Pattern mash-up! "Ella meets Livia meets Bowie"
I always try to make sure that our pattydoo patterns are as I like my own clothes: uncomplicated and simple. From this basic starting point, the small details you add to handmade clothes can really turn them into something special.
You can use an unusual fabric or a special technique or even combine several patterns, which is what we'll talk about today. As pattydoo patterns are made with a modular system, it's quite easy to mix and match different patterns to create new designs. Today I'll be showing you one of these combinations. I've taken the bow from our 'Bowie' pouch and mixed it with our 'Livia' top and the skirt from our 'Ella' dress.
Sleeveless skater dress with a nice detail
So now I have a new sleeveless skater dress...with a nice little detail at the back: a low cut neck with a double bow in a contrasting colour.
Tank dress tutorial
I'll show you here exactly how I've created this pattern combination and once you've got the idea of how this works then you can easily start mixing and matching yourself.
To start, you will need to lie the front and back pieces from the Livia tank top (the variation without the hem band) on the front and back pieces of the Ella dress (variation with the round neckline or rollneck) and draw on the neckline and armholes from Livia
The top is cut a little bit narrower under the arms, but you can decide if you'd like to make the top of the dress smaller too, or if you'd rather stick with the original side seams.
You can finish the neckline and the armholes either with the sewing machine, as seen in this sewing video, or you can use a coverlock machine. You can of course also finish the edges with binding, as with the 'Elaine' shirt seen in this video.
A nice bow on the backside
If you'd like to sew a bow onto the back of your dress then you will need to cut the back neck somewhat deeper. For me, this is about as low as the neckline at the front, ensuring that the bra band is still covered.
The best way to go about this is to cut the back piece with the classic neckline, then sew the top part together and try it on. Get someone to help you out who can draw on the new back neckline with tailors' chalk. Cut the neckline to this depth and then finish sewing the top.
You can see how the bow is sewn in our sewing video for the 'Bowie' phone pouch. For a little more volume, I've sewn together two bows of different sizes at the edges and then put the centre knot over both of them.
The width of the bow depends on the width of the back neckline (for a size 38, this is around 20cm). Better to cut it too long as you can always shorten it afterwards. This is also a good time to try on the top, before you sew it.
Pin the bow on the inside and sew from the outside, exactly along the stitching that finishes the edge of the top.
Then you can just sew the 'Ella' skirt as normal!
I hope this has inspired you to think about how you might be able to mix and match patterns?! And remember, if you want to show off your creations, then check out the pattydoo sewing club, where you can share what you've made.
Happy sewing!
Ina
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