For the Oleander Dress free sewing pattern, try a versatile crepe for a garden reception or up the elegance in a gorgeous jacquard!
Every so often, fashion offers up a piece that doesn't just clothe but captivates as well. Certain pieces capture the imagination more than others with their
The Todea Dress free sewing pattern can be made with a variety of fabrics to suit your style. Try a silk charmeuse to hop on the lingerie-inspired trend, or opt for a bamboo jersey for chic comfort!
Adorably oversized, this new free jumpsuit sewing pattern can easily bring you from spring to summer to fall!
Now that it's getting colder, why not go bolder with a Mood Exclusive print and a brand new Mood sewing pattern? The Annie Jacket brings some of those subtle
4.5 wale JUMBO corduroy 100% cotton in Olive 43. Corduroy is a popular hardwearing and versatile dressmaking fabric, with ribbed piles know as wales running the length of the fabric. It is popular for a huge variety of projects, especially for winter items such as dresses, skirts, trousers jackets etc., This corduroy as been washed which gives it a slightly softer feel and large wales which makes it very popular for fashion jackets, skirts etc.,
Modern & Mindful Quilting Taking time to enjoy the process of quilting. Combine slow stitching, different techniques and modern designs to make quilts and accessories that can be used in everyday life. If you love
Who doesn't love wide-leg printed pants? I know I do! Check out Mood's newest pattern, the Liv Pants. Add these to your transitional wardrobe with a bright
Learn how to successfully fit an armhole by using a muslin. Adjust the bust, back, and shoulder—and your armhole almost takes care of itself.
Here are 4 easy methods for making your own sewing patterns - along with 3 things you need to consider first!
A DIY blog for a happier life. Sewing, DIY decor, real food, and de-stressing.
The Idra Dress free sewing pattern is an adorable take on a non-stop recent trend: the sweatshirt dress. Comfy, cozy, and chic!
Sew your dream bridal, prom or special occasion gown with The Aurora Dress, a free sewing pattern by Mood Fabrics perfect for your big day!
Mood Fabrics offers free sewing patterns for men and women. Begin creating your own stylish clothing, accessories, and home decor.
I've had quite a few emails asking for fitting help so I'm going to delve into some common fitting adjustments here on the blog. If you have a question that isn't covered, throw it into the comments so other people can benefit from the hive mind! It's clearly your lucky day as I turned pictures of me in my bathing suit into drawings for illustrative purposes. This shows my underbust line, high waist line, low waist line, and an entirely accurate belly button. Although I am slimmer towards my underbust, the intended seam line of the pattern (The Zone) falls around the high waist (if it was at the underbust it would become empire line which might indeed be cute but is not how I designed it). Like a lot of people that may or may not have had children, things become 'less streamlined' below my high waist so the seam falling above and the drape of the skirt should skim over that and be more flattering. How do you find your Zone? When drafting for grown-ups, there's no way to make a golden pattern that will fit everyone without adjustments. Not only are people different heights and sizes, but the distribution of their body parts varies wildly. The good news is that the Skater Dress only has one really important horizontal seam- the bodice / skirt seam. I am very short-waisted (that's actual me to the left), but I manipulated the pictures to show different torso builds for a proportional waist and a long waist. This is nothing to do with your overall height, but proportions. Although the busts are identical and the underbust lines even, the high waists and low waists shift incrementally. The standard pattern pieces for the Lady Skater are for the proportional waist in the middle, which means that even I have to make changes to my own pattern to fit me better! If you have experience of making adult clothes for yourself, you probably have a good idea of your body type but if you're new to this a really useful exercise is to do just as I have: take a photo of yourself in your bathing suit or tight fitting clothes and trace around it. Find your underbust, high waist, low waist, and hip lines and look at how they are distributed. If you're still having having trouble conceptionalising, here are some (fast and loose) indications that you might have to tinker with your bodice length: Your overall height. The pattern is graded for a 5'5" woman. If you are shorter than 5'5" or taller than 5'5" you will probably need to utilise the lengthen / shorten line on the bodice. Your torso proportions. Again, this takes some body awareness and experience, but if you are short or long waisted you will need to adjust the bodice piece to remove or add height. Bust size. This is the least important factor of the three but if you are of the small to average bust you might need to shorten your bodice as less of the fabric is being used to go up and over the breasts. Equally, very large busts might need to add length to the front bodice piece / remove length from the back bodice to have an evenly hanging hemline. Bodice length adjustments might be something that you're able to do to the pattern before sewing, but you might find that locating your Zone is only achievable after muslining the bodice. If you've made the bodice and tried it on, is it hitting you at your high (natural) waist? Is it too close to your underbust? Is it clinging or pooling somewhere closer to your low waist because it's too long? Lengthening your bodice This is probably the most straight-forward change to make! All you need to do is split the pattern all the way across the lengthen line, add height with a piece of paper underneath, and smooth your side seams. The grey section is what you've added. Make sure you do the same change to your front and back bodice. Shortening your bodice Split your bodice along the