Hi everyone from Portugal!
I received my machine as a birthday gift and the dining room has now become my studio. I love learning a new skill & creating things which are uniquely mine. So far I have made cushions with lush trims and fringe, made a slipcover for an armchair (never again) and am now tackling my bedroom. (Duvet cover, shams, curtains, bedskirt-maybe).
My 15 year old is begging me to make her a pair of surfer shorts out of the fabric I had set aside for one set of bed shams. I keep saying ‘I don’t do clothes’, she keeps saying ‘pleeeeeaaseee’.
Patterns, McCauls, Vogue etc. are not available in Portugal. (Arggghh!), so I need directions on making these shorts (zipper, definately not gathered waist) PLUS the fabric is plaid, which I have never worked with.
Any help on finding an online pattern (preferably free) and instructions on working with plaid?
thanks, thanks, thanks
Jennifer
Replies
Hi Jennifer,
I have too many patterns & really, truly need to get rid of some - would you like me to look for a shorts pattern & send it to you? If you pay for the postage, then I could send it air-mail to Portugal. As for dealing with plaid fabric, do you have any good basic sewing books with you? If not, look on this site for some great directions on how to deal with that type of fabric.
Julie
Someone on this site mentioned a site for Burda free online patterns, which included a lot of cute patterns.
Another alternative is to make your own pattern from tracing a pair of jeans or shorts that she has that fit her well; then you'll know the size and shapes are perfect. Even then, you should make a plain pair first, so that you know the fit is perfect; any fitting changes on a plaid will mess up all the best matching plans.
I agree that a sewing book or site about "working with plaids" is a good place to start. A critical point about matching plaids is to always check at the seamlines, rather than at the outer parts of the seam allowance; also, there are some areas you must match but others that you cannot but don't need to worry about.
If you post a photo of the fabric, we can give you some specific tips, such as whether it's an even or uneven plaid, plus ways that you might want to use it for surfer shorts, such as a bias yoke.
Plaids are not the easiest way to ease into sewing clothes, but fortunately surfer shorts tend to the zany, so even completely unmatched plaids might be considered perfect by a teen!
I too, need to get rid of some perfectly good patterns...respond to my personal e-mail and we make arrangements for me to send them to you.
[email protected]
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