Welcome to Clothesline Patterns

-the home of Simple, Speedy Sewing.

Clothesline INSTAGRAM

Meri Blouse is a traditional dress worn in the Pacific Islands, originally introduced by missionaries I've heard. I made these four for a concert at church for some New Guinean ladies. The pattern cutting is very simple with little fabric wasted. And
To finish Me Made May, here's my favourite make of all time, worn by the lovely Emily. It's 5 metres of Ikea upholstery fabric, patternmaking uses subtraction cutting methods (google Julian Roberts, he has lots of free resources). As you can see from
What can I say? I'm in no danger of running out of handmade clothes for Me Made May (last count- more than 50 items in my wardrobe) but they are getting more...unusual. This flatpack shawl (it is a flat shape with armholes) was a college design proje
I made three of these dresses, because they look more complicated to make than they really are. This is black linen with a bit of sashiko stitching - cool to wear in summer or over a tee shirt when the temperatures go down. #memadewardrobe #sewers of

Birthday Gift Dilemmas

Do your friends regard the opening of birthday gifts as a party activity in it's own right? Some of mine do.  It's fun to ooh and aah over pressies as the birthday girl opens them, but gifts can sometimes look a bit Scottish!  At a recent birthday present unveiling I was seeing Royal Doulton among the brand names and calculating price tags as anything up to $100.  Sorry, my piggy bank doesn't hold that much!

Let's see...fabric $12, D rings $3, 2 hours labour at $60 per hour, that adds up to quite a pricey gift!

Let's see...fabric $12, D rings $3, 2 hours labour at $60 per hour, that adds up to quite a pricey gift!

Hunted high and low for a bee print for my bee-keeper buddy!

Hunted high and low for a bee print for my bee-keeper buddy!

Fortunately, if you're a bit crafty, you can still get some oohs and aahs with far less cash and just a little time and effort.  These aprons were made by using my husband's very ratty BBQ apron as a template. The cash register may not have registered very much in buying the materials, but when you take into account the love that went into making them, their value transcends mere money!