shorten line, pull the bottom section up so that it overlaps with the top section (keeping the fold line aligned), and then smooth out your side seam. The grey section shows the overlap. Make sure you do the same change to your front and back bodice. I'm happy with my front bodice length but my back bodice is hanging lower / I'm having pooling centre back: As per my tutorial instructions, I highly recommend that you muslin the bodice before cutting precious hoarded fabric. When you make the bodice to ascertain if the waistline is hitting 'The Zone', you might notice when turning sideways that the back bodice is hanging lower than the front. Or- you might not notice until your final dress is finished and you want to know how to fix it. Uneven hems can be very common, particularly if you're busty. Now, I did a sway back adjustment to every size of the master pattern to try to counteract this but your own proportions might mean that you need to make further adjustments. Like the lengthen and shorten instructions above, what you need to do is slash your pattern along the lengthen / shorten line but do not cut through your size line on the side seam, only cut very close to it. Swing the lower section upwards so that you are overlapping the upper section at the centre back. This probably won't need to be a huge overlap (3/4" to 1"), and tape in place. The centre edge of the lower section will swing over the vertical fold line. Return this line to vertical and (if required) add the same amount of width that you removed at the centre vertical to the side seam. The sway back adjustment is essentially taking a wedge out of centre back to reduce pooling, nothing else is changing in a major way. Depending on how much you removed, you might need to smooth your bottom seam line so it's convex rather than a harsh angle. If you only found this pooling after your entire dress was complete, try it on inside out and with the help of a friend pull the back bodice / skirt seam up until the hem is even and pin in place. Seam-rip along the centre back (the side seams should be unaffected), remove the excess to the back bodice piece and re-sew. If you find pooling both at the front and the back your bodice is too long. My high bust and waist aren't the same sizes: When you are measuring your high bust and high waist, you might find that your high bust corresponds to a different size than your waist. The above picture shows smoothing the side seam between smaller bust / larger waist and larger bust / smaller waist. When blending sizes, the majority of the extra room happens in the bust where its needed. Depending on your fabric choice and your cup size, you might find that you need more room in the bust only. Using a fabric with less stretch capacity like interlock or jersey without lycra might result in a drag line across the full bust. Fixing this is almost the same as blending a larger bust to smaller waist except you're doing it to the front bodice only. Adding extra width to the armhole and upper bodice means that you'll have to also add the same amount to the front sleeve so it fits. If the front bodice side seam becomes slightly longer than the back bodice side seam, ease the extra length into the top half of the seam where the bust is. **EDITED TO ADD ANOTHER ONE BASED ON COMMENTS** Shortening the shoulder height / Upper bust height: If you find that after making a bodice muslin that there is pooling above your bust towards the sleeve hole, or that the sleeve cap is sitting funky off your shoulder cap, you might need to shorten your shoulder height or shoulder width. With your bodice muslin on inside out, pinch the shoulder seam to bring it up and pin out the excess. On your paper pattern, match the amount you pinned out to the corresponding smaller size (for example, if you pinned 1/4" below the shoulder seam you would go down one size to both the front and back bodices, 1/2" goes down two sizes, etc). Use that armscye / sleeve hole but when you get to the side seam increase the width to your original size. In the picture above (as per Lyn's adjustments in the comments!), I'm showing how to use the upper bust and shoulder of a size 3 with the width of the size 6 in the lower bodice. Use the sleeve of the smaller size but add the extra width at the front and back corners to reflect the size of your lower bodice. I hope all of this helps! If you have a question about fitting that I haven't covered, chuck it in the comments. Pin It Tweet
I'm sharing everything you need to know about tailoring your clothes. Check out my simple guide to alterations:
A tutorial to master the French method of applying bias binding to any curved opening on a woven garment
Melange Knit Fabric - now available at the UK's lowest price! A medium-weight melange knit fabric which stretches greater in one direction. This soft and stretchy fabric would be ideal for all sorts of dressmaking projects including cardigans, dresses, skirts and more! Available in 14 colours. The Ivory variant of this fabric does not have a noticeable melange effect, however, it features the same stretch and texture as all other variants. Composition: 95% Polyester 5% Elastane Weight: 200gsm Width: 59 inches (150cm) Stretch: 4 way stretch (greater stretch across the width) This fabric has a minimum order quantity of 2 metres UK’S BEST PRICE GUARANTEE!
This free batwing top pattern is easy to sew and looks great on all body types! No set in sleeves and folded hem band make it super easy!
These steamy movies on Prime Video are as hot as they come, and they're all free if you have a Prime account. Stream them as soon as tonight, here.
Find online sewing businesses based in the UK, plus hundreds of free sewing projects, technique guides and features on the Sewing Directory. The site for people who love to sew.
Discover the joy of easy lounging and simple sewing with The Marisol Jumper Free Sewing Pattern! This one-piece jumper is a light-weight sensation that
Mood Fabrics offers free sewing patterns for men and women. Begin creating your own stylish clothing, accessories, and home decor.
