Have you been accurate enough with your toiles thus far?? ✂️ If your ready to learn more and take your sewing to the nest level, join me at Vintage Sewing School www.vintagesewingschool.com/
For me it depends what I'm testing, if it's a relatively loose fitting garment, the main thing is where is the neckline and if it's a pullover, does it fit over my glasses without knocking them off :) ...but for a fitted garment from a commercial pattern, I'm going to need at least two mockups because my body shape is potato :P
My bedsheet/recycled fabric mock ups have either become the lining for the final project or garments I can wear as "at home" wear. those garments include summer "house" dresses, night gowns, lounging or pajama pants & tops. So, even my mock ups gets worn even if the fit is not perfect or the adjustments are noticeable.
That's what I do to! Or use as unterthings. I recently made a skirt that I wanted to try out but the fabric wasn't quite right and I didn't love the fit but it works well as an underskirt.
I do the same thing. In fact, I'm working on the mock-up for a closely fitted bodice today. The mock-up will be the lining after I get the darts just right.
I made my first ever successful dress after my first ever mock up. It is such a game changer. I finally felt proud of something I made! Getting to say "thanks, I made it" is so satisfying.
I only recently started constructing toiles. I thought "why would I make myself do more work? I have a seam ripper for a reason." No no no, friends. Remember, if it is worth doing, it is worth doing correctly. That seam ripper can only save certain mistakes and some fabrics do not take seam ripping very well. Toiles are well worth the effort, especially since pattern sizing can be so confusing.
I don't think there is anything more beautiful than a toile. It shows the pure raw design, line, details, and construction of a garment. I still tear up thinking about the Dior toile room.
Haha, mine are NOT beautiful, even if they're lucky enough to be all the same fabric (a lot of old pillowcases end up as pieces) I use different colours of Sharpie to indicate what revision I'm on so I can look back at it and figure out what changed most, what changes affected other things that looked like they were fine before. I'm also a boob about stitch lines so I always mark my lines I'm supposed to sew. I'm at least pretty good at knowing if I'm at a point where the next mockup COULD be a wearable mockup so I can try it with that fabric I bought not knowing what I was going to make it into :)
Stephanie I knew you were taking about the Dior toile room right away! We are the same here, the toile room is the first place I would visit! I love to see the process behind garment and development of the design ❤️ You could make your own toile exhibition soon!
I agree Stephanie! I'm also finding the toile process to be fun as well. There is so much information to be had by studying a toile! The more I wear my toiles around the house the more information I gain about fit and comfort of the garment😸
Sounds like doing a mock up is a real life mashup of "measure twice, cut once" and "a stitch in time saves nine!" I will keep this lesson in mind for when I've got my workspace finished, thank you!
That is a great way to put it yes!! And it's almost guaranteed 1000% better results in your real one! 😄 It your just starting, it's a great way to practice too!
A few years ago, I was working on a Victorian bodice and made a mock up; same weight of fabric, sewed accurately and didn't have a bunch of changes...except that I forgot to account for the fact that I was interlining the bodice. You wouldn't think that adding a quilting cotton interlining would change the fit but the fact that it was already a very form fitting garment, that subtle change across the whole of the garment impacted how well everything fit, especially the sleeves. I learned to make sure I'm using the same number of layers of fabric in my mockup that I plan on using in the final garment.
I took your previous advice and bought some cheap viscose to make a toile blouse before cutting into my expensive viscose fabric (I've never sewn with viscose before). The toile turned out so good that I've actually worn it in public, so I've ended up with 2 beautiful garments and the second blouse was made in less than half the time as the toile, as I knew what I was doing. A win, win situation 😊
1:43 🤣🤣🤣 “AWOL” I love subtitles sometimes! On another channel, OP said “wool coat” but subtitles said “wolf coat.” It’s the little things that crack me up. 😆
Here's a tip: If you need a stretch fabric for a mock-up, shop the dollar store and Walmart. They have Men's XXL's or XXXL's for $1-$2. The larger T-shirts are easily a yard of fabric by about 30" or longer depending on the style and brand. I have most often seen the T-shirts at the Dollar Store in the Spring. Sometimes you can find 60/40 cotton/poly or pure cotton. Walmart's cheaper shirts are in the craft section and white. Unless you are buying remnants on clearance, it's hard to find a cheaper knit fabric per yard. Also, shop the clearance section at Walmart for plus size women's nighties and dress-like pajamas. The large sizes can be a whole lot of fabric for $3.
I find that mock-ups depends on the garment, fabric and who I’m fitting. If I’m fitting my daughter mock-ups are mandatory she needs too many pattern modifications. Most of the grandson’s stuff no need for mock-ups. He grows and changes too fast to keep up so as long as it fits and he’s happy it’s a win! As for fabric if I’m using expensive fabrics there will be mock-ups even if I end up having to buy a cheaper but similar fabric to do it in! This will be done as well as humanly possible before cutting into the OMG I can’t believe I spent this much on fabric for the actual garment!! Bounce is that your mock-ups sometimes are wearable!
I always make my mock-ups with wearable fabric. I figure if I am going to go to all of that trouble I want to be able to wear it. 9 out of 10 times I end up wearing my mock-up.
I usually make my mock-ups from cute, cheap/thrifted fabrics, so if they turn out to fit, I'll have an extra garment I can wear. Or, if the garment has a lining, I tend to use the lining fabric for the mock-up, so I can use it as the lining when making the actual thing.
I tend to use my mockup as the "pattern" with which I will cut the fashion fabric as it will stretch and conform a bit better to my body compared to the original paper pattern. Thus I want my mockup as accurate as I can make it to be ^^
I've made multiple corsets and pairs of stays, where perfect fit is imperative. So you do as many mockups as it takes to get a perfect fit. I like to use zipties as my boning for corset mockups, and cheaper duck canvas, because coutil is expensive and no way am I wasting that much money on a mockup! Only once it is exactly right do you move on to the final fabric.
I used industrial grade zip ties in a semi-formal dress I altered for a Halloween Costume. I made a lace-up corset back on the dress and used the Zip Ties to be the structure to allow the laceup to have good stability. It worked very well. Harbor Freight Tools has both industrial (thick and 18" long) plastic zip ties and aluminum ones too for a reasonable price per pack!
I've watched so many of your videos, and didn't stumble across this one until after I sewed a top that didnt fit at all, and then saw I should have made a test first. OOPS. Happy I've learned this now!
Also, I baste stitch the mock up together. It's easier to make adjustments -- which I stitch in a different colour thread -- and I can stitch over the basting if I will use the mock up as a lining for the final garment.
The different coloured thread is a good idea. I think you can even buy thread to use for mockups and drafting.. usually very fragile in garish colours ..so really ticking all the boxes.
@@ChrisChanningChannel I inherited the contents of 2 sewing rooms and have over 100 spools of thread, including large cones for the serger. When I do need more thread I will look that, thanks.
Because of your channel, I was brave enough to alter a jacket pattern, by first making a mock-up, which I then tweaked with a second mock-up. Needless to say, the finished jacket fits well! Thank you.
