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There are many wonderful craft businesses from which to choose your next sewing or stitching project. Two of these with a beloved following and similar values are our company, Folkwear Sewing Patterns, which creates sewing patterns inspired by historical and folk costume garments from around the world, and Avlea Folk Embroidery, which creates cross stitch and embroidery kits inspired by traditional folk embroidery around the world. In this post, we’ll hear from Folkwear's own Molly Hamilton and Krista West of Avlea Folk Embroidery about how they began their businesses and what challenges and successes they have experienced. Read on for a unique behind-the-scenes view of what it’s like to run a small craft business!
How did we start our businesses?
Molly: Folkwear was started in 1976 by three women in California – Alexandra (Jacopetti) Hart, Barbara Garvey, and Ann Wainwright. They started Folkwear because they did not see patterns for folk clothing that they saw on their travels and that they loved and wanted to wear. They developed sewing patterns, along with the detailing such as embroidery or handwork that were used traditionally with the garments. And they expanded into historic clothing as well.
Folkwear went through several ownerships over the years. In 2014 I went to a local lecture on textiles and the woman presenting was Kate Mathews, the owner of Folkwear at the time. She talked about Folkwear, the history, the designs, the customers, and had a rack of gorgeous clothing samples to show off. At the end of the lecture she said “I really want to retire and I am looking for a younger woman who has the energy to keep this company going.” And I thought, “That’s me.” I had young children still at home at the time and I was working 2 jobs (one was running a small business), but after 2 years, I called Kate and she was excited to work with me, and I took over Folkwear at the end of 2016.
Krista: For many years, I owned a bespoke tailoring business for which I imported fabrics from Greece. I was on a buying trip to Greece when one of my mill agents introduced me to traditional Greek folk embroidery. I was utterly smitten by the geometric designs and bold color palettes, and I bought some basic supplies that day and started stitching that night in my hotel room. When I got home, I continued to stitch old designs and which led me to start collecting vintage embroideries and vintage patterns so I could learn more. It was only when people started commenting on the unique embroideries I had around my house that I thought that other stitchers might be interested in these old designs.
What has been the evolution of our businesses?
Molly: Folkwear has been around for almost 50 years, so there has been lots of change, but consistency of producing high quality sewing patterns for meaningful and authentic folk and historic clothing from around the world has continued. The iconic Folkwear illustrations were done by Gretchen Schields, who is an incredible artist and was friends with the original founders of Folkwear. She has retired, and we now use local artists for illustrations and photographs. In the last 8 years, I have worked to digitize most of the Folkwear pattern collection. There were two reasons for this: 1. To preserve the patterns (the films they were printed on were dissolving from age); and 2. To provide customers with digital patterns (PDF patterns). PDF sewing patterns are very popular, and customers appreciate the instant downloads (no shipping, which is especially helpful for international customers).
But we also like to keep patterns in print. It has been a business and economic challenge to figure out how to keep patterns in print and manage inventory. We lost our main pattern printer a few years ago and our new printer has very large minimums. So, after navigating small print runs for some patterns, we finally bought our own printer and now we can print our own patterns. We could have let patterns go out of print and only offer the digital version, but the digital option is only helpful to customers who have access to computers, printers, and good wifi. So, we try to keep patterns in print, especially patterns that are important to a particular culture.
Krista: Avlea started with just eight designs. Originally, I thought I would only offer patterns, but then I realized you couldn’t find the traditional folk fabrics in the US, which are an integral part of creating authentic folk embroidery. I asked one of my Greek suppliers to ship me a bolt of Traditional Groundcloth so I could start making a few kits. I was really surprised when kits became much more popular than patterns. The interest in kits ended up being a really great creative challenge—I started thinking, “How can I create the highest-quality embroidery kit, one that I would want to buy?” At this point, as a bespoke tailor, I regularly worked on pieces of brocade that cost over $1000 and I used very expensive finishings, so I was accustomed to using the best quality supplies. I wanted to use this experience to create a top-notch embroidery kit that would be designed in such a way that a stitcher could have an authentic and confident stitching experience, no matter their skill level. A big part of this was doing the math and creating patterns that would allow a stitcher to simply open the kit and start stitching without having to calculate how many repeats to work or figure out what size your piece of fabric needed to be. I’ve been refining that process ever since and I’m always thinking about the stitcher’s experience of the kit—is the pattern clear? Are the repeats easy to follow? Will this give a stitcher a really great experience?
Where do we find inspiration for new designs?
Molly: We find inspiration for new patterns from several sources. Our customers are a big one! They often send us ideas of garments they want us to make patterns for. We had so many requests for a bunad pattern over the years, that we finally produced one. This took several years to make, and I am excited that we got to collaborate with Krista and Avlea Folk Embroidery on the embroidery designs for this pattern. We also get inspiration from the garments we have in our collection. For instance, the 280 Resort Kaftan pattern (released in 2024), came from a fun kaftan we had in our collection of vintage garments. It was so lovely, with simple details, and a flattering shape, that I knew we should make it into a pattern. I also find inspiration from the half-finished patterns in our files from the years before I took over Folkwear. There are so many great ideas in there from years past that just need a refining, changing, or more development. We got our Basics Collection from a set of those half-finished patterns.
Krista: My inspiration for the designs comes from my collection of vintage embroideries and embroidery patterns, my trips to Greece where I study folk costume and folk embroidery, and just like Molly, Avlea customers who send me the most fantastic photos of their family heirlooms! Many historic textiles are really big and complex, so I try to “translate” the overall feel of the embroidery, but in a size a modern stitcher will feel confident to stitch. For color palette inspiration, I use the Mediterranean world as my foundation, and then I stay open to what I see around me in the natural world. When I go out walking, I’m looking at how colors interplay in nature—for example, there’s a creek near my house with the most beautifully colored rocks in shades of gray, black, taupe, and clay red, and I’m using these colors for a design on taupe-colored linen right now.
What patterns would we recommend to a beginning sewist/stitcher?
Molly: The Basics Collection is great for a beginner, but if you are wanting to make folk clothing, I think the 142 Old Mexico Dress is a great one. It is so simple, with no fasteners, and you can play with fabric combinations or add embroidery to the dress or shirt (it is also a great base for embroidery!). For our historic pattern line, I think the 254 Swing Coat is a good start (again, no closures), but 269 Metropolitan Hat would also be a fun and small project.
Krista: This is a great question! I think first and foremost, you want to choose something that you just love because it’s going to keep you motivated as you learn. If the design and colors just call to you, go for it! If you really want to get the hang of cross stitching, then I recommend one of the allover BitKit designs, like Asteria or Mykonos Meadow, because the designs are smaller and it allows you to get your stitching technique down before you take on more complex projects.
What patterns would we recommend to an experienced sewist/stitcher?
