Reply To: How to Sew a Skirt Using Plaid Fabric

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

Hi there, We do not have a tutorial on working with plaid fabric yet, but I will add it to my list.  Sewing with plaid fabric isn’t hard, as long as you pay attention and aligning everything up when you pin it them together.  The most important part in working with plaid is the cutting out stage.  A good rule of thumb is to purchase 25% more fabric than what is called for so you have extra for matching.  If you have to cut out two pieces from the same pattern (and they will be stitched together), you have a couple options.  Either you can fold your fabric, making sure the plaids are perfectly aligned on both sides, pin fabric in place to keep them aligned and then pin your pattern to it.  The other way, which might take a little longer but I think will be easier, is to cut out 1 and then turn the fabric piece over and use it as your pattern for cutting out the next piece.   That way you can physically see if you’re plaids are lining up exactly.  Before removing your pattern from the fabric though, look for the predominate plaid stripe and draw lines on your pattern piece to mark them.  You don’t have to draw them all the way across the pattern, just about 3″ or so from the edge.   Take the next pattern piece that would fit with the previous piece and lay the patterns on top of each other. Make sure you’re lining them up on the correct seam (more likely they should be right sides together) and that the waistline is lined up.  Transfer your plaid lines that you drew on your first pattern piece onto the new pattern, then lay new pattern piece on your fabric so the predominate plaid matches with your lines and cut it out.  When it comes to other pieces that are sewn together, make sure that you’re lining up according to the seam allowance line and not the cutting line.  Just repeat until all your pieces are cut out.  Hope this helps. 🙂