All posts by Emma Cartmel

Recently, I drafted a pattern and made a toile of a pair of drop-crotch pants. When I tried them on, I straight away noticed (and felt) they weren’t quite right. The most obvious issue was that the back crotch felt tight and pulled uncomfortably, especially when bending over. Walking also felt a little restricted, with…

Now that we’ve covered the basics of threading a sewing machine in Part 1, let’s move on to some additional functions. In Part 2, I’ll show you how to change both the needle and the presser foot. I’ll also introduce the twin needle, and share some helpful troubleshooting tips for common issues that can happen when…

Threading a sewing machine can feel a bit daunting at first, but it quickly becomes second nature after you’ve done it a couple of times. These days, I don’t even think about it—muscle memory just takes over. That said, writing this tutorial made me slow down and walk through each step more deliberately. It reminded…

Grading is the process of creating different sizes from a single base pattern or block. It doesn’t alter the design itself but instead scales the base pattern up or down to accommodate a range of body sizes, such as going from a size XXS to a size 4XL. This allows a single design to fit…

If you’ve already read Part 1 of this tutorial, you will hopefully have a good understanding of when blending between sizes on a sewing pattern can come in handy. Let’s get into how to actually do it. In this Part 2, I will walk you through the basic process using a few different examples. I’ll…

Let’s be honest—finding a sewing pattern that perfectly matches your measurements is pretty rare. And that makes sense! Every body is unique, fit preferences vary, and each pattern brand uses its own sizing system. If you find yourself falling between sizes, you’re not alone. But the beauty of sewing is that in these situations, you…

Starting a new sewing project is always exciting. But there is nothing more frustrating than running out of fabric halfway through… or ending up with scraps that aren’t quite big enough for anything useful (trust me, I’ve been there! I have a whole drawer full of pieces like this). If you’re working with a commercial…

Every garment needs seam allowance—it’s a crucial part of garment construction. Sometimes it’s already included in the pattern; other times, it may need to be added, especially when working with a self-drafted pattern or after making adjustments. Seam allowance is the extra fabric added around the edges of a pattern piece. It creates space between…

Dart manipulation is a pattern making technique used to reposition a dart on a garment without altering or adjusting its overall fit. Essentially, it’s a way to move the shaping in your pattern to a new location. Dart manipulation lets you customise a sewing pattern to suit your design preferences. Whether you want to move…

In Part 1 of this tutorial, I covered the fundamentals of truing—aligning seam lines, smoothing curves, and refining edges—to create polished, professional patterns. Now, in Part 2, I will dive a bit deeper into more specialised examples of truing—hems, darts, and seam allowances. These details require a little more attention to ensure they blend smoothly…