Been nerding out on partial elastic waistbands: the "perfect" front/back split, side seam placement, all of it.
I wrote up my assumptions, notes, and math: wildcress.com/blog/tutoria...
Plug in your numbers, enjoy the comfort ☺️
(Stick figure credit: x.com/gianpaima and x.com/dluzar)
New sewing project with my 6-year-old: adding curtains to their tent bed "window" ☺️ There's even a patch pocket to hold the curtain tieback (a.k.a. their elastic hair ties)! Everything handstitched and topstitched, with one of us inside the tent and the other outside.
These are also why I won't use these techniques in my own patterns (at least on curved seams lol). But they're definitely cool for any curious and adventurous sewist looking for a challenge. Seams like this are extremely sturdy — ever tried unpicking a RTW shirt or jeans?
(6/6)
🪡 on a home machine, curves get exponentially tricky — think crotch seams, armholes, anything that isn't straight
📐 harder to illustrate clearly in patterns too
(5/6)
✂️ lapping raw edges with an indentation doesn't help beginners with sewing accuracy
📍 on-the-fly adjustments are harder — with only the first line of stitching it's tricky to see where the seam line actually lies, and unpicking both lines is a pain
(4/6)
🧵 uneven seam allowances make individual pattern pieces error prone to manage (technique #2 mentioned in the video, see my illustration in the image)
(3/6)
But you won't see these techniques in any home sewing patterns. I personally love them (weirdly satisfying to see and sew, if you know what I mean), but there are good reasons they're reserved for garment factories:
(2/6)
100% recommend this crystal-clear, no-bullshit tutorial on true flat felled seams by Notches Sewing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1vJ...
(1/6)
If any of this sounds interesting, drop a comment or email me:
📧 hellowildcress@gmail.com
(4/4)
I'm open to all styles. WildCress covers themes like Adjusta, Asymmetrica, BrainTwista, Minimalista, Kawaii, and Fantasia, so we can explore almost anything. New to patternmaking and want to learn? I'm happy to help with that too. We might even share the profit once the pattern is released.
(3/4)
This might be for you if:
🧵 You want to wear something but can't find the right pattern for it
✂️ There's a silhouette or detail you've been wanting to try
💡 You're just curious about how a pattern moves from idea to paper
(2/4)
Calling all sewists! I'm looking to collaborate on a custom design and pattern.
The idea is simple: we sit down together, talk about a garment or accessory we're both excited to make, and combine your inspiration with my patternmaking skills.
(1/4)
Personally I've always been a fan of IKEA's assembly booklet (who isn't). I don't think there's a way to go fully wordless for sewing, because there's a lot more variations/"degrees of freedom" here than pre-drilled holes. But here's my attempt at a minimal-words illustration:
(3/3)
I've read somewhere that text + images doesn't actually work better than images alone for following instructions, because the duplicate information increases cognitive load and confuses people. (I googled and asked AI but neither could find the research paper, help!)
(2/3)
Each sewing pattern has a work cycle, and today is illustration time for the Terra Suspender.
(1/3)
WildCress just turned 1 🎉
One year of patterns, drafting experiments, and learning as I go.
Thank you for being there 💛
Also shared some reflections over on Substack:
👉 wildcress.substack.com/p/wildcress-...
October’s been such a fun month — I took a little break to enjoy the fall! 🍂 I also shared some thoughts on designing the Aether cami, plans for upcoming video tutorials and a new pattern, plus a peek at the Halloween costumes I made for my kiddos 🎃
👉 wildcress.substack.com/p/camis-cost...
- Experience: our digital instructions is made for easy navigation, whether you like following step by step or jumping back and forth as you sew.
This pattern is a big part of our vision of making interesting patterns for the curious and whimsical sewists, and I'm so proud of its release! (3/3)
For this pattern we've been fine-tuning:
- Fit: a fuller bust, or shorter/taller than that “standard” body, the pattern is customized to your own measurements.
- Instructions: there’s always that one corner you’re not sure whether to trim or keep, so we’ve made sure to spell it out clearly. (2/3)
Hey friends! The Aether top & dress pattern is finally here ✨ With its gently unexpected asymmetric hemline, the top is a quick sew, while the dress brings in an adjustable tie wrap plus a sneaky side pocket 👀.
👉 wildcress.com/b/aether
I'm so, so excited to share this one because -- (1/3)
My latest video tutorial is on digital patternmaking ✂️ The drafting tool, SeamScape, is 100% free. In this first episode, I walk through the tools + show how to draft a simple side pocket. Ready to ditch your pen + paper?
Watch here 👉 youtu.be/IwziaGW_fIQ
#DigitalPatternmaking #Patterndrafting
Hey sewists! ✂️ We’re looking for testers to try out our latest sewing pattern, the Aether — a custom-fit asymmetric cami top + dress. Testing starts 09/06 and runs ~2 weeks. Want to help us perfect it? Apply here: forms.gle/JC36Pof1YKDj...
#sewing #sewsky #garmentsewing
July’s wrapping up, and I’ve been quietly working away behind the scenes at WildCress. Here's our first-ever newsletter!
wildcress.substack.com/p/whats-happ...
Our Crescent skirt pattern is designed to consist of mostly rectangles to help you self-draft, but now a faster way is coming up -- we're very excited to release our custom pattern generator in beta. It's super simple -- just enter your measurements, and within seconds, you'll get a projector-ready PDF file with all pattern pieces drawn to size in your preferred format. For projector sewists, this can save tons of time otherwise spent measuring and marking notches manually. Try it now for your (free) Crescent pattern: 👉 wildcress.com/b/crescent P.S. The same idea applies to A0/A4/US Letter, but we'd like to spend some more time on paper efficiently before releasing our pattern generator as printed formats. Stay tuned!
🎉 The Crescent skirt is now easier to make for projector sewists! Try our new custom pattern generator (beta): enter your measurements and get a projector-ready PDF, saving tons of time otherwise spent measuring and marking notches manually.
👉 wildcress.com/b/crescent
📝 Print formats coming soon!
Here’s a quick pattern testing report for #crescentskirtwildcress, answering a few curious questions you might have:
– What does skirt length have to do with overlap?
– Can you skip a muslin and fit on the fly?
– How easy is it to find a pocket in all those pleats?
wildcress.com/blog/tutoria...
The Crescent Skirt patterns has been vetted enough by me and our talented testers over the past few weeks, and it's finally ready to go public 🎉 Come try it -- it's free with newsletter signup! #sewsky #garmentsewing #sewing
#patterntesting is THE most stressful stage of my entire pattern creating lifecycle -- my body even responds with a low-grade fever every time 😅. Being online for questions, feedback, and that anxiety burn of how it’s received… Still trying to talk myself out of it, but maybe there’s no magic cure.
It's so sad to see lots of blogs with great content not being active any more, almost like I'm looking at the remains of a past civilization.
Whipped up a quick #sewingtip video on reducing french seam bulk when #sewing a double turned hem! It's a real issue but I can't find anyone talking about it. Maybe everyone else just use super light fabric for french seams like the textbook says 😆
#sewsky #sewingtips #sewingtutorial
