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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

Sewing Circle: How to cut out your size from a pattern and leave it intact


Got a great Sewing Circle question from a reader the other day! There are so many things I wonder myself, but never ask, so it's great that she wrote me with this question:

Q: Hi Suzannah, 
When you are using a pattern, do you cut out your size or do you try to "preserve" the pattern by leaving all sizes in tact and trying to cut under/around/ in order to cut your size? I am obsessive about leaving the pattern in tact "just in case..." but I am finding it more difficult as I get in to more detailed patterns. I was hoping to get some perspective from another dressmaker! Thanks!

A: Hi Michelle,
Funny question, I love it! 

I leave the pieces intact and fold back the edges along the size I'm cutting. It's worked well for me, since I've changed sizes a couple times since I started using my fave patterns a (some of them quite a few years ago ;)). I don't think there's a right or wrong way, though. Folding is pretty perfect except on the curves like armscyes--there I often snip into the curve a couple places and fold in chunks. 

This question got me thinking, though, and I took some photos of my favorite patterns and demonstrating what I mean. So here goes: How to cut out your size from a sewing pattern, leaving the rest intact!

I also should note that this is different from others of my top Sewing Circle questions, like:
So check out those if you're new to using patterns. 

Like I said, this is a very specific question, that many people (like me) have never thought to ask out loud before!

So here's one of my all-time fave patterns, McCall's M5849. (It's out of print, but Simplicity 4070 is nearly identical). I've used this pattern so many times, but because of the straight lines and princess seams, it's so easy to fold over in a straight line to cut my size. In fact, I opened it up this way--I guess I've left it folded to my size!


When I get to the notches on the folded side, I usually lift the pattern piece a little and do my best snipping triangles of the approximate size and location. It works for me.

Here's another example, and a little trickier one because of the curved armscyes. This is Simplicity 1873, a relatively new fave pattern. This is the bodice back.

(I recommend that you do this more carefully than I did.) On the curve, where it's impossible to fold exactly along the black line for my size, I snip into the pattern to the line in a few places (using paper scissors, of course--not the fabric ones I may be holding at the time!)

There you have it! How to preserve a pattern and cut out your size.

Now, how about an unofficial survey--do you cut your exact size out of the pattern, or do you fold or have some other method?!?

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