Retro Wrap Sewing Instructions

The Retro Wrap was one of my earliest Pattern Puzzle patterns and easily one of the all-time favourites.  I've made the original pattern and all the adjustments necessary to prepare it for conversion into a PDF Sewing Pattern.  And I do admit that working out the grading plan for this style was a huge challenge.  When the grade document is returned I'll let you know if it was successful.

Checkout the full blog post details on my website blog 'wellsuited'.

Latest from Studio Faro

For the last few months, I've been focussed on getting more patterns and pattern making worksheets online.  This post is a bit of a catch-up for those still connected to me via this blog.  Each of the following images links to a new blog post on the website...

Sleeve Pattern Alterations for the Boat Neck Tee 

www.studiofaro.com

Learn Pattern Making using my Online Resources

In this post I hope to link up some of the illustration and pattern making resources I have on the website so you can plan your pattern making creativity over the summer break. These suggestions are a combination of free access blog posts, and  digital product you can buy and download.

Click through to the well-suited blog on my website for the rest of the blog post. :)

www.studiofaro.com

Vintage Patterns with My Fitted Dress Block

This is a short but dedicated post for all those lovers of Vintage Style. The focus is on using my fitted dress block to design and cut your own vintage dress sewing patterns. To work your way through the fitting process you can go to DOWNLOADS on the menu bar and checkout My Blocks PDF (downloads). The Fitted Dress block has to be one of my favourites and the best place to start for fabulous dress designs. 

Click through to 'well-suited', the website blog, to get all the pattern making detail.

Vintage Inspired Round-Up

Trawling through my blog post archive I've come to realise that many of my posts have vintage content, and I discover there are at least twenty vintage posts! So this Vintage Inspired Round-Up is to refresh your memory of some of my earlier Pattern Puzzle posts and to share a few points in history where vintage style has influenced my work. Where does it all start?

The rest of the post detail is here!  :)

Pattern Puzzle - Vintage Update

The vintage inspiration for this weeks #PatternPuzzle has come from a pattern I found on the So Vintage Patterns website.  Unfortunately, this one has been been sold but they have a mountain of great vintage patterns for all eras.  I was attracted by the asymmetrically-set, diagonal seams with gathered drape.  But not so much the button decoration.  By adding the extra seams, I believe I have made it easier to construct, as they eliminate the corner seams.  I have also reworked the back view from the original design to carry the front, diagonal seams through to the back dress.

For all the pattern making detail for the Vintage Update jump across to the website blog.

www.studiofaro.com

Pattern Puzzle - Vintage Fancy

Since the earliest of my pattern making days I have had a passion for the tailored femininity of vintage styling.  And now that I have discovered an extensive online community that enjoys both fashion and vintage designs I am presented with so many beautiful options for our weekly pattern puzzle.  I found this weeks inspiring image in a wonderful tumblr blog, The Tailors Desire, full of all things vintage.  :)

Pattern Puzzle - Vintage Fancy

For all the pattern making detail for the Vintage Fancy jump across to the website blog.

www.studiofaro.com

Pattern Puzzle - Gil Brandao, Conjunto Pratico

Gil Brandao's patterns have a seductive quality in their simplicity and clarity.  Often with pattern making instructions, simplicity is no more that an absence of information that can be finally very frustrating.  Not so for Gil.  His diagrams have all the required information.  So much so that my inability to read Portuguese does not present a problem.

Pattern Puzzle - Gil Brandao, Conjunto Pratico

For all the pattern making detail for the Gil Brandao, Conjunto Pratico jump across to the website blog.

www.studiofaro.com

Pattern Puzzle - Vintage Booty Dress

It was a demanding #PatternPuzzle this week that ran live across all the different time zones and gave everyone a chance to join in.  You can see by the pattern shapes below that the final move of adding the front side panel to the back side panel was just enough to make it a very challenging game.  Huge thanks to all fans and friends for dropping by and making it a great day.  :)

Pattern Puzzle - Vintage Booty Dress

For all the pattern making detail for the Vintage Booty Dress on the website blog.

www.studiofaro.com

Pattern Puzzle - Gil Brandao Wrap Blouse

I finally has a chance to use some of the wonderful work in the Gil Brandao book.  In particular this pattern hooked me from the beginning as it doesn't seem to make any sense.  To start with the thing that looks like a dart is really an armhole?  And that thing that looks like a sleeve is in fact a waist tie.  As you can imagine I was looking forward to an interesting fitting.

