Sewing Pattern Alterations

Basic Techniques

Over on our blog you’ll find various posts about sewing and dressmaking, including a selection of hints and tips. However, blogs are organised by date of publication, which is fine for browsing but not so good if you want to see posts about specific topics. That’s where this page comes in.

Below we’ve picked out a selection of our blog posts that cover basic sewing pattern alteration techniques. These are some of the most commonly needed techniques such as lengthening patterns and full bust adjustments. Clicking on any of the links below will take you to the relevant blog post. All are illutrated with photos and/or diagrams and some have accompanying tutorial videos as well. We hope you find them useful and we’ll add to the list below as any relevant new posts are created (we only blog occasionally, most of our time we’re designing new dressmaking patterns :) ).

Featured

How To Lengthen A Trouser/Pants Pattern

Everyone is a different height and has different length legs, so getting a pair of trousers/pants that are the perfect length straight from the pattern is rare. Thankfully, altering the length is relatively simple in most cases. This tutorial shows you how to lengthen a trousers/pants pattern, using our Bramber Trousers pattern as an example, and also covers cases where you have a turn-up hem.

Full Bust Adjustment Tutorial

A tutorial on how to do a Full Bust Adjustment, suitable for beginners and including a video tutorial. A full bust adjustment is a great way of getting a better fit if you have a full bust without having to size up and have the pattern not fit you properly elsewhere or leaving you with a gaping neckline. We take a look at how to do an FBA in the most common situation - a bodice with a bust dart.

How To Sew An In-Seam Pocket

Learn how to add in-seam pockets to the garment of your choice! With a free in-seam pocket pattern.

How To Lengthen A Skirt Pattern

In this post I’ll show you how to lengthen a skirt pattern, using the Boxgrove skirt as an example. The principal can be used on other skirts or even dresses.