Molly: We have lots of patterns that seem fairly simple, but layers of complexity can be added to them to make the pattern good for beginners as well as for experienced sewists. For instance, the 113 Japanese Kimono is a fairly simple garment with straight seams and no closures. But, our pattern for the kimono, or yukata, has a typical Japanese construction which means the seam allowance changes for each size. If you were using narrow handwoven fabric (as a traditional kimono would), you would not want to cut the valuable fabric to size so you would construct the garment to fit the person, not the fabric to fit the size. This is not a typical Western sewing process, but allows for the garment to change for a body’s changing size or so that it can be altered for someone else over time. And the pattern also provides instructions for sashiko embroidery as well as traditional shibori dyeing. So, there is a lot for an experienced sewist to enjoy. Many of our patterns are like this. The popular 205 Gibson Girl Blouse can be made with lace insertion and edging, French seams, and a traditional cut, or it can be made without lace, regular seams, and in a more modern cut. There is a lot for every level of sewist in our patterns.
Krista: One of the things that is so wonderful about folk embroidery is the wide range of really complex, mind-blowingly gorgeous designs! It’s what first drew me to folk embroidery—I had no idea cross stitch could be so intricate and so stunning. For experienced stitchers, I would definitely recommend designs that combines cross stitches and backstitches, like Taline’s Tulips or Iris’ Paintbox, because those designs really embody traditional folk embroidery. The larger border squares like Clara’s Garden or Myriam’s Garden are also great for experienced stitchers.
What is it like to be both a creative and a small business owner?
Krista: Busy! Sometimes it can feel like a game of Whack-a-Mole—you just get things settled at the website and then you have an issue with your photos; you just get the photos sorted and then one of your core DMC colors is backordered; you get the DMC cones in and then you realize you’re behind on making kits! So it’s definitely wearing a lot of hats, but you just have to embrace that—I’m a person who likes a lot of variety in my work and I get bored easily, so it suits me very well. And because I didn’t start Avlea until I was in my late 40s, it’s definitely pushed me to embrace learning new skills and accepting that I’m not going to get things right on the first try. But that has been really valuable in my life to have this work that keeps me challenged and cognitively engaged—I joke to my family that Avlea is the ultimate anti-dementia medicine!
Molly: I agree with Krista, it is wearing a lot of hats and putting out a lot of “fires” (like Whack-a-Mole). Some days I get to be creative and make samples or work on designs. But most days I am doing planning, marketing, and maintenance (and putting out “fires”). I really enjoy this part of the business also because it is problem-solving, and it often involves communicating with customers (through customer service or marketing). I am also a widowed mom of 4 children, so I am often creatively fitting in driving kids to sports or music practices, pick-ups from school, and all the other things that come with school-aged children.
How long is the process to bring a new pattern from concept to a physical product?
Molly: It typically takes us about a year to get a new pattern from concept to physical product. It can be longer – the Bunad pattern took us several years because we kept changing the design to fit our ideas better and updating the construction to be easier to sew, and then we would set it aside for several months to work on other projects. This pattern was a balance between deeply authentic and approachable. But the 280 Resort Kaftan was a simpler pattern and we were able to get that to production within a few months. There is a great deal of work that goes into producing a sewing pattern. You start with an idea or design. Then you must create a pattern for it, test the pattern to see if it will work and design how it will be put together in a way that is easiest for our customers. Once we have a good design, we have to grade the pattern into the different sizes. Then we have to write and illustrate instructions, which can be a lot of work. Then we have to test the instructions and illustrations to make sure they are correct, and edit them. Once we have a graded pattern and instructions, we have to test the different sizes (and make adjustments as needed), make samples, photograph samples, and create the package (pattern, instructions, illustrations, cover design, etc.). Then, we have to proof everything again and go to print, which can also take several weeks to several months. It is a LOT of work!
Krista: Typically about 6-10 months after I’ve found my initial inspiration from a textile or photo. It takes me about 2-3 months to adapt and chart a design and get the colors and layout just right, then another couple of months to stitch the sample, then a month or two to finish the sample, photograph it and do any needed video or reels with it, and then have my graphic designer create the pattern. I try to have the pattern ready to go about three weeks before the release so I’ve got time to make up all the kits before I add them to the website. One of the things I really like about folk embroidery is that it is “season-less”, so I’m not usually working under deadlines related to a specific season like summer or the holidays. If a design just seems to be taking longer, then I have the flexibility to set it aside for awhile and circle back around to it later. Often, that’s when I do what I think is my best work because I have a lot of time to just sort of see and rotate the design in my mind while I’m serging or packing orders or doing other things like that around the workshop. It’s not uncommon for me to have an “aha!” design moment in the middle of doing something like serging or winding floss.
We have been in the craft/garment/textile industry a long time—what changes have happened that have positively impacted our business? (I’m thinking social media, YouTube, PDF patterns, etc.)
Molly: You know, I have been sewing all my life, but have only been in the business for the last 10 years. My first career was in agriculture! I think the growth of PDF sewing patterns has been a big and positive change. Customers can get patterns right away and they don’t have to pay for shipping. If there is a change to be made to the pattern, they can get the updates for free. And using projectors is a change I also see that customers are really enjoying – and files for projectors can be included in the PDF patterns. It has also been fun to connect to customers via social media. We love to see what people are making!
Krista: Well, considering I began my career in the garment industry in 1995 and people were still faxing in orders, there have been so many changes! The Internet, websites, e-commerce, YouTube, social media, basically everything is different than when I began my career. For the most part, I’ve found these technological advancements have been incredibly helpful to me as a small business owner—for example, I used to spend a lot of time preparing invoices and now people order with just the click of a button. Email communication has been the single greatest timesaver for me—I used to spend hours every week on the phone with clients which was all time I wasn’t creating stuff. The only downside I’ve experienced is that sometimes people can have unrealistic delivery expectations, but that’s gotten much better in the last few years as support for small businesses has grown and customers realize that we’re actual human beings making and packing and shipping your order. And, I agree with Molly that PDF patterns have been an incredible invention—I have many international clients who have access to designs without having to pay expensive shipping and customs.
What are two areas in which you’ve had to challenge yourself to learn something new or push yourself in a new direction?
Molly: Haha. I feel like I am always learning something new and pushing myself in a new direction. I have learned pattern drafting, I have learned bookkeeping, and I have learned to pass on some of these jobs to others. I do enjoy pattern drafting, though. I like the math involved and the challenge of taking something 3-dimensional (a garment or garment concept), making a 2-dimensional pattern, and then creating another 3-dimensional object from that.
Krista: Social media and photography, for sure. When I began Avlea in 2018, I had never had a social media account of any kind and I was totally overwhelmed. But my daughters, who were 18 and 20 at the time, gave me the best advice—they rolled their eyes and said, “Mom, it’s not like everything has to be perfect, people just want to see what you do.” That gave me the confidence to show up as a 48-year-old woman who didn’t know what a hashtag was or how to find portrait mode on my phone and I just embraced the fact that I was older and didn’t know how all this worked but at least I was trying—sort of an “A for effort” approach. And, it has shown me so much of the good side of humanity—people are so kind and encouraging, even of my most hapless efforts! Photography was much the same: I had always been afraid of photography as this rarified skill but it ended up being something I really needed to do learn so I could communicate what I was imagining creatively with these beautiful folk embroideries, and now I really enjoy working on my photography skills and seeing my progress from design to design.
What are some of your successes?
