New ideas coming

Dear friends,

I did not put much attention to this blog for quite a while, and now I am coming back with lots of ideas in my head. I've seen lots of comments asking me about instruction to sew the dresses on my blog, and I think many beginner don't really know where to start. Therefore, I am thinking of making some tutorials (maybe video tutorials) to help them with the steps of making a dress from my patterns.

Right now I do not have time, but in a month after I have settled down with my family (we are moving to Toronto in early March), I will start with this plan.

Hope you will enjoy sewing just like I do!

Love,

Tiana

Sketches

Although I have not been able to finish my September collection (look how unprofessional I am, oh but I am just a hobbyist after all, please forgive me for being so amateur!), I could not help but sketching out my ideas. I am so afraid that if I do not draw them out, I will forget about them in a day or two. And poor me! I cannot turn them all into patterns! I wish I can have as much time as I want and do not have to worry about anything except for doing what I really like (drafting MY patterns, of course).

Now, let’s see a few of my sketches that I have drawn during the last few days. Many of my sketches are left in the sketchbook not being colored, so there will be more to come.

Well, you see, there are 20 of them, and there are more left in the sketchbook not colored. I am so overwhelmed with ideas and I am so desperate I do not have enough time to make them all.

For October, at first I planned to choose some of these sketches to make the October collection, but now I am so confused – I just like them all! I think I will choose to make one pattern for each week of the month. Well, that’s the plan. Hope you will like it!

Give me your opinion if you specifically want to turn any of these sketches into patterns. I will make them for you, my dear readers!

Love,

Tiana

Tada, the Devon dress is coming!

I have been working on the September collection for a few days – and that’s why there have been no new patterns this month yet. I plan to finish the whole collection before sharing them all to you.

But, there is always a ‘but’, the Devon dress is just too beautiful that I must share with you right away! Just look how it turns out from this sketch

to this 3D simulation (which is 95% accuracy), on a size M model:

And this is the Devon dress in size 5XL. Do you think that it flatters just any body?

Do you think that the Devon dress is lovable? I definitely think so – and I will make one for myself 🙂

Just wait, it will come in a few days, with a far wider size range than the designer stores.

Of course, this Devon dress will be available for free for a limited time. So please be quick before it has a price (a very low price 🙂)

If you are interested in making this darling, please visit my new home: Tiana's Closet

Love,

Tiana

September 2019 collection

Hi guys,

I have been working like an amateur, well, with no plan in mind at all, so the efficiency has been low. In order to change this, I set up a plan to follow. Each month, I will create a collection of the garments that I want to make patterns – and I will try my best to finish these patterns on time.

Because this is the first month I work on a schedule, the collection only consists of a few pieces: 3 dresses, 1 top and 1 skirt. Of course, the pieces will be made for 2 size ranges: Regular and Petite, so there will be 10 patterns to make. I think it is good enough to keep me busy during my limited free time.

Now let’s have a look at the collection – sorry for my poor drawing skill, I wanted to make them look better, but failed 🙂

Devon dress

When sketching this Devon dress, I thought that it should be made with light weight crepe fabric, in light pastel color. It will be super feminine and elegant, and it will be so suitable for a fall wedding!

Lynn dress

The Lynn dress is totally different from the ladylike Devon dress. It should be made with stretchy fabric for a bodycon fit, and the sheer frilled hem will add some flirty feel to the whole outfit. I think I must make this one – in black!

Claire dress

The Claire dress is yet another girly one, with tiered skirt and mock neck. At first I thought it will be nice in green, now look again, I guess white can also be a pretty nice choice.

Amy top and Sarah skirt

Amy bat wing top and Sarah pencil skirt is a nice combo. Of course you can mix the Amy top with jeans, shorts or flared skirt, and mix Sarah skirt with tank top, button down shirt, or T-shirt. You have countless choice to create great outfits from these basic pieces.

Now, what do you think of my September collection? Do you think of making at least one for yourself? Please share your thought with me.

All new patterns will be posted on my new website: Tiana's Closet. Please visit for more patterns in the future!

Love,

Tiana

I am MOVING!

Hi guys,

Thank you for your interest in The Little Sewist blog. I have enjoyed the time sharing free PDF sewing patterns with you over the last 2 years.

You may be wondering what I have been doing since my last post last week. Well, actually I have been busy setting up a new website.

