DIY Network

Reading the Pattern Envelope

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By Susan Khalje
DIY-Do It Yourself Network

I had to purchase a couple of commercial sewing patterns recently -- one for a jacket I'm making for my daughter, another for a garment I'm working on for a client. Here is some of the information I look for when I'm looking through the pattern books. It's all too easy to like the look of the illustration or photograph of the garment and to plunge ahead. However, familiarizing yourself with all that the pattern envelope can tell you will not only enlighten you but will make for a more successful garment.

• The first thing I look for is overall silhouette -- if I'm looking for a princess-seamed jacket, with seams that go into the shoulders, I don't let myself get distracted by other garments. I repeat to myself as I flip through the pattern book, "princess-seamed jacket, princess-seamed jacket" -- and jot down the numbers of all the possible choices as I go along.

• I then go back for a closer look, and I study the line drawings carefully this time to see which will work best. I look at seam lines and other shaping (darts, for example); I study how the garment closes (zipper, one button, two buttons, hooks and eyes). By this point, there are a couple of strong possibilities.

• Next I compare my client's measurements carefully with those given on the envelope. If you have done any amount of sewing, you know that commercial garment sizes bear little or no relation to sewing pattern sizes. Pattern companies fit to a B cup size, so if you are larger or smaller than that, you can expect to adjust the pattern (and once you learn standard bust cup adjustments, you will become familiar with adjusting all commercial patterns).

• I also study the written description of the garment, paying close attention to how the fit is described (very loosely-fitted, semi-fitted, fitted, etc.) All pattern companies have slightly different fit guidelines, but they are carefully explained in the pattern books. As you read the garment's description, you will become aware of details that might have escaped your look at the illustration or photograph.

• I also carefully read the fabric recommendations -- I may not choose the same fabric, but the pattern company's recommendations give me a better idea of the "feel" of the garment.

• I also carefully take the directions out of the pattern envelope and scan them to see if there's anything unexpected in the layout or directions, and I look at the list of pattern pieces, again, to give myself more information about how the garment will go together.

(Susan Khalje is an author and host of DIY-Do It Yourself Network "Sew Much More" which airs weekdays at 2:00 P.M. ET. Contact her at skhalje@aol.com or Box 51 Long Green, MD 21092. For more information, visit www.SusanKhalje.com or www.diynet.com.)