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If you’re anything like me, you probably have a closet full of clothes that you never wear. But what if I told you that there was a way to copy your clothes and sew them over and over again? Imagine never having to go shopping for clothes again! In this blog post, I’m going to show you how to do just that. Trust me, it’s easier than it sounds. So, grab your sewing machine and let’s get started!
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Find a clothing item you want to recreate
Finding a clothing item to copy and recreate can be an adventure in itself. Going through your closet or someone else’s, you can search for a key piece of clothing that you would love to copy and wear for any occasion. Find that perfectly fitting pair of jeans or that favorite t-shirt that fits just perfectly but is getting a bit worn and you can’t quite mend it anymore. This is a great way to dip your toes into pattern drafting, as we are not exactly drafting patterns, but it will get you familiar with some techniques you will use when drafting sewing patterns. Choose whatever material works best for what you want – cottons, polyesters, wools, silks – have fun with it. Though, if you are working with a stretch garment (like a t-shirt) be sure that the fabric you choose to make it out of is the same stretch percentage as the original garment, as it will not fit the same (or at all) if you use woven when it should be a knit fabric. There’s no limit to what kind of style you can copy with a bit of creativity and effort!
Do you have that one perfect tee that you have worn to threads? Well, now you can copy that tee so you can go on wearing it the same fit – but in so many wonderful fabrics!
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Trace the pattern onto tracing paper
Drafting patterns for clothes can bring out the creative designer in all of us! Tracing paper is a great tool to make drafting easier; instead of trying to eyeball our desired pattern onto a piece of cloth, we can trace the design onto a sheet of tracing paper that’s easier to move and adjust around. The ability to transfer complex designs and patterns means we can get more detailed with what we’re creating if, say, our original drafting piece is an existing clothing item. No matter which garments you choose as inspiration, be sure that your design shines through when you trace the pattern onto tracing paper – let the newest style creation begin!
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Step 1. Draft the Body
Begin by ensuring your shirt is free of wrinkles (a light pressing may help you out).
Lay down the paper you would like to trace your pattern to. I like to use the medical paper rolls or the Prym Gridded Pattern Paper (the grid is fabulous), but in a pinch wrapping paper does the trick.
Place your shirt on your work surface on top of the pattern paper being very careful not to stretch it out of shape. Next, fold your tee exactly in half (front neckline folds in half and you bring the shoulder seams together). Place pattern weights to keep it from shifting. Alternatively, you can use foam core and pins to really stick it down for the most exact measurements. That being said, I find this method is a bit of overkill for a tee and the pattern weights work just dandy.
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Using a pencil, trace around your tee around the seam, the hem and fold line. Note where the neckline highest and lowest points are (both for the front & back of the neckline) along the folded edge. Also note where the neckline finishes.
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Reposition your pattern weights, if needed, around the armscye so we can trace this area as well. A tip for creating a perfect curve is to either use pins to “prick” into the pattern paper along the armscye curve or use a tracing wheel from your sewing kit. Then trace over this in your pencil.
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Mark where your shoulder seam joins the armscye and trace the shoulder seam onto your pattern paper.
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Next, trace the back neckline (the one that is higher), being sure not to include the neck band in your tracing; you want to trace right were the seam meets the neckband.
Move your pattern weights (or pins) lower, so that they just meet the seam on the front neckline. Trace the front neckline onto your paper.
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Label the necklines front and back for your reference.
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Step 2. Refine the Body Pattern
Now you can pull the tee away and we can begin to refine the pattern piece.
Using a clear ruler (drafting rulers or quilting rulers work well for this), true up the centre front, shoulder, and hem lines you traced.
Either freehand, or with a French Curve ruler as a guide, true up the curves in the armscye and the necklines.
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Step 3. Add Seam Allowances
Add in the size of seam allowances that you would like on your tee. I went with ¾” on the seams and ½” on the hem (which is the same hem length of my Ready to Wear (RTW) tee).
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Step 4. Draft the Sleeves
The sleeves on my tee are the same for the front and the back, so we can just fold them in half. Trace the outline of the sleeve and mark the centre fold and trace down that line.
NOTE: If your tee has a slightly different shape for the front and the back, then you will need to align the sleeve along the centre fold line and trace the front, then flip it on the fold line (marking the centre line with a pin is a great way to ensure you are exactly in the same spot) and then trace the back of the sleeve.
Alternatively, you can place your bodice pattern under your tracing paper (if it is transparent) and then trace the armscye. Then continue to trace out the full sleeve. I like to use pattern weights to assist with this. Mark the fold.
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Step 5. Add Seam Allowances
As you did with the body of the tee, add in your seam allowances. I kept the ½” hem allowance the same on the sleeves as it is on the hem of the body.