I am one of those people that learned the hard way to not only do a mock-up but do it up completely and accurately. I tried to make a dress without one and it didn't quite fit right, then I did a halfway job on a mock-up for the next dress and that didn't turn out well either. From then on, I always do a mock-up for a new pattern (and I usually want to change it up a bit here and there). Now I have clothes which I've made that I will wear. So important to do the job right, then I can turn it into a house dress or robe or something useful.
Lots of good info in these comments. How accurate a mockup needs to be cut depends on your plan. If you have concerns about snall size or ease, cut generously. Stitch carefully on seam line inside out with a long stitch. Can't let out a too-tight spot without fabric! If practicing a technique then fabric weight and hand is more crucial. First time I tried a welted pocket I used a fabric square of same weight. Then again with another square but 2nd time I put in the nearby dart. That made a surprising difference in getting the welt to lie properly!
I make a toile out of sheets and if the pattern has techniques I'm unfamiliar with I sew it to completion. It gives me the opportunity to practise techniques and I have a garment that i can wear at home.
Well I have learnt that I need to be as accurate on the mock up as on the final cut (so to speak). Every part of the mock up is a practice and even things such as the pressing is a practice, as I have found pressing in a certain way can help the process go more smoothly. My greatest realization was to finish seams, especially on tricky areas as a finished seam can drastically change the way a garment sits. But then I do say "Mock ups are for mistakes" if I get it wrong on the mock up I hopefully learn from it before doing the real thing.
Hi @@hey_virginia I have found that each garment has its own quirks, so I take each make on its own merit. As I learn more I will get more experienced at knowing what will affect each make. For me any seam that is generally hidden I can leave unfinished but I have proved myself wrong in the past. Keep on making and the experience will be all the guidance you need.
@@BYBabbra Indeed, trial and error based on the specific garment and fabric - I'll add in "test seam finishes" to my fabric testing checklist! Thank you!
I've been making toiles for my Victorian outfit and I'm so glad I have. I now have a corset that fits me correctly, a wearable petticoat mockup and I'm now working on my bodice toile which is proving to be extremely involved as I need to make a number of adjustments to get it to fit properly. There are times where I honestly wish I had undertaken fashion design at TAFE! 🤣😭😱🤣
I'm hopefully going to start the bachelor of fashion next year (because the pre-uni applied fashion course in Melbourne is nowhere near as good as what Qld TAFE offers. Also my goal is to start my own line of actually nice adaptive clothing for disabled people, so the full degree will be useful). I'm hoping my experience with historical sewing will help me out a lot- and for thongs like couture techniques I think it definitely will. I got good at hand sewing very quickly when I started making historical clothing, because even if a sewing machine had been invented by the time of that garment (so, 1840s onwards), they hadn't optimised the whole process to be sewn entirely on machine. So there's a lot of things that just have to be hand sewn. Also, I'm the kind of crazy woman that will hand sew an entire pair of 18th c stays, because 'historical accuracy'. I don't recommend, for the record. All those boning channels....
@@katherinemorelle7115 wow... Good luck with the course and your line of clothing! I'd probably do historically accurate, but I just don't have the energy or physicality to work on a piece for that long. Besides, I bet if our ancestors had their hands on the technology we do, they'd use it! 🤣 And no, I don't think I'd be hand sewing a pair of stays with all those boning channels lol
Hello! I hope you had an awesome day! I attended 2 virtual sew dates and now I'm tired. I hand quilting while I watch you. I just want you to know that I very much enjoy the content on your channel. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead! Thank you for posting this video and for your expertise.
I have been sewing for 50 years. On my pattern tissues, I know where to make the tucks, slices, pinches, and where to shorten for my petite frame. I decided recently to make a bodice block, and I am having a difficult time. In this video you have broght home what I have already been doing for decades: I can have my block by knowing where to make the tucks, slices and piches. Thank you.
Just to add I try and toile just the bits I need to make it a bit quicker. For example, if it’s a dress with a full skirt, then I just do the bodice. But I do have plenty of wearable toiles 🤣 I have to make major changes on all commercial patterns, so I make a sway back adjustment on the pattern first (after measuring), then cut the toile and baste together on the longest stitch so I can get them apart easily to make the second or third toile when needed. 👗👍 It’s a game changer 🤯💃🥳
I try to take as much care as I can with the toile. There is zero point in making a toile unless you can gain useful information from it. I’m not going to go nuts with it. I love to make them so I can use them as a lining (should that be necessary) if possible. As for fabric, it’s painful to go buy fabric you’re basically going to toss away, so I will buy sheets at thrift stores so I don’t feel so bad about it. Also as I mentioned above, I’ll use them as my lining if they fit well.
You don't need to throw even the thrifted fabric used for a toile away - big pieces can be reused for another toile or aprons or pillowcases, cushion "inners" and so on. Smaller pieces can be hemmed to make dusting/polishing rags, used as linings, made into aprons etc, etc. There's a heap of things that thrifted fabric used in a toile can still be turned into if, indeed, your plain toile can't be actually worn. (And all that is supposing that you don't want to iron interfacing onto the back of all the important pieces in your toile and keep them as your personalised "bespoke" pattern).
@@meganmills6545 I like the interfacing idea! I usually donate my scraps to a local crafters thrift store and cut up the tiny bits into wadding for other projects.
When I start on my mock-up and I don’t like how it is turning out I abandon ship. I take the fabric, pattern and anything else, and wrap it up and add it to my donation box. Although I have been sewing for 50 yrs, I only started doing this about 20 yrs ago. Some people will try over and over to get the fit right. I am an easy fit and I figure if it is that ill-fitting on me, I can’t be bothered.
If I can cut myself a pattern "at the seamlines" rather than "at the seam allowance" and draw a line in for all my seamlines I can afford to be a bit less accurate with the cutting out for a toile (or even the fashion fabric) because I have everything I need marked on the fabric to sew the seams exactly where they're supposed to go. I can trim the seam allowances to what I want afterwards so that if in some places I need to "let the seam out" I have the spare fabric available to do it and can see exactly where the new seamline needs to be for the adjustments I'm making. (I don't even bother trimming the seam allowance after sewing and adjusting if I don't need to - I keep those as big as possible so I can reuse the fabric.) This isn't something I'd do for, say, a half-apron with a couple of pockets and a straight frill, but would be worth it for something with lots of darts or princess line seams, pleats and so on. In general, the more pattern pieces there are the more useful it is to have the seamlines marked (compare, for example, a 3-part sleeve to an all-in-one sleeve). The more seamlines there are the more opportunity there is for little inaccuracies to compound.
Ooh, also if you're marking just your seam lines you can leave extra seam allowance just in case you're like me and relatively more cylindrical than commercial patterns expect!
I only started garment sewing this fall and I already have quite a few wearable items and I really think it's thanks to you and the encouraging of always doing a mock-up. I have some old bed sheets and now I just pretty much always make things up once, and then for more complicated dress twice. While it takes me double the time for the final garment, the end result looks better than my ready to wear stuff.
