Lightning McStitch

When will the new patterns arrive?
I need some more to survive.
A proper mens shirt!

I have a few tutorials for some of the older patterns and always happy to help, if I can.

Some of the photos are pretty cheesy, as is the text and I appear to have had a thing for coloured font…

You absolutely can Florence!

May I suggest hand basting so things don’t slip around whilst sewing.

What are you sewing… for Christmas?

I have decided to sew a garment for each family member. We have cut way back on purchases this year and upped our donation to our state children’s hospital but the ‘under-the-tree’ is looking a bit bare.

Sooo… Japanese lawn shirt for Jed- vintage Butterick pattern as it is quite full, for his belly (I…[Read more]

That does seem a little odd to me.

I’ve checked, and the source file is spot on. I’ve just looked at it in our design software, and the box is set to be exactly 1 inch by 1 inch. And I printed the same page you have, and mine measures exactly to spec. I’m not sure why you’re having the issue you are seeing. It could be due to the printer and/or…[Read more]

Oh, good question @lightningmcstitch! I’ve sewn the size 10 myself, so I know the collar fits correctly. When I say pin on the seamline I mean don’t pin at the edges but pin where you’ll be sewing. You’ve already staystitched the neckline, so that’s a good guide. I hope that helps! We’ve got lots of photos on the sew-along, so maybe that is a good…[Read more]

Can you tell me what size you’re making? It’s late here, but I can double-check it in the morning. In the meantime, make sure you’re pinning on the seamline and not on the cut line. The smaller sizes will require more clipping than the larger sizes, but if you need to clip don’t hold back. Some fabrics require more clipping than others. I hope that helps!

This definitely sounds like a job for a professional, Erin! I wouldn’t know where to begin, but any sewing machine repair place can probably help. Good luck!

Hi Erin,

It looks like your photos were too big up load, but if the pockets are showing below the hem the best thing to do it probably to make them shorter. It must be because of the knit! I hope that helps.

I’m glad you found one! At this point we don’t have plans to release more men’s patterns, but if the existing patterns sell well I’ll be happy to entertain any suggestions. We need to be able to justify the cost and time to develop a pattern, and men’s/boy’s patterns just don’t sell very well. We do them occasionally anyway, but I think men’s…[Read more]

I would love to write that book and hope to have the chance someday! A Building Block Dress book for women would be amazing, I think.

@liesl I never would have thought of that, Liesl! Thanks so much for explaining, I’ll be trying the next size up soon!

I do write occasional tutorials or blog posts showing how I altered one of our patterns for myself. Here is one:

liesl + co. bistro dress shift, sleeveless

Many of the techniques from the Building Block Dress book would be useful for altering women’s patterns as well. The book might help you to…[Read more]

Hi Jes,

I know what you’re saying! All sizes need support. You have the opposite problem that we have at our house, but ironically the fix is similar. On pages 12-13 of the book there is a section on lengthening and shortening a pattern. Where I usually need to lengthen a smaller size, you’ll be shortening a larger size. Also, on pages 9-11 there…[Read more]

Hey there! Yes, I can see that the sleeves have drag lines that are coming more from the shoulder than the top of the sleeve. This is probably partly a function of the kimono sleeve, which doesn’t really allow for a true sleeve cap. Based on the photos, I’m thinking you might need a larger size because you have a wider shoulder. As a result, right…[Read more]

Apologies for the silence! I’m back from multiple trips (finally) and recovering from a cold, so I’ve been absent more than usual.

Anyway, excellent question! It’s been so long since we released this pattern, I haven’t given it much thought in a while. But I just went back and glanced at the pieces. We released them as full pattern pieces because…[Read more]

Hi there! From the pattern envelope:

Sweatpants: Light- to medium-weight knit fabrics like jersey, cotton fleece, and French terry.

I’ve never seen a French terry without stretch, but maybe it exists? Yes, the pattern is designed for knits with some stretch. It doesn’t need a ton of stretch, but they might be quite slim without it.

I hope…[Read more]

I didn’t really intend the pattern with long sleeves, but I suppose there’s no reason you couldn’t adopt the armholes and sleeves from the Metro Tee if you were so inclined…

Great tip, @mima!