BEHIND THE SCENES OF OUR PRIVATE ONLINE CURATED by itf COMMUNITY

I’m currently thinking about the way we create and share content within our private, online community as we recently hired our first Content Creator (more about her to come!). So we thought this would be a fun behind the scenes topic to share with you, in case you’ve been wondering what goes on in our Curated by ITF community group (aka the home of our ‘Foldies’).

When I came up with the idea of Curated, having a community platform to go alongside the monthly project was high on the list of priorities. Deep community (rather than just likes on Instagram), interaction and feedback were the things I was missing in my own working life and I imagined our customers might be feeling the need for this too.

Thinking about starting a community is a daunting thing. To start with, there was the fear that no one would show up. That it would just be me and Alys (my one employee at the time), and maybe one die-hard fan in there with us…

But when I interrogated that fear (which is something I have to do daily as a small business owner!), I realised that one of two things would happen.

1. It would just be the three of us in the group (which actually sounds rather lovely), and I would realise our customers do not need a community platform and therefore could focus my attention on creating things they actually do want.

Or…

2. People would join and we would be able to connect with our customers in a way we had never done before, AND I would get the thing I was craving - deep connection with our community. 

It seemed worth the risk to give it a go!

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Choosing the platform - Mighty Networks

Making the decision to forge ahead with the idea led to another decision - what platform to use.  I already knew I didn’t want to use Facebook. I’d realised when using Facebook groups to pattern test, that a lot of people choose not to use Facebook, and I didn’t want people to miss out on being part of our community as a result. 

I also don’t like how Facebook groups handle posts. There’s no way to organise them, and we needed a platform that would allow us to easily organise the information we shared, such as sew-alongs and tutorials related to specific patterns.

After looking at a few options, Alys took a deep dive into a couple to see which would tick all our boxes and Mighty Networks came out on top. In Mighty Networks we can organise information by project, which makes it easy for our Foldies to find what they are looking for, and also means that we can grant access to specific content to active subscribers only.

How we plan our community content

We like to plan content for our community in a collaborative way. Normally, when I am creating the project I take note of the things I’m thinking about at the time, such as what inspired me and the elements I found challenging. These show us where we’ll need to provide extra resources (like videos or photo tutorials) to support our community. 

I put this into our project management software so that when it’s time to plan content for the month, it’s all there ready to go. Our Content Creator (formerly Alys and now our new hire) then looks through the project booklet and pulls out areas they think will be important to have support material for. We then jump on a call and chat through the project to make sure we’ve got everything covered.

We also try to plan content around a specific theme each month as this helps guide us. For example, this month’s project is a Hack Kit and the theme is ‘Design your own shirt’, so we’re sharing lots of inspiration in the community to get everyone’s creative juices flowing! This theme also runs through our email and Instagram content for the month.

We also try to respond to requests from our community members where we can. We now post a schedule at the start of the month (usually on the 2nd) because they told us it helps them structure their time and gives them an idea of when they can expect certain information.

Once we have a clear idea of the specific content for the month, we like to get it into our content calendar so we can see how it looks and wiggle things around to create a schedule we are happy with. Towards the end of the month we try to slow down the content we’re sharing so we can tailor our content creation to the needs of the community. This is when questions tend to pop-up about things like fit and fabric choice, and we love to deep dive into answering these questions because we know it’s really helpful for our members!

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The kind of content you’ll find in our private Curated by ITF community

When we release:

• New patterns or Skills Kits - We like to think about what aspects we found tricky when sewing the garment or samplers, or what we imagine our community will find difficult or perhaps even confusing. Even though our patterns include a lot of illustrations to guide you through the sewing process, sometimes having photos or a video of a technique being done makes a huge difference!

• Fit Kits - We spend a lot of time in our community providing one-to-one feedback and answering questions about garment fit, particularly when members are making toiles. We also like to create some easy content to help them get started with the fitting process, so we share some of the booklet pages because it helps to break the content down into easily digestible components and makes it feel way less overwhelming (because learning how to fit clothes can feel daunting at first!). The most important thing during fitting months is ensuring people feel comfortable to share photos of their toiles because there is so much learning to be had through this process!

• Hack Kits - We love sharing design inspiration. Prior to the creation of a new project, I normally have a lot of images saved on a Pinterest board which is where we often draw our inspiration from. We also create tutorials and share resources about particular hacks that makers might want to try that we haven’t covered in the project resource itself.

• Resources, such as the Slow Sewing Planner - We go through the booklet and pull out areas that would be fun to discuss in the community group. With projects like this we find our community has quite a lot to talk about as it is based on reflection and contemplation of their wardrobe. We also like showing how we’ve done something related to the project - e.g. what our workrooms looked like when we released the ‘Organise Your Space’ project.

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The core value of our Curated by ITF community

Sometimes it can get overwhelming to think about ALL the content we want to create and share in our community, but it is important we come back to the core value of the community, which is connection. This community exists so that we can connect deeply with our community and our community members can connect with each other.

Each monthly project we release contains loads of valuable content for our members to work through, so we try to keep the platform about supporting makers to use that content in a way that works for them and their own creative practice, while connecting with other makers through the process.

This is when we remind ourselves that adding a quick question, discussion or asking people to share their experiences can be just as valuable for people as creating a piece of content like a sewing tutorial. One example of a piece of content that started a great discussion was a question about favourite shirt sewing tools. Everyone loved sharing their go-to tools, what they couldn’t sew without and things they’re hoping to add to their sewing tool kit.

I hope this has answered any questions you might have had about our online community! We love how engaging and interactive it is, and that it’s a safe place for our members to share their makes without feeling exposed. 

The only thing that’s missing is you! So come and join us - we’d love to have you in there.

Happy sewing,

Emily

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Acton dress by Sheany, Emily's friend.

Wide leg pants by @catford_quilters

MAKER SPOTLIGHT: CHECK OUT THESE MEMBER MARDEN SHIRTS!

We don't expect our Curated by ITF members to make every project we release the moment it drops into their inbox. That's just not our jam.

But when they do? Golly, WE LOVE IT!

And this month we've been seeing some amazing Marden shirts popping up in our private online community. So, we thought we should share a few with you, in case you need some #sewinginspiration.

Sue’s Marden shirt - View B

One of our founding Curated by ITF members, we had an inkling that the Marden shirt would be right up her alley… and we were right! Sue made View B with the short, capped sleeves and chose a printed Liberty poplin, which turned out to be perfect for this piece.

What Sue Said about Marden

“I took my time sewing this great new pattern from @inthefolds. A little bit of sewing each day meant I could really enjoy all the lovely design features and clear instructions. It comes together beautifully. French seams, mitred splits and concealed button placket - lots to love!

I’m so glad that the ITF team led the way on playing with stripe direction because it gave me the courage to play too. 

The splits and placket are a delight. One of my favourite things about the construction was that the hem and buttonholes were done before the finish. It made them seem less of an inconvenience at the end, and more a part of the process. 

Do yourself a favour - make a Marden!”

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Lynn’s Marden shirt - View A

A committed In the Folds maker (with a collection of 9 Sawtell dresses at last count), we’ve featured Lynn’s creations before (you can read her ITF Spotlight post here). So, we weren’t surprised when she casually posted about her latest ITF make, a Marden shirt (paired beautifully with her Attwood pants).

WHAT LYNN said ABOUT MARDEN

“I played around with stripe placement in this thrifted linen and really enjoy the final shirt. 

Cutting it out was slightly mind-bending because of the multiple pieces, but it was a very very fun sew. I loved the mitred corners on the hem facing, and enjoyed piecing the whole thing together - it was also my favourite instructions for a collar that I’ve made thus far! And also the first time doing a concealed placket, for which the video (in the private online community) was really helpful.

I was surprised by the closer fit around the neck as well as the armholes, which serves as a good counterbalance to the oversized fit overall. It’s a very comfortable shirt and fun to style, and I look forward to wearing it all the time! Already have another cut out in a soft polka-dotted cotton lawn and can’t wait to see how it fits, before potentially working on a hack for a shirtdress.”

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shuay’s marden shirt - view a

Our resident hacker, Shuay is not afraid to give an idea she has a go, and we can usually find her sharing design inspiration she’s come across, along with her ideas for hacking an In the Folds pattern into something completely new. She can also often be found making her Mum clothes (isn’t she the best!?) and this time it was a Marden shirt!

WHAT SHUAY said ABOUT MARDEN

“Mum is delighted to see my message this morning. She likes this style more than the other shirts she owns. She likes the opening on the sides, the roomy bodice and formal collar.

I made this in 2 metres of Nani Iro double gauze. I like the oversized look of the shirt on me. “

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I hope these Marden makes give you some inspiration, if you’re lacking in sewjo at the moment. And join us in our Curated by ITF subscription before the end of the month to start your shirt sewing journey!

Happy sewing,

Emily

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Flynn jacket by @fat.bobbin.girl

Rushcutter dress by @paisleypirouette

OUR COLLABORATIVE EXTENDED SIZE RANGE DESIGN PROCESS

You may have seen that this week we released our latest pattern, the Marden shirt. An In the Folds twist on the classic tailored shirt, Marden has lots of details that make it fun to wear (boxy, stylish comfort) and sew (think panels for fabric play and skill-building techniques like a concealed button placket, collar and stand!), and we can’t wait to see them pop up in social media feeds around the world!

If you’ve got a keen eye for detail (like some of our eagle-eyed Foldies!), you may have noticed some subtle differences between the pattern in the size A-J range in comparison to the G-P range. Specifically, the addition of bust darts and a curved hem line to the G-P size range design. These differences weren’t originally part of the plan for our Marden shirt pattern, and what you see in the design for the A-J size range is pretty close to what our In the Folds team came up with in our initial sketches. 

Now, you may be surprised to hear that we work with a pattern maker, when I (Emily) am a pattern maker. However, drafting patterns for the plus size market requires very specific skills, which I do not hold as they weren’t part of my training. It’s very important to me that our extended size range is drafted with the same love, care, attention to detail and accuracy as our original size range, and to be able to do this I could see that we needed to work with someone who specialised in it. (If you’re interested in hearing more about the process of extending our size range, you can read about it here.) As a result, we now have a collaborative drafting process for our extended size range that involves the In the Folds team, a patternmaker and our fit model. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was through many discussions with this highly-skilled team that we came up with the Marden shirt pattern as you know it today, and I am so happy with it! We received fantastic feedback from our sample maker and model, Sara from @fabric_scraps, who made two in the blink of an eye because she loved it so much! 

So, in this week’s post I wanted to highlight the collaborative process we have with our patternmaker and fit model and hopefully give you some insight into the decision-making process and how important it is to the quality of the finished pattern. Because without this team approach, Marden simply would not be what it is today.

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Marden shirt pattern - version 1 pattern

Like the current A-J size pattern, the first iteration of the G-P size pattern didn’t have a bust dart. When adding in the extra width needed to accommodate a size D bust cup size, we found that this impacted the hem line negatively, making it uneven, which was definitely not the look we were wanting. Our patternmaker stepped in at this point to (in her words) ‘cheat the shape to try to make things appear level using a shirt-tail shape’. 

The other thing we were on the lookout for in this initial version was to see how much ease to have in the shirt. Because the original pattern has considerable ease in it, our patternmaker gave us the following advice, “When your model tries this on I would definitely compare photos side by side to judge body length, hem band level and shoulder. This style is much more proportion driven rather than a numeric conversion.” With this in mind we sought fit feedback from our plus size fit model.

Marden shirt pattern - version 1 feedback

We weren’t surprised to hear Marden G-P version 1 was much too wide in the body, as this was something we were already on the lookout for. The extra width in the body impacted the length of the shoulder seam (making the shoulder seam far too long). Because of this, the armscye was basically at the model’s elbow, which then resulted in the sleeve causing restriction in movement.

The other issue that was raised by our fit model was that the hemline was riding up in the front and dragging down at the back, and she suggested the addition of bust darts to improve the fit. Our patternmaker agreed that ‘it will continue to fall back without a dart as an anchor point’. This is when it becomes a truly collaborative process - a conversation between me, the designer, the person that makes it happen from a technical standpoint, the pattern maker and the wearer / end user, our fit model.

Side note: We’ve included images of pattern pieces from both size ranges. The pattern pieces from the G-P range are not formatted to their final state in this image as this is not the final pattern. This is what the pattern looks like when we receive it back from the patternmaker, before it’s finalised and gets formatted for printing.

Marden shirt pattern - version 2 pattern

With our patternmaker and fit model feedback at front of mind, we decided to slim our design down (mostly through the chest and shoulders) and add a bust dart. The decision to take some width out of the body would also help with the shoulder length issue. Then, it was back to our fit model to check that the fit had improved and that the pattern still had the same look and feeling as the original pattern.

As you can see when comparing the versions, width has been taken out through the bust and chest, which has reduced the shoulder seam length. A bust dart was added and some length to the upper panel to accommodate the bust, but you will see as you read on, we removed this additional length in the final version as it was not required.

Marden shirt pattern - version 2 feedback

With the major overhaul of the shirt, we’d unfortunately gone too far and taken out too much width from the shoulders. This changed the slope of the shoulder so much that the armscye became too small, or as our fit model said, restrictive. The thing is, if you don’t try, you don’t know, so even though it may feel like wasted time (especially when we have a strict deadline - our Curated subscription monthly release), this is actually a really important part of the design process.

Marden shirt pattern - version 3 pattern

The major change for version 3 was to alter the slope of the shoulder seam, which would then change the shape and size of the armscye, solving the restriction in the armhole that our fit model mentioned. Although it doesn’t look like a major difference between the pattern pieces, if you look at the armhole lengths, you can see there is a considerable difference. In comparison, the version 3 armhole is 6cm larger than the version 2 armhole - most of this on the back. 