Good advice. Thanks! I first measure pattern, then fit the paper to my body, then make a toile (often with the intention of using it for lining. In the 60s, I always used inexpensive sheets for lining). Sometimes I have to toss my toile but it’s rarely a complete waste.
Love all these tips. I just got through making a mock up or as we say over here in America a muslin. I knew I had lost weight and the old one was quite big. I just finished getting a couple things ready to sew while we are vacationing down in Florida. I don’t really have a good place for cutting clothes out so I get it cut out and marked here. I also do the stitching to prevent stretching and raveling. I’m also taking things for hemming and altering. I have made sure I also make the marks on my muslin so when I do it right I can use it to make a paper pattern.
As a new sewer I even made a mock up of shopping bags. It is good practice as you say. I saw which part was unexpectedly the hardest to get right (sewing the curves) so I knew to really concentrate on that part. I am currently wearing my fisherman pants mock up made from an old doona/duvet cover from Salvos (they give *two* pieces of fabric and this one also had eleven cool wooden buttons) This mock up is an around the house outfit as I made it too long. The real pants were made shorter. It is a simple pattern so I just folded the legs up a few centimetres on the pattern when cutting the real one. On the mock up I did all the finishes - most seams are French seams and the bottom hems are double fold. I wanted full practice in the final techniques I planned to use plus it means I can wear it around the house.
Pronunciation of toile, French approved! In French, the accentuation is on the last syllable, and I think you do just that when you used the word naturally. To be honest, I hear a lot of language 'butchering' and yours didn't shock me at all until you apologised for it! So please trust yourself. As always thank you for your insight and sharing your knowledge on your channel. :)
Thank you for a very useful video and perfect timing as always. I’m currently making a wrap dress and I’m on my third (final, hopefully 🤞) toile of the bodice and it’s fitting much better. I haven’t made a full toile of the dress yet as the skirt is quite full and more forgiving when it comes to fitting. I will need adjustments to make the skirt fit onto the new bodice though. Toiles, whilst time consuming, are essential to helping me improve my sewing. Some even turn out very wearable 😄
Thank u Evelyn! This video was perfect timing! I’m up to making my toile for a shelf bust dress 🤞 hoping it works because I drafted it from measurements! 🙈☺️
I have just made myself new shirts, unfortunately my favourite pattern was no where to be found! I had a patterns which I didn't really like, so I had to change the pattern. I made a ½ mock up to make sure the sleeves and yolk were correct and fitted correctly. In the past I used a tablecloth (past its use by date) for a mock up. It served the purpose very well.
Hi Eve, I finally made a summer dress with straps. I had to almost redo the dress 3 times. But I am so so happy, it turned out decent enough to wear outside. Please put one video on how to sew slits in the skirts. I did a very poor job on it.
We were informed Wednesday of this week, that this Fall when Public School goes back in secession, the teachers are required to go back to the old dress code. No more jeans, no T-shirts, no leggings (without dresses, skirts, or long tunics over them), no skimpy tops, no shorts, no short skirts and no shoes with out backs on them (no flip-flops). There is only one month of school left before Summer Vacation starts. We have been given fair warning. The problem is there are no department stores or shops that offer the proper garments in our area of the country. Some of us already own and never stopped wearing the proper garments; but, I need some replacements; and, I want some new items. I'll be making myself at least five new outer garments this summer. I can not afford to waste time and fabric by not making testers (mock-ups) of my new (and old) patterns that I plan to use. Because I can not find any new bras that fit and support me, I will be making many bra testers (mock-ups) to make myself new support bras. My old bras are no longer doing a proper job. I need new bras before I start making any testers for outer garments. Please, don't forget to wear the support garments that you will be wearing under the outer garments you are trying to get the best fit for.
I'd add, remember to do your measuring wearing the support garment you plan to wear with the new garment... Good luck making your own bras, every time I've done anything form-fitting it's been a whole lot of alterations even after proper measuring :)
I quite often make 2 or 3 mock-ups before the actual garment is made. With a fit and flare dress in a woven fabric, I only do a mock-up of the bodice (the hardest place to fit for me) as I know I will probably need an FBA, decrease the neckline and raise the waistline.
Making two mock-ups at least seems to work well for me when making a new pattern. Adjustments on the first one and a second to make sure it is correct. Its a little more time to begin with but the final garment goes quickly. The second one useauly ends up being a paint and garden shirt. Sewing is sewing and if you enjoy doing it making multiple mock-ups isn’t a drudge.
Wish me luck with the toile for my sequin turtleneck! Sequin fabric (cheap) is flimsy net with decorations on ... and veery slippy. Have to choose the toile fabric carefully.
I have to be as accurate as I would be for my actual garment. If I don't get my cutting or seam allowances right then the toile is worse than useless, its misleading. The only exception, I will sew a line of stitching to indicate things like facings, but I have to do everything else, including hems. Edit: Yay, I'm not wrong!
I love your hair like that, Evelyn, and I hear what you're saying about the mock ups, but honestly, I just can't be bothered doing that any more. I've done it and they've turned out fine and then when I made the real McCoy, it was a disaster. Has happened more than once. I just can't do it again. Besides, I sew to keep things out of the landfill, not to create more to put in it.
Mock-ups don't have to end up in the landfill. I wear mine around the house for chores, cooking, cleaning etc.. who wants to wear nice clothes to clean? 😺
Funny story. After two years I finally finished a mock-up of a fitting stay, and I really want to make my stay and the dress that goes over it. But I really don't want to make it until after I make a second mock-up. So now I'm just a lazing because, I don't want to make the mock-up, but I don't want to make the dress until I have made the mock-up. I guess I'll be doing that then.
Stay stitching. Accurate tracing from pattern to toile. And machine seam tracing on the toile is a step not to be missed. Particularly if you’re using it as your pattern. It makes the sew up a breeze and it’s accurate. Eye balling a 1.5 cm seam is not easy. I never do it. Carbon trace the pattern on to muslin. Machine trace the seams after stay stitching the curved areas. Put the muslin changes back to pattern. Use toile as a pattern for interlining and fabric. If it’s not interlined then carbon trace the fabric. Choose carbon colour carefully. If you’re using interlining then baste the seam line and attach interlining to fabric. Use silk thread. Then stitch on top. Then join the fabric seams together. Press every stage. Catch stitch the seams open onto interlining. Watch your grain lines. Put them on muslin and interlining. Try not to pin out of seam allowance in main fabric. Match seams when adding lining. Add a central pleat and a jump hem to the lining. If you let the lining be free at hem then chain stitch the lining at fabric seams to keep them together. These are my top tips to a well executed garment! 🤞
Dear Evelyn, for my next garment I will definitely make a toile. So please one more question : how much of ease do you use "normally" for a slim bodice like the red dress you are wearing in this video? My toile does not help me if it's to fitted to wear? And how much of ease would you use for a slim dress or skirt? I'm not talking about design but the possibility to sit down or move. Thank you so much and love from Germany
@@colsennz hey, thank you, unify60. I know Evelyn's videos and also bought her tremendous helpful guides but can't remember hearing exact numbers. Do you know the specific video in which it is told?
