Todd Gibson

Hi Brenda, It’s difficult to give advice without being able to see the skirt on you, but one big advantage of this style is that you can adjust the seams, as you mentioned. If you feel that you need more or less room in a certain area, simply move your pins to “let in” or “let out”. Once you’ve gotten a fit you like, those changes can be…[Read more]

I think your best bet would to do a mock layout with the pattern pieces since I’m sure they would use less fabric when combined than with three separate fabrics.

Great! I hope you share it when you’re done!

Hi Annie. I think I would probably put in the seam for the best fit, and then end up with a slit opening instead of a keyhole. . But you could try doing the adjustment without a center back seam, and then take out the excess at the neckline with darts.

Hi Bonnie (@bonlou)
This is not really the place to ask as it’s not a pattern from this company.
A quick internet search for your pattern came up with a YouTube video tutorial. I suggest you try that.

Sorry about that–the waist is the narrowest part. It gets wider for the hips…

I can’t see the centre back fold marking on your lining piece, so it’s hard to see if that’s been cut too short.
But…. Main point is that raw edges don’t line up, stitching lines do. So, with a half inch seam allowance, those pattern pieces should actually overlap by 1″.
Try that and see how they fit.

Hi Anne, do you have notches or pattern markings present but not lining up?
If the markings are all present then you might have the wrong size, or an error somewhere.
If there’s no markings to line up then I’m guessing you’re trying to attach the facing upside down.

Check your pattern pieces, then check you’ve transferred all the markings…[Read more]

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My reply disappeared…

In that case use the button markings and edge of buttonholes to create a vertical line that you’ll then match your pattern to.

Don’t forget that the buttons sit to the edge of the buttonhole, not the centre.

I’ll try and attach a picture without losing the reply again 🙂

Do you want it to match when it’s buttoned closed?

You need to mark the centre front on each pattern piece as a vertical line. I think there’s a notch at the neck line to indicate where this is from memory.
Then, when you cut, you make sure the centre front lines hit the same part of the plaid pattern, not the edge of the pattern piece.

If you…[Read more]

Hi Debra,
Can you post a photo as that might help spot where the problem is.
Here’s how I troubleshoot this kind of problem:
1: notches missing or not matching at all?
– I’m trying to attach something upside down
2: centre back and shoulder notches good, one front ok, but all the length missing on the other side?
– I’ve mucked up one placket…[Read more]

@lrnbckmn, do you have an old shirt in your rag bag that you can salvage the buttons from?
Or you could try an Op-Shop?
Maybe ask around your friends? Many of the mass produced shirts have those little collar buttons as standard.

Ok, from the look of these photos the armhole seems to be quite small for you, and I think that’s why it’s pulling. Can you drop it a bit or trace a larger size for the arm? I think it wouldn’t hurt to go up a size overall if that’s easier, too. You don’t want this style to be too fitted.

Hello, and good for you, sticking to it! Your muslin is looking very good. Do those drag lines go away if you move them over your bust? From the photo it looks like you raised your arms and the extra fullness got “caught” above your bra, so I’m wondering if it’s just that the fabric is sticky. To a certain degree there will be drag lines due to…[Read more]

@macaronquilts Out of interest I got my 23 year son to try on his sisters. Way too short (I had shortened the leg) but they fit in a low waisted way.
He is not overly tall and an average muscular build.

He, too, liked the pockets and said he would happily wear them.

I hope that helps!

Hello James,

As it happens, we have a blog tutorial specifically for this topic! I hope this helps:

fitting a muslin

Hi Kate (@matuhart), I’ve just moved house and everything is in boxes, so I don’t have my book on hand. But…

There is a free felt bow pattern here on the Oliver + S website under the Free Patterns tab.

If you want to use your dress fabric, you can still use this pattern. I’ve sewn it in fabric by adding a 1/4″ seam allowance, stitching and…[Read more]

Depending on the weight and thickness of the lining I think it could be great! Would love to see it when you’re done.

For question 1 it very much depends on your arms. If you have fuller arms you may want to go with a larger size armhole. Otherwise start with the standard size and see how it goes with the muslin.

Regarding #2, I’m not a big believer in the body map concept because it’s not nearly as simple as the authors of the book try to make it. Each pattern…[Read more]