Molly: I am very proud of getting so much of the Folkwear catalog digitized. This was an enormous challenge as most of our patterns had no digital record at all – they were on film that was decomposing or lost. We now have a digital record for most Folkwear patterns that will hopefully last for a very long time. We still have some patterns to digitize, so that will be the work of the next few years. I am also glad that we have graded up many of our patterns from the late 1980s and 1990s that were only available in a very small size range. I also started quite a bit of pattern printing in-house. Our challenge for printed patterns is that the only printer in the US that can print sewing patterns on tissue has large minimums. To manage inventory, it made sense for us to print many of our own patterns. This allows us to keep patterns in print and bring patterns back from out-of-print, as well as manage how and when we print. We started printing our own patterns on a wide format printer, and we have a folding machine so we have control of our printing process. All of these things have made our patterns more accessible.
Krista: I agree with Molly that printing in-house has been a definite success. Early on, another designer suggested I get a commercial-type printer and I am SO glad I did—it allows me to make quick edits and be able to reprint all in a single day so my patterns can be as accurate as possible. And, it helps keep prices down which is important to me. I also think my photos are getting better and I’m really proud of that because it definitely does not come to me as easily and effortlessly as designing and stitching do. Publishing my first book on folk embroidery last year was an achievement, and that has been so wonderful to see it go out into the world and spark other people’s creativity. This year, I’ve been starting to do more collaborations (like the one I just did with Folkwear on their Norwegian Bunad folk costume pattern!) and I’m really excited about those because I like being inspired by other people’s creative work. But, overall, just getting to be in my studio every day, designing and making kits and doing what I love, is the greatest success for me.
What are you most proud of about your business?
Molly: I am proud that Folkwear is still going strong after nearly 50 years in business, and I am proud to make our patterns more accessible. I love that Folkwear provides such great sewing patterns for people to connect to their heritage, history, or to other cultures and times. It is a privilege to steward this company forward.
Krista: I am proud that, together, my customers and I are keeping folk embroidery alive and creating a welcoming stitching community for those who want to explore folk embroidery. These designs are so ancient and have been with us as humans for millennia, and I feel honored that I get to be part of a community that passes them on to the next generation. It’s absolutely what gets me out of bed in the morning!
Molly and Krista love how their creative businesses complement each other, and they are excited to be collaborating on Folkwear's newest pattern, 147 Norwegian Bunad.
We are excited to finally release our newest sewing pattern, the 147 Norwegian Bunad! This pattern has been in the works at Folkwear for several years. So many customers have continued to ask for a bunad pattern over the years that we started working on one, but the details and the many garment pieces meant that we would work on this pattern for a little while, then set it aside to work on other pressing patterns and issues (PDFs, other new patterns, moving, storms, etc). But, we kept coming back to this pattern and finally felt like we got the details, including embroidery, to a point that this pattern could be used to create an authentic Norwegian folk costume or a bunad.
The bunad is an intricate and beautiful folk costume that has been standardized and formalized for many regions of Norway (and beyond). It is a symbol of pride and heritage in Norway and among those of Norwegian ancestry. And now you can create your own stunning version with our new sewing pattern!
What is the Norwegian Bunad?
The bunad is the traditional folk costume worn in Norway. Rooted in Norwegian historic, traditional folk dress, the bunad has evolved over the years, and is now a nationally recognized and standardized costume, with a multitude of variations. Today, bunader (the plural form of bunad) are worn on special occasions and celebrations, such as weddings and national holidays (specifically, Norway’s National Day, or Syttende mai on May 17). Regions—and even specific villages or cities—have their own distinct bunad styles, defined by unique colors, embroidery, and the cut of the garments which reflect the local customs and history.
Introducing the Sewing Pattern
Our sewing pattern allows you to create a Norwegian folk costume or bunad and bring this piece of Norwegian heritage to life with your own hands! The pattern includes pattern pieces and instructions for sewing all the garments, as well as a history and detailing. The Blouse has a front slit opening with an optional decorative panel, a collar that can stand up or be folded down, underarm gussets, and sleeves gathered into dropped shoulders and buttoned cuffs. The Vest has two views and is fitted and designed to be worn clasped at the waist or closed with lacings. The pleated Skirt is ankle-length and the waistband buttons in the back at a placket. The outfit finishes with an Apron that is also pleated into a buttoned waistband.
The 147 Norwegian Bunad available in sizes XS-2XL, as a paper pattern or a PDF pattern. The paper pattern will be mailed to you. The PDF pattern is available as a download after checkout. The PDF pattern has files layered by size for copy shops -- 36" wide and A0 (4 pages), for print at home (55 pages for A4 or 8.5x11" paper), and for projectors. Both versions of the pattern include full instructions for creating all the garments, as well as eight pages of history, detailing, and embroidery designs.
We collaborated with Krista West of Avlea Folk Embroidery on the embroidery designs included in the pattern (Krista is also of Norwegian ancestry!) -- providing five rosemaling-type satin stitched patterns and two large and detailed cross stitch designs with main and border motifs that can be used in many parts of the bunad.
Along with the embroidery designs, we have basic stitching instructions, as well as a history of the bunad and resources for further information (also see below).
With this bunad pattern, we hope to provide a base to create a beautiful bunad or folk costume (folkdrakt). We have provided two views or options for a bunad, similar to the Hardanger and Telemark bunader styles, but still quite generic. Our pattern can be used as a base to personalize, modify, or style the bunad, folk costume, or festive costume to one’s preference. Choose traditional fabrics and embellishments, or go another route. This is a pattern for your creativity and personal taste, and to create what you want. This pattern can be used to make a very simple folk costume; or it can be used to create an elaborately embellished outfit. We hope that this pattern provides information and inspiration for the creation of your own folk costume.
Some women’s bunader have the vest sewn to the skirt after construction, and the skirt opening is in the front. The apron then covers the opening made in the front of the skirt. You can adjust our pattern for this option by making the skirt front into the back and vise
versa.
If you are wanting to make a specific bunad, research that tradition and bunad look, and you can adjust our pattern and detailing to work for many bunader. Our pattern allows for lots of customization you can add your authentic or personal touch to your bunad.
Detailing: Embroidery and More
One thing that makes the Norwegian bunader unique is the embroidery, trim, and other details of the costume. Our pattern has eight pages of history and detailing information for the bunad. We provide a number of embroidery patterns with instructions, as well as instructions for making a waist pocket.
As mentioned, Krista West of Avlea Folk Embroidery helped us develop the embroidery patterns provided in 147 Norwegian Bunad, and these rosemaling designs can be used as main motifs on the vest, skirt, apron, and/or pocket bag. The cross stitch patterns can be used (or modified by you and used) to add borders to cuffs, collars, shirt fronts, and skirt or apron edges (or to belts). The cross stitch designs can also be used in part, or whole, for the intricately decorated front chest insert (brystduk) found in some bunader that is pinned in place behind the vest.
A small part of one of the embroidery designs included in the pattern -- patterns include main motifs and border motifs.
Further Resources
We fully acknowledge that our pattern is just the basis for the Norwegian Bunad and is not for a fully detailed, regionally-specific bunad. This is because there are so many and to pick one would be to miss the potential to help customers be able to access others. So we have the basics for all you need for a bunad, as well as embroidery, and we hope you can use this pattern to be able to make a folk costume, or a fully detailed bunad from a particular region. For more information, we recommend the following resources:
Get Started Today
Whether you are a seasoned seamstress or a beginner looking for a new challenge, our 147 Norwegian Bunad sewing pattern is the perfect project to expand your skills and create something truly special. Embrace the beauty and tradition of Norwegian culture with this exquisite sewing pattern. Get started on your Syttende mai outfit today!