Marden shirt pattern - version 3 feedback

Fit model: “I think we have a winner!”

Phew - what a relief it was to receive that email!

It was at this point that I did a final check between the initial size 10 sample (our sample size for our A-J range) on the body in comparison to the size 24 on our fit model and noticed that the panel line was sitting too low in the extended range, so the patternmaker raised it by 5cm, as I mentioned earlier.

Marden shirt - Size J (from A - J range)

Marden shirt - Size J (from G - P range)

Pattern pieces from the two ranges nested together

The final pattern

As you can see from this process, designing a pattern is very much a collaborative process, and even more so now that we are working with two different pattern blocks. I really appreciate the skills and insight our pattern design collaborators have, because without their input we simply couldn’t create the patterns that we have today.

If you have any questions about this process, we’d love to answer them, so please leave them in the comments section below.

Happy sewing,

Emily

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Rushcutter dress by @_rosemadeit

Rennie dress by @sosewmad

OUR TOP TIPS FOR ACCURATE SEWING

This month in Curated by ITF we’re focusing on learning the skills and techniques required to sew structured shirts with the Sewing Shirts Skills Kit, part one in our latest project series that covers everything you need to know to sew (and hack!) shirts.

One of the main things to keep in mind when sewing shirts is how important it is to sew precisely. Think about the points of the collar, the ‘house’ shape that makes the sleeve placket, the fold of the button placket… There are so many elements to a shirt that must all come together precisely and neatly in order to make a beautifully finished garment. Focusing on accuracy when sewing each individual element of a shirt will go a long way towards sewing a garment that looks like it’s been made by a professional!

If you’re ready to step-up your skills and the look of your me-mades by sewing more accurately, here are the areas you should focus on.

FABRIC

Selecting the right fabric for the garment you’re making is very important - so much so that it can make or break the finished outcome. If you’ve made a few garments by now, you’ve probably experienced the disappointment of finishing a garment and realising that the fabric has let you down.

When choosing fabric there’s a few things to keep in mind: How well does the fabric press? Is it bulky? Does it fray easily? Does it stretch? These factors will make some fabrics more difficult to work with than others, so do yourself a favour and select a fabric suitable for the project. Not sure how to do this? Take a look in your wardrobe or favourite clothing store for inspiration - what types of fabrics are your favourite shirts made from?

In general, cotton is a very stable fabric to work with, plus its breathable and presses well. As a result, it’s the most commonly used fabric for shirt making. We recommend it for these same reasons, and particularly if you are new to sewing shirts, but you may also like to consider shirting, poplin, twill, gabardine, lawn, chambray or flannel. 

Whatever fabric you choose, sewing samplers (like we’re doing this month with our Sewing Shirts Skills Kit or with our Pants Sewing Skills Kit, part one of our Pants Making Series) gives you the perfect opportunity to test out fabric before cutting out a whole garment. Samplers give you the opportunity to see how the fabric handles when it is cut, pressed and sewn. And the best part? They give you a chance to change your mind!

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TOOLS

As with any creative endeavour, there are a multitude of tools you can incorporate into your sewing practice. Apart from a good pair of sharp scissors (which is an absolute must-have) we prefer to keep things simple and make do with the basics, because it can get quite expensive buying all the gadgets. 

If you’re interested, a few things you might like to add to your toolbox that may make sewing shirts (and other garments) easier and sometimes more accurate include a sleeve board or sleeve pressing ham (one or the other is enough), buttonhole foot, an expanding sewing gauge for marking buttonholes, buttonhole cutter, corner turner, Fray Check and starch.

Don’t feel like you need to rush out and buy these tools all at once. They are things you can gradually add to your collection over time and, if you’re lucky, may also be found in thrift or second hand stores for a bargain. 

CUTTING

Cutting your garment accurately is one of the best ways you can set yourself up for success as it is almost impossible to sew a garment precisely if it has not been cut accurately first. The following tips will improve the outcome of your cutting practise.

• Always pre-wash your fabric. Use the settings and method you will use when you wash the finished garment. 

• Iron your fabric before you start.

• Spread it out on a large flat surface. I know this one can be a bit tricky if space is limited, so if this is the case, consider cutting the pattern in sections so that you can get the fabric as flat as possible.

• If you’re cutting a fabric that is very delicate or likely to move around in the cutting process, consider cutting between layers of paper.

• Use pattern weights to hold pattern pieces in place.

• When cutting stripes, it’s even more important to cut the fabric accurately or you won't be able to match the stripes when sewing. To start, you will want to cut the pieces 'flat' rather than on the fold. This means that you need to create a full pattern piece or cut out half and then carefully flip the piece to cut the other side. Cutting flat also helps when working with fabrics that are slippery, stretch easily or are likely to move.

• If a pattern is cut on the fold, finger press the fold (or use an iron) so that the edge of the pattern sits exactly where it should.

• Use very sharp scissors.

• Keep pattern pieces pinned to the fabric until you are ready to use the particular piece to prevent stretching.

• Take your time! Remind yourself that cutting can take almost as long as sewing the garment, and doing it right will set you up for success. To make the process more enjoyable, listen to a podcast or put something easy on Netflix to play in the background. 

SEWING

If you’ve followed all our recommendations above, you’ve gone a long way towards creating a garment that will have a beautiful finish at the end. But, there’s still a lot you can do to make sure! Here’s what you can do to improve your sewing accuracy.

• Change your needle before starting a new project.

• Sew some samplers to practise any techniques that are new to you, and to test out how your machine and thread handle a particular fabric.

• Never skip the pressing! Your iron is your best friend when it comes to precision sewing. 

• Have your seam ripper handy. (Don’t worry, we all make mistakes and it’s part of the process.) 

• Use staystitching to prevent the fabric stretching. The most common areas to staystitch are areas that are curved or cut on the bias such as necklines and armholes in sleeveless garments. 

• Use the hand wheel to walk your stitches in. This is the best way to land exactly on a specific point. Also use the hand wheel if you need to start a row of stitching at a specific point.

• Use pins to ensure your pieces line up accurately before sewing. If you place your pins perpendicular to the seam you are sewing (with the pinhead on the outside) they are easy to remove as you sew.

TAKE BREAKS

My biggest tip is not a handy tool or a special sewing technique. It’s the reminder that it is a good idea to take your time when sewing. Take breaks when you need them. Don’t rush it. Even though everything around us may be trying to tell us the opposite, it’s not a race to the end. We can sew for the sheer enjoyment of the process. It’s ok to just enjoy the process and take the focus off the finished product! 

If you’ve made a couple of mistakes or are getting frustrated, set your project aside and take a breather. Have a cup of tea, go for a walk, or even better, put it down until tomorrow. Fresh eyes and a clear brain does the world of good when it comes to sewing accurately.

If you’re really feeling annoyed with your project, chat about it with someone in your sewing community, because it’s always good to remember that you’re not alone when you hit a hurdle. And, if you haven’t got a sewing community, that’s another great reason to join Curated by ITF! We have a fantastic and very encouraging community of Foldies who are just waiting for another person to nerd out and chat about precision sewing with!

Happy sewing,

Emily

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Barkly skirt by @sew.n.steady

Jersey dress by @_allthelittlehappythings

WHY WE CREATED OUR SEWING PROJECT SERIES IN CURATED BY ITF

When we can, we like to share with you something that happens behind the scenes of In the Folds. This month, in our sewing subscription Curated by ITF, we released the Sewing Shirts Skills Kit, the first part of a three-part shirt making series, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to tell you a bit more about what goes into creating one of our project series.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

First, I want to go way back to the beginning and talk about the mission behind Curated by ITF. For a number of years I was creating patterns and releasing them as standalone patterns, and although I got a kick out of the whole process, it always felt like something was missing, particularly on launch day. After working tirelessly on a new pattern for months, launch day tended to feel like I was just pushing it out into the world and hoping for the best. 

This is partly the nature of running a digital business. Although it’s amazing being able to create a product that people all over the world can buy, and it was a thrill to see names I recognised pop up as patterns were purchased or when someone used the hashtag and shared their make on Instagram, overall I felt very disconnected from the makers who were supporting my business. 

After a while I noticed the disconnection went beyond launch day and that I felt the same way when working through the design process for new projects. I had a very clear vision of what In the Folds was about and who it was for, but not being able to speak directly to my community and check-in and ask what they wanted was leaving me feeling a little empty.

CURATED BY ITF WAS BORN

Fast-forward countless conversations, many daydreaming sessions, and the hire of the brilliant Alys, and Curated by ITF was born. I had found a way to make what I did not just about the release of patterns, but also the creation of a community. A community that not only wanted to sew, but wanted to learn new skills and develop their practice, one project at a time. 

When I write it out like that, it seems so clear and so simple what Curated by ITF is, but in all honesty, when we first launched I couldn’t have summed it up like that. Because at that point, right at the start of Curated, we were doing the exact same thing I had done when releasing a pattern in the past - creating a product for a particular audience and hoping they would ‘get’ it.

Now, 26 (26!!) projects in, Curated has become what our customers want. It is no longer an idea that I came up with, but a response to the needs of our community. By having an online community platform as part of the subscription it means we can (and do!) talk to our community on a daily basis. It means that we can see their struggles, their challenges and their wins. What they’re working on, what they’re aspiring to. It means that we can create our content in direct response to the needs of our community. And with that, the empty feeling I used to feel as I sat alone at my laptop when I made a new pattern live on my website has disappeared. It’s been replaced with a new feeling, an excitement about serving our community and an anticipation to hear what they think about the new project and see what they make. 

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I must say that the odds feel higher now, but what makes it worthwhile is all the beautiful faces of our community members that I can see in my head as I sit alone at my laptop working on the next project.

So this now brings me to the development of our series. When we first started rolling out projects to our community, I had a ‘more, more, more’ attitude. I was constantly thinking about how much more content we could serve our community, how many more patterns and resources we could deliver. Because that’s what we’re told we have to do. Always do more.

But then we started to notice something. 

Members of our community were starting to feel overwhelmed, because they felt like they were falling behind or failing. And that was the last thing we wanted our community to feel! We wanted them to feel excited and inspired and supported to learn new skills without feeling overwhelmed.

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ACTUALLY WANT

And that’s when we realised the true superpower of a monthly project subscription. Each month’s pattern or resource didn’t need to be a standalone product. It could form part of a series, which meant we didn’t have to limit the amount of content we shared, but could do it in a more manageable way that didn’t overwhelm our members. Because there was something else we had learned about our community in this time - they weren’t looking for quick and easy projects that they could finish in an hour or two. They wanted to learn and challenge themselves in new ways. They wanted to geek out about sewing and dive into the nitty gritty with us and understand the ‘why’ behind all that we do.

With the ability to release projects as a series, we can now focus on the skills we want our community to learn in a particular month and can help them learn those skills in the most straightforward ways with the least distractions. For example, this month we’re learning all about the specific sewing skills required for sewing shirts. Sewing shirts is about accuracy and precision. It’s about selecting the right fabric and the right interfacing. It’s about carefully cutting your fabric and sewing and pressing your seams carefully. 

By focusing on sewing shirt samplers this month, we can minimise the noise. We’re not getting distracted about fit, or rushing the process to make a completed shirt. We’re slowing it down and starting with the foundations so we can enjoy the learning process itself. Sewing a sleeve placket for the first time (or even the fifth time) can be a little bit daunting when it needs to become part of a shirt. By sewing it as a sampler, the stakes are much lower and the focus can be on the learning. Sewing a collar for the first time and attaching it to a shirt that has taken hours to make can also be daunting. It can be disconcerting to trim something when you’re not absolutely certain you’re doing it right! Again, doing this as a sampler first means you can gain that confidence so when you’re doing it on a shirt you intend on wearing you are already familiar with the techniques and the process. You know where to trim because you’ve practised it. 

By focusing on sewing techniques in the first month of the project, it means that we can release a shirt pattern next month and know that our community is ready for it. They’ll be prepared for the challenge both mentally and technically and can go into the next project with confidence. And, it means they can focus on different things next month - picking the right fabric, choosing the right size and working out what alterations they may need to make to the pattern. 

There are some really fun bits to sew in the Marden shirt pattern (coming in October!), that we hope our community will feel excited about because they have gained confidence with precision sewing this month through their shirt samplers.

After two months of sewing shirts with the Sewing Shirts Skills Kit and the Marden shirt pattern, our community will have a solid understanding of the components that make up a traditional shirt, as well as what they like, what they don’t like, and what they’re looking for in their dream shirt. And that’s when we’ll release Part Three of the series, giving them an opportunity (and the support they need!) to get creative and push the boundaries of their patternmaking skills with the Marden shirt Hack Kit.

I hope this helps to answer any questions you might have about Curated by ITF, and we welcome you to come and experience our wonderful sewing community by purchasing a subscription today!

Happy sewing!

Emily

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check out our pants sewing series

Now available as a standalone three-part project series in our shop!

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Acton dress by @againstthegrainline

Cartwright dress by @tenderfoot.sewing

THE SEWING PATTERN VARIATION DESIGN PROCESS

Designing a new sewing pattern is a really enjoyable experience, and for many designers it’s the best part of the entire process. With the first design you can do whatever you like and you’re really only limited by what you can imagine. 

But one of my favourite parts comes after this stage, when the key design elements of the garment have been established and the main direction for the pattern has been set… The pattern variation design stage.

WHAT ARE SEWING PATTERN VARIATIONS?

Collins top, View A (original design)

Collins top, View B (pattern variation)

Pattern variations are the different styles that can be made from one sewing pattern, and they’re commonly referred to as Views (ie. View A, View B etc). With our Collins top pattern, for example, View A, with the three-piece raglan sleeve, is the base (or original) design, while the sleeveless View B Collins top is the variation.

