What + How I Sew For Myself
It’s probably obvious but in case it’s not, I spend a lot of my time sewing and when I’m not sewing, I’m usually thinking about sewing. But most of my time sewing is spent making things for others or making fiber art. I try to set aside a few days a month to sew some things for myself - whether to fill a gap in my closet or just to learn a new skill, try out an idea or expand my abilities. Most of the time when I sew things, whether for other people or myself, I use my own patterns but occasionally when I’m doing my personal sewing, I like to use other designer’s patterns because there are so many out there!
This is a list of my favorite patterns that are designed by other people that I have made. At the end of the blog post, I also have written about how I plan and organize my personal sewing projects and linked to a Notion template you can use to plan and organize your own projects!
Enjoy!
My Favorite Sewing Patterns
Shirts + Tops
Honey Girl Tee
by: Paradise Patterns x Lyrical Fabrics
fabric type: knit
chest measurements: 30-62”
usual modifications or views I make: I generally make the long sleeve version cropped with a scoop neck. I’ve also made the dress and love it.
Sour Cherry Button Up Shirt
by: Double Ugle Studio
fabric type: woven
chest measurements: 30-64"
usual modifications or views I make: I usually lengthen the sleeves and add elastic to the wrists so that they are kind of balloon shape. I also have lengthened the body to make more of a longer tunic length shirt than the cropped shirt.
Jenna Shirt
by: Closet Core Patterns
fabric type: woven
chest measurements: 31-60"
usual modifications or views I make: in the black shirt shown here, i skipped the back yoke and sleeve cuffs
Axis Tank
by: Sophie Hines
fabric type: knits
chest measurements: 30-68"
Pants
Coe Trousers
by: Daughter Judy
fabric type: woven
hip measurements: 35-66”
usual modifications or views I make: I usually crop the length by about 6” as I prefer my pants to hit around my ankle
Helene Jeans
by: Anna Allen
fabric type: woven
hip measurements: 34-61”
usual modifications or views I make: I think I usually increase the rise by about an inch
Pamona Pants
by: Anna Allen
fabric type: woven
hip measurements: 34-51”
usual modifications or views I make: I usually increase the rise by about 1.5”
Arthur Pants
by: Sew Liberated
fabric type: woven or knit
hip measurements: 33-57” (but the pants have like 25” of ease around the hips)
usual modifications or views I make: I usually make a size 0 and make the legs a little less balloon-y
Dresses
Orchards Dress
by: Vivian Shao Chen
fabric type: woven
chest measurements: 31-47.5”
Eleanora Dress
by: Silversaga Patterns
fabric type: woven
chest measurements: 31-46.5”
Jackets
Rue Quilt Coat
by: Spaghetti Western Sewing
fabric type: quilted fabric
chest measurements: 32-60.5”
Patterns I haven’t made yet but am intrigued by
How I Organize + Plan My Projects
General steps I take when planning a project:
have an initial idea - usually when getting dressed I have an idea of an article of clothing I want to wear or I’ll see something that someone else is wearing in real life or online and want to make one for myself
make a note of the idea - usually in my notes app on my phone or in my project tracker in Notion (more about Notion below)
sketch out the idea
look for potential patterns that could be used for this - usually by scrolling through Instagram or googling key terms like (high waisted jeans sewing pattern)
plan out the project in Notion with more flushed-out details like the pattern (or if I need to draft the pattern myself), what fabric I want to use, and any specific details I want to include (like apliqué, painting on the fabric, or embroidery)
order my materials (if needed)
when I have the time - get started on the project and keep track of my progress in Notion
if I have a project with a lot of pieces that will take more than one day to complete, I store all of the pieces in a basket in my sewing room so that none of the pieces get lost
when I am done with the project, I reflect on the process and make note of what worked and what didn’t and if I made any modifications to the pattern in Notion
Notion is an app/website that is a cloud-based workspace and can be used for note-taking, project management, creating your own databases, etc. If you like digital tools, I highly recommend it. I use it both for my personal things - like grocery lists, keeping track of travel plans, journaling, and keeping track of my personal sewing projects as well as for work things like keeping track of my projects for Thread + Sprout, managing my orders, and writing blog posts.
For my personal sewing projects, I created a template in Notion that I use to plan out my projects and keep track of what supplies I need, ideas I want to make in the future and patterns I like and what sizes I am in them.
If you’d like to use this tool for your own projects, you can download my Notion Template here and have fun personalizing it for yourself!
(click the link and then if you want to make one yourself, click the “duplicate” button in the top right corner and either sign up for Notion or log-in to your Notion account and add the duplicated template to your own account and start customizing it and using it!)
Here is what it looks like:
What are some of your favorite patterns? I always love learning about new patterns and would be thrilled to check out some new ones! Comment with your favorites and I’ll check them out!
Thank you for being here and for reading. I hope this was helpful and/or inspiring.
xoxo
Justice