Our 4.5 Wale corduroy refers to the pile, this fabric has a chunky distinctive pile often referred to as the nap. This corduroy is a non stretch, velvet soft feel woven cotton fabric, suitable for lots of dressmaking garments, like trousers, jumpsuits, jackets and shirts. This fabric is also great for upholstery projects, very durable for decorative cushions and furniture covering! The 'Wale' of the corduroy refers to the column of loops that run lengthwise and corresponds to the warp of the fabric. 4.5 Wale Corduroy - Navy Composition: 100% Cotton Width: 142cm/ 56'' Weight: 280gsm Drape: Structured Project: Worker Trousers, Harlene Dungarees, The grove homeware patterns
How to preserve a pattern and cut out your size rather than cutting the paper.
Use your own clothes to make more clothes!
No matter how well designed a pattern may be, it cannot fit each individual perfectly. Each human body has its own quirks, and each person has different fitting needs. You may find that you need to enlarge a pattern beyond the sizes available on the sheet, or you might need to shrink it. Perhaps you
The Ultimate Clothing Style Guide. Learn about the words, descriptions and ideas about fashion and how to describe the clothing items you need.
It’s 2022 and we are slipping into something jaw-dropping, especially since Valentine's Day is around the corner! Check out Mood's newest pattern: the Coral
No need to fear sewing with lightweight, sheer fabrics when you learn these techniques for creating beautiful seams and hems.
I am 5'2" necessitating LOTS of hemming and shortening of pants, skirts, and dresses. I just can't find anything the right length. If you've ever priced the cost of professional seamstresses (and add in the time it takes to get your clothing back), it costs a fortune to have everything you buy hemmed. I learned years ago how to hem pants and skirts, but jeans always gave me grief. A couple of years ago my older sister showed me a pair of her jeans that she had hemmed professionally, and it was easy to see how it was done. The difference is that jeans typically have a worn edge. The hem is decorative, so cutting that edge off to shorten them takes away part of the character you're paying for. So I developed a tutorial for hemming jeans the way professional would. Hope you find this helpful! What you'll need: sewing machine dark thread to match the jeans iron straight pins measuring tape scissors The Process: You'll need to measure the desired length of the jeans. The easiest way I've found to do this is to have the person stand on a chair and scoot back so the heel of their shoes is even with the edge of the chair. It might be helpful to note that you definitely need to have them wear the shoes they'd typically wear with the jeans. I prefer to hem the jeans to the ground. So, using a safety pin or water-soluble marking pen, mark the desired length (in my case, where the shoe ends and the chair begins). Next, measure the amount you'll need to shorten them from the edge of the current hem to the mark you've made. In the jeans in this tutorial, they needed to be shortened 2 1/2 inches. Lay the jeans flat on a hard surface, and measure up the desired length (2 1/2 inches here) from the stitching on the current hem. Since the current hem will remain in place, that half inch or so will also remain. So, if you measure from the edge of your jeans, they'll still be a half an inch too long after hemming. Make sense? Now place a straight pin to mark. Next you'll fold the edge of your jeans up into a cuff matching the current stitching to just above the pin like this. Pin in place. To check your accuracy, divide your total amount needed to shorten (2 1/2 inches for me) by 2 (equalling 1 1/4 inches in my case). Measure from the fold to just under the current stitching making sure this amount is half of the amount you need to take it in. Next, keeping this length consistent, pin all the way around the cuff. Measure as you go to make sure you're still consistent. Repeat these steps on the second leg. When both legs are securely pinned, move the pants to your sewing machine. Carefully stitch in the ditch just along the fold of the current hem. Make sure to get as close to this fold as possible being careful not to sew on top of it or across the current stitching. Stitch all the way around backstitching where you stop and start. Repeat this step for the other leg. Remove your jeans from the machine, and turn the cuff up to the inside of the leg like this. With a steaming hot iron, press this new seam from the inside all the way around each leg. Now turn the pants inside-out revealing the new cuff on the inside of the leg. Using super sharp scissors, cut the cuff about a quarter inch from your stitching. Turn the jeans right-side-out, and iron again if necessary to reveal your finished hem. Easy, and your seam is almost invisible! As always, please feel free to comment with questions, and I'll do my best to answer.
Sew these vintage sewing patterns and recreate 100 years of fashion. Remember fashion history with these real vintage sewing patterns!
Are your jeans just a little snug in the waist? Learn the easiest way to Let Out the Waistband on Jeans. You don't need a lot of sewing experience to do this.
Our Maple Culottes free sewing pattern is made here with a super wool suiting, however, these can definitely be made out of a variety of fabrics. Try a silk charmeuse for evening wear paired with a long blazer or 4 ply crepe paired with a lacy top for fancier occasions such as weddings instead of a skirt. The possibilities are so very endless.
Today I'll be showing you my favourite neckline finish for knit fabrics. It's my personal method for sewing knit neckline bindings, and I prefer it to the standard method!