The pattern variation design process

For me, thinking about the little (or sometimes big!) changes I can make to create pattern variations is a lot of fun. If I decide there is going to be a variation to a pattern I’m working on, it can sometimes be very obvious what the variation will be. Some designs point you in a certain direction and it just makes sense to go that way. Other times it's hard to know where a variation will go until I actually start playing around and experimenting. Sometimes, with whatever approach you take it turns out to be a dead-end. In my experience, either approach can lead to great pattern variations, and at the very least, lots of learnings. 

What I love about this part of the design process is the constraint, because it challenges me to think outside the box. You don't have the endless freedom that you have with the first design. You have to consider the limitations that have been set by the original. And this has very practical implications when designing patterns for home sewists. We need to use as many of the original pattern pieces as possible to limit the number of pages our customers have to print. And we also need to use as many of the same processes as possible to avoid having a 100 page instruction booklet!

Fun fact #1: The Hove jacket was originally a variation!

You may be familiar with my very popular Hove jacket pattern, but what you may not be familiar with is its back story…

Flynn jacket (original design)

Hove jacket (pattern variation)

Originally, the Hove jacket was a variation of the Flynn jacket. As the design evolved, through the addition of a hood, a change in the hem shape and different pleats, it became impossible to keep them both in one sewing pattern. The pattern would have been enormous! The up-sides of this variation evolution was that I now had two new designs to release and could create other variations within each design. Also, the patterns can be mixed and matched, which you can read more about here.

Fun fact #2: Pattern variations can come about as a result of customer requests!

And this is how the Acton sleeve expansion pack was created…

Acton dress (original design)

Acton dress sleeve expansion (pattern variation)

This pattern variation was actually quite difficult to design because the original Acton dress pattern had already been published and therefore couldn’t be changed. This meant there was absolutely no room for movement in the original design when working through the sleeve variation design process and I had to come up with a new bodice design that worked with the original pattern to be able to create the sleeves patterns.

THE ORIGINAL ATTWOOD PANTS

Attwood pants (original design)

Attwood pants (original design)

I first designed the Attwood pants and created the pattern long before I launched my sewing subscription, Curated by ITF. Back then, they were referred to as the very original 'Panel pants'. 

Side note: I made the pair above many moons ago when the pattern was still in development. They’re made in a cotton drill fabric that suits the pattern perfectly. They are the perfect weight and I have worn them A LOT. (They’re so old that I can't remember what size these are, but I'd say probably a D or E. I am currently 1-2 sizes bigger in my waist and hip measurements compared to when I made them and they are still comfortable. Elastic waist pants for the win!)

As the idea for Curated by ITF began to grow, the pants pattern was pushed to the side and my time was filled with learning new skills and designing other projects. But a couple of years ago, when I was wondering how to include the pants pattern in our Curated program, I started to think about a skirt variation. I liked the idea of playing with the panels and using the wrap around pocket (my favourite element!) in another garment type. 

The hurdles of drafting an Attwood skirt variation

Attwood pants (pattern variation - skirt)

Attwood pants (pattern variation - skirt)

Attwood pants (pattern variation - skirt)

When I started drafting the Attwood skirt variation, I began to realise that I wasn't going to be able to use the pants pattern pieces how I’d hoped and expected. 

I had anticipated that I would need to draft a new centre front and centre back panel, because skirts don't need a crotch seam and I also needed these pieces to be the same length as the side panels. But, I had thought the side panels could work for both pants and a skirt. Once I started drafting the skirt however, it was clear they were going to be too narrow. 

Then there was the problem of how to finish the seams, as a side split would need to be added to give enough room for movement…

So you can see here what I was talking about before. The limitations of the original design meant that I would have to make significant changes to the pattern pieces and write completely new instructions in order to include a skirt view in the Attwood pants pattern.

Sometimes pattern variations just don’t work

Although it's fun to design within the parameters of an established pattern, it was fairly ambitious of me to think that pants and a skirt could come from the same pattern. Sometimes you have to accept that a particular variation is just not going to work. That’s what I came to with this one, and that’s okay.

Although I had to give up my dreams of including a skirt variation in the Attwood pants pattern, I did make the skirt to see how and if it would work, which you can see above. And, I love it! 

I realised that a tutorial showing how to hack the Attwood pants pattern into a skirt is exactly the kind of information my Curated by ITF community loves, and it’s now one of the additional resources that we created for our much-loved Foldies. So if you think you’d like to learn how to do this too, I recommend joining. We’d love you to see you in there!

Happy sewing,

Emily

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Rushcutter dress by @__shemakes

Whitlow robe by @homesweethomestead

INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES FOR HOME SEWISTS

We know how much our community loves to geek out about sewing, so for this month’s behind the scenes email we thought we’d dive into the nitty gritty of some of the industrial sewing techniques we like to use at In the Folds. 

With every pattern we design, there are very specific reasons why we do things the way we do them. And what you may notice when you first open up an In the Folds pattern is that it may be a bit different to how you’ll see things done in the home sewing world more broadly.

When I started drafting my first patterns for In the Folds it was really important to me to do things the ‘right’ way. For me, that meant continuing to use the techniques I learned while studying Fashion Design at university. Of course, since I’d spent several years studying these techniques and methods of sewing they made a lot of sense to me, but as someone who had sewn for many years before studying, I could also see the benefits of using them when it came to the overall standard of finish of the garments I made. Everything looked more polished and well-made. They fit better. They even felt stronger - like they would handle being worn over and over again without needing to be repaired constantly. And this was exactly what I wanted for the makers of my In the Folds patterns!

Sometimes this means that the techniques we use aren’t quick and easy to explain, and our Fit Kits and Skills Kits are often over 100 pages long as a result! But the thing is, once you’ve learned them, you can apply these skills over and over again, on every garment you make, and create yourself a wardrobe full of beautifully-made pieces that will last a long time.

Here’s some examples of the industry techniques we use, along with why we prefer them. I hope you find it enlightening, AND perhaps feel encouraged to try a method you’ve been too scared of previously!

INDUSTRIAL SEWING TECHNIQUES VS HOME SEWING TECHNIQUES & our preferred methods

Notches

Notches are used to indicate seam allowance, dart arms, and the location of design details, such as pleats, tucks, gathers, hems and pockets. They can also be used to indicate key points on a pattern, such as the centre front and centre back. Single notches indicate the front side of the pattern piece, while double notches indicate the back.

In most traditional home sewing patterns you’ll see notches marked by a triangle. We use the industrial way of notching patterns, which is where you snip into the edge of the fabric. Not only are single snips much easier to make, they’re also much more accurate. Lining up a single point is always going to be easier than lining up and cutting triangles accurately. 

How to mark notches using the industrial method

To mark a notch, snip into the fabric 6mm (¼in). If the notch is on a narrow seam (for example, 6mm) you will need to reduce the amount you snip in by.

Drill holes

Drill holes are used to indicate features that are located in an area of the pattern that can’t be notched. For example patch pocket placement and dart points. Drill holes can be marked in a range of ways - with chalk, pins or a tailor’s tack.

In the industry, drill holes are literal drill holes - tiny holes that are drilled into the fabric. The reason for this is that garment pieces are cut in multiples by layering fabric, and drill holes are then marked through all the layers in one go. 

For home sewing we don’t need to worry about marking multiple garments at a time, so we can do it any way we like. When sewing a toile I always use a stiletto / awl to pierce a hole in the fabric because it won’t be worn as a finished garment and it’s much faster to do (and we all want to finish our toiles fast!) and also very accurate.

When it comes to marking darts on In the Folds patterns, we set the drill hole back 1.2cm (1/2in) from the dart point. The reason for this is that the marking will be hidden inside the dart when it’s sewn and you don’t have to worry about marking or damaging fabric where it might be visible at the dart apex.

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If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey, our Curated by ITF subscription might be just what you're looking for.

As well as a monthly sewing project, you’ll gain access to our private member platform where you can receive feedback and advice from the ITF team and other experienced makers, participate in sew-alongs and make sewing besties all over the world!

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Seam allowances

The seam allowances in our patterns vary, depending on the part of the garment that is being sewn, as this makes sewing our patterns easier. If patterns have the same seam allowance over the entire pattern, it makes some areas quite tricky to sew. 

For example, if a zip is being sewn into a seam we’ll allow for a larger seam allowance of 2cm (3/4in). For necklines and waist seams we tend to use 1cm (3/8in) as curves are easier to sew with a narrower seam allowance. 

In industry, seam allowances can be a small as 6mm (1/4in) but I learned quickly that a lot of home sewists shy away from a 6mm (1/4in) seam allowance, and that’s okay! At the end of the day we are creating patterns for home sewists and we want the chosen techniques to suit home sewists!

Marking seam allowances on a pattern 

When I first started using commercial sewing patterns I was surprised to realise they don’t have the seam allowance marked. I had become used to using my own patterns that always had the stitch line marked, and I referred to these lines often.

Stitch lines come in handy when making alterations (for style or fit) to a pattern. When adjusting a pattern you need to remove the seam allowance before making a change, so having it on there cuts out this step because it’s there ready to go. 

I also believe that having it on a pattern normalises the idea that patterns are designed to be altered and hacked to meet the user’s needs and requirements. Yes, it’s fun when you love a pattern and it works on the first try, but in reality this is not the case for most makers, so adding stitch lines makes our patterns more accessible to those that know they’ll need to make adjustments.

Although I love having stitch lines marked on the pattern, I have learned over time that they’re not for everyone, so now our digital patterns have these lines on a separate layer so you can choose to print your pattern with or without.

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Cut 1 pair vs Cut 2

Our cutting instructions are always written so there is no room for confusion. There’s enough to think about when starting a new project, so we like to make sure makers feel supported and that the guess work has been taken out of the process. 

Using the term ‘Cut 1 pair’ specifies that the two pattern pieces should mirror each other, which is important for one-sided or directional fabric. Patterns that say “Cut 2” leave room for error as the term doesn’t communicate whether the pieces need to be identical or mirror images. 

Sewing sleeves in the round 

If you’ve been in the home sewing world for a while you’ve probably come across a (possibly heated) discussion somewhere about which method of sewing sleeves is better - in the round or flat?

My preference is most definitely sewing in the round, unless I’m sewing a knit or relaxed fit garment with a dropped shoulder. The reason is because I will always choose longevity and finish quality over speed, and that’s exactly what you get when you sew sleeves in the round.

Sewing sleeves in the round almost always helps you achieve a sleeve that fits and hangs properly and sits nicely under the arm. You’ll get a smoother finish under the arm because you have more control over which direction to press the seams, and the sleeve will wrap around the curve of the underarm, rather than sit flat.

Want to learn more about these two methods and why I prefer sewing in the round? Check out this blog post. You might also be interested in how and why we combine the two approaches.

Flat felled seams vs Mock  flat felled seams

Flat felled seams are one of those finishes we all admire on RTW garments. It just looks so good! One of the strongest seam finishes, they’re perfect for hard-wearing items like pants and jackets and we just had to include them in our latest pattern release, the Attwood pants pattern. (Also, we knew this was a finish our community was keen to perfect!) 

Flat felled seams are where the raw edges are enclosed inside the seam, like with French seams, but it’s then pressed and stitched to keep the seam nice and flat. Because there is a bit of bulk in this finish and they do take some time to do, mock or faux flat felled seams were created to give the same look.

Although they may look the same from the right side, faux flat felled seams are simply not as hard wearing as true flat felled seams, and the finish on the inside is not as clean. So that’s a no to faux!

Neck ribbing

Have you ever attached a ribbed neckband on a knit shirt you’re making, only to be disappointed at how warped it looks when you’re done?

For ease of explaining the instructions, knit fabric patterns will often tell you to ‘quarter the neckband’. However, because the front neckline is longer than the back, it means the front ribbing is stretched more than the back, making the neckband uneven. In the Folds patterns always have notches to distribute the stretch evenly around the neckline, and if you’re making your own pattern we recommend using the ratio method to work it out. If you’re keen to learn more about sewing with knit fabric, we recommend you check out our Sewing Knits Skills Kit!

These techniques are just a dash of those we prefer to use at In the Folds, and if you’d like to learn more and find out how to start applying these to your own sewing process, we’d love you to join us with a Curated by ITF membership.

In the meantime, I hope these techniques and explanations are helpful!

Happy sewing,

Emily

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Hove jacket by @dogsinstitches_and_me

Flynn jacket by @theladywholunches

THE SAWTELL DRESS AND TOP EXTENDED SIZE RANGE RELEASE

Since first releasing the Sawtell dress and top patterns in our Curated by ITF subscription, these have become some of our most sought after designs.  

Questions like "How can I buy the Sawtell dress pattern?" and "How long til the Sawtell patterns are released in the extended size range?" have become regular refrains in our inbox.

Which makes it all the more wonderful to FINALLY be able to tell you that the Sawtell dress and Sawtell top patterns are now available to purchase in our shop and in our extended size range!

(And, if you’re interested in reading about the process we went through to increase the sizes offered in our patterns, check out this blog post. We’ve also got a blog post about Plus Size Sewing Resources here.)

It’s all in the details of sawtell

The Sawtell dress is a sophisticated, yet versatile, wardrobe staple with a range of design details that will appeal to the sewist who is seeking to expand their techniques and skills.

Made in a lightweight fabric this garment will play the role of summer cover-up perfectly. In something heavier and more structured, styled with a turtle-neck and tights, it will become the mainstay of your cooler weather wardrobe.

Featuring an inset placket with pleats and bust darts, the Sawtell dress has a yoke and box pleat in the back, capped sleeves and a wide hem. The neckline is finished with bias binding and pockets are inset for an eye-catching design feature and new technique for you to learn.

