Pattern Making, how to make sewing patterns, making a skirt pattern, learn to sew

Pattern Making...making a Straight Skirt Pattern (How to make a very basic straight skirt pattern for home sewing and fashion design)

We are going to make a skirt pattern to fit your body measurements. Hopefully, the skirt will look adorable on you, and you will want to keep the pattern as a basic pattern and make more skirts for yourself.

	First take your HIP measurement. Measure the WIDEST part of your hip, across the butt and the hip bones. (not the waist area, you want the hip measurement) Add 8 inches to that measurement. Write your number down. *"Suzy Seamstress" will be our model for making this skirt pattern.* ("Suzy Seamstress" hip measurement is 44" plus add the 8" = 52")
	If you don't have paper for making a pattern just use anything you have around the house. Maybe tape grocery bags together or tape computer paper together. We are going to make only ONE pattern piece that will be placed on the fold. Use the straight edge of your paper and make that the fold line of your pattern. Mark it "Fold Line" with arrows pointing to the line as shown in the photo.
	From your waist or where ever you wear your skirts and pants at on your body, measure down to the point on your legs you want the skirt to stop (the hem). Take that measurement and add 3 inches to it. This will be your length measurement of your skirt pattern. Mark it "Hem" at the bottom, and "Top" at the top as shown in the photo. *Suzy Seamstress likes her skirts just above the knee. Her measurement was 18" then she added 3". Which = 21" from top to hem line as shown in the photo.*
	Take your total inches that you calculated in step one and divide that by 4. This is the width measurement for the top of your skirt pattern. Draw a line perpendicular to the fold line as shown in the photo. This is the top of your skirt pattern line. *Suzy Seamstress hip measurement calculation was 52" (step one). Divide that by 4, = 13. She drew a line 13".*

Since we are making a Straight Skirt pattern, draw a straight line on the opposite side of the fold line connecting the hem with the top as shown in the photo.

Mark your pattern with:

My Straight Skirt Pattern

Front & Back

CUT 2 ON FOLD

Your straight skirt pattern is done.

Remember - Your ONE pattern piece that you made will be placed on the fold. This one pattern piece will be the front and back of your skirt. When pinning and cutting, you will need to cut two on the fold. (One for the front and one for the back.)

Now that you made a pattern, you can make an easy skirt.

To Learn More About Making Your Own Clothes we suggest Christine Haynes book Chic and Simple Sewing . It's our favorite sewing book to use for beginners in our studio, and patterns are included. We also recommend Project RUNWAY DVDs to view as an excellent guide for fashion design.