The Banksia Bralette from Muna and Broad is available from a 97-162cm bust
The Fierce Bra from Pattern 4 Pirates is available up to a 154.2cm bust and also comes in child sizes.
Eye masks & accessories
Dyadic Eyemask from Sophie Hines uses fold-over elastic but makes the straps customisable!
The Ultimate Sleep Mask from Ohhh Lulu Lingerie uses fold-over elastic for a comfortable strap.
Velo Knit Run Bike Cap from The Last Stitch is perhaps not especially seasonal for us here in NZ right now, but might be good for cycling on chilly mornings
Camisoles & Singlets
The Go Shorties & Cami from Madeit Patterns is available up to a 112cm bust and 120cm hip
The Tropo Camisole from Tuesday Stitches is available up to a 132cm high bust and 139.5cm hip
The pattern bonus of the Julia Tank from Seamwork makes straps from fold-over elastic. The Julia is available up to a 137cm bust and 147cm hip
The Wonder Unders from Scroop Patterns bundles up an undies and camisole pattern, which is available up to 112cm bust and 137.5cm hip
Arccoss Undies from Sophie Hines are available up to 134cm hip
Other project ideas
You can also use fold-over elastic for swimwear (especially if you mostly swim at the beach), and for no-sew projects like hair ties. Fold-over elastic can also be used for homemade face-masks!
The Pōhutukawa Dress from Below The Kōwhai is available from an 80-125cm (31.5-49.25″) bust and 88-133cm (34.75-52.25″) hip
Use BTKlocal for 20% off Below the Kōwhai PDF patterns until 31/3/21
The Ella Skirt from Forget Me Not Patterns is available from a 55-105cm (21.5-41.5″) waist and 83-133cm (32.5-52.5″) hip
The Pippi Pinafore from Jennifer Lauren Handmade is available from a 74-126.5cm (29-49.75″) bust and 89.5-134.5cm (35-53″) hip and comes with A, B, C and D cup options.
The Chloe Pantsuit and Playsuit from Liam Patterns is available from a 76-126cm (30-49.5″) bust and 88-138cm (34.5-54″) hip but they will grade the pattern to your size if you fall outside of their current size range.
The August Skirt from Make, by The Fabric Store is available from a 57-131.5cm (22.4-51.8″) waist and 87-159.5cm (34.3-62.8″) hip and if you fall outside of their size range, they’ll grade the pattern to your size at no extra cost.
The Camille Top from Makyla Creates is available from 77-121cm (30-47.5″) bust and 87-131cm (34-51.5″) hip
The Waikerie Dress Expansion from Muna and Broad is available from 102-162cm (40-64″) bust and 105-182cm (41.5-71.5)” hip and if the size chart is too small to include you, they’ll grade the pattern up to your size at no extra cost.
The Henrietta Maria Dress & Top from Scroop Patterns is available from a 76.5-127cm (30-50″) bust and 86.5-137.5cm (34-54″) hip
The Zadie Jumpsuit from Paper Theory is available from 80-142cm (31.5-56″) bust and 86-146cm (34-57.5″) hip
The Driftwood Blouse & Dress from Twig & Tale is available from a 76.2-130.8cm (30-51.5″) bust and 81.3-135.9cm (32-53.5″) hip
Want to get printing?
Email your PDF pattern files through to Chchsews@gmail.com to get started. A0 printing is $6 per sheet and A4 from $.15 per page
A lot of you expressed interest in hearing about NZ-based sewing businesses and first up in our roundup are sewing pattern businesses that are based in NZ or run by NZers!
Let me know in the comments if I’ve missed any!
Below the Kōwhai Christchurch-based BTK is a family business which makes gorgeous sewing patterns children and has recently expanded their offerings to include sewing patterns for women.
Use BTKlocal for 20% off Below the Kōwhai PDF patterns until 31/3/21
Based in Wellington, FMN makes lovely feminine patterns for women. They have a free knit top pattern for those wanting to give the company a trial before purchasing.
This Dunedin-based business has a strong vintage vibe and has a wide variety of frocks, tops and even a couple of patterns for men. JLH has quite a few patterns in multiple cup-sizes
Liam Patterns This new-comer to the sewing pattern market started producing sewing patterns based on their successful RTW garments during lockdown here in NZ. If their sizes are too small to include you, they will grade the pattern up for you at no additional cost.
