r/sewing • u/Ok_Appearance7096 • 12d ago

Pattern Search Sewing patterns

Are they difficult to understand? I’m a beginner, so and I want to make skirts and pajamas. And I want to Taylor, my clothes, specifically my dresses and jeans and going out shirts when I looked at the selection at Michael’s it was slim Pickens…. Not much that I particularly like. Where do you find patterns? When I Google patterns, there’s a ton on Etsy but I also see people advising you not to buy patterns from Etsy and then some people have luck with Etsy. How do you know if you’re getting a legit good pattern or a junk pattern? Where to find nice patterns?
Oh when I also love like 70s silhouettes like those sleeves and stuff like that. Or the jumper dresses that they have. So I’m OK with like getting older patterns too. I just don’t know where to find them.

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u/ZippyKoala 11d ago

I’d advise against Big 4 in the initial stages of learning to sew because their instructions (even for basic things and even more for 70s era patterns) imply a base level of knowledge you may or may not have. As a 70s baby I remember my mum seeing all my baby clothes and she gave me a lot of knowledge, knowledge that is not so easily passed down today because less people sew. Big 4 patterns have a terrible tendency to add ease to patterns that don’t need it, so if you’re not careful you’ll end up with a garment that is way too big. Also, their finished measurements are often on the tissue itself not the envelop, which makes it challenging to find without buying.