Designed with longevity in mind, the Sawtell top comes with four sleeve options - straight, gathered, flared sleeve and a fun dropped gathered sleeve. With these sleeves in your pattern stash (and our guidance in the Fit Kit) you’ll be able to make lots of different Sawtell tops, or add the sleeves to the Sawtell dress pattern or another pattern in your stash!

In the version below, Emily added the long gathered sleeves and inset placket to the Sawtell dress.

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If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey our Curated by ITF subscription might be just what you're looking for.

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There’s something about Sawtell

Sometimes you release a pattern and you never expect it to be as popular as it is. And that’s exactly the case with the Sawtell designs.

There’s just something about the versatility of these designs that our customers love… so we thought we’d share some of the makes from when Sawtell was first released, so you can see the design in action and hear firsthand what it is about Sawtell that everyone loves.

Here’s a selection of three Sawtell dresses, all made by Lynn who, to date, has made a total of nine! Pretty sure that speaks for itself. Lynn’s makes really show how versatile this pattern is when it comes to fabric choice.

Caroline made the most of a smaller piece of very special fabric, combining it with a matching solid for the neckline placket.

“My Sawtell is finished and feels like the perfect dress for a hot, humid day. This lovely linen is from Injalak Arts, an indigenous gallery in the Northern Territory, Australia. The design by Eva Nganjmirra is called Mandem (Waterlillies).”

Saritha chose one of the simpler Sawtell views, but used her fabric and print selection to create a combination that really sings!

“I used the sawtell dress pattern with all the adjustments to make the bodice as per the instructions and the straight sleeve. Also took out the front pleat. I like it better this way.”

Less is more with Sue’s classic natural linen version!

“Thanks Emily for designing the Sawtell! I just love it so much - it’s everything I have wanted in a dress, and in a sewing project! It totally feels curated for me. 🤩”

Get the fit right with the Sawtell Fit Kits

Our Fit Kits have become a much-relied on resource for our Curated by ITF members (like Nadia below), with a plethora of tutorials to help you get the right fit for your body, and not just for In the Folds patterns! Our Fit Kit adjustments can be applied to many different designs and patterns, making them a valuable resource to add to your sewing kit. 

Released with all our new patterns as part of our Curated by ITF subscription, they’re now available as a standalone resource OR bundled with the related pattern at a significant discount!

“I wanted to share my final version of the Sawtell dress. I’m so happy with it! I’m really glad I did a toile as it allowed me to practice the techniques and check the fit. This is my best sewing to date and thanks to ITF for pushing me to learn new skills!”

Not just for neutrals

Shelby’s Sawtell is giving definite 60s vibes and we’re here for it!

“It was so satisfying sewing the placket and pockets! I was nervous about them but am really pleased with how they turned out.”

Shuay is one of our most adventurous members - she’s always willing to give a new pattern a go and in many different fabrics and iterations!

“I made the dress in this busy print. Wanted to skip the collar as I thought the print is too busy for a pattern with collar. I was wrong. The collar made it so fabulous!”

We are so happy with how well-received this pattern has been and we’re excited to see this continue with the extended size range.

If you’ve make a Sawtell garment and share it on social media, make sure you use the Sawtell hashtags - #sawtelldress or #sawtelltop - so we can see it!

Finally, a very big thank you to our photo team members (Sara @fabric_scraps, Melissa @melissalowrydesign and Karina @lovemade.handmade) for their help in photographing the Sawtell patterns in it’s different versions!

Happy sewing,

Emily

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Rushcutter dress by @clairesayssew

Peppermint Wrap skirt by @slowseams

HOW I PREPARED MY SMALL BUSINESS FOR MATERNITY LEAVE

Hi there!

I wanted to share with you a bit about how we prepared our small, independent pattern design business to allow me to take maternity leave.

As I’m sure you can imagine (or perhaps know from hands-on experience) it’s a pretty major thing for a business owner to take a step back from their own business, particularly when it’s for extended periods of time, and even more so when the business has a very small team. I wanted to share my experience with you, in the hope that it helps other small business owners who might also be navigating similar waters.

Although my partner and I had always planned to have a child, the idea seemed quite abstract - mainly because I am self-employed. There were so many questions that needed to be answered. The main one being how we were going to manage a new baby (and everything involved in having a new baby!) while also keeping the business running. So, from the moment I found out I was pregnant, I began thinking about the changes that needed to be made so the business could continue to function while I went on leave. 

The other major difference between taking maternity leave as a business owner was the amount of time I could take off. With such a small team and a monthly project subscription, we decided that I’d probably need to be back at work after 3 months. 

Up until this point, In the Folds was run by myself and Alys. Between the two of us we managed everything from the big picture work like pattern ideation and design, to the more practical business roles, like answering customer enquiries and managing the books. Between the two of us we agreed that with such a small team and a monthly subscription to maintain, I needed to be back at work after 3 months, and we needed to expand the team.

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If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey our Curated by ITF subscription might be just what you're looking for.

As well as a monthly sewing project, you’ll gain access to our private member platform where you can receive feedback and advice from the ITF team and other experienced makers, participate in sew-alongs and make sewing besties all over the world!

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Hiring another staff member

So, I advertised for, interviewed and hired a Communications Assistant (the lovely Xanthe - who you will know if you’ve contacted customer service in the last year or are part of our Curated subscription) so that I could begin handing over some of my work. It was important for me to do this early on in my pregnancy so I could train Xanthe and ensure she felt supported.

With Xanthe now in charge of communications, I could step aside from that side of things and really get into product development so we could start working ahead on our Curated by ITF project schedule.

Using project management software

The next thing I could see needed to happen was transitioning us over to more robust project management software. We had been using Trello up until that point, which had always done the job, but with the growth of the team we noticed that it relied too much on my input to make it work. We needed an application that would enable us to take everything out of my head and automate it so that when I was on leave I could completely disconnect because the team wasn’t relying on me to tell them the next step. After much trialling and testing we settled on Asana and began the huge job of setting it up (which I must give Xanthe all credit for!). It was a huge job, but one that made a huge impact almost instantly.

Updating our Operations Manual

I’ve used an Operations Manual since hiring my first employee in 2020, but it became more important to ensure that everything was added before I went on leave. So we set about making sure it was up to date.

I’ve always held a lot of the In the Folds processes in my head and my team are used to being able to come to me with any question they have, but we wanted to make sure everything was in there so they could find what they needed and felt supported while I took a break. This was a great thing to do because it forced me to think about the things we were doing and question whether anything could be streamlined further. It also meant that when I signed off for leave, I knew I would only need to be contacted about urgent matters and nothing related to the day-to-day running of the business. This eased my mind a lot as it was really important to me to be able to spend the early weeks of motherhood solely focusing on my recovery and my new bub.

Working ahead of schedule

When you own a very small business, there isn’t the budget to replace a role as you would in a corporate setting or larger business. My amazing employees, Alys and Xanthe, really stepped up to allow me to have time off by doing more hours or taking over jobs I have previously done myself.

But even with the extra hours, they of course couldn’t cover the number of hours I was doing, which meant we had to get ahead of the project schedule before I went on leave and then dial things back slightly while I was away, so that the work was achievable with the smaller team.

To do this, we followed a fairly strict, and jam-packed schedule, working as far ahead as we could (thanks to the project management software we had changed to). Prior to this, Alys and I worked on projects together, but to get ahead we decided to work independently on separate projects and then handover to each other further down the line for suggestions and updates. 

Alys became the wizard of all things operations during this time, and kept her eye on the project timeline to make sure we were keeping up. We managed to get everything done to a point where I could confidently close my laptop, knowing that everything was in good hands! 

I can’t say that it was an easy thing to do to prepare In the Folds for me to take leave, but it’s something that I am so grateful for, and I think it shows that it is possible for small businesses to do, if you’re prepared to get stuck in and do the hard yards. 

Looking back, I can see that the benefits far outweigh the negatives of what it required. It gave me time to really focus on everything happening in my family once our daughter arrived. To be present and enjoy my new family, without the constant distraction of work, because those early moments are fleeting and work will always be there.

If you know anyone in a similar business stage, please share this post with them. Otherwise, happy sewing!

Emily

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Neale jumpsuit by @sewing_andmore

Peppermint Wide Leg pants by @ivebeenmaking

WHY YOU NEED TO ADOPT A SLOW SEWING PRACTICE AND HOW TO DO IT

This year, April 22-29 is Fashion Revolution week.

You’ve probably heard of it. And, I’d say there’s a very high chance you’ve seen the Fashion Revolution campaigns at some point over the last 10 years on social media.

But you might be like me.

Up until now I’ve had a vague idea of it being about understanding where your clothes come from and what they’re made of… But that’s not really knowing about something, is it?

It’s Xanthe writing to you this week. And the truth is, if I didn’t have to write this blog post as part of my job, I probably would have continued on my merry way still not knowing.

If you’re like me, I hope you’ll keep reading because it’s a topic everyone should be conscious of and understand, and it really isn’t discussed enough.

what is fashion revolution week?

In Bangladesh, on April 24, 2013, the Rana Plaza commercial factory collapsed just one day after large structural cracks were discovered. The premises was evacuated and closed.

Except it wasn’t.

The factory housed businesses that made garments for a number of the world’s largest clothing brands. The day of the collapse, workers were ordered to return to work so they could continue to fill their orders. As a result, over 1,130 people were killed and many more suffered extreme physical injuries.

The tragedy was like a switch that turned a spotlight onto the terrible practices of the global fashion industry. It received significant media coverage through articles such as ‘The deadly cost of fashion’ by the New York Times, and ‘The Shirt on Your Back’ by The Guardian that attempted to explain the causes of the disaster from societal and industrial perspectives.

Compelled by the acute impacts of the collapse on the Bangladeshi community, and in an effort to change the broader fashion industry’s status quo, Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro created the Fashion Revolution initiative. For the last ten years, they have campaigned for ‘a clean, safe, fair, transparent and accountable fashion industry… that values people over growth and profit’ by prompting people to ask the clothing brands they support hard questions about how and where their clothes were made, and by whom.

Fashion Revolution Week is held annually on the week surrounding the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster. The aim is to continue to amplify the Fashion Revolution cause that seeks radical change in the fashion industry including conserving and restoring the environment and creating societies that thrive.

WHO MADE your CLOTHES?

Considering this is a sewing pattern business that might seem like a pretty strange question to ask. You’re probably thinking, ‘Well, I did. Duh!’

But this was the question that Emily began to consider while studying fashion design at university. You can read Emily’s story here, but to summarise, as she learned more and more about the practices of the fashion industry she became overwhelmed by the realisation that there was a significant cost to the fashion choices she made as an individual, and that someone was paying it, even if it wasn’t her.

the true cost of clothes

The idea that the choices we make have a cost isn’t mind-blowing.

But the removal of the process of making clothes from our day to day life means that many people have no concept of what actually goes into making a garment. For them, it’s just a matter of a few clicks, a couple of days and they’re wearing something new.

As sewists we see this everyday. In fact, if you’ve ever been asked to ‘whip something up’ for someone then you’ve experienced the result of this first-hand. There is no ‘whipping up’ clothing! This is just one example that shows most people have no idea how much work goes into sewing clothes, or appreciate the cost of the process.

The true cost of clothing is far greater than the recommended retail price and it includes the societal and environmental impact of the clothes we choose to wear. But it’s pretty hard to show that on a garment tag, and what the Rana Plaza disaster shows is that many businesses probably wouldn’t want to tell you anyway.

I MADE MY CLOTHES

As sewists, making our own clothes doesn’t make us any less accountable to the issue that Fashion Revolution is trying to address.

Have you ever really thought about where all the materials in the dress you’re making come from? Like the buttons, or the elastic or zip? Or has it also become too easy for us to duck out to our local big box fabric store to grab a few pieces of fabric and notions and whip up a new outfit?

but who made my fabric?

Fashion Revolution have made it easier for us, by reframing the question so it’s more applicable to makers like you and me.

By asking ‘Who made my fabric?’ they’re aiming to expose another level of the opaque fashion industry supply chain so that the overall societal and environmental costs of the materials we buy are clear. So that we know exactly what is going into the garments we are making with our own hands. So that we aren’t making clothing under the flawed assumption that we’re doing ‘a good thing’ simply because we’re making it with our own hands.

counting the cost of what we make

The materials involved in this process of creation that we all love and know as garment sewing have a cost. This is what we need to remember.

We’ve all struggled at some point in our sewing journey with an out-of-control fabric stash. Finding a new fabric in a print and colour we love and seeing all the potential it holds makes us want to buy it! And the abundance of inexpensive fabrics all over the internet makes it very easy to do.

But it’s time to start counting the cost. So, how do we?

Emily believes the answer lies in slow sewing, and this is the ethos that drives every product and resource that In the Folds creates.

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If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey our Curated by ITF subscription might be just what you're looking for.

As well as a monthly sewing project, you’ll gain access to our private member platform where you can receive feedback and advice from the ITF team and other experienced makers, participate in sew-alongs and make sewing besties all over the world!

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WHAT IS SLOW SEWING

For In the Folds, slow sewing is about sewing with intention.

More specifically, it's about being mindful of the projects we sew and the resources we use, and it's an environmentally and socially conscious response to fast fashion that focuses on seasonal trends and low cost, low quality clothing that isn’t made to last.

How to become a slow sewist

Keen to begin the journey of becoming a slow sewist? Here’s 7 actions you can take starting today!

1. Evaluate your wardrobe. We often make more clothes without even considering what we already own. Go through your current wardrobe to understand what you get the most wear out of and why. Think about what’s missing from your wardrobe. For example, perhaps you could do with a plain white shirt to throw on with jeans on a lazy Saturday. Or maybe a good Winter jacket is in order. Our Slow Sewing Planner takes you through the whole process of reflecting, organising and planning your wardrobe so you’re not just making for the sake of it.

