Cutting out before starting sewing is one thing that has people divided. Some love it some hate it. I'm not sure which category I end up in. Sometimes I love the process of playing pattern tetris and sometimes when the fabrics off grain for its been cut wonky I just want to scream.
But I've put together a few top tips for when It comes to cutting out your patterns to hopefully make it less painful! And then you can get onto the really important business of sewing.
1. Use a flat surface. For woven fabrics you can hang your fabric over the end of the table but for stretch fabrics are fine slippery fabrics your best cutting it out with no fabric hanging down so it doesn't distort. I personally use the living room floor. [In fact one of the things I checked when we got our new sofa was that I would still have enough room to cut out patterns on the floor!!!]
2. Use sharp scissors. As someone who's pretty thrifty with money I actually kind of hate this one. But its true a good pair of scissors will make your cutting out experience 100% more enjoyable. Now this doesn't mean you have to spend upwards of £50 both of my favourite pairs of scissors were under £25. One pair were under a tenner and the others were £25 but also came with a small pair of scissors and a thimble. I personally would buy the best you can afford and make sure you keep them in good nick by only using them for sewing and not for cutting paper or god forbid sellotape.......
3. Use sharp pins! I know I know it seems like I'm just trying to convince you to buy stuff but sharp pins are your best friends. Bin any that get blunt or bent and replace them when needed.
4. Use pattern weights for fabrics that move or knits. Some fabrics just don't like having a patterned pinned too them. So I use pattern weight, I personally have these donut ones but I believe the lady is no longer making them. You can also use metal washers from your local DIY shop or big stones from the beech or even tins of beans etc. Basically anything heavy and flat with do. [we used to have some great coasters that I used that had felt on the bottom which stopped them shifting around.
5. Iron your pattern pieces. This was actually suggested to me by a lady I know and I haven't looked back since. Its especially useful for accuracy especially if you stuff your patterns back into the envelopes like I do!!!
6. Keep a fabric marker/chalk handy for marking dots, darts and cut lines. BUT make sure you can remove it from your fabric afterwards!!!
7. Clip notches [little triangles] as soon as you've cut out the pieces so you don't forget. I am so guilty of forgetting to clip my notches and then sitting and trying to work out how things go together! Clip them straight away and then everything should go together smoothly.
8. Be mindful of pattern placement. I'm not talking perfect pattern matching here because half the time I'm winging that I'm talking about making sure that you don't end up with embarrassing placement on your boobs or foof areas. For example you wouldn't want to make a polka dot dress and have a large circle over each nipple would you???? Just something to bear in mind!!!
And that's all of my suggestions. How do you make pattern cutting more fun!!!
Much Love
Frankie
xxx