I am making a coat from a 1940's pattern, and I hope the mockup will tell me where the fold lines are for the collar and lapels so I can pad stitch the canvas correctly.
Although my mom taught me to sew she never made a mock-up. I started doing that 30 yrs after I started sewing. Many years ago I was in a belly dancing show. I wanted to make my outfit so I got a couple of patterns to play with. Luckily I used cheap fabric with one of the patterns because when I put my hands up above my waist the top slipped up over my boobs.
For me the worst part of a toile is the cutting pieces out ughh. But I’ve had some come out nice enough I’ll wear them too. Also looking at it. Is it (toy-le) like I’m toiling with this. Or double bubble toile and trouble lol either one.
Hi Evelyn from sunny South Africa! I absolutely love your channel 🤗My problem is getting my tailors dummy the correct size. It is adjustable but isn’t big enough in the hips and bust, how can I resolve this? 🤔
One way is to add cotton batting/wadding (the stuff inside a quilt) to the areas you need to make bigger. Add layers of it and keep measuring to make sure it accurately represents your body measurements. You can use pins, spray adhesive, and/or needle and thread to attach the batting. I hope this helps!
Thank you for another great video! I have a question. How and where do you store all your mockups? What do you do with them, since they're just mockups.
I also struggle with this, as knit/stretch fabrics are quite expensive here in Australia, even on sale/clearance - generally nothing under $8 per metre and it's usually lower quality at that price
Thanks for this video! One question I have is: if you’re making a mock up to test fit, do you make changes to the mock up or to the pattern or to both?
If you sew the mock-up with a very long stitch (wide too if doing zigzag), then it's easy to rip and resew to confirm your alterations are spot on. If you plan to reuse the pattern, you may want to completely rip the mock-up when it's to your liking to make sure the pattern is the same, or if you just made a few small changes just make notes on the pattern. If you know you are never likely to remake the pattern, then I suppose you can not alter it, and maybe swap it with a friend then. If you like the mock-up and use it (after you go back and reinforce the stitches with appropriate stitching once your mock-up shape is to your liking), then you could always replicate another garment from it and the pattern may be moot. It really depends on how you want to do it.
I raid the clearance section of joann fabric when they have their clearance sales. It allows me to get inexpensive fabric that will end up in the trash if it doesn't sale especially the 80% off
Chris this is good point! Many people use the toile as the pattern, and yes, you have to be really carful to unpick everything as you say. Or you can do like I do and transfer those changes from your toile to alter your paper pattern 😊
If you use the longest stitch on your machine and slightly lower your top tension for basting your toile together - especially on the longer seams - it is a bit easier to rip out your stitching by using your seam ripper to "sever" the bobbin thread every few inches and pulling the bobbin thread out, leaving the top thread alone when you can.
@@Evelyn__Wood indeed. Thank you for highlighting the difference. I think if I am working from a paper pattern then at least for now I'm happier unpicking some of the toile so as to be really sure about measurements and adjustments which are harder to take when something is shaped... and if it's something which has been copied from a garment rather than using a pattern then the opened out 'skin' of the toile becomes the pattern.
That is where your pattern making skills come into the picture, which is the *other* skill you need along with sewing that no one tells you about when you start! 😅 I teach you how to make all these adjustments in www.vintagesewingschool.com if your interested in learning
hi! i have a sustainability question in regards to toiles… i have been feeling a bit guilty for ‘wasting’ or using so much fabric… I’m just wondering what people do with non-wearable toiles??
You really never know for sure if the pattern fits properly and if it is even reflective of what you think it's supposed to look like. I always make a toile because there's nothing worse than wasting good fabric because you thought everything would be ok
I honestly don't get this. Why sew a mock-up that is an entirely made dress just to make the real dress better? Is it not the same to just do the same dress twice?
Also mock-ups help with making sure you understand how the garment construction works. That way you don't have to seam rip an entire seam in your expensive, shredding fabric because you misread/misunderstood an instruction.
I also find that doing a mock-up helps me work through the confusing or poorly-written directions on a pattern - for example one waistband technique on a wrap dress I made was SO poorly explained and there was so much seam ripping and note-taking of what the pattern *actually* meant to say
If commercial patterns fit you relatively well, you might not need to change much, in which case, lucky you! I am short-waisted and have no hips to speak of, so if it's supposed to be form-fitting, it will look awful on me if I just make my garment from a commercial pattern, and I'm not good enough yet to know where I need to alter it without a mockup. Also if you're making a lined garment, if you're close enough with the mockup, you can just leave it inside out and turn it into your new garment's lining!
Fashion fabric can be expensive depending on what you choose. For example let's say your fabric is $15 a yard and your pattern says you need 5 yards for that dress. You would not want to buy 10 yards of fabric just to do the same dress twice. It's so much cheaper to go to the thrift store and get a couple of bedsheets to make your adjustments and then use your expensive fabric just once. It saves money in the long run and it also saves your expensive fabric from excessive seam ripping which can really damage some types of fabrics. 😺
Have you been accurate enough with your toiles thus far??
✂️ If your ready to learn more and take your sewing to the nest level, join me at Vintage Sewing School www.vintagesewingschool.com/
For me it depends what I'm testing, if it's a relatively loose fitting garment, the main thing is where is the neckline and if it's a pullover, does it fit over my glasses without knocking them off :) ...but for a fitted garment from a commercial pattern, I'm going to need at least two mockups because my body shape is potato :P
My bedsheet/recycled fabric mock ups have either become the lining for the final project or garments I can wear as "at home" wear. those garments include summer "house" dresses, night gowns, lounging or pajama pants & tops. So, even my mock ups gets worn even if the fit is not perfect or the adjustments are noticeable.
I love the mockup for home wear! It's a great way to do get a second garment!
That's what I do to! Or use as unterthings. I recently made a skirt that I wanted to try out but the fabric wasn't quite right and I didn't love the fit but it works well as an underskirt.
I do the same thing. In fact, I'm working on the mock-up for a closely fitted bodice today. The mock-up will be the lining after I get the darts just right.
I made my first ever successful dress after my first ever mock up. It is such a game changer. I finally felt proud of something I made! Getting to say "thanks, I made it" is so satisfying.
Yay!!! Jessica you should be proud, well done! And we all love for that moment of 'thanks I made it myself' 😄
I only recently started constructing toiles. I thought "why would I make myself do more work? I have a seam ripper for a reason." No no no, friends. Remember, if it is worth doing, it is worth doing correctly. That seam ripper can only save certain mistakes and some fabrics do not take seam ripping very well. Toiles are well worth the effort, especially since pattern sizing can be so confusing.
Somehow your video topics always align with my exact dilemma at the time
I don't think there is anything more beautiful than a toile. It shows the pure raw design, line, details, and construction of a garment. I still tear up thinking about the Dior toile room.
