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Opening and unfolding your new sewing pattern is a very exciting feeling. However, that can all dissipate the minute you look at your pattern and discover you have no idea what any of it means! I’m going to level with you here… It can be super overwhelming. And you will likely feel like you’ve made the wrong decision. Don’t panic though! The more beginner friendly a sewing pattern you choose the more comprehensive the instructions are likely to be. And I assure you, when you break it down and take it one step at a time - it is not nearly as complicated or difficult as you thought. The Basic Steps To Using A Sewing Pattern Are: Step 1: Read your sewing pattern package extensively. There is a ton of information on the pattern envelope itself. Read the instructions inside. Step 2: Then very gently and carefully you can open and unfold your sewing pattern. This tissue paper is very thin and can tear easily if handled heavily. Step 3: Iron your sewing pattern. This makes reading it so much easier as there are no creases to be confused for lines. Place a piece of thin cotton fabric on top of the sewing pattern and lightly iron the folds out. Step 4: Identify your size and pattern pieces you’ll need. This is usually quite clearly marked on the envelope and in the instruction sheet. Step 5: Trace your sewing pattern. I elaborate on how to do this a bit more further on. You can, of course, cut directly from your sewing pattern original. However, you will not be taking full advantage of what the pattern has to offer. Step 6: Cut out your traced pieces and make sure they are labeled correctly. What Next? The next steps are really for when you are done using the original pattern and are ready to move on. Step 7: Store away the original pattern. This will give you some great tips on storing your patterns. Step 8: Prepare your fabric for the pattern pieces and cutting. This will walk you through exactly how to do that. Step 9: Prepare your sewing machine and work space. Start sewing. Step 10: Show off your exceptional handy work with pride. Start thinking about what is next 🙂 How To Read A Sewing Pattern Correctly Understanding the terminology, phrases, numbers and symbols is the first step to reading a pattern correctly. You kinda need to know what you are reading to be able to implement the steps. Sewing patterns are made up of lines, symbols, numbers and letters which all overlap and have a tendency of making deciphering sense something of a challenge to newbies. While I will touch on them here, in this post I really break down and explain what each symbol, shape and line on a pattern means. Where Do I Start? The pattern envelope will tell you just about everything you need to know about how and what you want to make. From sizing right down to remembering that you need to add buttons as an example. When you have your sewing pattern in hand and you are ready to make the purchases required to complete your project, take note of what information you have available on the envelope. It will give you a guide on what fabric to use. There will be a list of what notions you should have with you. As well as telling you how much fabric you need for a certain size garment or project. The pattern will also have various styles for the garments which the envelope will display. What Is Inside The Pattern Envelope? When you open your pattern envelope you will likely find two items inside. One being the pattern itself, the other being the instruction sheet or guide sheet. You will find an illustration of the various pattern pieces. This is particularly helpful if there is more than one style or item that you can make with the pattern. Knowing which pieces you’re looking for will make it alot easier to find them. General instructions are available in the guide sheet to make the sewing process simpler and less stressful for you. The fabric layout plan is also available in the guide sheet. The fabric layout is there to help you know how to lay your pattern pieces onto the fabric correctly so that you will fit all the pieces on to the fabric. Important! One important element you will find in your instruction sheet is the pattern symbol key. This gives you a brief description of what each symbol means. Another important element of the guide sheet is that it has the technical illustrations for the garment you are making. This means it can show you elements of your item that you would not otherwise see. This is really helpful in understanding how the garment goes together and what it should look like once it is complete. Sewing patterns come in a range of different sizes. These various sizes are usually differentiated by different line styles. Lines: What Do Lines On A Sewing Pattern Mean? There are various reasons for the lines on a sewing pattern. Most are pretty self explanatory. First up is your cutting line. Your cut line is exactly as the name suggests: the line on which you must cut. Traditional patterns will have these cut lines layering over one another. That is why and how you get a variation of the styles in a single pattern envelope. What this does mean is, unfortunately, it is easy to get confused and overwhelmed. However, if you are deliberate in being patient and taking your time to familiarize yourself with the lines, you will find it less stressful. The cutlines are the outermost lines on the pattern, unless your pattern calls for a hole or slit to be made within the border of the pattern. Highlighting the various cutlines will help you in identifying the correct one when you are ready to trace your pattern pieces. Downloadable patterns generally give you the option to select the specific size you want before downloading and printing. This means that you will have fewer cutline variables on your pattern. And fewer variations. The fold line directs you to where you need to fold and cut your piece. The grainline is placed in the center of the pattern and is rather important. This is the line that tells you which way to lay the piece on the fabric. How Do I Know Which Line To Follow And Cut? You may be wondering, amongst all this preparation to sew, how do you cut ONLY your required size on the pattern? Bear in mind, you’ll probably want to save the pattern for future use on a different size or a variation included in the pattern. The only way you can do this without damaging the original pattern is to trace your pattern onto another sheet. The most commonly used are poly trace