Welcome back to the 7th free sewing lesson! I can't believe we've been sewing together for 6 months already! We've covered so many basics and now I want to help you take it to the next level!
Did you know that you can take the patterns that you already have and mix and match them to make totally new designs? I don't know about you, but I rarely use a pattern as is more than a few times. But, you can take elements of a few of your patterns, mash them together, and have an entirely new design! It's very fun and easier than it sounds!
For this particular dress, I only had 1 yard of fabric to work with and I wanted to make a sporty summer dress. I knew that an A-line skirt would take less fabric than any other type of skirt. And a sleeveless dress would also save on fabric. So, I searched through my patterns and decided to combine Cornflower and Palm. I didn't really want the buttons going all the way down the back for this particular dress, so I choose to use the back construction of Ren. If you want to try this particular mash up, use code Mash20 to get 20% off any or all of these patterns!!! (valid through the end of August 2024)
To begin with, head over to this blog post where I walk you through mashing two or three patterns together. I tell you how I created this 1 yard sporty dress, but I also tell you how to mash any pattern to create the design of your dreams!
Know Your Fabric
It's important when mashing to know your fabric. Some patterns are drafted for woven fabric (fabric with no stretch) and some patterns are drafted for knit fabric (fabric with stretch). A woven pattern will have more ease. In other words, it will be looser fitting since the fabric can't stretch as you move. A knit fabric pattern will require the fabric to stretch in order to get a good fit. So, typically you will want to just stick with woven fabric for woven patterns and knit fabric for knit patterns.
However, if you know your fabric, you can be a little more creative with your pattern usage. For this pattern, I used this stretch french terry. But it only has a two-way stretch. I cut the fabric out with the stretch going up and down, so I knew it would behave much like a woven fabric. Therefore, I used the bodice of a pattern that was drafted for woven fabric. However, I wanted the skirt of a knit pattern. I knew that since it was drafted to account for stretchy fabric, I would have to size up on the skirt to get a good fit. As mentioned in the linked blog post, you also need to make sure your skirt is exactly the same width as your bodice. Therefore, the skirt and bodice that fit together was a size 14 palm skirt and a size 10 cornflower bodice.
Once you have determined whether to use woven or knit patterns for your project, you can dive into the fun of picking just the right bodice, skirt, back, details, etc. to make your vision come alive. Again, hop over here to read the step by step for pattern mashing! It's so fun and opens up a whole new world of possibilities. If you have a question as you go about mashing, feel free to ask in my facebook group. Learn to Sew with Tamar Hope
Happy Pattern Mashing!
-Tamar
~This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy from the links, I may receive a small commission, but these are all products that I use and love. You can learn more by reading my Privacy + Disclosure statement. ~
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