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Draft and sew your own custom fit t-shirt pattern

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About Course

Is it time for you to expand your sewing skills?  Want to learn the basics of pattern design and drafting?  What about sewing with knits and stretchy fabrics? Does that thought fill you with horror?  Well you can sit back and relax because I’m going to show you everything you need to know to sew with knits confidently and to create your own basic pattern which can be adapted to lots of other garments, all of which will fit you just right.

In this course you will learn how to:

  • Gather the right supplies for pattern drafting
  • Take accurate body measurements
  • Transfer those measurements to your own custom-fit pattern
  • Draft a t-shirt pattern based on your measurements, plus sleeves
  • Decide which types of knit and stretch fabrics would be best for which type of garment or project
  • Gather the supplies you need for sewing with knits and stretchy fabrics
  • Select the right stitches for knits and how to test them before your start to sew
  • Sew up your t-shirt
  • Add sleeves
  • Add two different neckline finishes
  • Use knit stay tape for perfect hems and super-smooth seams
  • Finish your seams without a serger
  • Sew a lettuce edge hem
  • Use a twin needle for creating a ready to wear finish

Once you’ve been shown the basics, you’ll be ready to explore the wonderful world of designing your own patterns and sewing with all sorts of fabrics you once thought of as challenging or tricky.

No special software or sewing machine needed.  You can sew on a regular sewing machine provided it has a zig-zag stitch.

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Course Content

Introduction and materials
   

  • Welcome
  • Pattern drafting supplies
  • Sewing with knits supplies

Taking your measurements
First time with pattern drafting?  Don't worry too much.  With knit fabrics, the stretch is really going to help you out, so we don't need to be 100% accurate with our measurements.  The stretch in the fabric is very forgiving, so if you are a 1/4 inch out, don't fret it, you'll probably never even know. That being said, of course we do want to try our best to take accurate measurements.  There are some parts of the body that are fairly easy for you to do yourself, and then there are other parts that are a bit more tricky.  It might help to have a buddy help out with those areas if you can't manage it yourself. Remember we are only making our first draft of the pattern in this series, and you can adjust it later once you have sewn up your t-shirt for the first time, if you prefer a different fit.  Pattern drafting is never an exact science, its a draft, and can only be refined in the 'muslin' stage by making a test garment. Download the worksheet and complete this with your own measurements, or those of your model if you are sewing for someone else.  You can use inches or centimeters, which ever you are more comfortable with.  In some ways, centimeters are much easier for pattern drafting because they divide more neatly than trying to divide 22 and 3/8th of an inch in half for example.  I'll be using inches because I'm old fashioned and even though the British moved to the metric system years ago, I never really caught on! [zippy_complete_lesson]

Some quick calculations
Now that we have our body measurements we need to consider fit and ease and convert those measurements to our first pattern design measurments.  This next lesson will show you how.

Drafting the t-shirt
Our preparation work is completed and out form is filled in.  Let's start having fun with drafting your pattern.  We'll start with the front, make the back the same way and then draft the sleeve.

Testing your pattern
Before you go running off to cut up that expensive silk jersey you've been saving - stop!  We need to just check our pattern first because with pattern drafting it's called a draft for a reason!  No pattern can be 100% accurate and fit you perfectly first time based on just a few simple body measurements because we are all unique and will have different body shapes even if our measurements might be similar. We'll look next at a couple of ways we can check to see if the pattern is working before cutting into any expensive fabric.

Sewing with knits – tips and tricks
Before you put needle to fabric, let's look at a few things you might need to know about sewing with knits.  What stitches are best?  Does your fabric have enough stretch? What on earth is a knit stay tape and how would you use it?  And more....

Stitches & hems for knits
A look at the technical side of sewing with knit fabrics.  What stitches should you use for your hems and what seam finishes do you want to try?  There are usually several options that will work well with each fabric.

Sewing your t-shirt