We will have an interview with Krista West on the blog in a few days so you can get to know her and her business. She will have some of the cross stitch designs from this pattern, as well as kits, available in her shop.
And we will start a sew-along for this pattern by the end of next week! We will have the Blouse sew-along available on April 11, the Vest sew-along on April 18, and the Skirt and Apron sew-along on April 25. Join us to sew this gorgeous outfit!
The 147 Norwegian Bunad is on sale from now through April 10.
In Part One, we talked about all the background for starting the 113 Japanese Kimono -- sizing, yardages, fabric, etc. Now we can start sewing! Find our 113 Japanese Kimono sewing pattern here and join along!
Cutting out the Pattern and Fabric
The first thing to do after deciding on your size and fabric is to cut out the pattern. You will cut the whole pattern. You will not cut your particular size (other than one end of the overlap where do you cut down to your size on the slanted end).
The front and the back of the kimono are cut as one piece (with no shoulder seam). To get this very long piece, you must tape the front and back pattern pieces together at the shoulder line. This pattern piece could not be printed as one long piece (too long for any printer), so the pattern piece must be taped together at the shoulder to create the long front/back piece.
The 113 Japanese Kimono is one of Folkwear's first and oldest patterns. It was originally published in 1977 and has not really had any changes made to the pattern over those nearly 50 years. Which shows what a classic pattern it really is. Our Japanese Kimono pattern includes pattern pieces and instructions to make a traditional Japanese yukata, or informal kimono -- an everyday kimono. This garment has a long history and the pattern goes into the history, as well as teaches sashiko embroidery (traditional Japanese running stitch embroidery), and shibori dyeing (traditional Japanese resist dyeing).
The construction of our Japanese Kimono is different than a typical sewing pattern, and I thought it would be helpful to make one here so you could see how it goes together. This is a pattern we sometimes get questions about since it comes together a bit differently than a typical Western-style garment.
Sizing
Our kimono pattern is sized for a "small woman" to a "large man". Though this sizing seems a bit vague and there are no other measurements to see what the size might mean, the reason for this sizing also goes back to the traditional nature of this pattern. Japanese fabrics were woven on 13" to 15" wide looms, so kimonos were made with 13"-15" wide panels of fabric (or panels that were half of that size). The whole (or half) panels were used because if you have a hand-woven fabric, you would not want to cut small sections off to fit a smaller person. Hand-woven fabric was precious and kimonos are usually made with very little, if any, extra cuts in them -- there's a small curve cut for the neck opening and a diagonal for the front overlap, but even that can be cut so that the two pieces could be cut from one half-width of fabric. So, instead of cutting a fabric to size, the kimono is made to fit the person, with seam allowances that grow or shrink with the size you want to make.
The kimono is not a fitted garment. It is supposed to be somewhat loose and straight, depending on how you want to wear it. It is usually worn over clothes or undergarments. I list finished measurements for the kimono below (these are without overlapping any of the front), so you can see what size you might want to make. Remember that the kimono can be overlapped in the front and the overlap on each side of the front is about 6" wide (see image above for what this looks like).
In general, you can pick the size that you feel you are. There is a lot of room in a kimono so as long as you are not making it way too large or way to small, you should be fine. I feel like I am a medium-sized woman, so that is the size I chose to make.
Finished Measurements for the 113 Japanese Kimono:
| Women's Small | Women's Medium | Women's Large/Men's Small | Men's Medium | Men's Large | |
| Chest/Bust | 41.75" | 44.75" | 47.75" | 50" | 52.25" |
| Waist | 44.25" | 47.25" | 50.25" | 52.5" | 54.75" |
| Hips | 45" | 48" | 51" | 53.25" | 55.5" |
Yardages
Yardages in this pattern are given for the height of a person. Again, this goes back to the traditional width of a Japanese kimono fabric. All the pieces of the pattern will fit on the width of the 13" wide fabric. So all sizes are included in the pattern pieces. And therefore the yardage depends on how long you want to make the kimono. Yardage on our pattern is provided for a person that is 5'4" to 6' tall.
Our pattern has yardages for fabric that is wider than 13" also. We provide yardage for up to a 45" typical commercial width of fabric that you can find in the US. For my kimono, I used a hand-batiked fabric from Ghana that was 45" wide. I was able to get nearly the whole kimono cut from only 3 yards of the fabric. I cut the inside yoke from a white muslin and the overband for the neck. Since this part shows, I would recommend cutting the overband from matching pieces of fabric, but I just hand stitched a section of the main fabric over the overband to cover the white part.
So, take the yardages as a suggestion -- you can probably get away with less yardage for wider fabric, but be prepared and maybe measure first. You mainly need enough yardage to cut the whole front and back length of the kimono plus the length of the sleeves. Then you can likely cut the rest of the pattern from what is left over.
Sleeve length makes a difference. If you are cutting the longer, more formal sleeves, you will need more yardage. Since I only had 3 yards, I could only fit the shorter sleeves (and I had to be creative about how I cut them as I only had room for one sleeve after cutting the front/back, so I cut the only sleeve on the cross-grain from the leftover fabric.
Fabric
As mentioned above, the kimono is sized to be cut from traditional 13" wide fabric. However, since it is often the case that people don't have traditional Japanese kimono-width fabric, the pattern also has options to cut from wider fabric. With the 13" wide fabric, it is basically a no-waste pattern. But you can cut your kimono from just about any type of fabric. Cotton is a traditional yukata fabric to use, especially in blue or indigo. But silk is also popular. You can make your kimono from a wide variety of fabrics. Generally, a medium to light weight fabric is best. Since the front and back are cut as one piece, you don't want a fabric with a one-way design or nap/pile. Otherwise, there are loads of options.
I chose to make my kimono with a hand-batiked cotton that I got from Ghana. This cotton is lightweight and does not have a one-way design. The large leaf-like fronds remind me of the plant prints you sometimes see in Japanese fabrics. Again, I only had 3 yards of this 44" wide fabric and it was just enough to make my kimono with some creative cutting of the sleeves and overband. You'll want at least 3.5 yards or more if you are making the longer sleeves.
Notions
The only notion you need for making a basic kimono is thread. Use polyester or cotton thread. You will machine sew most of the kimono, but some parts require hand sewing (whipstitching). Our pattern teaches sashiko embroidery and shibori dyeing, and you will need extra supplies for those techniques if you want to incorporate those in your kimono. If you want to use these techniques, you should read about them in the pattern before starting on your kimono.
Part Two will show how the kimono is made! Stay tuned!
If you are inspired to make your own kimono, check out our pattern here, 113 Japanese Kimono.
A few weeks ago we were offered some fabric from Fabric Wholesale Direct, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to make a couple of simple garments I wanted to have for myself this spring and summer, and show them off to you.
Fabric Wholesale Direct is sponsoring this post, and they specialize in discounted wholesale fabric for designers, event planners, fabric retailers, and more. They have a variety of fabrics from linen, to silk, to upholstery. They also have a referral program, so if your friends also want to shop there, you can get store credit.
