what you need to measure in order too know what size to make. Bust, waist, hips and neck to waist at the back. I will explain these below.

The bust measurement is the measurement either in centimetres or inches that it takes the measuring tape to get around your bust (chest). Start by 0 and finish off by where the measuring tape meets the start of the tape. That is your bust measurement.

The next is your waist measurement. Your waist is where an elastic would sit on your middle basically. Hips is about four fingers down from your waist at the widest section of your middle. The back of the neck to waist is from the knob in your neck at the back down to your midde. If you are short and stockey like me, you may want to also look at measuring the cecumference of your legs below your hips.

Now that you have those measurements you can work out the sice of pattern you will need. You just follow the line down to the size for your measurements.

What if your pattern size measurements stretch across two or three sizes, you can then adjust your pattern and cut for example the shoulder part a size twelve and the Middle part a size 14. I don’t recommend this for people who are just starting out with learning how to sew and choose pattern sizes.

For a more in depth explanation on sewing measurements click this line.