Teaching Ciarra to Sew-Part 2-Cutting Out The Gingham Top & Skirt
Hello, and welcome back to part 2 of our blog series on “ teaching Ciarra how to sew.”. Today we will be covering the process of how she cut out the pieces of her gingham plaid top and skirt. If you missed part one of this blog series, click HERE to read it, so you don’t miss a thing!
Working with plaid….
Because Ciarra has chosen a plaid for her outfit, she had to make sure each piece would properly line up at the seams. To do this, the easiest thing to use for your pattern pieces would be something that you can see through, such as tracing paper in a roll (like we used) or even clear plastic, such as a clear shower curtain liner, or drop cloth from the hardware store. This makes it super easy to see through in order to line up your side seams correctly with the lines in the plaid.
“On the fold” pieces….
If you have any pieces in your pattern that instruct to cut on the fold, you need to convert these into one whole piece in order to make sure your plaid stays straight. If you cut on the fold, you run the risk of the plaid being cut off grain (the lines will not be straight!)
Let’s begin!….
The wood block you see pictured here is actually called a “tailor’s clapper” and it created perfect seams while pressing your garments! I use it for a pattern weight sometimes when cutting out garments. To learn how to use a clapper just click HERE. If you would like to purchase one, you can click HERE.
Cutting of the top and skirt is now complete!
All pieces of Ciarra’s black and white gingham outfit are now cut, and ready to be sewn! She did an amazing job of lining everything up!
Stay tuned for part three of this blog series-“Sewing the top”
Until next time….
Amy & Ciarra
Well done!!!