First I made the Pinafore Dress from their cotton/poly blend that looks very much like linen (it comes in several colors). This dress is so simple and this fabric is great for a summer -- lightweight and easy to care for. I've made this dress before in a stripe like this and I love the look. You can check out my post about how to make the extended back hack, or you can make it just like the pattern, as I did with this one. I made a size small because there is plenty of ease in the hips (where I go to size Medium in our grade rule). It fits well, and I like that I put the buttonholes a few inches up from the end of the straps -- this helps it fit a little closer on the chest. The fabric stripes are fun because you can play with their direction. I changed the pocket and strap stripe directions for some fun contrast. This fabric is wide enough that I could cut the dress with vertical stripes. I really like this dress (and I love the color), and I'll be wearing it a lot this summer on hot days, at the beach, and over tanks or T-shirts, but also this spring with a long sleeve (as below, last photos).
Fabric Wholesale Direct has a nice selection of silk charmeuse, which I find to be a difficult fabric to source online. The weight of this charmeuse is perfect for tops and dresses, and there were lots of colors to choose from. I thought of our Basics Tunic as a great pattern to show off a nice silk charmeuse. Not to mention, I have been wanting a simple silk top to wear with jeans or leggings. The Basics Tunic is a very wide pattern and requires 60" fabric to be able to cut the pattern, for all sizes. However, the silk is only 44" wide. I always find yardages to be more of suggestions, and that with some thought and creativity, I can often work around yardage and cutting layout challenges. First, if you want to make the Basic Tunic and don't have 60" wide fabric, you can cut the fabric with a center front and back seam. Just add 1/2" seam allowance to the center, and cut at the fold line (with the 1/2" seam allowance added). Or you can do what I did and make the sleeves shorter. To do this, you just adjust the length of the sleeve by making a parallel line to the current cut edge, but as short as you want the sleeve to go. Or you can fold out the amount you want to shorten. Just be sure to keep the width of the pattern piece so the sleeve is not too tight (it was almost too tight for me).
I also made a size Small for this pattern. And another pro-tip for making this Tunic is to make a thread eye for the hook in the back, if you are going for a hook-and-eye closure. And check out our sewing tutorial for this pattern here.
And if you find silk charmeuse to be a tricky fabric to sew with (and I'm not sure who doesn't ), check out our sewing tips for sheer and slinky fabrics here.
This is an easy and quick pattern to make and this silk makes it feel luxurious to wear!
by Molly Hamilton
I have been wanting to make our 205 Gibson Girl Blouse for several years, but it never came to the top of my "need to make" list until late last year when we bought a roll of this dainty dark floral silk/viscose blend fabric. This Italian fabric was a Liberty-style print and felt so light and airy. I loved that even though it seemed light enough to be sheer, it actually was not sheer. It was so pretty and I knew it would be perfect for my Gibson Girl Blouse.
Then, when I was looking through our Gibson Girl Blouse information, I saw a customer comment on a blog post that a great modification for the shirt would be to have the opening for the shirt at the shoulder and neck rather than the buttoned back. This made a lot of sense to me.
Originally, the blouse buttoned in the back because it signified one was wealthy enough to have a servant help you get dressed. And the front was not marred with buttons or fasteners. This was very popular at the turn of the 20th century. And even now, having a buttoned back can be helpful for dressing anyone with limited mobility. But for many, a closure in the back can be difficult if you aren't able to button it all the way up on your own. However, I have found that only the top 3-4 buttons need to be undone to be able to slip the blouse over your head. Then, you can often button those on your own. So a back-buttoned dress is not impossible to do yourself. But, it is not necessarily conveinent. If you want to read more about the history of the Gibson Girl, check out our post here.
In this post, I am going to show you how I added a buttoned shoulder/neck opening to this blouse, as well as a few potential tips and tricks for making the blouse.
Sizing
I made size Small. I am usually a size small to medium in our grade rule, but a small bust, so I just went with a straight size small. This blouse just needs to fit at your neck and bust. The armholes are a little narrow (because that was how they were worn in the early 1900s), so if you want more room, you might want to make adjustments there. I found them to have plenty of room for me (but this may have also been because of my fabric (read below)). The waist of the blouse is very large and you likely won't need to fit there. There are ties for each size, and I think you should make the ties a bit longer (maybe 6" longer) if you want to use them and you have a wider waist. I also think the ties should be a bit longer anyway, no matter what size your waist. I like a longer tie and hate a tiny bow with short tails.
I cut the blouse on the longer cutting lines and added 1/2" to the bottom front, back, and side panel. The traditional cutting line makes the back a bit shorter than the front in order to accommodate a bustled skirt. My waist is a little long, and I wanted my blouse to cover the top of my pants or skirt and be able to tuck in if I wanted, so the longer version with additional length was perfect for me. If I would have added the ties, I also would have lowered the line for the ties by 1/2". So check where your waist lands on the pattern and place your ties there, if you are using them.
Fabric
As I said above, I love this fabric. It is so pretty and light and moves beautifully. I used about 2.5 yards for this blouse. My go-to method for pre-treating any fabric I am going to use to make a garment is to launder it the way I would launder the garment I am going to make. As much as I love fine fabric, I need to be able to wash most of my clothes normally, so fine fabrics don't get treated as if they were precious in my house. So I prewashed this fabric and was a bit surprised at how crinkly it came out after the wash. I pressed it slightly, but the crinkles did not really come out and I decided I did not want to have to press this blouse every time I wanted to wear it. So I cut it as it was. I lost a few inches of width in the fabric and some length. Viscose shrink a lot when washed, which may have been what caused the crinkle -- the particular blend of viscose and silk.
It turns out that the blouse was more "blousy" with this fabric because it basically ended up having some stretch to it, as if it was a seersucker. This made this blouse even more comfortable with plenty of room in the armhole and at the wrist/lower arm.
Making the Neck/Shoulder Opening
I wanted the buttons to be on the left side of the neck. If you want the opening to button on the right side, just change the instructions below to the righthand side.
If you have the pattern, you will realize that the shoulder seam falls toward the back and is not actually at the top of the shoulder. To be able to button the blouse at the shoulder easily (and to look more typical), I needed to bring the shoulder seam on the left side forward to the top of the shoulder. Luckily the shoulder line is marked on the front yoke.
I needed to change the pattern pieces for the Neckband F, Front Yoke D, Back B, and Back Yoke E.
Neckband
First, needed to move the opening on Neckband F from the back of the neck to the left side of the neck. I traced the neckband to the notch for the left side of the neck and made that into a side. Then, I moved the Neckband to the other side (where the righthand back was) and added the rest of the neckband there (traced from notch 6 to the end to make a complete neckband. It helped to visualize where the center front is and to mark the new notches for center back. Note: We re-use our tracing fabric. It is sturdy stuff and we often cut it over and over. So, you can ignore most of the markings on the tracing fabric below (other than for this neckband).
The new Neckband with center front (CF) marked, center back (with a line), and a notch for the right shoulder seam is shown above. The seam allowance was built into this piece so I didn't need to add a seam allowance. However, the notches (and CF) may be off by up to 1/2" when you use this collar. Just pay attention to where things should approximately line up. Also, note that this image makes it look like the new neckband is larger, but it is exactly the same size!
