Flosstyle

Practical PDF Sewing Patterns

in Guest Blog Post· Pattern Release· Whirl Skirt

Whirl & twirl back into sewing

Hey there Flosstyle sewers 🙂

It’s Jess here to tell you a little about the new Whirl skirt pattern and my reintroduction to the sewing pattern world after – can you believe it – 2yrs!!!!
Wow that totally flew. They say time flies when you are having fun, but the last 2yrs have been anything but fun.
I’ll tell you what is lots of fun though, sewing up Whirl skirts 🙂

It all started with Flossy (my almost 6yr old) of course.

We were going through her wardrobe and removing the size 5 clothes to hand down to her little cousin who just loves handmade. It’s Winter here right now, so all I needed was enough tights and jumpers to see her through the next few months in a size 6, but she HAS to have skirts to go over her tights.

Off to the shops we went in search of skirts to wear over her tights in Winter and then through the coming Spring. Well, weren’t we disappointed by the available clothing to buy (again). Instead we ended up taking a detour to the fabric shop on the way home to pick out some skirt fabrics and then home to pick a pattern. On the way home she was very excited to be getting new mama-made skirts. Rambling about how they were going to have rainbow buttons and a pretty trim on the bottom and they were going to twirl! The girl knows what she likes…

I underestimated how much fabric a full circle skirt in a size 6 was going to require. The challenge was now set – to design her a twirly skirt that only needed 80cm or less of fabric.

Pencil in hand at the drafting table, I couldn’t get my mind to stop thinking about making this a really quick and easy sew for someone like Sonia (a favourite tester 😉 ) to make to sell.
Having hardly touched my sewing machines for way too long, I spent the next 3 days straight in the sewing room making skirts! I loved it…
The Wrap version was a little experiment with knit fabric that turned out just perfect for ballet!

As I was sewing, in my head I was mentally wording “Pin the two centers right sides together….”. A habit from many years of making patterns! In no time I had graded it right up to a size 14 in girls (which is roughly an 8 in ladies – so that I could make myself one too).
Excited by my new skirt design, the next question was how to go about publishing it? A quick photo to Gail and presto – we knew what to do.

This would be our first co-pattern. I sent her the pattern pieces and instructions and she formatted it into her new page layout. Two heads are better than one 🙂
I really, really, really enjoyed making this pattern. I’m so glad I did. It has re-ignited my love of sewing and being able to just focus on the pattern, but leave the responsibilities of running the business front to someone else is ideal for me right now. I just want to sew. I hope you enjoy sewing the Whirl skirt as much as I have <3

You can find all the info about the Whirl skirt pattern here on the website. There are loads of photos from the tester team to check out too. Find even more photos on the facebook page and facebook group

– Jess
(Founder & designer – Flosstyle Patterns)

 

in Flosstyle Patterns· Guest Blog Post· Pattern Release

Where it all began – 42 patterns in 4 years

An origins story unlike those you find in Hollywood! Flosstyle history starts in 2013 with a peasant dress…

 

The following excerpt is copied from The Organised Craft Den with permission.

Written by Jess Turner (Founder/Original Designer of Flosstyle Patterns)

 

42 may be the answer to life and the universe according to galaxy hitch-hikers, but it is also very meaningful to me.

Between March 2013 and February 2017 I spent 4 years designing, testing and publishing sewing patterns.

During that time I published 42 sewing patterns! That’s more than 10 per year or at one point I actually published 4 in the space of 4 weeks (they took months of prep, but were all ready around the same time).

My daughter was nick named Floss and it was sewing for her that got me into pattern making – hence the business name Flosstyle!

Let’s reminisce in roughly chronological order:

Fair warning, this is a rather long list…

It all started in 2013 with a peasant dress for my baby girl when she was just a newborn.

First released was the PIPPY with more options than you could poke a stick at, later re-released as the PARADISE with just 3 options.

 

To continue reading, find the complete original blog post at:

 

 

 

 

in Flosstyle Patterns· Pattern Release· Ventura Lite

Pattern Release: Ventura Lite

It’s Spring here in Australia and to celebrate we have released a brand new pattern perfect for that warmer weather that will be just around the corner.

The Flosstyle Ventura Lite, is a short sleeved raglan tee that comes in size newborn to kids 14 (woah! yes you read that right! Up to kids size 14). This pattern is suited to beginners with heaps of extra hints and tips for sewing with knits for the first time. And the best part is if you join our Facebook Group you will find a code you can use to get it for FREE!

 

You can find the pattern here.

 

Happy Sewing!