Haha, mine are NOT beautiful, even if they're lucky enough to be all the same fabric (a lot of old pillowcases end up as pieces) I use different colours of Sharpie to indicate what revision I'm on so I can look back at it and figure out what changed most, what changes affected other things that looked like they were fine before. I'm also a boob about stitch lines so I always mark my lines I'm supposed to sew. I'm at least pretty good at knowing if I'm at a point where the next mockup COULD be a wearable mockup so I can try it with that fabric I bought not knowing what I was going to make it into :)
Stephanie I knew you were taking about the Dior toile room right away! We are the same here, the toile room is the first place I would visit! I love to see the process behind garment and development of the design ❤️ You could make your own toile exhibition soon!
You make it work your way! As long as it serves its intended purpose, it doesn't matter how it looks so much 😄
@@Evelyn__Wood ❤️
I agree Stephanie! I'm also finding the toile process to be fun as well. There is so much information to be had by studying a toile! The more I wear my toiles around the house the more information I gain about fit and comfort of the garment😸
It cracks me up that your dress form is wearing pearls. So fancy!
☺️☺️☺️
Sounds like doing a mock up is a real life mashup of "measure twice, cut once" and "a stitch in time saves nine!"
I will keep this lesson in mind for when I've got my workspace finished, thank you!
That is a great way to put it yes!! And it's almost guaranteed 1000% better results in your real one! 😄 It your just starting, it's a great way to practice too!
Ok ok I'll start doing stay stiches. 🤗
😂 Yep, me too.
you'll notice a big deference Bree! 😄
A few years ago, I was working on a Victorian bodice and made a mock up; same weight of fabric, sewed accurately and didn't have a bunch of changes...except that I forgot to account for the fact that I was interlining the bodice. You wouldn't think that adding a quilting cotton interlining would change the fit but the fact that it was already a very form fitting garment, that subtle change across the whole of the garment impacted how well everything fit, especially the sleeves. I learned to make sure I'm using the same number of layers of fabric in my mockup that I plan on using in the final garment.
yes! Also the same amount of boning in boned garments or corsets and stays.
I'm very much a newbie. Is interlining the same as flatlining?
I took your previous advice and bought some cheap viscose to make a toile blouse before cutting into my expensive viscose fabric (I've never sewn with viscose before). The toile turned out so good that I've actually worn it in public, so I've ended up with 2 beautiful garments and the second blouse was made in less than half the time as the toile, as I knew what I was doing. A win, win situation 😊
This is the best thing I've heard today! 😄😄
1:43 🤣🤣🤣 “AWOL” I love subtitles sometimes! On another channel, OP said “wool coat” but subtitles said “wolf coat.” It’s the little things that crack me up. 😆
Here's a tip: If you need a stretch fabric for a mock-up, shop the dollar store and Walmart. They have Men's XXL's or XXXL's for $1-$2. The larger T-shirts are easily a yard of fabric by about 30" or longer depending on the style and brand. I have most often seen the T-shirts at the Dollar Store in the Spring. Sometimes you can find 60/40 cotton/poly or pure cotton. Walmart's cheaper shirts are in the craft section and white. Unless you are buying remnants on clearance, it's hard to find a cheaper knit fabric per yard. Also, shop the clearance section at Walmart for plus size women's nighties and dress-like pajamas. The large sizes can be a whole lot of fabric for $3.
I find that mock-ups depends on the garment, fabric and who I’m fitting. If I’m fitting my daughter mock-ups are mandatory she needs too many pattern modifications. Most of the grandson’s stuff no need for mock-ups. He grows and changes too fast to keep up so as long as it fits and he’s happy it’s a win! As for fabric if I’m using expensive fabrics there will be mock-ups even if I end up having to buy a cheaper but similar fabric to do it in! This will be done as well as humanly possible before cutting into the OMG I can’t believe I spent this much on fabric for the actual garment!! Bounce is that your mock-ups sometimes are wearable!
I always make my mock-ups with wearable fabric. I figure if I am going to go to all of that trouble I want to be able to wear it. 9 out of 10 times I end up wearing my mock-up.
I usually make my mock-ups from cute, cheap/thrifted fabrics, so if they turn out to fit, I'll have an extra garment I can wear. Or, if the garment has a lining, I tend to use the lining fabric for the mock-up, so I can use it as the lining when making the actual thing.
I tend to use my mockup as the "pattern" with which I will cut the fashion fabric as it will stretch and conform a bit better to my body compared to the original paper pattern. Thus I want my mockup as accurate as I can make it to be ^^
Well yes Chayatsuji, your right it is a really, really good reason to be a accurate as possible.... it's your pattern too!
I wondered about that. So you're actually creating a cloth pattern from the toile that replaces the paper pattern?
I've made multiple corsets and pairs of stays, where perfect fit is imperative. So you do as many mockups as it takes to get a perfect fit. I like to use zipties as my boning for corset mockups, and cheaper duck canvas, because coutil is expensive and no way am I wasting that much money on a mockup! Only once it is exactly right do you move on to the final fabric.
Great advice, there's literally zero tolerance in corsets!
Excellent suggestions, will try myself
I used industrial grade zip ties in a semi-formal dress I altered for a Halloween Costume. I made a lace-up corset back on the dress and used the Zip Ties to be the structure to allow the laceup to have good stability. It worked very well. Harbor Freight Tools has both industrial (thick and 18" long) plastic zip ties and aluminum ones too for a reasonable price per pack!
I've watched so many of your videos, and didn't stumble across this one until after I sewed a top that didnt fit at all, and then saw I should have made a test first. OOPS. Happy I've learned this now!
Also, I baste stitch the mock up together. It's easier to make adjustments -- which I stitch in a different colour thread -- and I can stitch over the basting if I will use the mock up as a lining for the final garment.
The different coloured thread is a good idea. I think you can even buy thread to use for mockups and drafting.. usually very fragile in garish colours ..so really ticking all the boxes.
@@ChrisChanningChannel I inherited the contents of 2 sewing rooms and have over 100 spools of thread, including large cones for the serger. When I do need more thread I will look that, thanks.
You're rockin' the new "do" Evelyn! Love it
Because of your channel, I was brave enough to alter a jacket pattern, by first making a mock-up, which I then tweaked with a second mock-up. Needless to say, the finished jacket fits well! Thank you.
You've just made my day to hear this Lunzie01! You should be so proud of your achievements 😃
I am one of those people that learned the hard way to not only do a mock-up but do it up completely and accurately. I tried to make a dress without one and it didn't quite fit right, then I did a halfway job on a mock-up for the next dress and that didn't turn out well either. From then on, I always do a mock-up for a new pattern (and I usually want to change it up a bit here and there). Now I have clothes which I've made that I will wear. So important to do the job right, then I can turn it into a house dress or robe or something useful.
Lots of good info in these comments. How accurate a mockup needs to be cut depends on your plan. If you have concerns about snall size or ease, cut generously. Stitch carefully on seam line inside out with a long stitch. Can't let out a too-tight spot without fabric! If practicing a technique then fabric weight and hand is more crucial. First time I tried a welted pocket I used a fabric square of same weight. Then again with another square but 2nd time I put in the nearby dart. That made a surprising difference in getting the welt to lie properly!
I'm just starting to cut a mock up for a party dress- thank you for this well-timed motivation to take my time!