The 205 Gibson Girl Blouse is a popular pattern that makes up a feminine and romantic Edwardian-era blouse. It is a pattern that can be as simple or complex as you want. The blouse can be made with or without lace at the edges or lace insertion. It can be made with fine silk or with a sturdy cotton. You don't even need to make the open cuffs. The sleeve can be sewn together to the "wrist" and the cuff made as wide as you wish to fit your hand and lower arm. And, the cuff pattern piece provided generally fits this area.
Views A and B are the same, but View A has the collar made of fabric which can be finished with lace. The Yokes can also be finished with lace at the seams for View A. View B (more traditional blouse, pictured above) has a collar that is made with rows of lace that are stitched together, and it has bias bound cuffs (both things which were typical of the time period of the blouse). Lace insertion and pin tucks are optional and can be added to either blouse, but is more typical for View B.
View A (with fabric collar, cuffs, but no lace at seams)
View B (with lace collar, pintucks, bias cuffs, and lace insertion)
We wanted to provide a list of resources all in one place that might make sewing this pattern easier for you.
To start with, read a short history of the Gibson Girl and the (tenuous) connection to Folkwear.
If you are interested in trying to add lace insertion to your blouse, read our post with the basics of lace insertion here. And we have insertion lace and edging lace here.
by Esi Hutchinson
The 231 Big Sky Riding Skirt is a genius example of the evolution of a riding habit (clothing for horse-riding) for women to something practial. The riding "skirt" allowed women to ride astride a saddle rather than sit side-saddle (which seems impossible to me). A flap on the front buttons to one side to look like a skirt and to the other to transform into pants.
Surprisingly, sewing this garment isn't as time-consuming as it may seem at first glance. The only thing that might be a little confusing, or take extra time, is assembling the front flaps, and the one back pleat, and buttonholes. After finishing this pair of pants, I was very impressed with the construction and ingenuity of this garment.
We just resized this pattern, and now sizes XS-3XL are available in the PDF pattern (and very soon the paper pattern). I have always wanted to make this pattern so this seemed like a great opportunity to do a sew along. For this sew along, I made the midcalf length with size medium in the body of the garment and a size small at the waist.
Let's get started!!!
Fabric and Sizing
This pattern calls for medium to heavyweight cottons and blends such as poplin, denim, gabardine or corduroy. Medium weight linen, wool, or silks like dupioni, jacquard, or raw silk would also work well. I made my pants with a sanded cotton twill Cotton Sanded Twill - Tobacco for this blog post.
The first time I made these pants (and after I sewed the buttonholes), I realized I made a size too small by mistake. My measurements fit the size medium, but I needed the waist smaller. Instead of narrowing the waist area, which I usually need to do, I narrowed each pattern piece along the side seams. That was a really silly mistake, but it happens. I had to start over, and I used a dark brown linen instead for my final pair of riding pants. So the lesson is, make a muslin to start out if you are at all unsure how the fit will be on you.
Tips for cutting out the pattern
Make any fit adjustments to the leg pieces (and waistband) before cutting out your fabric.
Don't forget to transfer all the stars and boxes, darts, and pleat lines on your pattern pieces.
You can also label your pieces with a water removable marker or chalk to make it easier for you to see what the pieces are.
Seam Finishes
The seam finishing recommended for this pattern is a flat felled seam if you don't want to do that overcast, serge or zig zag your seam allowances. However, the flat felled seam makes the inside nice and neat and it adds a bit of topstitching to your garment. To make a flat felled seam read this blog post on How to Make Flat Felled Seams.
I like a faux flat felled seams, however. It is quicker and easier to do and looks good on the outside. To make a faux flat-felled seam, serge, overcast, or zig zag the seam allowances and press the seam to one side. Then top-stitch about 1/4" (6mm) away from the seam line, stitching the seam allowance in place.
Sewing the Pattern
Front and Back
To start, stitch front legs C together with right sides facing, at the center front seam, and matching notches 7.
To attach the front panel, pin the left side of the front panel A (as you wear it) to the right front legs C with right sides together and matching notches 2, 6, and the center front of panel A to the center front seam of front legs C. Stitch from the bottom hem to the waist and across the top of the waist to the center front seam of front legs C. Stop stitching at the center front seam, and backstitch to secure.
Clip to the stitching line at the center seam.
Clip the corner to reduce bulk and turn the pieces with right sides out and press.
Put the front of the skirt aside for now.
The back piece B is a bit strange-looking. There is a deep box pleat in the back that gives the skirt its fullness. Stitch the back pieces together at the center back seam, matching notches 3.
Keeping the back pieces with right sides together, stitch on the pleat line, matching the pleat stitching lines. Now, we put this piece aside for a minute.
Sew the darts on pieces E and press the darts toward the side (towards the double notches 5).
You will then stitch the side back E pieces to each side of the back, matching single notches 7.
Now to make the deep box pleat. Place the pleat stitching line over the center back crotch seam and press flat - fabric will to to each side of the pleat line. Baste the waist of the pleat to the waist of the back. The pleat will overlap slightly on the side back pieces E.
Pockets!
I like big pockets, so I made my pockets larger as you can see below.
Sew one pocket piece to each side front D, with right sides together and matching double notches 5. Clip the seam allowance to the stars and press the seam allowance towards the pocket pieces.
Do the same with the back skirt, stitching one pocket piece to each side back pieces E. Again, clip the seam allowance at the stars and press the seam allowance towards the pocket pieces.
You can now stitch the front and back pockets together around the outer edge of the pockets up to the star. Put the front and back of the pants together and start sewing at the pockets.
Waist
There is a little bit of gathering of the pants at the waist. I think it gives the appearance of making the "skirt" look fuller.
Make the two rows of gathering stitches on the side fronts within the seam allowance. Make sure to keep the pockets out of the stitches. Press the pockets towards the side front, if you haven't already. I did not bast the pockets to the side fronts, I did not want it to be bulky when I pull the gathering stitches. I just had to remember to make sure the pockets are towards the side fronts when I attach the waistband.
Waist Plackets
Press under 1/2" (13mm) on the long edge of the placket facing G and placket H on the side opposite of the box. Then press under 1/2" (13mm) on short edges of G and H.
Only on the placket facing G, topstitch the pressed edges on both the long and short edges 3/8" (1cm) from the pressed edge.
Take one placket facing and with right sides together, stitch it on the right side of the front panel A (as you wear it) at the waist.
You will do the same with the remaining placket facing on the left front leg (as you wear it).
Press the previously stitched side of the placket facings to the inside of both panel A and leg C, and slip stitch the pressed edges of facing on the inside.
Now, stitch one placket H to each side front piece D from the waist to the marked box. Clip the seam allowance to the box. Trim the seam allowance of the placket only. Press the seam towards the placket.
Placket H has a center fold line. Press along the center fold line of the placket H and place the pressed edge of the placket over the previously stitched seam line and top stitch on both long and short edges.
Now you can sew the front and back sides of the skirt together. Make sure the placket on the side front and the placket facing on the front panel overlap slightly at the box and 1/2" (13mm) above the box.