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Step 6. Refine the Sleeves
Place the sleeve pattern you drew onto the paper and tape in place. Fold in half so you have an even sleeve. Many times, the sleeve will not come out looking exactly as it should (remember the ‘Bell Curve’ in math class, it should have a similar shape to this. This is when we refine the sleeve but keeping the same length as the curve but changing its shape slightly to look more like the bell curve shape that set-in sleeves have. You can also grab a sleeve pattern you have lying around and use it as a template to get the correct shape.
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Step 7. Draft the Neckband
Measure the front and back neck curves on the body piece of your tee (not including seam allowances). (I like to record these measurements on my pattern, so I have them as a reference later.)
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Double these numbers (as the tee front and back bodies are cut on the fold); add those two numbers together.
In order for your neckband to sit flat on your tee, it needs to be slightly smaller than the circumference of the neck hole you just measured. A good rule of thumb is to make it 1/5th the size of the neck hole.
Here is an example:
Front: 6.5”
Back: 4.5”
Multiply by 2 (as they are on the fold):
Neck Opening Circumference = (2*6.5”) + (2*4.5”) = (13”) + (9”) = 22”
Reduce Neck Opening Circumference length by one fifth:
22” *(1/5) = 4.4”
22” – 4.4” = 17.6”
The neckband will be 17.6” long.
Next determine how wide the neckband should be. I copied the exact width of my current tee, which was ¾”. As the neckband will be folded in on itself, you will need to double this, making the width of my neckband 1.5”.
Add on your seam allowance to the neckband.
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Now cut out your pattern.
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Cut out the traced pattern
Drafting sewing patterns can be tricky, but it’s always a fun challenge to rub off existing garments in your closet. With a few simple tools and a bit of creativity, you can take an existing item of clothing and use it to create a unique pattern that you can make over and over again. From there, the possibilities are endless! Whether you’re drafting for sewing, quilting, or paper crafts – once the pattern is traced out, all that’s left to do is cut it out. So don’t forget the scissors and get cutting your way to some creative success!
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Place the tracing paper on top of fabric and cut around it
When it comes to drafting patterns from your existing clothes, tracing paper is a valuable tool. Simply lay the tracing paper over your fabric and begin to cut around it! Being careful with the cutting of course, each snip could be the difference between a perfectly tailored piece and an inadequate approximation of what you had desired. However, when handled skillfully, drafting patterns just got that much easier. Oh, and don’t forget those seam allowances!
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Sewing the Tee
Sew the pieces of fabric together
If you’ve been wanting to rub some existing clothes in your closet off and put your own unique spin on them, then sewing them in fun and creative fabric is the perfect way to do it. Not only can you turn plain garments into one-of-a-kind showstoppers (colour blocking on that t-shirt, anyone?), but you’ll be able to use this newfound talent for any other projects that may come your way. Sewing is a skill that continues to be relevant time and time again and will provide countless hours of joy both throughout the creative process and after it’s complete. So pick out a fabric of your choice, slip on some glasses if needed, and let’s get started!
Using a serger makes this very quick, but I you do not have a serger (overlocker) make sure to use a stretch stitch on your sewing machine.
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Step 8. Sew the Shoulder Seam
With right sides together sew the front body to the back aligning the shoulder seams. Stitch along the shoulder seams.
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Step 9. Inset the Sleeves
With right sides together, sew the sleeves onto the tee.
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Step 10. Sew the Side Seams
Now that the sleeves are attached to our tee, fold your shirt so that it is right sides together and attach the front to the back along the side seams.
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NOTE:
The side seam will continue up the sleeve to finish the sleeves. This method is much easier to set the sleeve in when working with knits, rather than setting in a sleeve that is already in the round.
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Step 11. Attach the Neck Binding
With right sides together, sew the binding into a tube along the short ends.
Fold the binding in half lengthwise so that the wrong sides are together.
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Using the seam as one of your markings, quarter the neck band and either snip or use a water-soluble marker to denote the quarters of the band.
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Next, quarter the neck opening of your tee. Find the centre front and centre back and mark this. Then fold the tee in half matching the centre front and back marks to find the quarter points (this will NOT be the shoulder seams).
Match up the quarter marks on your neckband to the neckline opening on your tee. Pin (or clip) the neckband onto the opening with the raw edges matching up. Sew in place.
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Step 12. Hem the Sleeves
Fold under the hem allowance you chose (mine was 1”) and using a twin needle, stretch stitch, zigzag or cover stitch machine hem the sleeves.
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13. Hem the Bottom
Just as you did for the sleeves, hem the bottom of your t-shirt.
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You are done and now it is time to ROCK your new favourite tee!
Try on your new piece of clothing!
There’s nothing more exciting than getting a new piece of clothing! And with your new pattern you drafted, you can create many more of the same garment’s time and time again. Whether it’s a copy of that stunning dress from last week’s hot date that you got a red wine stain on, or simply that old tatty tee shirt that brings you joy every time you put it on, try on your hand at copying your clothes into sewing patterns today and start feeling the freedom to be yourself and keep on wearing your favorite garments long after they have worn out.
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