Pattern hacking is not a 1,2, 3 step process for me. Many times I don’t purchase or use a pattern thinking about the possibilities to hack or alter it. Those ideas usually come to me during the cutting and sewing phases. See, I have to work with a pattern and get to know it before I can change it. Sometimes it happens right away. I make something and just know that it has the ability to be more than it’s showing on the pattern envelope. Sometimes it takes months or even years before I come back to a pattern to hack or change it.
When talking about pattern hacking, my suggestion is for you to think outside the box. To creatively challenge yourself to see other opportunities or changes you can make to a pattern. The pattern hacks that are most admired are the ones that haven’t been thought of by another sewist, but when done you can clearly see why. Changes that aren’t common but need an insight or forethought to make work…
Sewing is no longer about the basics to me. I no longer care about perfecting techniques, or the perfect seam allowance. Not that those things aren’t important. However, what sets my creative heart beating, is the challenge to make some magic happen when pattern meets fabric…and I love a good pattern hack!
One of my suggestions is to open yourself up to the creative process. Read a few books that aren’t technique driven. I’ve listed a few of my faves below that really changed how I viewed things creatively.
Make it Your Own – Personalizing Patterns for Creative Design
Authors: Lori Bottom & Ronda Chaney
Embellishments – Adding Glamour to Garments
Author: Linda Fry Kenzle
Ordinary to Extraordinary – Terrific Treatments for Garment Sewing
Author: Lyla J. Messinger
Decorative Dressmaking
Author: Sue Thompson
A few more words of encouragement: Look at your situation differently. What can a puddle of water inspire you to make? What inspiration can you find in a leaf’s vein? A skirt or dress that you see someone else wearing? What an actress in a TV show is wearing? The change of seasons? A piece of fabric? Those are the things that inspire me to look at my patterns differently and give them new life.
Finally, don’t be afraid to slice up your pattern. It’s only paper. Don’t be afraid to mess up your fabric, because as much as I hate to admit it, there is more! Also, because you learn from your failures as much as from your wins. Relax and listen to your inner creative voice and be willing to try something new realizing that the more you “mess” with a pattern, the better you get to know it, which gives you the freedom to change it.
I know this post isn’t a “do this and do that and you’ll end up with a great pattern hack” post. It’s just that sometimes I think we should understand the underlying processes. I hope that you will be inspired to develop your creative eye to look at patterns differently.
Here are a few of my favorite hacks:
Concord Tee & Dresses
Buttondown Shirt Mash-up
Simplicity 8094 – Tops
Lace Dresses from TNT Pattern
Oscar de la Renta Dress from TNT Pattern
Leather & Ponte TNT Dress
I am an avid reader of Carolyn’s blog. I gain much inspiration and motivation from her ideas. I wish I could take private sewing lessons from her! 🙂
Stunning. I wear a lot of sheath dresses, I prefer dresses to tops and bottoms and now I want to
try hacking my TNT sheath dress patterns. I’m so tempted to do a color blocking thing.
I agree – I love hacking patterns or even combining the parts of 2 or more different patterns. And, like you, I gave up worrying about the perfect seam allowances, ect a long time ago! Now, I just go for the look that I have in my head and add the seam allowances as needed, where needed. I love the creative art of dressing myself!
Thanks so much for this post Carolyn. It is thoughtful and very instructive. We have to get out of the habit of avoiding ambition in order to avoid failure.
I love your approach to making clothes – it seems so joyous!
I so agree. I am now redesigning patterns to my style. And I love it, I’m finally free to be me! :o)
Wow, just wow. You have become one of my heroes in the sewing world. I’ve been sewing since age 6. I’ve done a heck of a lot of standard sewing, making beautiful items for my kids, my home and myself. But always to the pattern. My kids are grown and I have more time so I’m really entering a new sewing stage of life. You are pushing/encouraging me to stretch.
thanks
Ruth
Was so happy to see this post by one of my favorite bloggers. Have been following your sewing adventures for a couple of years and have often wanted to post a comment but I am a computer idiot and can’t figure out how to be able to using any of the formats one must use on your site. Any one here can explain it to me?
What beautiful garments you’ve made! I would wear every single one. I have a tip re: paper for patterns. At any good art supply store you can purchase vellum by the sheet. It isn’t cheap, but very sturdy and translucent. It is thicker and more substantial that tracing paper, which you can also use. Tracing paper can be purchased by the roll or tablet. Another great, inexpensive paper is butcher paper, sold by the roll at Costco and other big box stores. A roll is miles long. It is not but about 15-18 inches wide, and it is opaque, but it takes marker or pencil very well. A strong paper.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks for the inspiration to explore and take risks in our sewing. Sometimes all I change is the type of fabric I use with both good and not so good results. It is always a learning experience. One thing I would add is to document everything you do, even a different technique that doesn’t work in one instance may be just the thing in another.
Your right it is just fabric and there is always more.
Your resource booklist is great, I have the first and last ones and refer to them many times. I use them as bedtime reading and have plenty of postit notes.
Annette – I will admit that I’ve had some monumental failures but I’ve learned from each one of them and that’s made the next pattern hack work so much better. I’m glad that you own the Rhonda Chaney book and the Decorative Dressmaking one. The other two are good too but the two you have are my personal favorites.
Excellent post by one of my favorite bloggers. Reading Carolyn’s posts inspire us to become more creative sewists!
Karen – I really do hope that I inspire other sewists to create…whatever it is that they like to sew! And thank you for saying I’m one of your favorite bloggers!
Very Inspiring – your clothing is so beautiful and you look fabulous in your garments!
Thanks Susan for the compliment. I appreciate it!
Always glad to see Carolyn on a blog! That black dress in the first photo is still one of my favorites–you did a gorgeous job. I’ll check out the resources.
Alice – it’s one of my faves too! I hated added it to the donate pile when I lost weight. Hopefully another woman is wearing it with pride!
Okay, Carolyn is adorable. Yes, extremely competent, with excellent advice on losing your fear and going for it, and how to even start figuring out how and what you want to change to make your clothes more You, but the grin on her face as she models her lovely clothes is what I really love about this blog entry. Yeah! Sewing clothes you love is AWESOME! ::cheering crowd::
Thanks Erin – that’s so kind of you to say! I really do love to sew and share what I make with others so that’s what that grin says!
Hi Carolyn – thanks for the pep talk and the links and recs! I’m a long time lurker on your blog and have always been inspired by your adventurous approach to garment construction. I’ll never forget one post in particular where you added circular panels to a dress pattern, and you said you used a plates to make the circles! So simple, but I never would have thought of it. But that’s what sets us apart as sewists, isn’t it? A thirst to create, experiment, innovate, and use whatever tools we have at hand to make it work. I’m definitely guilty of being too timid sometimes with my treasured fabric, but you’re right – there’s always more. ;D Thanks for the post. (And I especially love that cold shoulder dress with the ties.)
Thanks so much Bex B. I’m glad that you enjoy my blog and should leave a comment now and again so that I know you’ve been by. The split sleeve dress is one of my favorites too and it’s a great pattern hack, too!