Stitch from the hem to the box and 1/2" (13mm) above the box.
You should then secure the bottom of the placket and placket facing pieces (G and H) by stitching, with right sides together, through both placket and facing 1/2" (13mm) above the box on the short edge of the pieces.
I did not interface my waistband. I felt my fabric was sturdy enough to not use it.
Press under 1/2" (13mm) seam allowance of both waistbands I and J as instructed, fold in half along the center fold line lengthwise, and stitch the short ends. Clip the corners and turn right side out.
To attach back waistband pieces, place WRONG side of skirt to the RIGHT side of the waistbands. Pin the front waistband to the raw edges of the front of the skirt. Stitch, clip corners, and turn and press.
I like it when instructions say to sew the waistband right side to wrong side. It makes the outside look neater when you topstitch from the right side rather than the inside of the garment.
Press the folded edge of the waistbands over the previously stitched seam lines (to the right side) and top stitch.
To secure the waistband at the sides. You can sew two skirt hooks on the short ends of the inside of the front waistband and two skirt eyes on the short ends of the outside of the back waistband. You can also sew buttonholes on either side on the short ends of the front waistband, or whatever closure you prefer to secure the waist on the sides. I used buttons.
Buttonholes
This is where my sewing got a little frustrating. I have not mastered buttonholes they do not all end up looking the same -- but it's okay, I am still learning.
You can read a lot about of general information about making buttonholes and attaching buttons in our blog posts: Buttonholes 101: Part 1 and Buttonholes 101: Part 2.
Sew the buttonholes on the left front leg C (as you wear it) and along both sides of front panel A. You can use 8 to 12 (or more buttons), depending on the length you are making, the size of your buttons, and the spacing you want to use. Use the template if it makes it easier to space the buttonholes, or space the buttonholes as desired.
half an hour later....
After I sewed all the buttonholes (I got lots of practice), I realized the pants would not fit me. So I made a new skirt out of dark brown linen and I will be demonstrating the rest of the sew along with my final riding skirt (dark brown linen rather than the brown twill).
You will sew buttonholes on left front leg, and both sides of the front panel. DO NOT CUT ALL THE BUTTONHOLES. Cut only the top three buttonholes on the right side of the front panel, the top three buttonholes on left front leg, and all buttonholes on the left side of the front panel.
There are options to cut your many buttonholes. You can use a buttonhole cutter. This would be my preferred choice (it makes it a lot quicker and neater).
Or, you can pin either side of the short end of the buttonhole and use a seam ripper to cut the buttonhole open. The pins prevent you from cutting past the buttonhole. However, you can still cut the sides of the buttonhole by mistake, so be careful.
You will only cut the top buttonholes that attach to the plackets on the right side of the front panel and the left front leg, as you wear it.
Cut all the buttonholes ONLY on the left side of the front panel A.
Finishing
The bottom hem is 1-1/2" (3.8cm), so press under 1/2" (13mm) then 1" (2.5cm). The instructions say to slip stitch but I topstitched the hem in place.
If you want, you can topstitch the front panel A using a 1/4" (6mm) seam allowance starting from the center front across from the left top half and down to the left side to the hem.
Attach the buttons: I think it's wise to use thread shanks when attaching the buttons, as it will accommodate the thickness of the fabric in the panel. It will prevent puckering and pulling of the fabric if you make a thread shank. This blog post has lots of information about buttons and shows how to make a shank.
Below is the final 231 Big Sky Riding Skirt I made. I love them, this is such a unique pair of pants that fits quite well into modern-day fashion. I've never owned a pair of culottes, and I was a bit nervous I was not going to like the look. However, I think they are great and I will definitely be wearing these! I have always wanted to make this pattern. It was really frustrating that my first skirt didn't work out, but I like what I ended up with. Sewing is always teaching me lessons!
Here I've paired the skirt with 210 Armistice Blouse and all I need now is a helmet and a horse. Haha!
Our pattern for the 231 Big Sky Riding Skirt is one of the most interesting historic patterns we have (in my opinion). The pattern is based on a real split skirt that was owned and worn by rodeo star Fanny Sperry Steele (1887-1983). The split, or divided, skirt enabled her to ride astride, but preserved the "look" of a skirt (and therefore propriety). In actuality, this garment is a culotte with a movable front panel that buttons either to the left, for a skirt effect, or to the right for a pant effect. So even though these are pants, it can look like a skirt. The deep pleat in the back helps with this look (and is flattering). The main change we made from the original design was to add pockets for convenience.
We have a couple of samples of our 231 Big Sky Riding Skirts here at Folkwear and they are all beloved. I am going to show you some of them in more detail today.
First is our mid-calf version, which you can make from the pattern by cutting at the calf-length markings. This one is made from a medium to heavy weight woven brown cotton and has machine appliques (made of silk dupioni) on the side of the legs. The applique pattern was an artistic creation by our sample-maker at the time and shows something interesting that can be done with these pants! In the photos below, you can also see how the panel is unbuttoned and moved from the left to the right to go from a skirt look to a pair of pants. We had help doing this because we were in a photo shoot, but you can easily do this yourself!
2024 was a full and busy year for Folkwear! Below are some highlights from the year. But our biggest challenge as well as our biggest growth came at about the same time. Hurricane Helene hit our area and devasted it tremendously. We were very lucky to have survived as the neighborhood around our business location was flooded and destroyed. We had just moved to this new location as we expanded our business by buying a printer and folding machine. And Folkwear had just purchased The Green Pepper and moved it from Oregon to our place in Asheville, NC. All these events happened within a few weeks of each other in August/September. Read more about these changes here. What a whirlwind! We are so grateful to be on our feet and running both companies. And we are printing our own patterns now!
We absolutely love The Green Pepper, and have enjoyed running Folkwear alongside it. If you feel like helping with hurricane relief, there is still a huge need in our area, and you can find more information here.
Folkwear re-released several older patterns . . . 303 English Cottage Kitchen, 234 Cameos, and the 246 Calico Day Dress.
We put out one completely new pattern, and we love it! 280 Resort Kaftan. And a free pattern - Origami Bag.
Folkwear traveled to Guatemala and Italy this year!
We created several sewing hacks for our patterns that were a lot of fun: Upsized the 106 Turkish Coat and made it as an unlined coat, made the 229 Sailor Pants into a skirt (part 1 and 2), Added front pockets to the 229 Sailor Pants, made the 250 knickers into pants (part 1 and 2), and I made a modern 246 Calico Day Dress.
I also made a kilt from our pattern, which was a great learning experience!
This small Origami Bag is inspired by the Japanese azuma bukuro bags which are also known as bento bags, Japanese market bags, triangle bags, and origami bags. In Japan, they are commonly used as shopping bags (when made a little larger) or for carrying lunches. Azuma bukuro, which translates to "east bag," refers to bags developed in the eastern part of Japan during the Edo Period (1603-1868), a region that corresponds to modern-day Tokyo. We are Folkwear appreciate the ingenuity of this Japanese design, its simplicity, and the small amount of fabric needed to make this bag.
This little bag is perfect for packing your lunch, but it also makes a great reusable and sustainable gift wrap. You can use scraps from your fabric stash to make several of these very quick and easy bags.
