I don't even think that most of the commercial patterns
have all the information that you really need on your patterns,
particularly when you start tracing and making your own patterns.
It becomes really clear
if you want a more systematized and long term approach to your patterns, i.e.
treating them more like a block, something you can come back to and use again.
In this video, let's talk about all of the labeling
markings that you really need on your patterns so that you can have
a more longer term approach and know exactly what is going on.
No matter when you pick out this pattern in time and don't waste all that hard work
that you made, creating it in the first place is
Welcome back, my sewing friends.
It is absolutely wonderful to see you here again.
Thank you for watching and tuning in.
If you're brand new here, welcome.
My name is Evelyn Wood I'm the creator of VintageSewingSchool.com
And here on this channel, we talk everything about garment sewing
so you can get better at sewing the clothes that you really want to wear.
So do hit a subscribe button down below if you haven't already,
if that's what you're interested in, because I bet it is.
That's why you clicked on this video.
We are talking patents today.
And I know there's nothing worse.
And I know you know this too.
And when you pick up your patent and you can't understand what is going on,
be it either
that the commercial patent didn't have all the information
that you really need or it's not very clear.
Or of course, when you start tracing off your patterns
and making your own patterns altering and everything you've got, this
you need to know really well what to be able to put on here
so you can look at it with just a glance and be able to understand,
identify the pattern of all the patent pieces there.
How many like cutting instructions?
And then at a glance, you'll even know how it's going to be all sewn together.
All of this should be all on your pattern.
So you can really you start using it like a block.
When you start making and investing all of this time into your patterns,
you can pick it up in six months time and you'll know all of this and you can
just take off where you left off and all your hard work isn't missed.
I kind of think of like not labeling your patterns correctly
or all the way is kind of like doing 80% of the job.
When you come back, you'll think how much the allowance was on that.
Did I add a hem or what kind of zip did I put on here?
Does this have a facing to finish?
I can't remember how many pieces were in it.
Like all these questions, if you don't label it properly,
all of that work you put into
to making it in the first place just kind of goes out the window.
And we don't want that for you, of course.
So let's look at all the different labeling.
So now this is a mix of what you find
on commercial patterns and a mix of what I've learned in industry
and my own formulation of those to what makes sense.
So I can pick up a pattern any time.
And I know all the things that I need to know.
Obviously, let's start with a pattern name.
So this might be the pattern, that number that maybe you're copying from.
So you can know which one you started with your commercial pattern
or you just give it a new name yourself.
Maybe it's your block, maybe you call it the this dress is the dollar dress.
So that's what I would call it. This bottom.
So let's give this its name.
I like to make that the biggest part of it.
Then we need what pattern piece this is so is it the sleeve?
Is it the front or the front?
Is it a dress skirt back side back?
Put exactly what the piece is this one here
is actually my bodice back.
So if this was the dollar dress, but it would still be bought us back.
I've just called this bodice back.
And next up is a size generally when we're
working at home, we're making this for ourselves.
So I would suggest here you either put your size
like you measured
your current measurements that you are that you have made this to,
particularly if you fluctuate up and down, if you stay relatively
the same weight and not not too much drama, you just put my size.
Otherwise you could actually put the size pattern that you started with.
If this makes sense for you
and maybe, you know, altered from there or something like that.
But whatever makes sense for you to know what you want.
Think about if you came back in six months time to remake this pattern,
what would you want to know about the size of it?
That's that's what you should put there.
So I'm just going to put my size from mine because that's what I put for size
me is often fun.
The next thing to add is you want to know how many pattern pieces
there should be in this pattern to know
to make sure that you have every single piece, because
we all know those little facing pieces tend to go missing.
So this is how I write it.
And so let's pretend like I have let's say one, two, three, four.
We have five pieces in this pattern.
So it's actually a bodice, the back that I have here, the front piece, of course.
Then I would have a sleeve and then I also have a facing for front and back.
So that's five pieces in total for this pattern.
And so how I would mock this is I would say
this is pattern piece one of five.
And so then you have two or five, three or five, four or five, five or five,
and you keep going through each of those for each pattern piece.
That way you can put one, two, three, four, five.
And you know, you've got
all of the pattern pieces in this this piece and nothing is missing.
Now, the next is cutting instructions.
And this is quite important because you need to know
when you're coming back here how to cut it.
It's not always so obvious.
And, you know,
sometimes it is when you do bodies and you think, oh, I know what's going on,
but trust me, right? You're cutting instructions.
So cutting instructions will mean, you know, cut one on fold, cut
two on pair on the fold
if you cut need two of them or cut to pair.
