Lightning McStitch

Hmmm, I just made this pattern yesterday so it’s fresh in my mind…
The placket is the very last thing you do, so I can see two ways you could line it without changing the order of steps.
One would be to effectively underline each front and back panel and have the lining enclosed in the hem. ie treat the lining and main fabric as one when it…[Read more]

It would be an interesting exercise to see if the Bento sleeves don’t fit right on there… But then I don’t have the pattern to hand. Yet. 🙂

I’ve certainly seen people make this coat in cotton laminates. They will be water repellent but have more drape than a home Dec weight outdoor furnishing fabric. However, I think the pattern lends itself quite well to a fabric that has minimal drape. It will be quite boxy but that can be fine, just be aware that it may be a beast to sew – setting…[Read more]

Sorry for the late reply @erechler Erin. Yes, sometimes you will flip a pattern piece in order to have it on the fold. What matters is that all the pattern pieces have their top and bottom ends facing the same way as each other. That way you won’t have upside down print on one or other parts of a pattern.
Cutting layouts are great but feel free…[Read more]

@madelouisville hi Lyndsey, the top corner of the button placket template should line up with the top corner of the finished button placket and then the buttonholes marked from there.
From memory the template doesn’t really have a bottom, it just continues… So long as the lowest buttonhole is well and truly on your placket then you’re right. If…[Read more]

Oh why is this fabric so blue?
I was sure I bought some other hue

I was just thinking of this thread recently. Thanks for refreshing it.
I hope you’ll say hello when you’re in Melbourne, Nicole. If the planets align I might just find myself with time to browse a fabric shop 😉
For three days now I haven’t worked on anything. May and June was like a manic sewing bender at my place. Finally I’ve packed everything…[Read more]

That’s such a wholesale change, I’d probably come at it the other way. Start with a raglan sleeve block pattern, such as the Field Trip tee, then use Building Block Dress Book techniques to create the changes (lengthening, A-line etc) that you want.

Grrr can’t do small images from my phone. Image is uploaded to Flickr. Here’s the link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/79480359@N03/33955580763/in/dateposted-public/

No, no, don’t force! 🙂
The pocket piece will extend beyond the opening of the pocket to “fill in” the area of the skirt in the top corner.
I’ve attached a photo of my pattern tracing pieces (from the shorts, but it will be the same).
In the image the pocket piece is on the bottom, then the pocket bag, then the shorts/skirt front on top. Hopefully…[Read more]

Sounds like a problem with the differential feed. Or maybe the feed dogs aren’t moving at all?…
Somewhere you’ll have a differential feed dial that alters the travel of the fabric. Have you fiddled with that?
If rethread get and fiddling with the feed doesn’t work then I’d call in help.
Good luck

There’s a large Playdate paper pattern on U.S. eBay
http://m.ebay.com.au/itm/Playdate-Dress-Pattern-By-Oliver-S-Sizes-4-5-6-7-8-oliverands-/122484716130?hash=item1c84a87262%3Ag%3AgB0AAOSwTM5Y5oLi&_trkparms=pageci%253Adc1de982-3792-11e7-ad72-74dbd18018b7%257Cparentrq%253A0005229c15c0aa1301f12c3efffd95bb%257Ciid%253A1
Good luck

Are you on the Facebook group? I just saw that someone was planning to sell their patterns. Try there, or if you don’t do FB then I can prompt the seller to look here.
What country are you in? I know a few websites that have older paper stock….

Once the facing is attached to the lining then that whole piece is the lining going forward.
It’s ages since I made it, but there’s no tricks, it will make sense once you’re doing it.

If you’re planning to use it for labels then you could look at Etsy stores who will print onto cotton twill tape. Then you could have your own custom labels.
I find eBay, Etsy and Amazon to all be good online sources for notions like this.
Sewing shops will often stock it but may not bother putting it in their online catalogue, so you never know…[Read more]

Louise I’d be very surprised if you needed to. Assuming your upper body (bust, shoulders) fit in a size then the garment is so drapey and loose you probably wouldn’t need any more down below.
One other way you could add some extra swinging width would be to cut the centre back a little in from the fold and make the pleat deeper. The stitched,…[Read more]

Here’s a picture showing how I might try a few little flat pattern changes to deal with that fabric “puddling” above the bust point.
Edit: image too big. Maybe this link will work… https://www.instagram.com/p/_58g8LHsSu/

Here’s a picture showing how I might try a few little flat pattern changes to deal with that fabric “puddling” above the bust point.

Try this. Pinch out about a 1cm vertical dart in the middle of the shoulder and see if that gets rid of the drag lines.
I often do this to flat patterns before cutting. I tend to leave the back shoulder the same and just ease the slightly maladjusted lengths together. For the nape of neck bunching you would do a horizontal pinch, almost like a…[Read more]

Are you meaning the crotch seam? I really like to do pyjamas with a flat felled crotch seam. It’s neat and strong (for some reason my kids always turn into karate fighters or pro wrestlers at bedtime).
If you’ve already seen the seam, then be sure to double stitch it between the notches for extra strength. Clip as needed and press to one side then…[Read more]