2. Evaluate your fabric stash. If you’re anything like a lot of makers out there, you’ve probably accumulated a LOT of fabric yardage. And when you stop and actually look at how much you have, you might realise that there’s a lot in there that you no longer need or like. Go through your stash and remove anything that no longer ‘floats your boat’. Drop it off at an op shop, gift it to a friend or do a de-stash on your Instagram page to recoup some of the costs. (Just don’t spend that money you’ve made on buying more!!) Bundle up your fabric scraps in piles of similar fabric content and make a quilt, or donate the scraps to a quilting group, a school or a charity that makes sanitary products.

3. Use what you have and buy less. Plan out your future garment makes based on what you need to add to your wardrobe and the fabric you already have. If you don’t have the right fabric for a project you want to make, consider doing a fabric swap with someone rather than purchasing more. Don’t buy fabric unless you have a specific project in mind for it and you know how much fabric you actually need.

4. Buy well. If you’re not impulse buying then you’re probably going to have more in the kitty when you do need to buy something, which means you can afford to buy better quality fabric. Good quality fabric is definitely more expensive, but it is often easier to sew with (making your hobby even more enjoyable!), and garments tend to last longer and age well.

5. Stick to natural fibres. Every time you wash a garment made from synthetic fibres tiny particles enter, pollute and damage our water eco-systems, and they take a very long time to break down (even up to hundreds of years for some products!), and when they do break down they leach toxic chemicals into the environment. Natural fibres break down quickly, and if they’re organic have less impact on the environment. Besides, natural fibres like linen and cotton are much more comfortable to wear because they’re breathable and they feel great against your skin!

6. Ask the question, ‘Who made my fabric?’. As consumers it’s up to us to hold the businesses we support accountable about who is involved in the production processes of the products they sell. Are workers paid a living wage? Is their work environment safe? Does the manufacturer consider the environmental impact of their manufacturing process? If they can’t give us the answers to these questions, we should take our money elsewhere.

7. Focus on in-put, not out-put. Make your focus more about skill-building and less about wardrobe building. Focus on improving your sewing skills and become a master of your craft. By doing this you’ll start making clothes you love and feel connected to, which means you’ll love and wear them longer!

I hope this has been an informative and inspiring read and it will help you consider the choices you make as a creative. I know I’ll be making different choices from now on, because I don’t want other people to pay the cost for my bad decisions.

Happy sewing!

Xanthe

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

This week we’re featuring the wonderful Kealy makes from two of our Curated by ITF members!

Kealy T-shirt by Jeanne

“Although I own an overlocker, I used my sewing machine for this whole project as I wanted to see what my machine was capable of. I love the pattern, and I'm looking forward to making some more!”

Kealy T-shirt by Deborah

“I resisted buying all the pretty fabrics this month and I really just needed a black t-shirt, so I made one.”

USING SAMPLERS IN YOUR SEWING PRACTICE

Have you ever heard of sewing samplers?

You may be familiar with the idea of needlework samplers, which have been used for many years by makers as a reference for embroidery patterns or stitches they have learned, but you may not be quite so familiar with the use of samplers when making garments.

Similar to their use in needlework, garment sewing samplers are often using in industry for sewing small examples of techniques that are then used as a reference during the garment construction process.

Our Curated by ITF sewing subscription has a big focus on building our members’ skills and understanding of the garment making process, rather than just making more clothes for the sake of it. We want our makers to be completely happy with the garments they make. To be confident in applying different sewing techniques while improving their skills, so they create a finished garment they are proud of that gets worn over and over again. This is exactly why we’re big believers of using samplers in our home-based sewing practice!

the benefits of sewing samplers

Often, when we try a new technique or skill we launch right into making a garment using it because we’re excited. It’s usually AFTER we’ve cut into our ‘good fabric’ and started sewing that we realise we don’t know how to do it properly or to the standard we’d prefer. Or perhaps when we’ve finished making a garment we might realise we’re not happy with the finish, which then might affect how much wear the garment gets.

There’s lots of reasons why you should include sewing samplers in your practice. Here’s a few:

• Because they’re small, samplers allow you to quickly practise and perfect new skills and techniques.

• Samplers minimise waste because they are only a small portion of a garment (for example, an in-seam pocket), and because you are less likely to make mistakes if you’ve practiced before applying a technique to a garment you hope to wear.

• They remove the pressure of getting it right the first time, because you’re not sewing an entire garment or using your ‘good fabric’.

• Because you don’t wear them, they’re a great way of using up leftover fabric scraps. The fabric doesn’t have to match and can be patchworked together with a variety of fabric prints and colours.

• They are a great way of making use of very small pieces of bias binding or interfacing, for example, that might otherwise get thrown in the bin.

One of the main benefits of samplers is that they are excellent references to return to if you need reminding of how to do a particular technique, or the approach you’ve decided you prefer to use. Keeping samplers means that you don’t have to rely on your memory or scribbled (and often unreadable!) notes you made in a hurry on a scrap of paper that’s now somewhere in a pile on your sewing table. These small examples can be stored easily with construction notes and used as a reference to inform future makes.

We used the samplers approach in our Pants Sewing Skills Kit and again in our Sewing Knits Skills Kit. Our members have loved including them in their sewing practice, so we thought we’d share some of their work to inspire you!

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If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey our Curated by ITF subscription might be just what you're looking for.

As well as a monthly sewing project, you’ll gain access to our private member platform where you can receive feedback and advice from the ITF team and other experienced makers, participate in sew-alongs and make sewing besties all over the world!

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SHUAY’S stitch SAMPLERS

Shuay has spent a lot of time sewing with knit fabric and thought she had covered all the basics, but after reading through our Sewing Knits Skills Kit she realised there was a lot she didn’t know.

After learning about the stitches that mimic overlocking that can be found on regular domestic sewing machines, she started experimenting with samplers to figure out what stitch was the best option for the stretch fabrics she had in her stash. She found that depending on the fabric used, some stitches could be seen on the outside of the fabric once it was stretched, which is very important information to have when sewing with stretch fabric!

SUTHI’S seam samplers

Suthi experimented with the knit fabric in her stash by creating a range of knit fabric samplers that compared the finish she could achieve using different stitches with a walking foot on her 10 year old Brother domestic machine. Here’s what she sewed:

Top - Medium weight knit fabric with a triple stitch vs lightening bolt stitch.
Middle -Light weight knit fabric with a triple stitch vs lightening bolt stitch.
Bottom - Super light weight, drapey knit fabric with triple stitch vs lightening bolt stitch.

Suthi learned that even with the walking foot her fabric ‘grew’ up to 1cm in length and that she preferred the finished achieved using the triple stitch.

using our knit sampler patterns: emily’s experience

Inside this month’s Sewing Knits Skills Kit and the Pants Sewing Skills Kit we include patterns for knit samplers that allow you to practice particular elements of a T-shirt pattern (because next month we’re releasing the Kealy T-shirt pattern in our subscription!) and some basic skills required for sewing with knit fabric.

Emily used the patterns to create a range of samplers to test various settings on her domestic sewing machine, as well as practice the different techniques we cover in the Skills Kit.

Based on the experience she had sewing these samplers, Emily could see what she needed to practice more to get the finish she wanted, and was able to ask questions in our online community that helped her improve her technique. She’s now feeling confident to tackle next month’s Curated by ITF project, the Kealy T-shirt pattern and we’re waiting with baited breath to see what she creates!

We love seeing our community members becoming confident garment makers, and we hope by sharing these member experience we can encourage you to continue growing your own garment making skills.

If becoming a confident maker is something you want to achieve, you should definitely consider subscribing to Curated by ITF, where you will gain the support of professional garment makers with years of industry experience, as well as be inspired by a community of makers just like you!

Happy sewing!

Xanthe

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Collins top by @pinpoint_textiles

Wrap skirt by @philosomaker

BEHIND THE SCENES: A PEEK AT OUR PATTERN WRITING PROCESS

The pattern writing process might seem like a bit of a mystery to some people, so I thought it would be great to share a snippet of the process we go through.

Specifically, how we choose what finishings to include, and how we decide on the order of construction for the booklets we release for our awesome customers each month.

setting the direction

Okay, so first stop… say hello to Emily and I in the In the Folds studio!

Every project we release begins with us having a good long chat about the techniques and skills we want to share. Whether we’re creating a skills resource or a sewing pattern, we ALWAYS focus on what you can learn by making them!

how will we get there?

Once we’ve ticked that off and we know exactly what direction the project is headed in, we chat about the options for finishing techniques and construction order.

This is a stage we both really love. It’s fun to talk through the project and share our ideas. And, this part of the process can vary enormously, depending on the project we’re working on.

Sometimes our ideas will line up perfectly and we know exactly what is needed. Other times our individual experiences with sewing techniques will differ and we’ll have different perspectives on how we should approach the project.

When this happens we’ll discuss the pros and cons of each approach. Not all sewing finishes and techniques suit every application, so we try to base the decision on what is most suitable for the project we’re working on.

Most importantly, we aim to include sewing techniques and skills that our makers will enjoy doing. So, if we don’t think our community will enjoy it or get good results from using it then it definitely doesn’t make the cut!

Once we’re all chatted out, one of us will start to create the content for the project.

We’ll dive into the other areas of creating a pattern in future posts, but today we’re discussing how we create instructions for sewing patterns or samplers. If you’re interested in this topic, you can learn more about how Emily created a pattern for the Gibson loungewear set here.

SAMPLING TO TEST IDEAS

When creating each project, we always sew samples or a complete garment to test out the techniques and order of construction.

Sometimes we know exactly how the steps will be sewn; other times, we experiment and sample with a few different ideas until we come up with the best order for you!

Because so much of our work is computer-based, sewing is a fun part of the process and often a welcome break from the screen! I’ll set myself up for the day and prepare my sewing machine, fabrics, and filming equipment for any sew-along videos or photos.

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Join Curated by ITF - find your new community!

If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey our Curated by ITF subscription might be just what you're looking for.

As well as a monthly sewing project, you’ll gain access to our private member platform where you can receive feedback and advice from the ITF team and other experienced makers, participate in sew-alongs and make sewing besties all over the world!

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Sometimes we’ll be trialling a few different techniques at the same time and we’ll discover that one method doesn’t work well with another. When this happens we have to adjust, or change completely, the order things are sewn.

If we’re just making adjustments we might sew two alternatives, or go back and just sew and photograph the parts we need for the changes to the construction method. Sometimes if the construction order has changed completely, we’ll sew another version from scratch.

As you can appreciate, it can be a time-consuming process!

For the Sewing Knits Skills Kit samplers, we already knew how most techniques and the construction order would work, which meant I could go ahead and sew each stage and take photos.

I did, however, test two sleeve options for our T-shirt pattern coming next month! I sewed one in flat and one as a set-in sleeve. They both worked well, but we felt the set-in sleeve gave a better finish overall for this pattern.

When I had photos for each stage, I typed up instruction notes and added the photos to each step. We try to keep the wording of our instructions consistent, so I’ll often look back at past projects and adapt them where necessary.

This document is then handed to our illustrator, who works her magic to create the detailed illustrations you find in our sewing patterns.

Once we receive the illustrations back from the illustrator, we drop them into our instruction booklets and tweak them to ensure they align with our vision!

If I’ve been working on the instruction booklet, once I’ve finished it I’ll hand it over to Emily (or she’ll hand it over to me!) to have a look over it with fresh eyes, and provide feedback.

Then we whisk it off to our pattern editor for a final check before it heads out to our photo team for testing and photography.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little look inside our creative process! There’s so much that goes on that we can easily take for granted, so if you have any questions, just pop them in the comments and we’ll make sure we answer them!

Happy sewing!

Alys

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Gibson loungewear set by @shuaychong

Collins top by @sewingmachinations

A MAKER'S PERSPECTIVE: WHY LYNN LOVES CURATED BY ITF

Hello everyone!

It’s Lynn here. I’m a relatively new sewist, who’s been as enthralled by reading about sewing, as much as I have been with the act of sewing itself.

So, of course, when the good ladies of In the Folds asked if I would write something about how much I’ve enjoyed sewing with them, I was thrilled! (Thrilled and nervous. But here we go!)

At the end of 2022, I found myself assessing the contents of my wardrobe to see where the gaps were, as well as what needed cleaning out. It was then that it struck me that my oft-repeated and most-worn garments come from Curated by ITF.

I’ve been a part of the sewing subscription since the Acton dress sleeve expansion, and have been working my way through the issues. And it shows in obvious ways - so many In the Folds patterns made! And others that are more subtle - I’m a better maker thanks to the focus the subscription has on beautiful finishes and care.

LYNN’S SAWTELL DRESSES

Case in point: I’ve made nine Sawtell dresses. All my Sawtells have been absolute workhorses in my wardrobe - I love the generous shape, the endless possibilities for hacking (that sleeve expansion!) and enjoy wearing them all so much.

lynn’s rennie dresses

Meanwhile, this Rennie dress (one of three) finally got me over the hump of trimming tiiiiny seam allowances, and now I can see why it matters. Rennie has become my favourite belted dress pattern of any I own.

lynn’s gibson dress

And of course, there’ve also been newer additions, such as the Gibson dress, sewn out of a thrifted cotton-linen bedsheet! This design has unparalleled comfort and *drama* with those sleeves and the swoop of the hem.

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If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey our Curated by ITF subscription might be just what you're looking for.

As well as a monthly sewing project, you’ll gain access to our private member platform where you can receive feedback and advice from the ITF team and other experienced makers, participate in sew-alongs and make sewing besties all over the world!

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lynn’s stow dresses

And a new favourite, the delightful Stow dress from the latest issue, with its fun cocoon shape, easy style and versatility. This dress has truly received the most compliments of anything I’ve ever made!

