Simplicity? It hurts my brain...

[Chibi Kiku-chan]

Okay....I scored a trip to JoAnns cuz I needed thread and the sew and vacuum (dont ask about the name) which was next to Papa Murphys is where we originally went to...or rather I went in to look at fabric and stuff, but the store is incredebly expensive, and when we saw a thing of thread was 8 dollars (though it was on sale for 4 dollars, but it was the same kind of stuff I could get at JoAnns for waaaayyyy cheaper) we freaked, so we went to JoAnns, and when we got thread, I also picked up some fabric and a Simplicity Pattern...Its Simplicity 4123....So anyways, I bought it and when I got home I opened it and looked at it, and it confused the heck out of me, and the instructions didn't help me much. Its one of those multisized ones, its A 10-22 (I'd wear a 10, 12 possibly, but prolly not), so I was wondering:

Can anyone tell me how to use it? lol ^^; Sorry, lol, but I'm really no good with clothing patterns cuz I've never tried sewing clothes....Aside from last night when I took an old pair of my daddy's jeans and tried to take them in because I thought they looked cool and so I wanted them, but they were too long and big in the legs, so I'm still working on that, lol,I broke my sewing machine's needle though, lol, I litterally bent it into an L shape and then touched it and it snapped in my hand, lol, luckly I had 4 more. X3  

[flightoftheunicorn]

Maybe myself and other crafters who have had sewing classes can help to answer your questions. I've taken a couple of sewing questions, so I should be able to help a bit. (Not being there to help in person does limit my usefulness somewhat, but I'll answer any questions that I can. smile )


The first thing I have to say is this: DON'T cut out anything yet!!!


First, look at the instruction sheets and find the view that you want to sew (View A, B, or C, etc.) Each "View (garment)" will have a segment on the first page of the instructions in which there is a picture of how to arrange the sewing pattern pieces on the fabric for cutting out the pattern pieces.

Before cutting the fabric, iron the tissue paper pattern pieces (carefully and on a low heat setting (with NO steam!)

Then, cut out the tissue paper pattern pieces that you need. Each "View" will have a list of pattern pieces needed to make it - that information should be on the front page as well. Be sure to follow the lines for the correct size as you cut out the pieces, and be sure NOT to cut off the little triangle shaped tabs that stick out . (I'll post some pictures later on this evening, if I get the chance.)

Wash, dry, and iron your fabric before cutting out the fabric pieces.

Once the fabric is prepared, fold it in the direction that is shown on the front page for the "View" that you want to make, and lay out the cut-out tissue paper pattern pieces on the fabric as is shown in the picture of that view's layout.

Pin the tissue paper pattern pieces to the fabric as shown in the layout picture.

Cut around the outside edges of the tissue paper.

Unpin the tissue paper from the cut-out fabric pieces.

Follow the directions for sewing the "View" that you're making.

Often, for beginners, cutting out the pattern is the worst and most difficult part, and it's so easy to make mistakes with that.

Mistakes in the cutting out of the pattern and pattern pieces can ruin the whole project. .... crying  

[flightoftheunicorn]

I'm going to go try and find some websites with tutorials on cutting out sewing patterns. Also, if I can use one of the other computers in my house, I should be able to scan in some pictures of pattern sections to illustrate what I talked about. I'll be back to post this information later on.  

[flightoftheunicorn]

I can't find any tutorials on this subject online ... wow, I would have thought there'd be tons!

Well, I learned how to do this stuff from taking a sewing class. Don't be initimdated. It can be done whether or not you've taken a class. Patterns are supposed to be designed so that people can use them even if they've never taken a class before. However ... you'll probably still need help. Ask questions you want to! I'm willing to help. There will probably be some moments when you want to tear the pattern to shreds in frustration or throw your sewing machine across the room ninja , but do not despair - in the end, it's all worth it, and overall, sewing with a pattern is fun (except for during the times while there are problems gonk )  

[flightoftheunicorn]

Here's a link I found that might help a bit:

http://www.sewing.org/enthusiast/html/el_cutting.html


I'll add more links if or when I find them. biggrin  

[kochi~mochi]

Read through the instructions, step by step, see what doesn't make sense. If you ask specific questions, it will help us help you. Heres some basic help.

Determin what size you need. Get somebody to help you measure yourself. Theres a fit help page on simplicity, which will help you measure yourself right.

Once you've determined your size, cut out your pattern. I recommend cutting -outside the lines-. After cutting it, iron it with the lowest heat setting your iron has. Make sure its a dry iron. Cut your pattern down to size. Don't cut the line off, you want to be able to see the lines. I like to cut any notches out as triangles that point out, meaning that if |--| is the fabric, my notches look like this: <|--|>

Never rush. Always make sure you understand what your doing before you do it.  

