A Not So Digital - Digital Pattern Tutorial in Progress

Making patterns in the olden days, aka My Time,  was sort of .... well a process of trial and error.  Sometimes more error than trial and the end result can become just a large bin full of crinkled up tissue and fabric trash.
Now a Days, The computer age has taken pattern drafting from home to a whole new level.  Digital pattern software is definitely an easier and cleaner way to create patterns.... None the less, I am an Old School Girl,... in a very literal fashion.  I learned to draft by hand way back in the days of disco and bell bottoms, and it remains my passion, in part because it seems to be a bit of a dying art.  So, in a modern world exploding with all sorts of cool cybergenic precise options, I'm going to share a bit about the process of dusting off one of my old studio patterns and turning it into a multi sized, (still hand drafted), pattern with complete instruction tutorial ready for digital download.  (ah hummmm, a little disclaimer, I do love to teach, but for now, I am just going to share the "Process" -  from tissue paper to digital download sprinkled with a bit of the thoughts in between,  and save the Principles of Old School drafting for another day.)

This is the pattern tutorial I am working on right now.  It is a cute and simple Tunic Top pattern that I have been using for years.  Here is the original pattern piece.  I have no idea how long this has been in my pattern box, but I am going to venture to say at least 15 years.  I think it was from a pixie costume, but it ended up being a really cute and easy top that I have made many, many times for lots of different projects.

This is the original pattern where I made it into a multi sized pattern for a different costume project.  As you can see, it has been well loved, but pretty well preserved I must say.

One of the reasons I chose to make this pattern into a tutorial is because it is simple to make and it only has 2 main pattern pieces.  It is really versatile and easily changed for a lot of different looks.  But, the main reason I chose to convert this pattern for digital download is because of the skills I wanted to teach in the tutorial.  In the finished tutorial I will show several ways to change the pattern and create different looks from this simple 2 piece pattern.

So here is the freshened up draft.  I have made a few changes to the original pattern draft to make it a bit more yardage friendly. Here is what the pattern for the tunic top looks like now.  These pieces are ready to be scanned and uploaded to a PDF.

I have added an optional hood and pocket to this pattern.  Yesterday I tested the new draft for the top and I'm pretty happy with the fit.  I am just making one little change to the pocket and that part will be finished.

I want to add the option of making this top longer into a dress.  So today, I am working on the sample for the Dress pattern.  I'll keep you posted on the next phase of this pattern in progress in a couple of days. 

Its a Brand New Year

Wow, so we are already one week into a New Year.  New Years are always exciting because you basically get to start over again with a brand new list of thoughts and plans and ideas that may or may not become accomplishments, but I like to look at it this way... the list in itself is an accomplishment.  So, If I write one, I already did something awesome for the year. 

Anywho, last year, I fell a little off the blog wagon... again.  But I'm willing to give it another try.  I'm not very good about keeping my  resolutions, but one thing I would really like to make a part of my life is reading an actual book.  I'm not a big book reader, mostly because I would rather spend my leisure time staring at pictures of lovely things I want to make on Pinterest or making awesome stuff in my hugely messy sewing/ craft room or in fancier terms "My Studio".  None the less, I am committed to reading at least one book this year and I am going to start with this one... The Happiness Project (available at Amazon.com.  Ps, I have no affiliation with Amazon, I just like buying stuff from there.) 

I like feeling Happy, it is something that is really important to me.  I'm sure there is going to be a lot of really awesome info in the Happiness Project book... but I fear it may take me a while to even crack open the cover.  So for anyone else out there who is kind of a not so avid reader... here is a cool post about little things that can make you feel Happier in this blog by The Golden Girl... and the real bonus... you only have to read one page.

 Can these 10 things help me feel Happier - Well I'm definitely sold on #1 - wearing lipstick.  I love lipstick! and it does make me feel Happy - check out the rest of these simple acts that can give you and maybe someone else a Happy New Year of smiles.

http://www.thegoldengirlblog.com/home/10-ways-to-be-a-better-version-of-yourself-in-2014