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

Learn to Draw a Croquis

Find templates like this in fashion drawing books or onlineColoured with markers and watercolour pencils, background is photocopied fabrics"Croquis" (rhymes with okie-dokie!) -  is a fancy French word for sketch.  They're great for expressing your ideas - sketching is a basic skill that can be learned, just like reading and writing.  A little practice goes a long way!

My college project (above right) was drawn using a template on a light box.  No light box?  Tape your template to a window in daylight hours, tape to the TV at night!  Pencil in the basic shape and add your clothing design.  Use a fine line pen (I like 0.1!) to define your sketch.  Erase original pencil lines and colour.

When I was in sixth grade our teacher made us stand up in front of the class to show our best drawing.  I had to borrow a picture from a friend!  Couldn't draw to save my life and avoided art at high school in favour of maths and physics (unbelievable!).  But at age 27 I decided I wanted to learn to draw - it's never too late to start.

The life-changing book I read was Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.  For a totally left-brained person, it helped me learn a skill I thought was only for the chosen few!