Little Kiwis Closet This NZ-based business makes sewing patterns for women, men, kids and babies too. If you and your family wear a lot of knit fabric- check out Little Kiwis Closet!
Make by The Fabric Store The Fabric Store has recently started designing and selling PDF sewing patterns! So far they have 5 patterns, including the robe pictured above. If you fall outside their size range, they will grade the pattern for you at no additional cost.
Makyla Creates This new-to-me sewing pattern business which makes modern boho-style sewing patterns for women.
Muna and Broad Making patterns from basically Size 12+, M&B is a 1/2 NZ run business (I know this because I’m the 1/2)! If the size chart is too small to include you, Leila will grade the pattern up for you at no additional cost.
Muse Patterns This Wellington-based pattern company makes PDF sewing patterns for adult women and has a strong vintage vibe.
Papercut Patterns Perhaps the most well-known NZ-based sewing pattern company, Papercut was one of the first Indie sewing pattern companies.
Paper Theory is a UK-based sewing pattern company but owner Tara grew up in Dunedin! With a modern and simple silhouette, the Zadie Jumpsuit is one of their most well known patterns.
Scroop Patterns This Wellington-based sewing pattern company has a strong historical-sewing vibe thanks to the historical sewing interest of owner & designer Leimomi of Dreamstress
Sewing Revival Based at the top of the South Island, The Sewing Revival makes sewing patterns for women and children.
Trish Newbery This new-to-me sewing pattern company is NZ based and has a wide variety of sewing patterns for accessories and women’s clothes.
It’s heating up in Christchurch, so today we’re rounding up sewing patterns for swimwear!
A swimsuit can be a super satisfying make, which can make you feel extra-smug at the beach (or at He Puna Taimoana)!
Do you have some Tried-and-True PDF swimwear patterns that aren’t listed here? Or maybe you’ve hacked your T’n’T undies patterns for swimwear? Let us know in the comments!
The Seabright Swimmer from Friday Pattern Company is available from a 32-54″ (81-137cm) bust and 34-57 (86-145cm) hip
The Banksia Swim Expansion from Muna and Broad is available from 38-64″ (97-162cm) bust and 41.5-71.5″ (105-182cm) hip
The Ipswich Swimsuit from Cashmerette comes with cup size options and is available up to a 62″ hip
The Riri from Mimi G is available up to a 47″ bust and 49″ hip
The Laminaria Swimsuit from Tuesday Stitches is available from a 32-52″ high bust (81.5-132cm) and 35-55″ hip (89-139.5cm)
This Bikini Sewing Pattern from ShaktiSwim is available from a 33-41″ (84-104cm) bust
The Zoe Long-Sleeve Front-Zip Swimsuit from Jalie is available up to a 51″ bust and 54″ hip and the pattern bundles girl child, adult woman and plus-size woman sizes into the one pattern
Any Nylon Spandex will be suitable for swimwear, and you can source chlorine resistant fabric if you’ll be doing most of your swimming in chlorine, but you can also use standard elastic (which is a bit easier to sew with and cheaper to buy too).
Want to get printing?
Email your PDF pattern files through to Chchsews@gmail.com to get started. A0 printing is $6 per sheet and A4 from $.15 per page
Today is the first post in a series about storing your PDF sewing patterns once their printed. Over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing different ways you can store your patterns. We’ll give you some ideas on storing them when they’re still rolled, and once you’ve cut them out.
If you’ve got the space, perhaps hanging your sewing patterns is for you?
I hang the sewing patterns that I use a lot so that I don’t have to unfold them before using them.
If I’ve made a pattern and didn’t have much success with it, then that’s when I’ll consider folding them and putting them away in a longer-term storage.
If you’re wondering how to store your sewing patterns, these are a few different ways that I keep your patterns hanging!
Pattern Hooks
You can hang your PDF patterns like fashion students and businesses hang their patterns- with these pattern hooks! You can buy them (or all metal versions) from Direct Sewing NZ, Sewingtime NZ, the Sewing Depot in NZ.
Cons: They’re not all that cheap, so you could perhaps use them if you were only looking to hang a few T’n’T (Tried and True) patterns that you use all the time. You’ll need to have a way to make holes in the patterns to hang them from- this can be a point of weakness when dealing with paper. You can pop down a piece of sticky-tape and cut the hole for the hook in the middle, to reinforce the area around the hole. Pros: Since they’re intended for hanging heavy brown paper patterns from, they are strong!
