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Building the Pattern: Sew Your Own Capsule Wardrobe
The fashionable Finnish sewing duo are back with a second book that shows you how to create a coherent capsule wardrobe – complete with a collection of 20 garments that are easy to make, wear and combine.
Complete with stunning photography, clear illustrations and instructions, Scandi sisters Laura and Saara offer up an enticing selection of tops, dresses, skirts, and trousers for the modern seamstress. Using the five essential building blocks, choose, customize and adapt the designs in this book to create a variety of flattering garments for every occasion that suit your style and fit your figure.
Taking you beyond the patterns featured in this book, Building the Pattern offers expert advice on how to achieve the perfect fit, alter the designs and add your own personal twist. Discover how to create clothes with care, build your sewing repertoire and embrace the slow fashion movement.
Six full-size pattern sheets are included in this neat package. The patterns are in a range of sizes from UK sizes 8 to 22 (US size 2 to 18 / 34 to 50 EUR sizes), with concise information on measuring yourself and technical sewing tips to sew for your shape.
Complete with stunning photography, clear illustrations and instructions, Scandi sisters Laura and Saara offer up an enticing selection of tops, dresses, skirts, and trousers for the modern seamstress. Using the five essential building blocks, choose, customize and adapt the designs in this book to create a variety of flattering garments for every occasion that suit your style and fit your figure.
Taking you beyond the patterns featured in this book, Building the Pattern offers expert advice on how to achieve the perfect fit, alter the designs and add your own personal twist. Discover how to create clothes with care, build your sewing repertoire and embrace the slow fashion movement.
Six full-size pattern sheets are included in this neat package. The patterns are in a range of sizes from UK sizes 8 to 22 (US size 2 to 18 / 34 to 50 EUR sizes), with concise information on measuring yourself and technical sewing tips to sew for your shape.
192 pages, Paperback
Published April 27, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 24, 2021
The book includes 6 x full size pattern 'bundles' (see groupings below) which is a good way to teach pattern adaptation / hacking (up to a point). If you like Named patterns, this is excellent value for money and there are the usual clean and cool designs.
The size range is 1-9 (European 34 to 50 / US 2-18 / UK 6-22) or:
- high bust 78.5 -104.5 or 30 7/8 to 41 1/8
- waist 64 - 100 or 25 1/4 to 39 3/8
- hip 88 to 124 or 34 5/8 to 48 3/4
- height 172 / 5ft 8in
Introduction +
- Why are alterations made to patterns?
- Why are alterations necessary?
- Sewing and pattern-altering kit
The essays are worth a read; the kit is all you need and nothing extraneous.
The Techniques
- Pattern alterations - a full 29 pages.
As you can imagine, at that length it's fairly comprehensive. It eases you in with sizing and measurements, but then - beginners be warned. It's instructions like these, and they are very good instructions, that may well make you decide to learn drafting from your own measurements rather than alter commercial patterns. If you do decide to continue with pattern alteration, you have most of the information you need. The illustrations are very helpful. Note: the shoulder seam alterations are too late in the order (pgs 36-37), they should be before other bodice alterations. Bizarrely (IMO) the shoulder alterations are shown with attached sleeves when you can assess a lot of issues like shoulder slope well before that stage and save yourself frustration. Plus, there are no sleeve alterations instructions beyond length and the 'setting in sleeves' section in 'Sewing' assumes the sleeve pattern will fit out of the box.
- Sewing
Short and to the point. As above, the 'setting in sleeves' paragraph won't help you if you have altered the sleeve head size up to down, or the set of your shoulders is different to the fit model, or your armscye or bicep circumference is greater or lesser than the pattern pieces.
The Projects
- Sewing instructions
- Sorja top / dress / wrap dress / wrap skirt - the top is camisole style with spaghetti / shoestring straps, the dress and skirt have a overlap and elastic waist as the wrap rather than being a true wrap style. For a drapey, woven fabric.
- Eloisa tunic / sweater / circle skirt dress / mermaid skirt dress - interesting front yoke feature and some sleeve variations. For stretch fabrics, casual in style.
- Luova blouse / dress / tunic - my favourite bundle in the book - shirt dress, button or snap sided tunic and a double fold collar. These are the cool details that make Named clothing patterns stand out. For woven fabrics.
- Helea pencil dress / peplum top and mermaid dress - fitted for fabrics with a little stretch. Good luck with the sleeves if your proportions are more than a little different.
- Varma trousers / shorts / jumpsuit - For woven fabrics with a little stretch. With awesome pocket opening wavy finish and an interesting sash belt option if you like high waists.
- Kuulas bomber jacket / blazer - For woven fabrics with little or no stretch. I'm 'meh' about bomber jackets, this one too. The blazer has the cool wavy packet openings and not quite welt pockets. The bomber and blazer instructions are mixed together which I don't like. The few extra pages needed to separate the instructions would have been better. It's probable the not quite notched collar / lapel is an easier construction than standard... but with the way the instructions are laid out it's hard to tell just by reading as there is a big jump between the first part of the collar construction and the next.
- Jalo bag - to loop over a belt, not my thing although practical.
