Wednesday, October 16, 2013

So Sew! Day 16: Who needs a Pattern?

Welcome to day 16 of our 31 Days sewing series! This week we are discussing patterns. Today's topic is on not using them.


New here? I'm glad you are visiting! You may want to follow this blog so you don't miss miss a post!

There are two kinds of seamstresses in the world - those that use regularly use patterns and those that don’t. I’ve already explained that I don’t usually use a pattern. My projects are usually the type that I make up as I go along.

This might be intimidating to some. I’ve heard people say that the reason they don’t like to sew is because of “the math.” That makes me laugh, because I rarely use math to sew! You certainly don’t need to know calculus or anything to sew - just a simple “add an inch here, 2 inches there” is all the math I ever do!

I’m going to attempt to explain a little bit of how I sew without a pattern, and how you can make it work for you, too! It isn’t really that hard - and if you are not a pattern person you may be doing these things already!

One of the most common things I make without a pattern is curtains. I’ve mentioned on the blog a few times that I love making curtains, it is so fun to come up with different styles to fit a space! You can see a few curtain examples and tutorials here, here and here. Probably the most complicated ones I’ve made were these.

I outlined some of the “math” in this post, but really it is quite simple.


 Generally when making a valence, I plan on using the width of the fabric. If your window is just a pretty normal width, nothing too wide, than the fabric is wide enough as is! I just hem the sides about ½” and call it a day.

If I’m making panels, I still use the width of the fabric for each panel. If it is a narrow window, you’ll want to use less, but for a big window or door the width of the fabric will give a good amount of gather in the finished curtain.

To figure out the length of the curtain, that is totally up to you! Lets take a valence as the example. Decide how low you want it to hang, and measure that. For our purposes today let’s say you decide on 12”. Here is a simple formula to figure out how much fabric you actually need to make this length:

Curtain length + bottom hem + rod casing and heading {x2} + top hem = fabric cut size

Confused? Let me explain:

Take your curtain length {12”} and add enough for the bottom hem. ⅝” is good for a valence. If you are making a longer panel curtain, you may want a large hem.

After that, you need to add enough for the rod casing, heading and top hem. For a standard, thin curtain rod, it takes 1½”, plus 2” for the heading. Now double that. Then add ½” for the hem. So all together you are adding 8⅛” to the 12” length. There is a reason for doing that doubling thing, but it is too confusing to try to explain - it will make sense when you put the curtain together. Promise. =)

That is an explanation of the math you may need if you are not using a pattern. Really, it isn’t complicated, just a matter of figuring out all the hem widths and such. The more you do it, the more common place it will become.

Here is another example of a time I used some math - designing my tablet sleeves.


For this I was so paranoid that I’d make these sleeves and then they wouldn’t fit your tablet. So I did a bunch of research about different tablets and their sizes. Then I planned the sleeves accordingly, adding enough around the edges for hemming and seams. It wasn’t hard either, just took a bit of research.

About clothes: there are ways to make clothes without a pattern. I’ve never tried it. I would say for clothes, use a pattern, or a least a similar garment to go by. For those of you that sew, what would you do in this case?

That is just a brief overview of using math in sewing. Bottom line: don’t let the math keep you from trying something new! If all else fails, get a pattern.

And let me say this - it may fail. Lisa Leonard said recently, “Failure doesn’t mean you’re bad - it just means there is room to grow.” That is so true. Your project may fail. Mine have more than once. Take the time I tried to make oven mitts.



True story. It was a complete fail. But from that failure I learned at least one way that didn’t work, and what I should try differently next time.

So don’t worry about failing. Failing just gives you the opportunity to try again!

Challenge: Leave a comment below: what is keeping you from sewing and/or trying something new? Have you failed before? What happened in that circumstance? Are you a pattern person, or a “math” person? {I use that term loosely! =) }



Other posts in this series:
Pin It
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

I appreciate you taking the time to comment! Some comments may need to be moderated, so don't be alarmed if your comment doesn't pop up right away. I can't wait to hear from you!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)