[Chibi Kiku-chan]

Thanks so much ^^ I'm looking at those sites now and I'm going to take the pattern and material with me to grandma's durring spring break so she can help me out a bit too. She used to make my mom, my aunts, and my uncle clothes, and she made clothes for their dolls (uncle never had a doll, lol) and clothes for my dolls too. ^^

It really is a good thing I didn't cut out the pattern, lol. Knowing me I would've easilly screwed it up. ^^;  

[Tes]

~
Make a test garment from cheap fabric first, that way you can screw up and not ruin everything. Also I find the sizing on simplicity and other big name pattern companies absolutely retarded, I find they are always always way too large and turn out looking like a sack of fabric; don't hang right or anything. If you do a test garment first you can see if the sizing is right, if not you have the chance to go down a few sizes. Even after that I find that being able to do a fitting is good, though I don't think that you will really have to because it appears this garment is supposed to be fairly loose anyway.
~

 

[Chibi Kiku-chan]

Tes

~
Make a test garment from cheap fabric first, that way you can screw up and not ruin everything. Also I find the sizing on simplicity and other big name pattern companies absolutely retarded, I find they are always always way too large and turn out looking like a sack of fabric; don't hang right or anything. If you do a test garment first you can see if the sizing is right, if not you have the chance to go down a few sizes. Even after that I find that being able to do a fitting is good, though I don't think that you will really have to because it appears this garment is supposed to be fairly loose anyway.
~

M'kay ^^ Only problem for me is, I'm probably a 10 for bust, and maybe waist, but for my other measurements I don't know if I'm smaller than a 10, lol. ^^; I'll measure and see, lol.  

[flightoftheunicorn]

I've been told that sewing pattern sizes tend to run larger than sizes in clothing stores. It's been awhile since I"ve actually finished a garment ... so ... lol, I don't remember from my own experience. It's just something I've heard. Making a test garment out of cheap fabric is a really good suggestion, Tes! biggrin  

[epyk]

flightoftheunicorn

I've been told that sewing pattern sizes tend to run larger than sizes in clothing stores. It's been awhile since I"ve actually finished a garment ... so ... lol, I don't remember from my own experience. It's just something I've heard. Making a test garment out of cheap fabric is a really good suggestion, Tes! biggrin

In my experience they tend to run smaller. I wear a rack size 16 womens pants, but I need a size 20 pattern piece to get it over the hips. And don't even get me started on busts.  

[kochi~mochi]

In my experience they tend to run smaller. I wear a rack size 16 womens pants, but I need a size 20 pattern piece to get it over the hips. And don't even get me started on busts.

A person's pattern size is normally bigger then their store-bought cloths size. I'm an 18 in stores, and a 24 in patterns. My sister's a 7 in stores, and a 12 in patterns. As long as measurements have been taken and compared, you should have the right size.  

[Tes]

kochi~mochi

A person's pattern size is normally bigger then their store-bought cloths size. I'm an 18 in stores, and a 24 in patterns. My sister's a 7 in stores, and a 12 in patterns. As long as measurements have been taken and compared, you should have the right size.

~
My issue is more along the lines that I measure (accurately) and I am size 10-12ish and they say that I am 18 from the measurements, but when I whip together the pattern it fits as well as I expect a size 18 to fit, that is voluminously. I will not do a pattern anymore without making up a cheap test garment (and at $2/metre one could hardly go wrong, I don't have a problem spending a couple of dollars to ensure I don't ruin a nice pricey piece of cloth).
~

 

[Silver Mist]

Tes

kochi~mochi

A person's pattern size is normally bigger then their store-bought cloths size. I'm an 18 in stores, and a 24 in patterns. My sister's a 7 in stores, and a 12 in patterns. As long as measurements have been taken and compared, you should have the right size.

~
My issue is more along the lines that I measure (accurately) and I am size 10-12ish and they say that I am 18 from the measurements, but when I whip together the pattern it fits as well as I expect a size 18 to fit, that is voluminously. I will not do a pattern anymore without making up a cheap test garment (and at $2/metre one could hardly go wrong, I don't have a problem spending a couple of dollars to ensure I don't ruin a nice pricey piece of cloth).
~

See now, I can go as low as a size 6 in store bought pants (never higher than a 10), and in patterns I'm sometimes up to a 16 skirt. o.O (I blame my hips) And the sizes on the pattern normally fit me well.