After talking with a friend of mine about the advantages and disadvantages of blogging on Google Blogger and blogging on my own website, I finally decided that I should have my own digital presence on the Internet. Why? My friend says Google can delete my blog any time without notice! And his blog, which he put lots of efforts on, disappeared after one night without him knowing why.

OK, I do not want my time and effort to be wasted, so I am MOVING!

My new home is named Tiana's Closet. It is still a place for me to share my patterns with you, and is also where I provide my service: Making custom made patterns for those who want to have a pattern made for their personal measurements (and at a very reasonable price!) I know the problem of patterns made in preset sizes - and I think every woman deserves to have unique patterns made for them, no matter what size and body shape they are.

Please support me! I will still be posting free patterns on Tiana's Closet for you, lovely home sewists!

Love,

Tiana the Little Sewist

New dress this week

I am making a dress that is a bit sophisticated for new sewers, but I really like this one, so please wait for me to finish the pattern for it.

Here is a sneak peek of the structured dress that I am making. It was inspired by the designs of the famous brand Alexander McQueen and Zac Posen. I just adore the neat cuts and lines of their designs and always wish that one day I can make such masterpieces.

If you like this dress, wait for the pattern! It will be available in regular and petite sizes, soon!

Love,

Tien the Little Sewist

New dress pattern coming

I am making myself a new dress. And of course, first I have to make a pattern for it. I really love how using 3D CAD program can help me to view how the pattern turns out before I even make it with the accuracy of over 90%.

I just learned how to make a video clip out of a 3D simulation, so today I will give you a peek at the dress I am making. I tend to make simple dresses - not because I am not good at sewing, but because I do not have much time to spend on complex projects. And simple dresses do not mean that they are not beautiful. You must have heard about the minimalist trend - I am a big fan of it. I love using luxurious looking fabric and making simple pieces. I think they look more like what royals wear - simple, modest, elegant and no one can deny their beauty.

Let's see how the pattern turns out in 3D simulation, do you think it is worth sewing?

And this is how it looks in motion. I really love how I can visualize what I design immediately.

New pattern for hot summer: the sleeveless dropped waist dress

Well, it's hot now in the northern hemisphere. I have seen news about heat waves everywhere in many countries: Germany, France, India, and of course, my home country Vietnam. It is so terribly hot that I have to hide in the office most of the time during the day to protect my delicate skin from burning.

I am inspired to make a pattern for a dress meant for this kind of weather: the sleeveless dropped waist dress. It is a classic style, which carries the feeling of the 1920s. And the most important thing is that, it is  relaxed and comfortable for hot days.

The dropped waist dress typically fits loosely on the body, transitioning into a gathered or pleated skirt at the hip, rather than the natural waistline. This dress is suitable for many body shapes - either a slender woman or a plus size woman can look good in this dress. But it works best with specific body types (according to many articles that I have read):

- Slender women with smaller bust and hips: It helps to show off you legs, delicate collarbones and toned arms.

- Women with apple shape: The loose fit of the dropped waist dress helps to cover up the mid-section of your body.

- Plus sizes: many brands opt for dropped waist dresses for plus size women. If you are relatively straight up and down, or carry your weight around your mid section, you may find this dress suitable. Choose a more loosely fitting dress for a more flattering fit.

- Hourglass figure: Although a dropped waist dress is not the best choice for women with perfect hourglass body shape, it is still a nice choice for comfort. A woman with hourglass figure can find it less flattering than other fitted dress, but it is not a problem, you are still beautiful after all.

-  Pear shaped figure: Many recommend against choosing a dropped waist dress for a heavy bottomed woman, however, if you are pear shaped and in love with this style, choose a dress with strong detailing around the neckline to divert attention from your hips.

Now, let's see how the pattern looks like in 3D simulation that I have made:

The dress will be available tomorrow when I finish grading and converting it into printable PDF.

Love,

Tien the Little Sewist

3D simulation for my night gown

Wow, it's been a week since I talked about a night gown pattern. I almost finished the job for the pattern of the base size, but then -- my baby fell ill, and it was a nightmare! He had high fever for 3 days and I had to take him to the hospital. Although I know that it is normal for babies to fall ill, I still worry too much and feel exhausted every time he has even just a slight fever.

Now he got better (thank God), and I can return to the project. Let's see how the sketch turns out to be in 3D simulation!

What do you think about this dress? It turns out nice, isn't it? Can it be worn to a prom or a party? I am confident that it can!