I love to hear videos are reaching you just at the right time! 😄 Good luck with your project!
I make a toile out of sheets and if the pattern has techniques I'm unfamiliar with I sew it to completion. It gives me the opportunity to practise techniques and I have a garment that i can wear at home.
Well I have learnt that I need to be as accurate on the mock up as on the final cut (so to speak). Every part of the mock up is a practice and even things such as the pressing is a practice, as I have found pressing in a certain way can help the process go more smoothly. My greatest realization was to finish seams, especially on tricky areas as a finished seam can drastically change the way a garment sits.
But then I do say "Mock ups are for mistakes" if I get it wrong on the mock up I hopefully learn from it before doing the real thing.
I have made up so few garments, I didn't even know that seam finishes can affect fit! What seam finish do you find affects fit the least?
Hi @@hey_virginia I have found that each garment has its own quirks, so I take each make on its own merit. As I learn more I will get more experienced at knowing what will affect each make. For me any seam that is generally hidden I can leave unfinished but I have proved myself wrong in the past. Keep on making and the experience will be all the guidance you need.
@@BYBabbra Indeed, trial and error based on the specific garment and fabric - I'll add in "test seam finishes" to my fabric testing checklist! Thank you!
I've been making toiles for my Victorian outfit and I'm so glad I have. I now have a corset that fits me correctly, a wearable petticoat mockup and I'm now working on my bodice toile which is proving to be extremely involved as I need to make a number of adjustments to get it to fit properly. There are times where I honestly wish I had undertaken fashion design at TAFE! 🤣😭😱🤣
I'm hopefully going to start the bachelor of fashion next year (because the pre-uni applied fashion course in Melbourne is nowhere near as good as what Qld TAFE offers. Also my goal is to start my own line of actually nice adaptive clothing for disabled people, so the full degree will be useful). I'm hoping my experience with historical sewing will help me out a lot- and for thongs like couture techniques I think it definitely will. I got good at hand sewing very quickly when I started making historical clothing, because even if a sewing machine had been invented by the time of that garment (so, 1840s onwards), they hadn't optimised the whole process to be sewn entirely on machine. So there's a lot of things that just have to be hand sewn. Also, I'm the kind of crazy woman that will hand sew an entire pair of 18th c stays, because 'historical accuracy'. I don't recommend, for the record. All those boning channels....
Shevaun sounds like you've got a great project in the works! You can do it! 😀
@@katherinemorelle7115 wow... Good luck with the course and your line of clothing! I'd probably do historically accurate, but I just don't have the energy or physicality to work on a piece for that long. Besides, I bet if our ancestors had their hands on the technology we do, they'd use it! 🤣 And no, I don't think I'd be hand sewing a pair of stays with all those boning channels lol
Shevaun it sounds like you'd be able to teach that TAFE course by the time you're finished!
@@chrissiec5915 🤣🤣🤣 thank you for your vote of confidence! It's a slow process, but you have to make sure it's right
Love the advice if you need to make a second mock-up do it your finished garment will love you for it (my interpretation).
Hello! I hope you had an awesome day! I attended 2 virtual sew dates and now I'm tired. I hand quilting while I watch you. I just want you to know that I very much enjoy the content on your channel. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead! Thank you for posting this video and for your expertise.
That's so nice of you to say, thankyou! 🥰
I have been sewing for 50 years. On my pattern tissues, I know where to make the tucks, slices, pinches, and where to shorten for my petite frame. I decided recently to make a bodice block, and I am having a difficult time. In this video you have broght home what I have already been doing for decades: I can have my block by knowing where to make the tucks, slices and piches. Thank you.
Just to add I try and toile just the bits I need to make it a bit quicker. For example, if it’s a dress with a full skirt, then I just do the bodice. But I do have plenty of wearable toiles 🤣 I have to make major changes on all commercial patterns, so I make a sway back adjustment on the pattern first (after measuring), then cut the toile and baste together on the longest stitch so I can get them apart easily to make the second or third toile when needed. 👗👍 It’s a game changer 🤯💃🥳
I try to take as much care as I can with the toile. There is zero point in making a toile unless you can gain useful information from it. I’m not going to go nuts with it. I love to make them so I can use them as a lining (should that be necessary) if possible.
As for fabric, it’s painful to go buy fabric you’re basically going to toss away, so I will buy sheets at thrift stores so I don’t feel so bad about it. Also as I mentioned above, I’ll use them as my lining if they fit well.
You don't need to throw even the thrifted fabric used for a toile away - big pieces can be reused for another toile or aprons or pillowcases, cushion "inners" and so on. Smaller pieces can be hemmed to make dusting/polishing rags, used as linings, made into aprons etc, etc. There's a heap of things that thrifted fabric used in a toile can still be turned into if, indeed, your plain toile can't be actually worn. (And all that is supposing that you don't want to iron interfacing onto the back of all the important pieces in your toile and keep them as your personalised "bespoke" pattern).
@@meganmills6545 I like the interfacing idea! I usually donate my scraps to a local crafters thrift store and cut up the tiny bits into wadding for other projects.
When I start on my mock-up and I don’t like how it is turning out I abandon ship. I take the fabric, pattern and anything else, and wrap it up and add it to my donation box. Although I have been sewing for 50 yrs, I only started doing this about 20 yrs ago. Some people will try over and over to get the fit right. I am an easy fit and I figure if it is that ill-fitting on me, I can’t be bothered.
If I can cut myself a pattern "at the seamlines" rather than "at the seam allowance" and draw a line in for all my seamlines I can afford to be a bit less accurate with the cutting out for a toile (or even the fashion fabric) because I have everything I need marked on the fabric to sew the seams exactly where they're supposed to go. I can trim the seam allowances to what I want afterwards so that if in some places I need to "let the seam out" I have the spare fabric available to do it and can see exactly where the new seamline needs to be for the adjustments I'm making. (I don't even bother trimming the seam allowance after sewing and adjusting if I don't need to - I keep those as big as possible so I can reuse the fabric.)
This isn't something I'd do for, say, a half-apron with a couple of pockets and a straight frill, but would be worth it for something with lots of darts or princess line seams, pleats and so on. In general, the more pattern pieces there are the more useful it is to have the seamlines marked (compare, for example, a 3-part sleeve to an all-in-one sleeve). The more seamlines there are the more opportunity there is for little inaccuracies to compound.
Ooh, also if you're marking just your seam lines you can leave extra seam allowance just in case you're like me and relatively more cylindrical than commercial patterns expect!
I only started garment sewing this fall and I already have quite a few wearable items and I really think it's thanks to you and the encouraging of always doing a mock-up. I have some old bed sheets and now I just pretty much always make things up once, and then for more complicated dress twice. While it takes me double the time for the final garment, the end result looks better than my ready to wear stuff.
I love your outfits ❤️ and your content too, of course!
So many great tips for making a toile and getting the best from the process, thank you 😀💛👍
Good advice. Thanks! I first measure pattern, then fit the paper to my body, then make a toile (often with the intention of using it for lining. In the 60s, I always used inexpensive sheets for lining). Sometimes I have to toss my toile but it’s rarely a complete waste.