So if you need maybe like if you're doing a single leon single layer
that you need a pair, not just on the fold or maybe it's just cut,
cut one pair is what I say when it's not on the fold,
but your fabric is folded together so you have right sides together,
but there's no fold.
But because they're right sides together, that is actually one pair right now.
A lot of these will say cut two, but that's technically incorrect
because two is like one pattern piece to pattern piece.
That is two of the same thing.
We actually want two pieces, but they are one pair two.
You get what I mean?
Yeah.
So it's a little tricky,
but this is the kinds of things that really make a difference so
either one pair on fold, what do you need to cut?
And also add interfacing if it's a facing.
So say if your facing is cut one on fold, then
in another box output cut one on fold interfacing as well.
So for this one, I'll wrap my cutting instructions, cut one on fold,
and I always like to circle the cut cutting instructions.
I just was always taught that way back in design school
so that it's separate information.
So you can easily glance at the pattern when you're on the table
and you know that everything in circles is cutting information.
It just helps section the different bits of information off.
So you can do what you like, but that's why I do the circle.
That's it for the sort of mostly labeling about what the pattern piece is.
The next
are all the markings that you really need
and of course, you must have already noticed we need a grain line.
Every single pattern piece must have a grain line
if you don't know how important that is.
I've made other videos here on the grain line, but make sure you agree
mine is marked in and make sure your grain line is well.
Put it through all the way of the pattern.
It should be at least, you know, 70 80% of the length of the pattern.
I hate these commercial patterns that make this teeny tiny
grain line and it's this long.
No, you need it all the length so you can measure off and get the most accurate
grain line length.
So go ahead and make your grain mark your grain line.
So grain
lines are always usually indicated with the line and the two errors.
That's how you know it's a grain line and not some other line on your pattern.
Along with this, if you have any fold lines or anything
like that, make sure that those are marked in and clearly labeled
so make sure you put center front on fold, center back on fold
so that it's really clear what is happening.
And your fault lines are generally always indicated with arrows coming up
and across like a little bracket over the line that it is going to be folded on.
And I usually always put little errors here from habit
because the fold line is on the grain line, of course, as well.
So of course this is in fact the grain line as well.
But clearly here I can see what's going on and I know this is my center bag fault.
The next one, I can't urge you enough to do this all
the way on every pattern is marking your stitch line
and any seem like your seam allowances, your stitch line.
Same thing.
Mark it all over your pattern on every single piece
because then when it's done,
you get to glance at your pattern and you know exactly what is going on.
You know how much seam allowance you have on where when you go to sew it.
And also if you're making future pattern alterations,
it's really easy when your stitch line is already marked out
and it's easy to then check your pattern when you have your stitch line already.
So if you don't have this I mean, if this is what you're labeling
when you've just finished marking and everything, you're just making a pattern.
You take your pattern, your needle, you see lines marked in first.
So make sure you marking all of those, all of them at an absolute minimum,
you want to mark in every stitch line at each corner of your pattern.
So make sure you have each of those marked in through there and there.
But I recommend
drawing it in the entire way around because it really
makes your pattern so much more readable and easy to understand.
Right now, we're really coming along and starting to look like a pattern
that we can really understand.
OK, the next thing you need to add if you haven't
already is all of the notches you need now.
Yes, commercial patterns do not have all the notches you need most of the time.
And there's many more that you need to make
this video is not about what not just to make because it really depends
on your pattern piece, of course.
But if you're interested, of course, this is exactly
the kind of information that we have inside vintage sewing school.
That is what I do there and why I have made that specifically.
It is all of these final learnings like how to know where to put notches
like figure it out yourself, understand what's going on.
So then you can really start making these patterns your own.
That is what we do at Vintage Sewing School is all of that extra information
that you just can't find anywhere else in order, step by step, searchable
anytime you need it, you have access to it.
24, seven as a full member.
That's what I create there, and that's what I love to see you grow your skills.
So if you're ready to really grow your skills like that,
I would absolutely love to have you in class.
I put links down below to do some school.
Come join me there any time.
So a lot of these not as you should have already transferred
to your passion as you're making it from from your original pattern.
Obviously transfer.
Any specific ones or as you've traced it and everything.
Those should have been already there.
So I'll pretend like my ones for my pattern here.
Let's just say these were already here.
And so I would actually Mark, I would need watch it not just on my back here.
If there's any notches around your neck line, fold lines
along the side seems to mark back some fronts on your sleeves.
Everything put every not that you need.
Again, it's hard to know what you need at the beginning, but transfer everything
at least from your pattern to your new pattern.
And I have made other videos before on how to actually make notches on your fabric
this video or link that down below because there's different ways to
to mark it all.
Again, that's not this particular video, but links down below for that.
So I would actually always notch the fold lines.