And thinking about why I love the subscription so much, and why it works for me, has so much to do with how it all began. I took up sewing in September 2020, and was hooked, clinging onto it for dear life throughout the pandemic. And at the beginning of my sewing journey, I couldn’t get enough: fabrics, patterns, different shapes, techniques… I wanted to try all of it. 

why curated by itf works for lynn

Since I first started sewing, I’ve felt a strong desire to make. But since that first mad drive to try and make everything, with anything I could find, I’ve slowed down. And with that has come the joy of looking out for different things: clever, thoughtful details; smart, satisfying construction; new skills that expand the repertoire of what I can do… All of which align with the ethos of slow sewing - appreciating what you make, loving the process, and loving the garment that much more for it. 

Which is where Curated by ITF comes in!

This sewing subscription has made me a better sewist. It’s made me choose patterns and fabrics more wisely. And frankly, I love the surprise of not knowing what’s going to be coming my way each month until the week before the new Issue arrives!

In the Folds garments are supremely comfortable, and if any adjustments need to be made to fit my own measurements the instructions and community have you covered. Being able to trust the clean lines and well-drafted designs of the patterns also allows me to experiment with some of the things I love most about sewing: playing with print and texture, and experimenting with new shapes - all to make something thoroughly and distinctively my own.

Each time I wear one of my In the Folds garments, I get a little echo sense-memory of how much I enjoyed the making process. Pair that with the all-day comfort and go-anywhereness of the clothes, and it’s a combo that’s hard to beat.  

But, washing puts additional stress on our garments and is not always necessary. So, when it comes to uniform dressing in the cooler months, it’s good to think about how you can take care of your clothes without the need to wash them all the time.

For example, my original Stow dress is made from a mid-weight denim and I rarely wash it. I designed it to be worn with layers, so I almost always have something under it - a t-shirt, long sleeve top, tights when it’s chilly. This means I can just wash the base layers and the dress itself can be worn numerous times before needing a wash. I spot remove marks and only wash it when necessary. When I do wash it, I turn it inside out and wash in cold water to put as little strain on the garment as possible.

It’s also good to consider what fabrics you like to wear and why. If you prefer natural fibres, think about how you can incorporate these into your uniform pieces. You may think it’s more expensive to use the fibres you prefer, but if you consider the cost per wear of uniform pieces then you’ll see that over time it really pays off.

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Thanks so much, Lynn! We absolutely loved seeing inside your wardrobe and hearing about the skills you've learn through Curated by ITF. You've inspired us with your fabric choices and we're rushing off to add some of these to our sewing wish lists!

If you'd like to find out for yourself what it is that Lynn loves about Curated by ITF, join over 700 other makers and sign up to Curated by ITF today!

Happy sewing,

Emily

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Stow dress by @theladywholunches

Peppermint Wrap skirt by @elizarenouf

A GUIDE TO UNIFORM DRESSING

When we’ve dragged ourself out of bed and are standing in front of the wardrobe at the start of the day it’s not uncommon to feel like we have ‘nothing to wear’.

The wardrobe might be bursting at the seams from all the options it holds, but that’s not what we see…

We see questions. (Does this go with that? Do I feel like wearing that today? Does it need to be ironed??)

And decisions. (Ugh, too early.)

So how can we lower the morning hurdle of ‘what do I wear?’ without resorting to moving to a nudist colony?

Uniform dressing. (You might also be familiar with the term ‘capsule wardrobe’.)

What is uniform dressing?

When you think of uniform dressing you might have some very specific images pop into your head.

Like, Steve Jobs and his black turtleneck, jeans and sneakers, for example.

Or Barack Obama and his grey or blue suits…

Even Karl Lagerfeld with his white ponytail, high collared shirts, black sunglasses and signature fingerless gloves.

These are all extreme examples of uniform dressing, and you might be thinking that wearing the same thing, day in day out, is the last thing you want to do!

And we agree! That’s NOT the kind of uniform dressing we’re talking about. We want easy, not boring!(Phew!)

Source

For us, uniform dressing is about having a few key looks or pieces in your wardrobe that you can pull together quickly to make getting dressed easy. It’s a smaller collection of versatile garments that can mix with a range of other pieces to create different looks.

When I first designed the Stow dress (long before I knew it was going to become an In the Folds pattern), I had no idea it was going to become a major part of my studio/work uniform. I just thought it would be fun to make a denim dress that I could layer over tops and t-shirts in my wardrobe. Within no time it became a constant in my wardrobe - through changing weather and changing seasons - and 6 years later it’s still going strong. It even got me through half of my pregnancy last year!

With the release of the Stow dress pattern in our sewing subscription - Curated by ITF, I’ve been thinking back on the original version and how much I’ve worn it. I’ve realised how great it is to have “work-horse” pieces in your wardrobe that you can just grab and throw on. But I’ve also been thinking a lot about what makes these garments work so well and how we can apply this concept to our daily dressing process a little more thoughtfully.

Here’s what I’ve come up with.

What is uniform dressing to you?

How you incorporate uniform dressing into your dressing practice, and what pieces you incorporate is entirely up to you, and dependant on your daily routine and current wardrobe.

Think about the pieces you wear consistently.

What do you feel most comfortable in?

What pieces in your wardrobe go well with a range of items?

It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that uniform dressing has to be all neutrals or black fabric from head-to-toe. This really doesn’t need to be the case - you can have uniform pieces that are brightly coloured or prints.

For me, coming up with uniform or signature pieces depends on the seasons.

In Spring and Summer, my go-to uniform pieces are heavily printed. I find printed dresses particularly easy and comfortable to throw on in the warmer months. Because dresses are usually worn on their own, I don’t have to think about what to wear them with.

In the cooler months my uniform pieces leans more heavily towards the darker tones and denims. I find it easier to layer tones of a similar colour, along with a few pops of colour here and there for added interest.

When I spoke to my colleague, Alys, about uniform dressing, she said her go-to is a printed Barkly skirt (check it out here!) that she can easily throw on with a black t-shirt or top. So as you can see, a uniform piece doesn’t necessarily need to be all neutral!

THINK ABOUT the pieces that work for you

Often you won’t know what these uniform pieces are until you sit down and have a think about what gets the most wear in your wardrobe. You might think you like a lot of glitz and glamour, but the reality is that jeans and t-shirts are your go-tos.

When you’ve come up with a list of items you wear consistently, think about why you wear them. Is it because you like the feel of them on your skin? Perhaps it’s because they’re easy to care for? Or maybe they just make you feel good?

Our Slow Sewing Planner includes a wardrobe reflection flow chart, wardrobe diary and wardrobe evaluation that can help you work through this process, and is a resource you can return to each season, year or whenever you feel like you’re in a bit of a wardrobe slump.

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Join Curated by ITF - find your new community!

If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey our Curated by ITF subscription might be just what you're looking for.

As well as a monthly sewing project, you’ll gain access to our private member platform where you can receive feedback and advice from the ITF team and other experienced makers, participate in sew-alongs and make sewing besties all over the world!

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Think about fabric

Fabric plays a big part in the pieces that get a lot of wear.

Durable fabrics can last the test of time and be worn over and over. While delicate fabrics might be pretty to look at and be lovely to wear, they might not become the “work-horse” you imagined because of how they need to be cared for.

For example, I have a lot of Acton dresses in my wardrobe, made from everything from printed cotton to silk crepe de chine. The ones that get the most wear by far are the ones made from cotton because I can just throw them in the washing machine. For me, this is very important when thinking about uniform dressing in the Summer.

But, washing puts additional stress on our garments and is not always necessary. So, when it comes to uniform dressing in the cooler months, it’s good to think about how you can take care of your clothes without the need to wash them all the time.

For example, my original Stow dress is made from a mid-weight denim and I rarely wash it. I designed it to be worn with layers, so I almost always have something under it - a t-shirt, long sleeve top, tights when it’s chilly. This means I can just wash the base layers and the dress itself can be worn numerous times before needing a wash. I spot remove marks and only wash it when necessary. When I do wash it, I turn it inside out and wash in cold water to put as little strain on the garment as possible.

It’s also good to consider what fabrics you like to wear and why. If you prefer natural fibres, think about how you can incorporate these into your uniform pieces. You may think it’s more expensive to use the fibres you prefer, but if you consider the cost per wear of uniform pieces then you’ll see that over time it really pays off.

CHOOSING garment style & SEWING PATTERNS

We think it’s a good idea to steer clear of trends when choosing designs for a uniform wardrobe. The goal with uniform pieces is to have them in heavy rotation for years to come. Instead, focus on the shapes and silhouettes you like to wear season after season. The easiest way to work this out is by assessing your existing wardrobe and thinking about the pieces that you feel comfortable in and wear often. 

When you’re purchasing a sewing pattern it’s good to remember that you don’t have to use a pattern exactly as it has been drafted. With a few patternmaking skills you can adapt patterns to be exactly what you need. We’ve all had a garment we love but feel that something is missing something (pockets, a sleeve, or a bit of extra length). By hacking your patterns you can add whatever you need!

What do you think about the idea of uniform dressing? Is it something you might adopt, either completely or in part?

At the very least, we hope this has made you feel more confident to start thinking about uniform dressing and what it means to you. If you’d like to dive in deeper into this topic with us, it’s what we’re all talking about this month with our Curated by ITF community!

Happy sewing!

Emily

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Rennie dress by @sewing_andmore

Peppermint Wrap skirt by @carly.makes

TAKE A PEEK INSIDE EMILY'S SEWING SPACE

When we’re organising our own sewing space it can be helpful to see how others set their areas up. It gives us inspiration and ideas, and often triggers creative solutions for storage problems we might be facing. (That’s why we’ve all got so many Pinterest boards, after all! *wink wink*)

We thought you might like to see how Emily has set up her new(ish) sewing studio. Even though it’s where she operates her business from and you may be sewing for pleasure, a limited budget means that she has had to be creative with her approach. And we can all relate to that, right!?

Come with us as we take a peek inside Emily’s sewing studio!

tell us about your sewing space

I have a studio in a large, creative space with over 20 other artists and creatives. I enjoy having other creative people around to have lunch and a chat with. Running a small business can be lonely, so working in a space like this is a nice way to make sure I don’t go a whole day without talking to anyone!

My studio is a good size, with big windows down one end that make the space lovely and bright.

I have set up the space so it can be multi-use as there a lots of different parts to my business. I need a comfortable computer set-up as I spend most of my working hours at a computer; sewing space with notions and tools within easy reach; as well as a large patternmaking and cutting table.

Storage is also really important as I have lots of fabric for sampling and paper patterns to store.

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Join Curated by ITF - find your new community!

If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey our Curated by ITF subscription might be just what you're looking for.

As well as a monthly sewing project, you’ll gain access to our private member platform where you can receive feedback and advice from the ITF team and other experienced makers, participate in sew-alongs and make sewing besties all over the world!

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WHAT’S IMPORTANT FOR YOU IN A SEWING SPACE?

It’s really important for me to be well organised so I can find what I need quickly and easily.

I’ve always loved the idea of designing spaces to maximise comfort and efficiency so things just work without you having to think too much about it. For me, this means having my most frequently used tools out on the table and having patternmaking paper within easy reach.

I find a pegboard the easiest way to see exactly where everything is, rather than rummaging through a drawer.

For a sewing space to be functional I want as few hurdles as possible in my way, so tidying up at the end of each day or sewing/cutting session is high priority!

ANY TIPS FOR MAXIMISING SPACE?

Yes! Here you go:

• Hang patterns on a clothes rack. When I didn’t have a studio space I used to hang them in my wardrobe! It’s a great way to keep patterns flat, with the added bonus of being easy to flick through whenever I’m looking for a particular pattern. Using specifications sheets (like the one included in our Curated by ITF Organise Your Stash issue) attached to the front makes it even easier to keep track of what’s in my pattern stash.

• Take advantage of vertical space. Using wall shelves is a great way to create extra storage space without making a room feel cluttered. It also means things are within easy reach and there is less bending down and rummaging through messy drawers!

• Have a little bin, thread catcher or even just a bowl on your sewing table at all times. Having somewhere to throw all those threads and fabric trimmings is a game changer! When I started doing this I couldn’t believe how much I was collecting each day. Before this it all just ended up on the floor, which meant I had to vacuum after every sewing session.

• Keep the fabric stash to a minimum. This one is easier said than done, I know! We all love to buy the pretty fabric, but it’s something I’m always striving for. I like to only buy fabric when I have a specific project in mind. Due to the nature of my business I do need to have some fabric on hand, but I am careful to make sure it’s practical and likely to be used. I love hunting for pre-loved fabric in local charity shops, so sometimes this rule is difficult to stick to!

Happy organising!

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WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…

Rennie dress by @sewingwithkate

Pleated Summer dress by @annazaubert

THREE PATTERNS TO HELP ORGANISE YOUR SEWING SPACE

Do you love the start of a new year as much as I do?

I love to reflect on the year that's passed, but there's nothing like the feeling of refreshing and opportunity a new beginning brings. And I particularly love the excitement of making ambitious creative plans for the months ahead!

Both Emily and I recently changed studios spaces and we have seen firsthand how impactful a sewing space can be on our motivation and ability to sew, which has inspired this month's Curated by ITF project, Organise Your Space.

THREE LITTLE PATTERNS THAT MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

When you're setting up or rejigging a sewing space it's easy to get distracted by the BIG things - tables, chairs, shelves and the like. But as we set up our new sewings spaces last year we realised how impactful the little things can be and that we really shouldn't discount them.