I adjusted the 3D model so it looked more like a real life woman, not a supermodel like you use to see on the high street fashion websites. But still she looks beautiful in the dress, right? I believe my sister will look gorgeous in this piece also!

There are comments on my blog asking for base patterns. I promise I will post them one day for you to practice. In the meantime, just be patient with me :)

Love you all,

Tien the Little Sewist

In the mood for a night gown

Dear readers,

I have been making patterns for quite some time, and got some emails from you encouraging me to make more and more practical and simple patterns for you to sew for themselves and their beloved ones. Of course I will, because pattern making is one of my biggest hobbies – together with sewing and watching haute couture shows and playing with my little baby boy. You may not believe it, but I have tons of ideas in my head, and pattern making is just one way for me to get them out before my little head gets overloaded.

My sister has been urging me to make her a night gown for the party next month – and although I am quite busy, I start thinking of a night gown that is simple but still sexy enough for her to be the center of attention that night. My sister is also a petite, but she has quite long and straight legs so she does not look too short. I believe a gown that is able to show off her legs may be a good choice.

I have sketched the ideas, and this seems to be a good option – what do you think?

Now, I am all pumped up! Let’s start making the pattern for this little darling. I will share with you the pattern for this dress after I finish making it and try it on the 3D model in the CAD program.

Love!

Tine the Little Sewist

New dress pattern on the go

Hi guys,

It's been (another) long time for a free pattern to appear, but don't be upset with me: I've been trying to create a new nice darling for you my dear readers!

I just want to give you a peek on my new design: the flounce hem dress! I have been working on it for a while now and is getting to the final stage of grading it. So be patient, there will be a little more time before you can sew this nice dress.

Just look at the 3D simulation I've created here. Do you think it's worth the wait?

I am now a big big fan of CAD, more specifically, Optitex 2D/3D Pattern Making Software. It's a wonderful, smart and efficient software that any designers will need to create their designs without having to go through countless trials and errors before coming to a final product. It saves me big time!

Just wait for me, I will give you this dress pattern in the near future.

Love,

Tine the Little Sewist

Long time no see

Hi all,

It’s been a long time since my last post. I have been quite busy with my big plan of immigrating to Canada. That was tons of work – from sitting in IELTS exam, accessing diplomas and preparing all kinds of documents. I spent over 6 months to finish all the Canadian authorities required and finally submitted my application in April 9. Although I do not know what lies await for me in Canada, but I truly hope that it is better than what I am having now in Vietnam. Lots of Vietnamese people are moving out of the country to run away from environment pollution, extreme corruption and low quality of life and I am no exception. You may say there is no guarantee that life in a faraway country could be better or worse, but it’s always worth trying.

Now my plan has reached the waiting-for-PR period which can take at least 4 months, I am not as busy anymore. Because I can’t stand being idle, I’m back to my favorite activity of sewing and designing! I even dream of opening a tailor shop in the future when I arrive in Canada – well, there is a long way to go, but no-one taxes your dream, right?

Although I did not have time to write blog, I did try to improve my skill in designing whenever I want to escape from the stress of work and other pressure in life. I have a good friend who is a professional pattern designer in a big company in my country, and he taught me a lot in pattern making – some are secrets that professionals seldom share with other people – during our coffee talks during weekends. He also introduced me to computer-aided designing programs used by large companies and their advantages over Adobe Illustrator which most of indie designers are using.

Now besides Adobe Illustrator, I am learning to use a professional pattern drafting software called Lectra Modaris, which is a very famous computer-aided designing program used by professionals all around the world. I bet this can help me a lot in the future. Of course, this means I can share with you more professionally looking patterns. I think that making separate pattern for each size is quite time-consuming and can be inconvenient if you want to download patterns for many sizes, so I will try to come up with nested patterns. You can download just one file, print out and cut whichever size you need, or even cut between sizes if your body is not all one size. I will have a blogpost about blending sizes to your personal shape.

My little boy is now over one and half years old, and I found myself highly interested in sewing cute clothing for him. Of course, I became enthusiastic about designing for babies and kids also – they are so adorable! Don’t be surprised if you see patterns for little babies and kids in the near future! And if you are a mother, let’s expect cute designs for your darlings!

You are going to see a lot of changes in my designs, and I hope you like it!

Love XXX

Tine the Little Sewist