There is a definite trend away from printable paper templates when you buy a PDF sewing pattern and to my mind, that is no bad thing. No really, hear me out. In terms of sustainability alone it is a good idea (those trees are our lungs here on planet earth after all) and this doesn’t even start to include arguments about paper and toner running out or those amongst us who do not have a printer- that would be me.

Imagine it is Saturday evening and you feel like sewing. You can nip onto any one of a number of online shops and purchase an instant download pattern in seconds. But what if you cannot print off the pattern? That is the end of the Sunday sewing sesh that you had planned. AND it looks like rain. Would have been perfect to sit inside and sew….

Right, I am on it! I have had a few people ask me why my patterns do not have a template and they are completely on board with the reasons outlined above but they felt a bit nervous simply cutting into the fabric using only a ruler and rotary cutter. And I do see the irony here – this method uses paper too so why not just have a print out and be done with it? Well because when we draft our own we can re-use paper, we can use junk mail or anything at all. Show me the printer that will put up with that! Rant over and thank you for listening.

Before I go on though, can I point out that this advice is only good for Folk Art Factory bag patterns. I cannot guarantee that it will work for all other patterns from other designers but when I design a pattern, I use very simple geometric shapes that anyone can cut out. This makes it easy to transfer the measurements to paper so that you can work as usual (and well inside the comfort zone- I understand what it feels like to be a beginner and a bit nervous about making the jump).

And I thought, you know what, there is a blog post in this! I bet people would love to know how to take a cut and measure pattern and make themselves a reliable paper template and then use it! So here it is. I have referenced my Serengeti Weekender Bag and in this post I will explain the equipment that you need, how to use it, how to transfer the measurements and how to deal with curves.

The first thing to talk about is what is a template. When we say that, we mean the old fashioned paper pattern that you can cut out and pin to the fabric and then use it to cut around.

In a lot of modern patterns, my own included, you get a cutting list instead. This is the same as a template but you use a rotary cutter, mat and ruler and cut straight onto the fabric instead. scary if you are a beginner.

Or you can use the cutting info to make a paper template, just like you are use to having but with no printing and, best of all, no mysterious matching up of endless pages – I have seen a printable PDF template for a wedding dress with 175 pages! No thank you! So what do we need to get this job done?

• pattern paper. This is usually the sort which comes in huge sheets and it is especially made for pattern template making. You do NOT need this! A roll of brown paper is perfectly good enough- newspaper has even been used in the past. If your paper is from offcuts or is too small, tape the pieces together so that you get a piece large enough. Generally, the paper needs to be 1″ larger all around than the piece that you are drawing.
• a marker of some sort. You need to be able to see it and read it. If you are using old magazines or junk mail catalogues, get a thick black marker so that you can see the lines.
• a good ruler in your chosen system (either metric or imperial). I am using an imperial ruler because my patterns are in inches and yards.
• paper scissors. Don’t even THINK about cheating and using those good fabric scissors ‘just this one time’

Make sure that your pattern paper (whichever sort you are using) is large enough and flat. I have been known to iron mine to get rid of annoying creases. All of my patterns have the seam allowance calculated in already so you do not have to worry about that.

As I mentioned earlier, we are going to look at the Serengeti Weekender Bag and in particular the end panels. These start out as rectangles and they are shaped so once you know how to do them, you will be able to do anything pattern piece at all.

Begin with the right sized piece of paper. For example, your cutting notes for the Serengeti Bag say that the end panel is 10 1/2″ wide x 12 1/2″ tall so you need a piece of paper around 12″ wide x 14″ tall. To begin with, draw the rectangle on as it asks in the cutting notes

As you can see, it is a perfectly normal rectangle but that is actually all there is to it. You could cut this out now and that would be your pattern piece.

My paper is not quite large enough as you will see from my drawing. It was the best bit for the job and I didn’t want to waste it. I have been at this awhile though, if you are new, make sure the paper is bigger.

We want some curves though so we need a couple of ’round things’. These round things can be literally anything and my pattern will always make a size or object suggestion. In this case, we need something like a coffee cup for the bottom corners (about 3 1/2″ diameter) and a dinner plate (about 10″ diameter) for the top bit.

To round the bottom corners, quite simply place the cup upside down (almost all things are used upside down) onto the the corner to be rounded and draw around it like this

Then cut that bit out

Repeat for the other lower corner.

The top is a gentler curve, hence we have a larger object. Now we want symmetry so fold the pattern piece in half vertically and put the plate onto the template so that it hits the very top centre and the side about 4″ down from the top.

That bit of paper that you see on the top edge is the bit that will be trimmed off.

So draw around the plate and cut both pieces out together.

Be super careful that the folded pieces don’t shift during this process because that will ruin the symmetry. If you have a rotary cutter and mat, use that instead of drawing around the plate

Okay now we have this – all nicely shaped and ready to use. And that was an example of a more involved bit! So if you found that a breeze, you will not have any issues with other bits and pieces which need shaping.

Sometimes a pattern will have an extra step but that will always be detailed in my notes and tips so that you know exactly what you are supposed to be doing.

Right, I will leave you with that. So if you have seen a pattern that you love but have been put off because of the absence of a template, you don’t have to worry any more. I know that this is an extra step but it is so worth it and it is a great skill to have.

Happy sewing and see you again next time!

Debbie xx