Love all these tips. I just got through making a mock up or as we say over here in America a muslin. I knew I had lost weight and the old one was quite big. I just finished getting a couple things ready to sew while we are vacationing down in Florida. I don’t really have a good place for cutting clothes out so I get it cut out and marked here. I also do the stitching to prevent stretching and raveling. I’m also taking things for hemming and altering. I have made sure I also make the marks on my muslin so when I do it right I can use it to make a paper pattern.
As a new sewer I even made a mock up of shopping bags. It is good practice as you say. I saw which part was unexpectedly the hardest to get right (sewing the curves) so I knew to really concentrate on that part.
I am currently wearing my fisherman pants mock up made from an old doona/duvet cover from Salvos (they give *two* pieces of fabric and this one also had eleven cool wooden buttons) This mock up is an around the house outfit as I made it too long. The real pants were made shorter. It is a simple pattern so I just folded the legs up a few centimetres on the pattern when cutting the real one.
On the mock up I did all the finishes - most seams are French seams and the bottom hems are double fold. I wanted full practice in the final techniques I planned to use plus it means I can wear it around the house.
Thank you, my sewing is definitely improving with practise and your tips and tricks 😊
😄 I'm so happy to hear it! Keep it up and you'll sewing those clothes you dream of in no time!
Pronunciation of toile, French approved! In French, the accentuation is on the last syllable, and I think you do just that when you used the word naturally. To be honest, I hear a lot of language 'butchering' and yours didn't shock me at all until you apologised for it! So please trust yourself. As always thank you for your insight and sharing your knowledge on your channel. :)
Thank you for a very useful video and perfect timing as always. I’m currently making a wrap dress and I’m on my third (final, hopefully 🤞) toile of the bodice and it’s fitting much better. I haven’t made a full toile of the dress yet as the skirt is quite full and more forgiving when it comes to fitting. I will need adjustments to make the skirt fit onto the new bodice though. Toiles, whilst time consuming, are essential to helping me improve my sewing. Some even turn out very wearable 😄
Thank u Evelyn! This video was perfect timing! I’m up to making my toile for a shelf bust dress 🤞 hoping it works because I drafted it from measurements! 🙈☺️
I have just made myself new shirts, unfortunately my favourite pattern was no where to be found! I had a patterns which I didn't really like, so I had to change the pattern. I made a ½ mock up to make sure the sleeves and yolk were correct and fitted correctly. In the past I used a tablecloth (past its use by date) for a mock up. It served the purpose very well.
Hi Eve, I finally made a summer dress with straps. I had to almost redo the dress 3 times. But I am so so happy, it turned out decent enough to wear outside.
Please put one video on how to sew slits in the skirts. I did a very poor job on it.
We were informed Wednesday of this week, that this Fall when Public School goes back in secession, the teachers are required to go back to the old dress code. No more jeans, no T-shirts, no leggings (without dresses, skirts, or long tunics over them), no skimpy tops, no shorts, no short skirts and no shoes with out backs on them (no flip-flops). There is only one month of school left before Summer Vacation starts. We have been given fair warning.
The problem is there are no department stores or shops that offer the proper garments in our area of the country. Some of us already own and never stopped wearing the proper garments; but, I need some replacements; and, I want some new items. I'll be making myself at least five new outer garments this summer. I can not afford to waste time and fabric by not making testers (mock-ups) of my new (and old) patterns that I plan to use.
Because I can not find any new bras that fit and support me, I will be making many bra testers (mock-ups) to make myself new support bras. My old bras are no longer doing a proper job. I need new bras before I start making any testers for outer garments.
Please, don't forget to wear the support garments that you will be wearing under the outer garments you are trying to get the best fit for.
Where are these schools that want people to dress like medieval times?
I'd add, remember to do your measuring wearing the support garment you plan to wear with the new garment... Good luck making your own bras, every time I've done anything form-fitting it's been a whole lot of alterations even after proper measuring :)
I quite often make 2 or 3 mock-ups before the actual garment is made. With a fit and flare dress in a woven fabric, I only do a mock-up of the bodice (the hardest place to fit for me) as I know I will probably need an FBA, decrease the neckline and raise the waistline.
Thank you!💗
Making two mock-ups at least seems to work well for me when making a new pattern. Adjustments on the first one and a second to make sure it is correct. Its a little more time to begin with but the final garment goes quickly. The second one useauly ends up being a paint and garden shirt. Sewing is sewing and if you enjoy doing it making multiple mock-ups isn’t a drudge.
Wish me luck with the toile for my sequin turtleneck! Sequin fabric (cheap) is flimsy net with decorations on ... and veery slippy. Have to choose the toile fabric carefully.
I have to be as accurate as I would be for my actual garment. If I don't get my cutting or seam allowances right then the toile is worse than useless, its misleading. The only exception, I will sew a line of stitching to indicate things like facings, but I have to do everything else, including hems.
Edit: Yay, I'm not wrong!
I agree completely, doing seems and hems really allows me to know that it will come out right on the good fabric.
I love your hair like that, Evelyn, and I hear what you're saying about the mock ups, but honestly, I just can't be bothered doing that any more. I've done it and they've turned out fine and then when I made the real McCoy, it was a disaster. Has happened more than once. I just can't do it again. Besides, I sew to keep things out of the landfill, not to create more to put in it.
Mock-ups don't have to end up in the landfill. I wear mine around the house for chores, cooking, cleaning etc.. who wants to wear nice clothes to clean? 😺
Funny story. After two years I finally finished a mock-up of a fitting stay, and I really want to make my stay and the dress that goes over it. But I really don't want to make it until after I make a second mock-up. So now I'm just a lazing because, I don't want to make the mock-up, but I don't want to make the dress until I have made the mock-up. I guess I'll be doing that then.
Stay stitching.
Accurate tracing from pattern to toile.
And machine seam tracing on the toile is a step not to be missed.
Particularly if you’re using it as your pattern.
It makes the sew up a breeze and it’s accurate.
Eye balling a 1.5 cm seam is not easy.
I never do it.
Carbon trace the pattern on to muslin.
Machine trace the seams after stay stitching the curved areas.
Put the muslin changes back to pattern.
Use toile as a pattern for interlining and fabric.
If it’s not interlined then carbon trace the fabric. Choose carbon colour carefully.
If you’re using interlining then baste the seam line and attach interlining to fabric. Use silk thread.
Then stitch on top.
Then join the fabric seams together.
Press every stage.
Catch stitch the seams open onto interlining.
Watch your grain lines. Put them on muslin and interlining.
Try not to pin out of seam allowance in main fabric.
Match seams when adding lining. Add a central pleat and a jump hem to the lining.
If you let the lining be free at hem then chain stitch the lining at fabric seams to keep them together.