Glossary etc
The size range is 1-9 (European 34 to 50 / US 2-18 / UK 6-22) or:
- high bust 78.5 -104.5 or 30 7/8 to 41 1/8
- waist 64 - 100 or 25 1/4 to 39 3/8
- hip 88 to 124 or 34 5/8 to 48 3/4
- height 172 / 5ft 8in
Introduction +
- Why are alterations made to patterns?
- Why are alterations necessary?
- Sewing and pattern-altering kit
The essays are worth a read; the kit is all you need and nothing extraneous.
The Techniques
- Pattern alterations - a full 29 pages.
As you can imagine, at that length it's fairly comprehensive. It eases you in with sizing and measurements, but then - beginners be warned. It's instructions like these, and they are very good instructions, that may well make you decide to learn drafting from your own measurements rather than alter commercial patterns. If you do decide to continue with pattern alteration, you have most of the information you need. The illustrations are very helpful. Note: the shoulder seam alterations are too late in the order (pgs 36-37), they should be before other bodice alterations. Bizarrely (IMO) the shoulder alterations are shown with attached sleeves when you can assess a lot of issues like shoulder slope well before that stage and save yourself frustration. Plus, there are no sleeve alterations instructions beyond length and the 'setting in sleeves' section in 'Sewing' assumes the sleeve pattern will fit out of the box.
- Sewing
Short and to the point. As above, the 'setting in sleeves' paragraph won't help you if you have altered the sleeve head size up to down, or the set of your shoulders is different to the fit model, or your armscye or bicep circumference is greater or lesser than the pattern pieces.
The Projects
- Sewing instructions
- Sorja top / dress / wrap dress / wrap skirt - the top is camisole style with spaghetti / shoestring straps, the dress and skirt have a overlap and elastic waist as the wrap rather than being a true wrap style. For a drapey, woven fabric.
- Eloisa tunic / sweater / circle skirt dress / mermaid skirt dress - interesting front yoke feature and some sleeve variations. For stretch fabrics, casual in style.
- Luova blouse / dress / tunic - my favourite bundle in the book - shirt dress, button or snap sided tunic and a double fold collar. These are the cool details that make Named clothing patterns stand out. For woven fabrics.
- Helea pencil dress / peplum top and mermaid dress - fitted for fabrics with a little stretch. Good luck with the sleeves if your proportions are more than a little different.
- Varma trousers / shorts / jumpsuit - For woven fabrics with a little stretch. With awesome pocket opening wavy finish and an interesting sash belt option if you like high waists.
- Kuulas bomber jacket / blazer - For woven fabrics with little or no stretch. I'm 'meh' about bomber jackets, this one too. The blazer has the cool wavy packet openings and not quite welt pockets. The bomber and blazer instructions are mixed together which I don't like. The few extra pages needed to separate the instructions would have been better. It's probable the not quite notched collar / lapel is an easier construction than standard... but with the way the instructions are laid out it's hard to tell just by reading as there is a big jump between the first part of the collar construction and the next.
- Jalo bag - to loop over a belt, not my thing although practical.
Glossary etc
June 20, 2021
Fantastic pattern book! I am looking forward to boosting my skills and to starting sewing the models from this book (the estimated level is 'confident beginner / intermediate').
The first part of the book provides guidelines on how to modify the pattern. The second part provides detailed instructions for each model. The patterns in this books are very well-developed, they contain additional reference points, such as the waistline, hipline, etc, which facilitates a lot further modifications.
In addition to paper patterns included with the book, you can also download A4 print-at-home .pdf patterns (size-layered, however, there is no possibility to select the layers with and without seam allowance for the given size, as it is done with Fibre Mood .pdf patterns)
Bottom line: super happy with my purchase
The first part of the book provides guidelines on how to modify the pattern. The second part provides detailed instructions for each model. The patterns in this books are very well-developed, they contain additional reference points, such as the waistline, hipline, etc, which facilitates a lot further modifications.
In addition to paper patterns included with the book, you can also download A4 print-at-home .pdf patterns (size-layered, however, there is no possibility to select the layers with and without seam allowance for the given size, as it is done with Fibre Mood .pdf patterns)
Bottom line: super happy with my purchase
January 10, 2023
I read over the projects in this book - I did not complete any. The preface is has extremely helpful fitting and adjustment tutorials to help you adjust the patterns to your needs. The sewing instructions are detailed but concise. This book can definitely be recommended to a sewist with middle or novice experience; considering they understand how to work with knit fabrics.
August 18, 2021
A fantastic book. I am an advanced amateur seamstress and love this book. There are some quirky, innovative sewing techniques along with fabulous designs. A book for any seamstress!
July 29, 2023
I'm disappointed that the pattern options aren't as timeless as I had been hoping from the description. I'm dreaming of building a capsule wardrobe for work and I think that for American fashion, these options won't be seen as fashionable after 3-4 years.
While the techniques and alteration guidance in this book are *immaculate,* the book is advanced. To find success with this text, I think a sewist would need to be at the early advanced level.
While the techniques and alteration guidance in this book are *immaculate,* the book is advanced. To find success with this text, I think a sewist would need to be at the early advanced level.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews