The Sew and Tell Project

I am so excited to share a special book review with you today! I was delighted to receive a copy of Patternless Sewing: MODstyle by designer and author Patty Young from C&T Publishing. Patty is one of my favorite textile designers, and I love following her blog to get the latest on new pattern releases from her pattern company Modkid.

First I want to give you a short review of the book before I tell you about my first project. You can grab a copy here!

I received a copy of the book for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Post may contain some affiliate links. 

The book’s title Patternless Sewing: MODstyle and subtitle “Just Measure, Cut & Sew for the Perfect Fit!” is accurate. There are no templates to enlarge or trace. You really can begin sewing most projects almost immediately and affordably. For my project, I found my large rotary mat, 6″x24″ quilting ruler, measuring tape, and my Frixion pens to be ample supplies for accurately preparing my garment.

In addition to the 24 patterns (with instructions and tips for sewing them for either a woman’s or girl’s build), the book contains helpful glossaries and explanations such as “Tools for Pattern Drafting.” The book also includes an appendix of “Add-ons” that gives tutorials for several sewing options such as spaghetti straps and side seam patch pockets. For someone like myself who is fairly confident with her sewing, this will serve as a nice reference for me when I’m trying to modify some of my favorite patterns.

Finally, I also loved the clear language, and easy-to-follow illustrations. While the projects in this book are appealing to me (even though many of them are simple enough for a brand new sewist), I expect that my daughters’ will enjoy tackling some of the projects in this book as they work through their Clothing and Textiles Project in 4-H.

When I was doing my first read through of the book, I had a hard time deciding on which pattern I wanted to do, and whether or not I would sew for myself or for my girls. The projects range from pool cover-ups to maxi skirts and boleros to harem pants. On page 67, I fell in love with the Asymmetrical Ruffled Skirt and knew I had to make that first. I have been trying to find the perfect pattern for this Riley Blake Acorn Valley print that I picked up from the Fabric Fairy this summer. I tend to dress my daughters in cooler colors since that is what I  wear, but I also really wanted them to have the colorful more autumnal colors in this print for their wardrobe. I decided that the Asymmetrical Ruffle Skirt would be perfect with tights and boots as it gets cooler here!

My daughter’s are ALMOST the same height and size even though they are 17 months apart in age. They are both very slender and I have to adjust all the sewing patterns I sew for them for their height and build. Being able to measure out a special pattern piece for them felt so freeing. I didn’t second guess whether or not I was blending things correctly because I was just sewing off of measurements!

I also really appreciated that I was able to assemble almost the entire garment on my serger! While a serger is not required for the projects in this book (or even for most knit sewing as long as you have a zig zag stitch), it is really nice for me to not have to switch back and forth. The garment went together quickly and fits very well, don’t you think? My brave girl ran outside for the quickest photoshoot ever since our temperatures are  dropping quickly here!

She absolutely loves it so making a red shirt to match is on my “to do” list now for a church outfit. Right now she is exercising her “Pink Goes with Everything” attitude because we couldn’t find her red polo shirt. I have set aside a black and gray space-dyed ponte to make myself my own skirt after we get through the county fair next week.

P.S. I recently discovered the amazing Frixion pens that literally wipe off with a hot iron.  They were a handy tool to use for this project. Since they are erasable on paper as well, I did all my math for the skirt RIGHT IN THE BOOK. I can erase it later if I want. (I also love using them for grading my kids’ work since I can change their score when they correct their answers in a lesson).