Single Coat Hangers
You can skip putting a hole in your pattern pieces by using one of these mysterious coat hangers with only 1 clip. I haven’t found a definitive name for this type of coat hanger, but you can order them quite cheaply on Wish.
Pros: I like how the rubber is extra grippy on the pattern pieces and helps to avoid dropping the smaller pattern pieces that are sometimes hard to manage. Cons: Difficult to find!
Foldback clips
Foldback clips, or bulldog clips are a great way to keep your patterns together for hanging. I started using them because I seemed to have them in various sizes, in spite of never actually purchasing any!
Pros: Easy to find and relatively inexpensive Cons: quite difficult to unclip if you’re using the book rings to secure them
Coat Hangers
Most of my patterns are stored on these coat hangers which actually came from fabric samples from the local upholstery store. They’re basically metal coat hanger tops with plastic bars.
In order to hang my patterns on there, I do cut little holes in my pattern pieces so that I can thread the pieces onto the coat hanger.
Cons: These are a pretty niche item since I’m not sure that there’s anywhere that you can buy them! Pros: These are my favourite option!
Want to get printing?
Email your PDF pattern files through to Chchsews@gmail.com to get started. A0 printing is $6 per sheet and A4 from $.15 per page
I’ve been looking for the perfect year-at-a-glance wall planner, when it struck me that I can now print my own!
I searched for ‘printable wall calendar A2’ on Etsy, knowing that I could scale it up to the size of an entire A0 sheet.
Below, I’ve rounded up some options in price order. Black & white A0 printing with a comparable amount of lines to a sewing pattern will be $6 per page.
If you’d like to print colour, or something with bolder lines or more ink, get in touch to ask for a quote first as my printer might not be the best choice for your print job!
Want to get printing?
Email your PDF pattern files through to Chchsews@gmail.com to get started. A0 printing is $6 per sheet and A4 from $.15 per page
Today we’re rounding up sewing patterns for men! Some of the patterns below are free (or pretty close to free), and they’ve been sorted by style (accessories, patterns for woven fabric, underwear, then patterns for knit fabric ).
Do you have some Tried-and-True PDF patterns for men that aren’t listed here? Let us know in the comments!
Accessories
The Sorrento Bucket Hat from Elbe Textiles is $2 and the profit is donated to charity.
The Desmond Roll Top pack from Taylor Tailor features a zipper pocket on the front for small bits, and two slip-in pockets on the sides. It’s fully-lined, and there’s optional open top pockets on the inside.
Woven Patterns
The Gosling Shirt from Mimi G Style is a slim-fit shirt with great features.
Linen Shirt 128 07/19 from Burda is perfect for Euro-style relaxation (and cuffing your sleeves).
The Ilford Jacket from Friday Pattern Company is a gender-free pattern with two length options and sleeve options too.
The Men’s summer pants and shorts pattern from Wardrobe By Me are designed for woven fabric. Make these pull-on pants (elastic waist) from linen for peak summer vibes.
The Reed Trousers from Laela Jeyne Patterns are classic chinos.
The Trigg Shorts from Elbe Textiles are above-the-knee shorts in two lengths. They’ve got an elastic waistband (for comfort), a drawstring, side pockets and a back patch pocket (for stuff).
Underwear
The Comox Trunks from Thread Theory are form-fitting undies with no center back seam.
This ultimate scrap-buster! Use scraps to make the pouf, and stuff it with scraps too! The pouf is 1 A0 page.
If you’re looking to keep your hands cool, the free Bombazine oven mitt could be for you. I found this pattern was too small for my hand and wrist, so you could enlarging the pattern prior to cutting.
The free Costa Tote pattern from Helen’s Closet is a gorgeously finished bag with multiple views. The Costa tote is 1 A0 page to print.
The free Cargo Duffle Bag from Noodlehead requires absolutely no printing at all!
This free ironing board cover pattern is from See Kate Sew. Personally, I know my ironing board is in a hideous state, and I definitely have enough fabric in my stash to give it a makeover!
And finally, a Tailor’s Ham is pretty sewing-specific homeware, and although they are great you can get away without having one. If the time is nigh for you to ‘ham it up’, check out this free pattern from Jennifer Lauren Handmade.
Want to get printing?
Email your PDF pattern files through to Chchsews@gmail.com to get started. A0 printing is $6 per sheet and A4 from $.15 per page
