My Five Essentials
It’s been a month since I’ve been here. Life is getting busier now that summer is here. Graduations, summer camps, learning some computer coding (more about this later on), visits from out of town family members. It’s going to be a busy June. Although I am sewing I’m mostly doing it in 30 minute increments at night because the weekends are packed with soccer games, getting ready for the week and spending time with my family.
Theresa from Lost my Thread reached out as she and Knotty Knome were doing a series on the Five Essential patterns that we use all the time. I thought I would give you the indie pattern or the one that I use the MOST first and then I would give you the Big Four (or Indie pattern that is closest to it).
So here we go! Some of these you have heard about numerous times because I use them all the time. ALL THE TIME! I really do, they all fit my busy work from home / juggle the Mom duties thing lifestyle.
Essential Top … T- Shirt Pattern - Oh yes, Its plain down to the T-shirt pattern and I will say this I have a good 20 t-shirt patterns and I’m sure many of you do too. To this day I will continue looking for the perfect tee pattern out there and there are a plethora of them out there depending on how you like the ease on your t shirts. But my go to pattern is the Agnes from Tilly and the Buttons. I absolutely LOVE IT and have made the pattern at least 8 to 9 times and counting. Actually I’m wearing it today. I bought the pattern way back when it went up to size 8 and I graded it up two sizes. The gals at Tilly knew that I had purchased the pattern and sent it to me when it was updated which was quite nice of them to do. It’s a quick and easy pattern. But what I love about it is that it has gathers in the center front for a little bit of a sweet heart neckline, or you can keep the neckline without the gathers, OR you can also make these fun sleeves with the gathers for a little bit of puff sleeves but without the crazy drama. It is sized from 6 to 34 and all you need is 1.5 yards or 1.3 meters of knit fabric.
If you are looking for a Big Four pattern for this… I love Simplicity S9273. I use it a lot. It has JUST enough gathers on those sleeves.
2. Essential Bottoms - Hands down my Dani Shorts / Pants from True Bias. Can’t get enough of this pattern. Surprisingly enough I cut a size 16 for these pants and they fit beautifully. Flat front (I can’t stand pleats in pants!), it has an elastic waist band and zipper fly. Instructions are super easy and you get a few different views with a fully elasticated waist band or a zip fly which is the one that I make the most. These are sized from 0 to 32 and they have two different size ranges on their website so make sure you select the correct one. I always make these in a stretch twill. I use Robert Kaufman Jetsetter Twill from Minerva (Harts Fabric carries this fabric too) or Lyocell Twill (from Joann’s).
I like that my bottoms have some sort of give in the fabric. So I usually like Stretch Twill, Lyocell Twill or most commonly known Gabardine. I make zero adjustments to these pants which is surprising. I cut a size 16 and that’s it. They fit.
I would give you a Big four pattern for pants but I have to say I have yet to find a pair of pants in the Big Four that I absolutely love and I have quite a few of those patterns. Anything else out there I have to make adjustments to the crotch curve, I have to adjust the lower back crotch curve, I have to grade the waist and my all time favorite…. knock knee adjustment. SO yeah, I’m sticking with the Dani Shorts. I also love the Lander pants by True Bias (I highly recommend them) but I do have to make a few adjustments to this pattern and sadly they only go up to size 18.
3. Essential One Piece - Looking at my wardrobe and what I wear often as far as dresses go my knit dresses but I do love my McCalls M6696 Pattern. I made this in a lightweight stretch denim fabric and I wear this dress often. It is a great pattern and there is a reason it’s been around for quite some time. You get a few different views, you can make it in quite a few different fabrics (some nicer than others so you can take it from casual to fancy) and lastly you can also have an option to do a burnout shell of the dress with a bias cut piece under it. I love this pattern and just like all the others in this list I highly recommend it. The inside of the pattern looks as beautiful as the outside and triple bonus… they give you different cup sizes. I even made a sew along for it.
As far as an indie pattern to recommend, there are many button down dresses out there from Indie companies. The majority of them have a lot more ease in them but Closet Core has the Kalle Shirt Dress, True Bias has the Shelby Dress,
4. Essential Layering Piece - There are many for this pattern but I have to think again about what I wear and what I make constantly or what patterns do I pull out of my pattern drawer constantly and that has to be my Marlo Sweater from True Bias (wow, I wear a lot of True Bias patterns… and I have to say I have a fair amount of them right next to Closet Core!) I tend to wear a t shirt or tank top under it and put on my Marlo Sweater. I have even made a sweater set with my Marlo and the Zoey Tank from True Bias for a total “Coastal Grandmother’ vibe. It is another beautifully drafted pattern. Sizing is from 0 to 30 and it feels a little oversized so I have to cut size 16 and grade to 18 at the hips. I also take off at least four inches off the longer length on this pattern and I omit the pockets altogether.
If you are looking for a Big Four version then try the S9373. But watch out this pattern is SUPER oversized. But it fits the bill.
5. Essentially Wild Card - I thought about this for a while. I really did… but I don’t wear jumpsuits because although I think they are fun, it’s just not something I wear on a consistent basis, Here is something I wear a lot with a jacket over it, with a pair of Superga sneakers or a pair of sandals, beloved pattern M7967 and I have to say I absolutely love this pattern. I’ve made it a few times. I do adjust it for sizing and give myself a little bit more ease on it as I don’t care for tight knit dresses. But it’s certainly a quick one to make with 2 yards of double knit fabric and I also put on a slight on side so I can move easily in it.
If you are looking for a Indie Wild Card by Zoey Dress from True Bias. I wear this a lot too.
