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

Technical drawings, fabric swatches and toiles!

Hand drawn sketch in ink and conte crayonWorking from my mood board (see previous blog entry!) I hand draw sketches of what I'm going to make. 

For more clarity, these can also be translated into a technical drawing on a computer drawing program.Technical drawing in Adobe Illustrator

 

Patterns are drawn up by hand and a toile or test garment pieced together.  At college, we have rolls and rolls of fabric oddments to cobble toiles together.  At home, I like to pick up cheap fabric from op shops for testing patterns.  It can be a bit of an eyesore, but it's great for trialling. Here's a snap taken in our college studio...

 

Test garment made of scrap fabrics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love collecting fabric swatches from stores until I make my mind up!But you can relax, the final garment will be made in lovely ice-cream coloured silks and organzas.  Can't wait!