Creating your own sewing pattern is a great way to save money.You can use your measurements to draft a custom piece.It will allow you to sew tops and dresses and make sure they fit.Pick an item that fits you well and trace it to make a pattern.
Step 1: Measure your body.
In order to create accurate patterns that fit you well, you'll need to use a soft measuring tape and write down the following measurements: bust for women's clothing: Wrap the tape around the widest part of your bust.Measure around the widest part of your waist.Stand against a wall and have someone measure from the top of your head to your feet.Wrap the tape around the neck of the shirt.Wrap the tape around the widest part of your body.Measure from the neck to the waist and across the widest part of your back to find the length.Measure across the widest part of your chest above your bust for men or women's clothing.If you want the sleeve to be long, hold the tape from the shoulder down the arm.Measure from the neck to the edge of the shoulder.Wrap your measuring tape around the widest part of your arm.
Step 2: Design the garment you want to make.
Decide if you want a skirt, pants, or top with sleeves.Draw a rough design of how the garment should look.This will help you figure out how to divide the garment into pieces so you know how many pieces you need to make.If you're making a slip dress, you might need 1 front piece, 1 back piece and a sleeve strap pattern.
Step 3: Plot the length of your pattern on a sheet of paper.
Place a large piece of pattern or brown postal paper on a flat work surface and make sure that one side of the paper is straight.If you want the garment to be, place a ruler 2 inches from the top of the paper and measure from that point down.For example, if you're 6 feet tall, make the dress 37 inches long for a mini-dress, or 40 inches in a knee-length dress.The center front will be the straight edge of the paper.Make a mark on the edge.
Step 4: To mark the shoulder, bust, waist, and hip lines, draw horizontal lines.
Place a straight ruler at the top of the line you drew for the center front.Your shoulder line will be drawn on this top horizontal line.The ruler should be brought down to make the horizontal bust line.The ruler should be moved to draw the horizontal waistline.The hip line is the bottom of your shirt.Refer to the measurements you took to figure out where to put the ruler.
Step 5: Attach the bust, chest, waist, and hip to the line.
You can make a dot on the bust line if you look at your measurement.This applies to the waist and hips as well.Then, use a pencil and ruler to draw a line that connects the dots on the bust or chest line, the waist, and the hip line.If your bust measurement was 100 cm, divide it by 4 to get 25 cm.The mark should be 10 inches from the edge of the bust line.The edge of your center pattern piece will be made by this.
Step 6: Draw the shoulder and neckline.
To draw your neckline from the top of the shoulder line to the center front line, use a curved ruler.Keeping in mind that the back neckline is usually higher than the front neckline, you can make the neckline low or high.Then, draw a curved line from the shoulder down to the bust line.Give the shoulder a slight downward slope to make it sit naturally.
Step 7: There is a seam allowance around the curved edges of your piece.
To draw a line parallel to your pattern outline, use a ruler or seam allowance ruler.The allowance should be 2 inch.The larger allowance can be added along the bottom line.It's easier to hem your garment with this.The seam allowance line is 61 2 inches (156.2 cm) long.
Step 8: If you want a dress or shirt with sleeves, make a sleeve pattern.
Refer to the measurements you took for sleeve length and upper arm width to figure out what style of sleeves you want.On the fold, draw your sleeve pattern.You can use the arm width measurement of 12 inches (30 cm) to determine how wide you want the sleeve to be.
Step 9: Cut out the pattern pieces and label them.
Under your traced pattern, lay another sheet of pattern paper.Pin the papers together and use scissors to cut through the layers.The back pattern piece will be the bottom layer.Don't cut the neckline if you want to adjust the front and back pieces as you please.You might want to leave the back piece's neckline high, but cut the front neckline low.It's easy to keep track of pattern pieces if you label them.
Step 10: Take a piece of pattern paper and fold it in half.
Take a piece of paper larger than your garment and fold it.The paper should be laid on a flat work surface.You could use brown postal wrapping paper if you don't have pattern paper.If you want to be able to pin the garment onto the paper as you work, you could use a stiff corkboard.
Step 11: Pin along the seams if you want to fold your garment vertically.
Since most pieces of clothing are cut on the fold, you need to fold your item in half so the seam is visible in the center.Place pins along the seams for the panel you folded once you've lined up the garment.Only pin the panel that's folded in 1/2 right now because you'll be tracing each individual piece.
Step 12: Place the item on the paper.
The folded edge of the paper should be lined up with your garment.If you want the garment to stay on the paper as you trace it, you need to put sewing pins along the edge.If you have sleeves, fold them over the main panel of the item so they don't stick out.This technique can be used on any garment, but it works best on simple garments, such as a tunic, instead of a lined dress with darts.
Step 13: There is a folded piece of the garment.
To trace around the seams of the panel that you folded and pinned, use a pencil, chalk, or tracing wheel.Don't try to find every panel of the item.If you can't trace around a seam because there's another panel of fabric connected to it, you'll need to fold up the excess fabric or use the tracing wheel.Since the wheel won't damage the fabric, roll the tracing wheel directly over the garment.
Step 14: Draw a bold line over the item you removed.
Lift the garment by taking the pins out.It's easier to see if you draw over the traced line with a pen.The pattern piece can now be labeled.Write "center front piece" on the piece.Any lines that are specific to that piece can be marked.To see where the neckline meets the fold, draw a curved line.
Step 15: There is a seam allowance around the pattern piece.
To make a parallel line away from the edge of the pattern line, use a straight or curved tailor's ruler.The seam allowance is what this will be.The seam allowance of most commercial patterns is 8 inch.
Step 16: Each section of your garment has a pattern piece.
Roll out another piece of paper and repeat the process for each part of the garment that you'll need to sew together.If you want to add a closure such as a snap, button, or zip up, make a note on the pattern piece.If you're sewing a basic shirt, you might have a front, back, sleeve, and neckline.
Step 17: Cut out the pattern pieces.
Use a pair of scissors to cut the pieces.You don't want to cut your pattern pieces in 1/2 if you keep the paper folded.If you prefer, place a cutting mat under the pieces and use a cutter instead of scissors.