Preparing to Cut

Before cutting the fabric there are some things you need to do.

First off you should preshrink your fabric. Do this by washing and drying the fabric the way you plan to launder it once its made. Some fraying is normal, just work around it.

Next you'll need to straighten the grain. You can test the grain but almost all fabrics are a little bit off so its easiest to just straighten it. Do this by pulling diagonally on opposite corners, then pulling diagonally on the other set of corners. Like this:

You should also true the pattern if its fitted and you aren't sure about how it will fit. This pattern is very basic and loose so you won't need to do that with this one. We'll do that with the next tutorial.

Next cut out the pattern with a separate set of scissors, using your fabric scissors on paper will dull them faster. If you want to keep the pattern in tact you can use tracing paper and a wheel to trace the correct size OR you can fold at the cutting lines and snip through the curved areas (this is the easier method and the method we'll use this time). If you vary from sizes you can trace from the cutting line at one size to the cutting line of the next size. If you want to be able to use your pattern with multiple sizes you can fold the straight lines and clip in and fold on the curves like so. I have left a couple of places on the armscye unfolded so that you can see how it is clipped. If you need to use a larger size you can just unfold it back.

Helpful Hint: All the major pattern companies mark cutting lines but some independent companies mark seam lines. Always double check whether seam allowances are included and if so how wide they are.