The centers, which no commercial pattern tells you to do, but you need it.
Trust me, if there is any additional things happening on your pattern like
pleats like maybe stitch lines to stitch
decorative stitching on or anything else, write it on.
And so this is where
you can actually write other things like you could on your neckline.
You could put finished with a facing
or finish with bias tape bias facing.
You could write that on your pattern here around your neck line.
So when you come back and you look at this, you know exactly
what was happening there and why this isn't a facing piece
that's going to be with a bias facing or you know, maybe
it's like him is going to be a double turn him or it's going to be a
whatever your is you might like to put how you're going to finish
the different things on here as well that gives you that information.
Anything you need to know when you look at this next time,
put those in a complete lines, as I said, fold to here and pleats,
a bit more technical, but make sure everything else is marked into because
next you might notice I said nothing about squares and dots, you know,
and these and they say so to square and then stop at dot here to square there.
I know they I they well
wow that you definitely need to copy them if you're copying the sewing instructions
and that's how you're
putting it together because that's how you know how to put it together.
As you get more experienced, you realize that a lot of these squares
and dots that they talk about are points that are probably already
now that you've labeled everything marked on your pattern.
So they're often squares and dots are actually
something like need to sew to the square or something.
It's actually so too the stitch line like where these points meet here,
for example, because you need this little stitch point open
and the very often in places like that or if it's
not just for, say, gather
in between like this and this and together in squares and dots,
what I would do and I teach my students do is use not so
you don't need to put squares and dots because if you're using ink like
how can that they will watch out to the same thing anyway
you use not just for those and if it's clearly marked on your pattern
and you know you've got gathers
and I usually little squiggle line and gathers in between these two points.
Again that's something that we talk specific inventors sewing school
but that's how you would mark sort of gathers and things like that
is with notches not squares and dots so much so
if you are copying at this point you just beginning just put your squares
and your dots the same and you know that as you progress, those squares and dots
will just turn into intuitive places that you know to so too.
And you can actually use notches for the rest of them
when you start to understand your patterns better,
that's what you're aiming for to to be able to make a more streamlined,
faster process that you don't need to start looking up where squares and dots
are. You just put you're not just a follow.
Now, let's just take one moment here to look at out before
our pattern where it's basically just a piece of paper.
And now our after pattern that we have all of our labeling and markings on
because I know which one I can pick up and exactly
know what the pattern is like what the design is.
I know what pattern piece it is.
I know how many pieces are in the actual pattern.
Do I have them all?
I know how to cut it all.
My cutting instructions for each item so I know how many, et cetera
and interface things and all of that.
I know what's on a fold and what's not.
I can look at this.
I know what my green line is,
where my stitch lines all are, my seem allowances to sew it together.
I know I've got one centimeter at my neckline,
1.5 everywhere, and I've got a two centimeter him.
I can see this instantly by looking at this.
I know how to almost so it together because I've got all my notches,
et cetera, all here, all labeled perfectly.
I know which one I will pick up and instantly know what it is
and what to do with it.
And there is one more bonus tip for you and that is with your entire pattern
that you package up together is leave a few notes for yourself for next time.
So what would you want to make differently next time?
Because we always say something up
and there's always something that we'd like to change.
So leave yourself a little note A4 piece of paper that says maybe something like,
you know, was the the red dress that you made up out of the whatever fabric.
And you'll think, Oh yeah, of course I made that in that dress.
I remember that one.
I have it in my wardrobe.
So then.
Right, any notes that you thought that you want to change
next time that you haven't already made to your pattern?
So, for example, maybe you've like, let's not use an invisible zip.
Let's do a lap tip because they're way better.
Everybody knows that.
Or maybe add two inches.
Extra length is something that you maybe figured out.
Oh, something about the sizing to tweak a little bit.
Right yourself.
Note so that when you open this pattern out next time, you're already a head start
and you can just take off exactly where you left off on this pattern.
And basically that's how you keep tweaking these patterns to be more perfect
and more perfect each time this becomes your block pattern.
And it is absolutely worth putting all of these labeling
and everything here
because you're going to reuse it in a more workable wardrobe system
and use your patterns again and again and keep tweaking and using them
and get the most out of the work that you put into your patterns.
So that's the way that I teach everyone to use patterns,
and that's what I want for you, and I'm sure you want that for yourself as well.
Who would have thought that was so much into labeling patterns?
I know I would love to hear your comments below.
What have you been missing or what
are you now going to make sure that you label all the time, regardless of what?
What was the mistakes that you made by not labeling?
I would love to hear those as well. What did you miss?
Because remember to read the comments down below.
They'll be such a wealth of information from our community members here.
And so thank you very much for watching, my friends.
Until next time. Happy sewing, bye.