These are my top tips to a well executed garment! 🤞
Dear Evelyn, for my next garment I will definitely make a toile. So please one more question : how much of ease do you use "normally" for a slim bodice like the red dress you are wearing in this video? My toile does not help me if it's to fitted to wear? And how much of ease would you use for a slim dress or skirt? I'm not talking about design but the possibility to sit down or move. Thank you so much and love from Germany
Hi Miriam, Evelyn has made videos about ease, fit, etc, have a look through her videos and playlists! :)
@@colsennz hey, thank you, unify60. I know Evelyn's videos and also bought her tremendous helpful guides but can't remember hearing exact numbers. Do you know the specific video in which it is told?
I am making a coat from a 1940's pattern, and I hope the mockup will tell me where the fold lines are for the collar and lapels so I can pad stitch the canvas correctly.
Although my mom taught me to sew she never made a mock-up. I started doing that 30 yrs after I started sewing. Many years ago I was in a belly dancing show. I wanted to make my outfit so I got a couple of patterns to play with. Luckily I used cheap fabric with one of the patterns because when I put my hands up above my waist the top slipped up over my boobs.
Ha ha ha. Isn't it funny how small decisions like that, can make all the difference to us, unbeknownst to us when we make them!
I've also known this to be called a "Muslin".
For me the worst part of a toile is the cutting pieces out ughh. But I’ve had some come out nice enough I’ll wear them too.
Also looking at it. Is it (toy-le) like I’m toiling with this. Or double bubble toile and trouble lol either one.
Do you have any tips on making bodice blocks?
Hi Evelyn from sunny South Africa! I absolutely love your channel 🤗My problem is getting my tailors dummy the correct size. It is adjustable but isn’t big enough in the hips and bust, how can I resolve this? 🤔
One way is to add cotton batting/wadding (the stuff inside a quilt) to the areas you need to make bigger. Add layers of it and keep measuring to make sure it accurately represents your body measurements. You can use pins, spray adhesive, and/or needle and thread to attach the batting. I hope this helps!
@@nataliestanchevski4628 thank you 🙏
I padded my dummy then put a swimsuit top over the padding. A small stretchy top would do the job also.
Thank you for another great video! I have a question. How and where do you store all your mockups? What do you do with them, since they're just mockups.
I love to make wearable mockups with cute cheap cotton popeline with busy prints. That way, mistakes are way less noticable 😉
Evelyn any tips for finding second hand stretch fabrics for mock ups. I did a mock up on a cheapwr stretch fabric and it looked so horrible I gave up!
I also struggle with this, as knit/stretch fabrics are quite expensive here in Australia, even on sale/clearance - generally nothing under $8 per metre and it's usually lower quality at that price
Thanks for this video!
One question I have is: if you’re making a mock up to test fit, do you make changes to the mock up or to the pattern or to both?
If you sew the mock-up with a very long stitch (wide too if doing zigzag), then it's easy to rip and resew to confirm your alterations are spot on. If you plan to reuse the pattern, you may want to completely rip the mock-up when it's to your liking to make sure the pattern is the same, or if you just made a few small changes just make notes on the pattern. If you know you are never likely to remake the pattern, then I suppose you can not alter it, and maybe swap it with a friend then. If you like the mock-up and use it (after you go back and reinforce the stitches with appropriate stitching once your mock-up shape is to your liking), then you could always replicate another garment from it and the pattern may be moot. It really depends on how you want to do it.
I raid the clearance section of joann fabric when they have their clearance sales. It allows me to get inexpensive fabric that will end up in the trash if it doesn't sale especially the 80% off
I so love the dress you’re wearing…did you make it? If yes, what pattern did you use pls?
TIA
It's unpicking the toile for it to become a pattern that alarms me, but without doing that I might as well not have made one.
Chris this is good point! Many people use the toile as the pattern, and yes, you have to be really carful to unpick everything as you say.
Or you can do like I do and transfer those changes from your toile to alter your paper pattern 😊
If you use the longest stitch on your machine and slightly lower your top tension for basting your toile together - especially on the longer seams - it is a bit easier to rip out your stitching by using your seam ripper to "sever" the bobbin thread every few inches and pulling the bobbin thread out, leaving the top thread alone when you can.
@@Evelyn__Wood indeed. Thank you for highlighting the difference. I think if I am working from a paper pattern then at least for now I'm happier unpicking some of the toile so as to be really sure about measurements and adjustments which are harder to take when something is shaped... and if it's something which has been copied from a garment rather than using a pattern then the opened out 'skin' of the toile becomes the pattern.
@@meganmills6545 Thank you. :_))
Could you please show what part of a garment we are stay stitching?
Thanks,
Claudette
When I make a major-ish change on the mockup - for example letting out part of a seam quite a bit - how do I transfer that to the paper pattern?
That is where your pattern making skills come into the picture, which is the *other* skill you need along with sewing that no one tells you about when you start! 😅 I teach you how to make all these adjustments in www.vintagesewingschool.com if your interested in learning
I'm glad I don't have to go purchase umpteen yards of muslin, which has gone up in price considerably since I began sewing in the 1970s.
Lol, mock-up means sample? I've always interpreted it as a nicer way of saying f* up. (Which is kind of what it is used for as well 😂)
hi! i have a sustainability question in regards to toiles… i have been feeling a bit guilty for ‘wasting’ or using so much fabric… I’m just wondering what people do with non-wearable toiles??
What do you do with it after it’s done?
WHOOPS i don't do mock ups lol. I do them on pants sometimes. or something that feels very complex but otherwise I don't
"Stitch your seam allowances" or do you mean stitch within your seam allowances?
You really never know for sure if the pattern fits properly and if it is even reflective of what you think it's supposed to look like. I always make a toile because there's nothing worse than wasting good fabric because you thought everything would be ok
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Your mock up needs to be as accurate as your finished garment should be.
I honestly don't get this. Why sew a mock-up that is an entirely made dress just to make the real dress better? Is it not the same to just do the same dress twice?
Usually mock-ups are made out of a cheaper fabric, so it’s saves money compared to making two dresses out of the expensive fabric
Also mock-ups help with making sure you understand how the garment construction works. That way you don't have to seam rip an entire seam in your expensive, shredding fabric because you misread/misunderstood an instruction.
I also find that doing a mock-up helps me work through the confusing or poorly-written directions on a pattern - for example one waistband technique on a wrap dress I made was SO poorly explained and there was so much seam ripping and note-taking of what the pattern *actually* meant to say
If commercial patterns fit you relatively well, you might not need to change much, in which case, lucky you! I am short-waisted and have no hips to speak of, so if it's supposed to be form-fitting, it will look awful on me if I just make my garment from a commercial pattern, and I'm not good enough yet to know where I need to alter it without a mockup.
Also if you're making a lined garment, if you're close enough with the mockup, you can just leave it inside out and turn it into your new garment's lining!
Fashion fabric can be expensive depending on what you choose. For example let's say your fabric is $15 a yard and your pattern says you need 5 yards for that dress. You would not want to buy 10 yards of fabric just to do the same dress twice. It's so much cheaper to go to the thrift store and get a couple of bedsheets to make your adjustments and then use your expensive fabric just once. It saves money in the long run and it also saves your expensive fabric from excessive seam ripping which can really damage some types of fabrics. 😺