If you want to make the bag larger, extend two sides of the bag evenly and extend the folding lines to correspond. Once you get the hang of the technique, you can make bags in lots of sizes!
We are offering this bag pattern for free! You can get the instructions and pattern piece for free at this link, or you can keep reading for how to make the bag.
FABRIC SUGGESTIONS
This bag takes good advantage of fabric bias for stretch and pliability. It can be made in any lightweight fabric, but is especially nice in a silk, rayon, or other fabric with good drape. For a bag to hold, or wrap, gifts, a fabric with more body (like a cotton or linen) is great.
YARDAGE REQUIREMENTS
3/8 yard or .34m of fabric in any width fabric 34” or wider. If you make a larger bag, you will need more fabric (basically the length of the short end of the pattern piece).
SEAM FINISHES
Serge, Overcast, or Zig-zag; OR French Seams. In our original, the bag is made with French seams. We give you instructions for how to do these below. In general, with wrong sides together, stitch seam only 3/16” (4mm). Press to one side. Turn right sides together and stitch on seam line, taking care to include previous seam.
CUTTING THE PATTERN
You can layout the free pattern piece along the edge of a fabric. Or you can cut a rectangle that is 11" x 33.25" (27.9x84.5cm). You can adjust the size of the rectangle as you desire, especially once you understand how the bag comes together.
FOLDING and SEWING
Transfer Fold Lines to fabric, if desired. Fold Lines and notches are numbered on the pattern piece. Though you don't really need them to make this pattern work.
NOTE: If using French Seams, and your fabric has a wrong and right side, fold as below, but start with your fabric with the right side down. If using other seam finishes, start with the right side of the fabric up.
Fold along Fold Line 1 as illustrated below, or fold up bottom left corner to meet top long edge. Pin in place at top edge.
Next, fold along Fold Line 2 on the opposite end as illustrated (fold top right corner to meet bottom long edge). Pin in place along bottom edge.
Then, fold along Fold Line 3 so that outside edges and notches line up (fold bottom right up so that outside edges match).
For regular seams, with right sides together, and matching notches 1, stitch seam at a ½” (13mm) seam allowance. Finish seam and press to toward bottom of bag.
For French seams, wrong sides will be together and you will stitch scant ¼” seam allowance.
Repeat on the other side matching notches 2.
Remove all pins.
For French seams, go back to each seam, turn so the right sides of the fabric are together (trim notches if needed), press, and stitch with a ¼” seam allowance, enclosing the previously made seam.
Finally, hem the top unstitched raw edges of each handle by pressing to the wrong side ¼” (6mm) and another ¼” (6mm) and stitch close to pressed edges. This will be a little trickier with French seams, but works fine. You can also use rolled hems on the handles for a very narrow hem.
Also, if you wish to reinforce the bag corners, above the seams, you can add a small, hemmed triangle of fabric and top stitch it to the hem on two sides.
Turn bag right side out, and tie to close.
And that is all there is to it! Have you made these bags before? Will you be making some? How do you use them, or plan to?
When we decided to bring back the Calico Day Dress from the Folkwear archives, I had my doubts. We had many customers over the years contact us to ask us to bring it back, but I saw the dress as a bit dowdy, maybe only for costume, and I was also concerned that it used so much fabric (making it expensive to make). However, once we started working on the pattern, my mind changed.
When we started the work to bring it back into print, we decided first to grade the pattern up to 2XL. The original only went to our current size Medium (which is pretty tiny). And, then we improved the instructions, clarifying certain areas and making sure it came together easily. It really is a pretty easy dress to sew! Even with the ruffles, the flounce, and the inside bodice lining, it takes less time and effort than I thought to make this dress.
I made the brown Calico Day Dress sample below with a calico cotton print I found at Joann's. I made the inside bodice lining with a cream colored print, which I though made an interesting contrast to the brown. I enjoyed making the dress below a lot and it got me thinking of the ways to make a more modern, everyday type dress I might want to wear.
Then I came across an ad for Boden, and the dress they showed in the ad looked so much like the Calico Day Dress! I had been thinking about a dress that would be warm to wear in winter -- long and with long sleeves. So I decided to make one for myself based on the look of the Boden dress I'd seen.
First, I wanted fabric that would be flowing -- not a cotton, but something with silk or Tencel. We had a couple of lovely Tencel twills in stock (red and green) and I decided to use the brick red colored Tencel. The twill gives the dress just enough weight to make it a wonderful winter dress -- it has some heft and is flowing (and does not wrinkle easily).
I cut a size Small for this dress. I am just about between a size Small and Medium for Folkwear grade rule, but the medium can sometimes be too big for me. If the garment is not very fitted, then a Small is usually perfect. That was the case for this dress. There is actually lots of room at the bust, waist, and hip. The most fitted area is the lined bodice at the waist (but I left that part of the dress off).
For my dress, I did not want the bodice lining because I wanted the front to button up (not the lining) and I wanted less bulk inside. I also did not want the yoke shoulder ruffles so I left those off as they seemed too vintage/historic and I was wanting a modern look. Finally, I wanted just a collar stand and not the full turndown collar. So I only cut the collar stand piece and not the collar. I wanted the belt to be longer so that I could tie it, so I added about 9" to the middle of the belt. If I did it again, I would add more length (and I could always easily remove this belt and make a new one). Finally, my fabric was nearly 60" (150cm) wide, and I was trying to save fabric, so I only cut 2 flounce pieces rather than 3 and I used the whole width of the fabric for the flounce (rather than the pattern piece length). This still gave me lots of flounce and room to gather. And possibly, 3 flounces would have been too much, especially for the size small.
So, because of all the pieces I did not use (bodice lining, ruffle, collar, and extra flounce), I was able to cut out this maxi dress from just 3.5 yards of fabric! That felt pretty impressive to me. Though I was definitely doing some pattern tetris to get all the pieces to fit!
AND, I added pockets to the dress. I had enough fabric from the left over scraps to cut 4 pocket pieces to add to the side seams. We have a whole tutorial on adding pockets to side seams, so you can get a free pocket pattern and read all about it here.
Construction-wise, this was pretty simple, especially without the extra pieces. It is pretty easy to leave off the bodice lining; nothing depends on the lining for further construction. I sewed the the collar stand as I would have a collar (sewed all sides but the one to attach to the neckline) and attached it as normal. It all came together pretty easily. Gathering the flounce is always a bit of work, but marking centers of the flounce and dress front and back is a huge help. I sewed the center front seam all the way up to my waist (which was much higher than the box in the pattern) because I wanted to have buttons just go from my waist up. I only added 3 small buttons to the front seam/hem so that it buttons up the front. Again, there was enough ease in this pattern that I can easily slip it over my head to get it on and off. If you want it to be easier to get in and out of, keeping the front seam attached from the square in the pattern to the hem is a better idea. But, this works perfect for me.
I really like how this dress turned out! I can wear it to work or church. I can wear it with tights or leggings underneath for more warmth, with a scarf, with a jean jacket. It feels quite versatile. I also have some thoughts about adding embroidery down the center front seam and/or the collar stand.
What do you think? Does the Calico Day Dress work as a modern dress? How would you make this pattern up?