Pattern Puzzle - Gil Brandao Wrap Blouse

Jump on over to our new blog location for all the detail in this post.  

www.studiofaro.com

Pattern Puzzle - Vintage Bodice

Once again I have been seduced by a Vintage Fashion Illustration promising so much in fit and style.  Add to that the fact that this bodice promised to be one of those fascinating one-piece patterns, so thoroughly investigated in the first half of the 20th century.  Manufacturers were looking for a  reduction of machine processes (costs) for the mass manufacture of fashion. This blog now has a great number (5) of these type of pattern instruction which I hope to develop into a more detailed post some day.

Pattern Puzzle - Vintage Bodice

The rest of this blog post can be found at our new blog address on our website.  

www.studiofaro.com

Pattern Puzzles - Balenciaga Blouse

The inspiration behind this weeks #PatternPuzzle post is this divinely simple vintage blouse by Balenciaga (circa. 1958-60) found in the MetMuseum online collections.  It has been sitting in my stash of great ideas for #PatternPuzzles for over a year.  :)

All the pattern making instructions have been moved to the website blog. :)

www.studiofaro.com

THE PATENT BLOUSE - Sampled!

You'll find the PDF Sewing Pattern on the website.  And a set of Sewing Instructions with detailed photos of every step.

The Patent Blouse Sizes XS-XXL

www.studiofaro.com

Pattern Puzzle - The Erté Jacket

My first introduction to Erte was the year after leaving fashion college when my Dad gave me a copy of this book for Christmas.  I was such a pattern making novice at the time, I had no idea how I would ever achieve such challenging designs.

You'll find all the pattern making detail on the website blog.

www.studiofaro.com

Pattern Puzzle - ‘The Blank' by Ruth E Richman 1948

So it's a weird one this week.  Over sixty years old and born of a time that valued efficiency in manufacture over effective use of resources.  Patent #2,454,208, invented by Ruth E Richman in 1946, was filed as:

'An object of the invention is to simplify the manufacture of blouses, coats and similar garments by constructing them from a blank consisting of a single piece of material.'

And Ruth was not alone.  We have located at least six different patents, spanning turn of the century to the 1960's, that focused specifically on one-piece patterns that minimised the time spent in manufacture.  We have preciously showcased a The Patent Blouse that similarly features a one-piece pattern with minimal seaming for greater efficiencies in production.  So certainly a popular idea at the time.

You'll find all the pattern making detail on the website blog.

www.studiofaro.com

Pattern Puzzle - Balenciaga Evening Overblouse

From the first moment I clapped my eyes on this little beauty I have been deeply in love.  Never far from my mind, I had made several attempts to understand this self-drafted style.  Finally I have something to start with.  

You'll find all the pattern making instructions on the website blog.

Pattern Puzzle - The Patent Blouse

Looking a lot like an origami batman, this weeks self-drafted #PatternPuzzle comes from some of the greatest minds of the 1960's - the inventors filing patents for the next best thing in clothing.   Extracting the detail from the funny little patent sketches was probably one of the most frustrating self-drafted puzzles I have ever put together.  It took me ages to make sense of the garment and the suggested shape for the pattern.  July 2019 - this pattern is now available on the website - The Patent Blouse Sizes XS-XXL.

For all the pattern making instructions go to my blog post - The Patent Blouse.

www.studiofaro.com

Pattern Puzzle - RETRO SHRUG

Here is the anonymous shape that was posted on our Facebook Page.  A self-drafted rectangle with three notches - that's all they got!  And they were very creative with the information.  Have a look at the comments!  And this is the Vintage Pattern (now reissued as Simplicity 8452) that started me off on a quest to make and understand how a simple, self-drafted rectangle shape becomes this elegant top?!?  

You'll find all the pattern making detail on the website blog.

www.studiofaro.com