That's why we included three sewing room accessory patterns with this month’s Curated by ITF Issue. If you don't have the time or the money (or even the inclination!) to make big changes to your sewing space, these three little patterns will have you feeling just a wee bit more organised in just a short amount of time and with very little financial investment. In fact, they’ll even help you use up some of those fabric scraps we KNOW you’ve got lying around!

the sewing accessories you need (and want!)

One thing we’ve noticed is that makers will often use what’s at hand as a temporary measure to meet a need. Tinned food for pattern weights, clip-seal bags for pattern storage. You know what we’re talking about, right?

And while it’s perfectly acceptable to make-do like this, we’ve found that there will inevitably come a time when you’ve eaten all the tinned tomatoes or the clip-seal bag gets a hole in it… So we wanted to create some alternatives to those items we’re ‘temporarily’ (forever) using.

Our beautiful Project bag replaces crumpled plastic wallets and clip-seal bags.

Our cute Pattern weights replace tins of chopped tomatoes (or lentils or corn or tuna).

Our Overlocker Thread catcher replaces … well… scooping up all those scraps from the floor!

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Did you know, you can actually join Curated by ITF just for the community?!

If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey, but don't want the monthly projects, then our Curated by ITF Supporter tier might be just what you're looking for. You'll receive feedback and advice from other experienced makers and make sewing besties all over the world!

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our design process

When we’re designing new projects, we start with a general idea of what we want the issue to be about, then we sit down together and decide the specific content that will be included. Emily and I chat through our thoughts and bounce ideas off each other until we’re happy with what to include.

For this month’s Issue, we had been separately thinking about what we wanted from a project bag, and when we started talking about it we realised our ideas were really aligned! We both wanted it to:

• Be big enough to fit all of our projects in. 30 x 45cm had worked well for both of our current solutions.

• Have a pocket to hold printed instructions. 

• Have a flap opening fastened by Velcro.

• Have a clear pocket to label what’s inside.

• Include a hanger tab for easy storage.

Then we spoke about different things we needed in our sewing space and came up with the pattern weights and thread catcher ideas.

As you know, we have a big focus on skill-building in Curated by ITF so we wanted to make sure that these patterns also provided us with an opportunity to learn something new, or practice and hone some skills we already have.

Even though these patterns might look simple, they will definitely help you continue to grow in your sewing practice. Specifically, we cover:

• Sewing tricky corners. We've got lots of top tips to get a perfect corner. Our overlocker thread catcher is a great time to put this to use!

• Sewing velcro. Something that’s not commonly used in garment clothing.

• Sewing patch pockets.

• Bagging out (sewing something and turning it inside out).

• Hand-stitching to finish patterns (useful for sewing accessories and linings).

SMALL CHANGES, BIG DIFFERENCE

Sometimes a few small changes to your space can really refresh it and make you want to get back sewing, and that’s our intention with these three little (but very impactful and functional) sewing accessory patterns.

No matter how big or small your space, you can maximise it by getting clever with storage solutions like our Project bag.

We hope they help you help your future-self by setting up your sewing space so it’s easy to get started sewing next time.

Happy sewing,

Alys

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Whitlow robe by @crafty_enthusiast

Button-up dress by @_allthelittlehappythings

Digital garment design with the Gibson Loungewear pattern

Recently, the way I design garments has changed.

When I studied garment design at university we used a very hands-on approach. We drew designs by hand on paper. We played with fabric to see how they translated. It was literally design, toile and repeat... until we were happy with the outcome. 

While design software has been around for a while I never felt like the results compared to what I could create by hand. Many of them have a HUGE learning curve, along with an enormous upfront cost, which just isn't feasible for a small business.

But over the last couple of years software like Clo3d has entered the market, providing a good option for small businesses like mine (as well as students and other makers). I dabbled in it here and there, but didn't take it seriously at first. My established processes for design were effective and comfortable for me. Plus, I felt I was too busy with the day-to-day running of In the Folds to try and fit another thing in.

Garment Design: Learning a new way

When a Clo3d teaching opportunity came up at the university I work at, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. And, I decided it was probably a good idea to keep my skills current!

Since teaching 1st and 3rd year subjects on Clo this year I have gained a lot of confidence using it and I've realised it's a fantastic way of working.

As I mentioned above, before using Clo3d my process involved a loose draft of a pattern and then testing, toiling and patternmaking over and over until I was happy with a design. Needless to say, it was a time and resource-consuming process! 

Clo3d speeds up my process considerably and minimises the amount of resources I use, which is fantastic from a sustainability perspective - something that's very important to me. I can now do a lot of the experimentation in Clo, and have a much more resolved design by the time I get to sewing a sample and trying it on a fit model.

I can also quickly and easily test out a range of iterations - something I didn't do as much of previously because it meant redrafting a garment and making a number of new toiles to check what a design idea looked like.

The gibson LOUNGEWEAR design process

Unless you've worked in a design studio you may not have had the opportunity to see how a garment pattern is created, so I thought I'd share the process I followed to create the Gibson Loungewear design. 

Alys and I also recently chatted about the inspiration behind the design, which you can watch here.

Step 1

Using Clo3d I started with a basic raglan dress shape.

I then used the cut and spread technique to add volume to the neckline. (The purple lines show where the pattern has been cut and spread.)

This is what Clo3d gave us...

It always takes a bit of trial and error to work out how much volume you want to add to a pattern, and this will also depend on the recommended fabric.

If you’re using a thick or heavy fabric, you don’t need as much volume to make an impact, whereas if you are using lightweight fabrics, it will take a lot more fabric to give you a gathered effect. Being able to test this out digitally is a huge game-changer, as you can add some volume - check it and then add more or less, depending on the outcome. This is not the case when doing it by hand - it's not so easy to add or remove volume to a toile to check how it's going to look.

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Did you know, you can actually join Curated by ITF just for the community?!

If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey, but don't want the monthly projects, then our Curated by ITF Supporter tier might be just what you're looking for. You'll receive feedback and advice from other experienced makers and make sewing besties all over the world!

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I then started having a play with different iterations and began to think about a sleeveless version.

As you can see, it doesn’t look great! This is why I love being able to test things out in Clo, rather than drafting a pattern, cutting from fabric and toiling.

I am mindful that some things will look better in the flesh than they do digitally and I have a suspicion that this would have worked better made in real fabric. But it got me thinking about our customers. I know a lot of them prefer a sleeve, so thought it best to go back to the sleeve option and continue playing with that.

It was at this point that I felt happy enough with the draft to print it out and start playing with the real thing.

And eventually we came up with the Gibson Loungewear set as it is today!

I really love the hands-on element of designing and making patterns and I definitely don’t want to lose that.

But using Clo3d gets me to a point where I know that the first toile will be fairly solid. I can now cut out the stage that normally uses the most paper and fabric, saving me time and money. Two important resources small businesses never have enough of!

Have you had a chance to play in Clo3d? If so, I'd love for you to share your thoughts with me!

Happy designing,

Emily

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Thank you to our models and testers!

Thank you to our amazing sample makers & models @lovemade.handmade and @the.hemline.eclectic.

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Peppermint Wide Leg pants by @crookedpins

Everyday dress by @littlemelonbun

12 THINGS WE'VE LEARNED IN 12 MONTHS OF CURATED BY ITF

It's hard to believe, but it's been a year since we launched our first Issue of Curated by ITF. It's been a huge year for the ITF team and we have been learning just as much as our wonderful subscribers.

So we thought we'd share with you the key lessons we've learned this year!

1. SEWING IS EVEN BETTER WITH FRIENDS!

This is probably a no-brainer, but making a handmade wardrobe has lots of ups and downs and we've learned that being able to share your wins or frustrations makes for a much more enjoyable experience!

When we first started developing Curated by ITF we knew it needed to have a community element. Since those early days our Curated by ITF online community has grown to become a beautiful, encouraging, motivating, inspiring and, most importantly of all, a safe place where our community members (‘Foldies’ as we’ve starting calling them just recently!) feel comfortable to ask questions, share photos of their toiles, and have a bit of a maker-vent where needed.

It’s also a place I love checking in to every day. It has given me great joy to see how a little idea that was planted a long time and eventually came to fruition has helped so many people, and I love being able to provide that one-to-one assistance that can be lacking in many online communities. It’s incredible to see our members learning from our patterns and resources, but what has been even more wonderful is seeing the generosity that our members offer to each other by sharing their own learnings and wisdom.

In return the community has helped me when I’ve felt uninspired or a little battle-weary from running a small business with a very small team and for that I’m very grateful. All I need to do is check in and see the amazing things people are learning from our resources and I’m ready to get back to the patternmaking table (or more often that not, back to the computer!)

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Did you know, you can actually join Curated by ITF just for the community?!

If you're looking to be supported, motivated and inspired through your sewing journey, but don't want the monthly projects, then our Curated by ITF Supporter tier might be just what you're looking for. You'll receive feedback and advice from other experienced makers and make sewing besties all over the world!

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2. WE’RE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO LOVE GEEKING OUT ABOUT SEWING.

For a long time we thought we may have been the only ones who enjoyed geeking out about ‘the why’ of sewing and patternmaking. Although Alys and I are qualified fashion designers, we both gravitated towards the more technical side of fashion (sewing and patternmaking) after our university days. You can often find us sitting at our desks chatting about the cleanest way to finish a particular seam, what different drag lines on a toile mean, or the easiest way to articulate how to smooth curves.

But since getting to know our Curated by ITF community over the last 12 months, we have realised we are most definitely not alone! It has been amazing to share so many lightbulb moments in our community over the last 12 months, because we know from experience that if you understand ‘the why’ (the reasons why you make an adjustment or alteration), you are able to make informed decisions about your makes in the future.

3. SLOW REALLY IS BEST.

Thoughtful and intentional consumption is the backbone of all that we do at In the Folds and we’ve realised that by slowing down our sewing practice we can ensure our makes are worn and loved.

This is exactly why we created the Slow Sewing Planner and released it as part of the Curated subscription earlier this year. We want to help our subscribers make careful and mindful decisions about their wardrobe. Decisions that consider people and the planet.

By making garments that fit well and make us feel great, we require less. If we take the time to ensure garments are made well, we will take better care of them. As we form stronger bonds and ties with our clothes we'll cherish them long into the future. Every decision we make has a flow on effect!

4. THE EXPERIENCE OF SEWING OUR OWN WARDROBE IS MORE REWARDING IF WE FOCUS ON INPUT INSTEAD OF OUTPUT.

At a time when clothing is as cheap as it has ever been, most of us are not sewing to fill our wardrobes, but to learn new skills and spend time doing something we love. But, it doesn’t take long to realise that sewing, although fun and fulfilling, can also have its frustrating moments. We’ve all put a sleeve in on the wrong side, clipped a seam too far, or just made something that just wasn’t what quite what you had in mind. And this is part of the process!

The truth is we usually learn more from these struggles than the projects that go smoothly from beginning to end (but it can be difficult to remember that when you’re picking up your seam ripper for the twelfth time in a sitting!). If we accept and embrace the idea that we will make mistakes along the way, then we are going to enjoy the time at our machine more. The easiest way to do this is to focus on building our skills (input), rather than how many items of clothing we've successfully made this year (output). By reframing our approach to sewing, mistakes we make can be seen as learning opportunities, rather than failures or something to be ashamed of.

An example of this that we’ve loved seeing is makers actually wanting to have fitting issues so they could have a go at using our Fit Kits. Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine this happening!

5. PUSHING THROUGH THE DISCOMFORT IS WORTH IT!

We’ve seen our community push through barriers over and over again. Having the guts to post a photo in our online group and ask for feedback, asking questions when they’re stuck… it can be hard!

As introverts who prefer to be at the patternmaking table instead of in front of the camera, we can relate! It takes a lot of encouragement for us to turn on the camera and put ourselves out there, but we’ve learned that it’s worth it every time. By being vulnerable, showing up, talking about both the highs and the lows, we have been able to connect with our community on a much deeper level.

6. DESIGNING PATTERNS THAT LAST THE TEST OF TIME IS REWARDING.

Curated by ITF has been designed to support our community to learn new skills over time. One month we might be working on fit, while another month we’re working on beautiful finishing techniques or pattern hacking.

What has been amazing is seeing our community learning new skills and then applying these skills to another pattern from the Curated or In the Folds archive (or another designer’s pattern). This is something we always keep front of mind when designing a new pattern because we want our patterns and resources to last the test of time. We steer clear of trends and fads so that our patterns will serve you well into the future.

7. TAKE IT ONE STEP AT A TIME.

It doesn't matter who you are, sometimes life just gets in the way. So, in a world that’s pushing us to do ‘More! More! More!’ it's helpful to remember that we don't have to do everything all at once.

We have enjoyed helping makers integrate sewing into their daily lives so that they're able to enjoy 20 minutes at the sewing machine before work or the 15 minutes spent chatting to other sewists online during a commute.

8. LEARNING NEW SKILLS TAKES TIME AND PATIENCE.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of wanting to learn ‘all the things’ all at once. But with any new skill it’s important to remember that it takes time and patience to get good at it. And particularly when doing new things with our hands it takes time and practice for it to become muscle-memory. We love this quote from Ira Glass about being a beginner - it's a good reminder for all of us!

Having a community to work alongside and share the process with makes sewing so much better. I think we can get into the trap of thinking we’re the only one who is getting stuck on something, or struggling with something. By working alongside a community of makers you can see that others have the same questions and the same struggles!

9. THERE IS SO MUCH WE CAN LEARN FROM OTHERS.

Something amazing we have noticed is how much our community members learn from each other! It's the questions, and the toile photos, and the realisations that makers are having that encourage others to give things a go, or helps them understand where they went wrong.

When our members aren’t able to get stuck into a project right away, they have told us they're still learning just by seeing what others are doing with the patterns and resources, and it gives them a base to work from when they get started.