paper or lightweight flipchart paper. Regular art store tracing paper works well too. You can also use baking paper, however I find that is more suitable for small size projects. Once you have followed the steps to establishing your particular measurements, you will find it written on the pattern. This will be written along the pattern lines which is how you will determine whether or not you’re on the right line. Tracing Your Sewing Pattern. In order to successfully trace your pattern you need to make sure that your chosen paper is well transparent. Make sure you are in a well lit environment and have a large enough surface to work on. If you do not have a dedicated sewing space, a dining room table or the floor works well. Please note that working on a soft surface (carpet, etc) is not a good idea. Your risk of tearing the pattern and trace paper is high! Be sure there is nothing on the surface that can affect the tracing, i.e: lines from tiles etc. Get It Right. By ensuring that your tissue paper pattern is smoothed out (this can be done by ironing the pieces flat by placing a cotton cloth over the pattern) you should not encounter any lumps and bumps when tracing. Lay your pattern flat. Smooth it out again and lay the tracing paper on top of it. Now you will need to secure it down so that it does not move during the tracing process. You can use random objects which you can place strategically on your pattern so as to not obstruct where you need to draw, or you can tape the trace paper to the pattern. Be sure not to remove the tape too enthusiastically as the tissue paper may tear. What Tools Can I Use? Now, for the tracing part you will need a pencil, a highlighter, a ruler and patience. There are some specialised tools available which can make this process quite simple. While there is no absolute have-to-use-this-tool rule, these will help and make your life a bit easier. I did a more in depth post on the various tools and their purposes here. The tracing wheel is designed for this very purpose. When you are using the tracing wheel you will place the original pattern on top of your trace paper. Following the lines you have highlighted, you will create a duplicate pattern on the trace paper underneath. This means that all you then need to do is basically follow the dotted line to create your pattern piece. Other Options Available You can also use a tailor's awl. This is useful for marking out corners, points and other straight line marks on the pattern. You will then use your ruler to connect these. If you do not have an awl, a pin will work just as well. French curves can help when you need to connect curved lines and have not used a tracing wheel or do not have a steady hand. A cutting board will go a long way to making this all a lot easier. You won't have to worry about damaging any surface such as your dining table, etc. Another way of tracing your pattern with nothing but a highlighter, marker or pencil and a ruler is to (first of all) highlight the pattern piece you want to trace, lay your trace paper over it and weigh it down. Some patterns include the seam allowance, some don’t. Take this into account when tracing your pattern too. You may need to add an extra 2cm for seam allowance, for example. Now you can simply trace the pattern directly onto the trace paper. I’d recommend using a pencil, it’s a lot easier to make corrections that way. Do Not Neglect These: It is essential to remember to add ALL the information on the pattern piece as well when you are tracing it. This includes: -the name of the item (e.g ‘shirtdress’) -the size of the garment (e.g ‘size 10’) -all the markings and their label (notches, grainlines, cutlines, buttonholes, fold lines, etc) -the pattern piece number (eg. ‘#5”) It is crucial to do this on all the pieces that you trace and cut. Failing which will result in mass confusion. And we don’t want that. When you are ready to store it away, be sure to label the packaging in which you store it to match the pattern name. How Do You Lay A Pattern On Fabric? A fabric lay plan is there to give you the best, most economical options to cutting your fabric. The purpose of the lay plan is to illustrate how the pieces should fit on the fabric with minimal wastage. There is usually more than one lay plan option for you to choose from . Follow the grain line indicated on the pattern. The grain line is usually in line with the selvage edge. The self finished edge. It may be the piece of fabric that is frayed or the piece that looks like they ran out in printing ink. You will find the grain line runs in the same direction. There may be more than one grain line when you first look at it, that is why we use the selvage as the guide. It is incredibly important to have all the pattern pieces with their grainline marker showing the same direction - particularly if you are using a fabric with a pattern on. Doing this will ensure that the pattern is all in the same direction. Lay your pattern pieces on the wrong side of the fabric. What does this mean? Basically it means ‘turn the fabric inside out’. You should also always wash and iron your fabric before you start cutting. This should eliminate unwanted and unexpected shrinkage of the finished item. Time To Cut. When you have chosen and figured out your lay plan, you will pin each pattern piece onto the fabric. The next step is the cutting. A few things to consider when cutting your fabric are: Make sure your tools are sharp and clean! Whether you are using a pair of fabric scissors or a rotary cutter, they need to be sharp and clean. Make sure you have pinned all the pattern pieces through all the layers of fabric. In some cases you need to cut a fold, which means you will have double fabric layers. Be sure to pin through all the layers. Measure twice - cut once. It’s pretty self explanatory. Fabric, patterns and tracing paper can be expensive. Be sensible and make sure you have all the correct pieces and measurements. PATIENCE - Do not be in a rush when you cut. This will lead to mistakes and you will only end up having to redo it all and will have wasted time you were trying to save. Take your time, be relaxed and calm. Enjoy the process. Once you have successfully cut all the pieces, you will be ready to start assembling the item in preparation for sewing. The instruction guide in your sewing pattern will help you put the puzzle pieces together. Next step: sewing a complete garment or item.

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