10. SEWING IS A FORM OF SELF-CARE.

Sewing doesn’t need to be another thing that’s added to our to-do list! Giving time and space for making in our routines allows us to use sewing as a way to disconnect and unwind. Getting creative and lost in making can be so good for the soul!

11. IT’S FUN AND HEALTHY TO EXPLORE AND EXPERIMENT WITHOUT AN END GOAL IN MIND.

In the same way that it’s fulfilling to focus on skill-building instead of making more clothes, it’s also great for our brains to try something new just for the fun of it. We have loved seeing our community gain the confidence to hack a pattern just to see what will happen or just try an idea because they can’t get it out of their heads. And as we've said, even if it doesn't go to plan, if you're focused on input instead of output, any new skill or lesson learned is a win! Check out our archive of sewing tutorials if you’d like to start the journey of expanding your sewing skills!

12. THERE IS ALWAYS MORE TO LEARN!

We have learned so much with the creation of Curated by ITF and we know (and now hope!) this will continue. While there are so many things we wish we’d known at the beginning, it was the mistakes and the experimentation that got us where we are today and we have to continually remind ourselves that it’s all part of the process.

We've loved seeing how makers of all different skill levels have approached each project. Beginners are focusing on gaining confidence in their finishing skills, while intermediate and advanced makers might be working with trickier fabrics, or learning how to make fitting adjustments and hack patterns.

The main thing is we're all learning alongside each other and making a community together! If you think you’d love to join a supportive community you can become an ITF Supporter here. If you would love to start building on your sewing skills with the benefits of an online community, you can learn more about Curated by ITF sewing subscription here and subscribe here.

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Top tips for pattern hacking

Top tips for pattern hacking

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Making clothing you love to wear is about having the ability to tailor garments to fit your body, your preferences and your needs. This is why, for Issue 2 of Curated by ITF, we are sharing the foundations of patternmaking with you.

We'll be taking our Neale jumpsuit pattern that fits us so well and pattern hacking it into the designs below. So we thought that in today's email, we'd share a few of our top tips for successful pattern hacking with you.

What is pattern hacking?

Pattern hacking means that you use an existing pattern to draft a new pattern. This could mean small changes, such as adding a pocket or changing the neckline. It could also mean large-scale changes such as adding a sleeve to a sleeveless pattern or combining multiple patterns to create a new design.

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1. Choose a pattern that fits you well! 

The main benefit of pattern hacking is that you can take a pattern that you know fits you and create a new design. This means you don't need to dive back into assessing the fit all over again, as you have already done that work with the original pattern. For large scale hacks, you may still need to make some fit alterations after checking your toile, but this will be far less than if you had started with a new pattern.

With Curated by In the folds - we teach you pattern hacking on patterns from previous issues, for example. Issue 1 focused on fitting the Neale jumpsuit and Issue 2 takes that pattern and creates 4 new designs! So you’re learning new skills as well as making clothes you know you’ll love!

Ready to join us but don't have the Neale jumpsuit pattern? Not a problem. After you sign-up, you will receive a link to purchase the jumpsuit pattern as a standalone pattern (for the same price as your monthly subscription).

2. Use the clothes you wear the most to determine what you sew

Another reason you might choose to hack a pattern is because sometimes it is difficult to know what changes you would like to make until after you have spent some time wearing a garment.

You may have worn a garment you have made and soon be thinking, 'if only it was longer' or 'if only it had pockets.' Pattern hacking gives you a chance to make the clothing you want to wear, without needing to draft patterns from scratch.

Learning pattern hacking will give you confidence to take ownership of the garments you sew and help you make exactly the kind of garment you want to wear.

3. Choose the right pattern to hack

It’s important to think about the main features of your design and cleverly pick which patterns you hack from. For example, if you want to make a dress with a big sleeve and a V-neck, you wouldn’t start with a sleeveless dress. You can always mash two patterns together if needed! 

In Issue 2 we’re using the Neale jumpsuit from Issue 1 and we’ve selected hacks that would work well using this jumpsuit or a similar one to start! (For example, you could apply some of these hacks to the Peppermint jumpsuit pattern).

4. Learn new skills at your own pace

Pattern making is a craft! It takes years to train and become a pattern maker. Pattern hacking is a great opportunity to learn pattern making skills and build on these skills gradually over time. Like any new skill or hobby, getting good at it will take time. Be patient and enjoy the process. That's what it's all about!

Start with simple hacks and work your way up to more complex ones. With Curated by ITF we introduce you to the basic concepts, techniques and tools for pattern hacking and take you through step by step until you’re ready to create your own! The hacks in this issue have been designed so that no matter what your patternmaking experience is, there will be something for you. Start with the beginner friendly hacks and work your way up to the more complex hacks if you are working on gradually building up your skills.

5. Always trace a copy and keep your drafts

When you are happy with the fit of the original pattern, trace a copy of the pattern so that you can always refer to or return to the original. In pattern making we also keep our drafts - which are the work in progress patterns, so we can have a ‘history’ of what we’ve done to the pattern. It's a good idea to put a date on each version of a pattern, so you always know which pattern is the most up to date.

Until the patterns are completely finalised (and beyond!) you never know when you might need to refer back to these previous versions.

6. Learn the basics

It's so important to learn the basics of patternmaking before you dive in. This will allow you to grasp the concepts and prevent you from getting overwhelmed when you get started. These techniques will take you a long way and once you learn a few basics you can get creative and have fun with the rest! 

We recommend knowing how to:

• Add and remove seam allowance

• Check seam lengths

• True seams, curves and darts

• Check patterns are squared off

• How to move a dart

We cover all of these in our Hack kit for Issue 2 of Curated by ITF, as well as extra articles throughout the month with photos and videos in our community group. This is a great place to ask questions and see the process and questions from others as they’re working on the same thing.

7. Read through the instructions before you start

If you’re following instructions or a blog for a pattern hack then we recommend reading them through from beginning to end before you get started, so you can get an overview of what you are aiming to achieve. This will help when you come back to doing the earlier steps!

8. Make a toile to check you’re happy

Make a toile / muslin to check that you are happy with the design and fit of the garment before cutting the pattern from your final fabric. Because you’ve started with a pattern where you’re happy with the fit, this should help a lot when toiling. If you’re making small changes you can sometimes just go for it, but when you’re making bigger changes, especially adding volume etc. then it's always best to toile and check that you’re happy with style lines, silhouette and fit.

One of the challenges of pattern hacking is that you no longer have instructions for how to make the garment. We've solved this problem in Issue 2 of Curated by including a construction resource, that goes through everything from working out fabric yardage, order of construction for the hacks and then does a deep dive into specific dressmaking techniques.

9. As always, remember to enjoy the process!

Remember pattern making takes time, so be patient and enjoy the process!

The hacks we've created have been placed in order of difficulty and there is a skill rating on each hack's introduction page so that you can determine which hack you would like to try. Are you new to pattern hacking? Start with the Straight neckline jumpsuit or the Elastic waist pants. Ready to level up? Try the Sleeveless boxy top. Ready to get a lot of pattern making skills under your belt? Check out the Jumpsuit with waist seam and darts.

We start with introduction pages of the Hack Kit pdf to learn about concepts, techniques and tools for pattern hacking. Then you can use the rest of the Hack Kit to get started on the pattern hacks with step-by-step instructions.

If you’d like to learn more about pattern making and join us with our monthly subscription, Curated by ITF, you can do so via the link below.

Tips for getting a good fit on a jumpsuit

Tips for getting a good fit on a jumpsuit

We are very excited to let you know that our new Neale jumpsuit pattern is here! This is the jumpsuit we've been dreaming about for a long time. It's the perfect piece to wear to work, to wear out, to relax on the weekend. It will make you feel put together, but incredibly comfortable and at ease to do the things you want to do in your handmade wardrobe.⁠⁠

The Neale jumpsuit is a a real skill builder of a pattern! Which is why we chose it to be our first Curated by In the Folds pattern.⁠ Sewing a jumpsuit means working with both the top and bottom of the body, which allows for the opportunity to learn more fitting techniques. We created a jam-packed Neale Fit Kit to go along with our first Curated by ITF pattern, so you can jump straight into it.⁠⁠ In today’s post, we would like to shares some of these great tips for getting a good fit on a jumpsuit.

Sewing a jumpsuit can be tricky as you are fitting both the top and bottom part of a pattern. But often as they have a looser fit, they are a great intro introduction to pants fitting and with this post we hope to make the process a lot more fun!

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1. Pick the right size for you

a. Take your measurements using a tape measure, check out our diagram to see exactly where you should measure! Make sure to measure at the fullest part of your hips. We suggest doing this in front of a full length mirror. 

b. Check the size chart and circle or note the corresponding size for each pattern. If your measurements are between sizes, you could blend between the two. Before doing this, look at the finished garment measurements to decide if you could select the smaller or larger size. 

TIP: Use a tape measure and place it around your body to get a feel for how it will fit. (Remember to place yourself in the centre of the tape measure rather than pulling it forward or back.) This allows you to see the amount of ease in the pattern - as this is something that changes between patterns. For example the Neale jumpsuit has more ease in the waist than it does in the bust and hip.

2. Make all the adjustments you can before sewing

Before we get started with making our toiles / muslins, it's worth thinking about which alterations you can do beforehand.  You can make some alterations before making a toile / muslin using your measurements, while others are made when you have done a fitting of a toile and have the toile to refer to.

Some of you will have a good idea of the alterations that are usual for you to make to a pattern before getting started. We encourage you to make these standard alterations to the pattern before you make a toile so that you can achieve a good fit at the fitting stage.

One example of an alteration you can do beforehand is checking the length. Especially in a jumpsuit you need to consider the length between each section e.g bust to waist, waist to hip, hip to crotch, then add in or take away length at the appropriate section.

Another alteration that you may be able to do before making a toile is a SBA (Small Bust Adjustment) or FBA (Full Bust Adjustment). To check this, work out the difference between your high bust measurement and bust measurement. If the difference between your high bust measurement and your full bust measurement is 2.5cm (1") your bust is an A cup, 5cm (2") it's a B cup, 7.5cm (3") is a C cup, 10cm (4in) is a D cup and so on. Record your bust cup size.

Often pattern companies draft for a B cup, sometimes they will offer a range of cup sizes. It's best to check before you start sewing. In the Folds currently offers a B cup.

• If you have a B cup bust cup size you will not need to make a bust adjustment to the pattern.

• If you have an A cup bust (or smaller) you may need to do a Small Bust Adjustment.

• If you have a C cup bust cup size or larger you may need to do a Full Bust Adjustment

3. Sew a toile

A toile is a test version of a garment, made from a similar, but often cheaper, fabric that assists with the fitting process. By making a toile, you can check the fit, and make any adjustments before cutting into your 'real' fabric.

You only need to cut the front and back pieces, you don’t need to sew the zip, facing pieces, pockets or finish the seams. On the toile - mark the bust, waist and hip line on the fabric. On the Neale jumpsuit we’ve added notches so you can easily find these on your pattern!

You can also mark in the bust apex point by drawing a line from the centre of the dart, through the dart point and beyond the tip of the dart by 2.5cm (1in). Lastly extend the pocket notches on the toile with a marker so that you can check you are happy with the pocket positioning.

Other tips for sewing a toile are:

• Remove the seam allowance from the neckline and armholes and add staystitching to stop them stretching.

• Sew the toile with a longer stitch length than usual, so that when fitting the toile it is easy to release the seams if you need to.

• Do not sew the hem. It is good to have the hem allowance available if you would like to experiment with length options. 

• Remember, it is still important to press the toile well as you sew. This will help you when assessing the fit of the toile.

4. Assess the fit

Now it's time to assess the fit. Yay!

Get yourself set-up in front of a full length mirror with a notebook, pen, pins, seam ripper / snips and marker. If you have a friend who can help you - get them too! Work through the checklist below and take note of any issues. It’s also a good idea to take pictures on the front, side and back (you can use the timer on your camera). Sometimes you notice things on the photos that you may not see in real life. 

Jumpsuit fitting checklist:

• Check that your side seams appear straight and are perpendicular to the floor. If your side seam is pulling towards the front or the back, this normally means that you need more width in the area where it's pulling.

• Lift your arms and check that the armhole sits in a comfortable position under your arm. Check that the armhole is a nice shape on the front and back.

• Check that your BUST LINE, WAIST LINE and HIP LINE are in the correct position for you and are all parallel to the floor. If any of these lines are in the incorrect position, you will need to either shorten or lengthen the pattern. For a jumpsuit it’s important to notice where to add/take length because you are fitting both a top and pants in one.

• Check the front and back crotch are not too tight or too loose. If they are, you will need to adjust the crotch length.

• Move around. Check that you can move and sit comfortably in the jumpsuit. If a seam feels tight, let out the seam with your seam ripper and re-pin the seam with a smaller seam allowance to see if this helps.

You can find more fitting tips, the full checklist and instructions on how to make these adjustments in our first issue of Curated by In the Folds. Our September project, the Neale jumpsuit, comes with a bonus Fit Kit that will walk you through a range of different pattern alterations in detail. 

5. Grab a cup of tea and take a break!

Fitting patterns at times can be hard. It’s important to take a break! Remember not to ‘over fit’, it’s easy to start obsessing over every wrinkle but in reality, we move around and we aren’t just a static image! 

You don’t have to make all of the adjustments at once. You can choose which are more important to you and if you like, you can build on these as you go. With Curated by In the folds we aim to help you through the fitting process, one step at a time, providing you with all the information (always tested by us!) in one place and hopefully have some fun with it! As part of the subscription, we also have a great online platform in which you can ask any questions and see what other people are making and learn from their fitting process too.

If you’d like to learn more about fitting and join us with our monthly subscription, Curated by ITF you can do so via the link below.