Learn new skills and join us in our online course, where you’ll learn all about pattern-making in a fun and easy way.

In this course, you’ll gain the confidence to pattern-make your own styles and enjoy experimenting with volume and darts. You can use these skills to create 100’s of different patterns, giving you the freedom to design your own clothes exactly how you want!

Next course:
6 weeks: starting 27th April 2023

All the material is pre-recorded, so you can learn at your own pace and ask questions along the way! Alys will be checking in on the community group throughout each week to give expert advice!

Course modules:

Introduction

Meet your tutor - About Alys
Introduce yourself - let's get to know each other!

Let's get started

What is pattern making?
What is pattern hacking?
Tips for pattern making
Pattern terminology
Block patterns - What is a block pattern?
How to use the Unpicked 1/2 scale blocks
Tools you’ll need and how to use them

Darts

What is dart manipulation?
Bust apex - how to find them on your patterns
Moving a dart
Truing a dart
Dart manipulation examples and inspiration
Moving a dart into a seam
Dart into a seam examples and inspiration
Moving a dart into a yoke seam
Turn a dart into a pleat or gather
Turning a dart into waist volume/ dartless bodice
How to sew darts

Design lines

Adding a seam to a pattern
How to add design lines across a pattern
What they can be used for
Design lines examples and inspiration
Tips for sewing complex design lines

Flare

Adding flare to a straight panel
Adding flare examples and inspiration
Adding flare into a top
Flared sleeve
Moving a dart for volume - Creating an A-line skirt
Adding a seam line and flare - Top design
Adding a seam line and flare - Asymmetric skirt design
Seam and flare examples and inspiration

Gather

Different ways of adding gather
Adding gather to a top
Gathered sleeve (Top and bottom)
Gathered sleeve hem
Gathered sleeve head
How to sew gather to control the measurements
Adding gather to shaped panels
Using a facing to control gather
Creating a facing
Facings with darts
Gather examples and inspiration
Adding seam lines and gather
Seam and gather - examples and inspiration
Adding gather into straight panels
Deciding how much volume to add
Creating tiered garments
Other tiered examples
Sewing gather

Pattern making

Checking patterns - Walking the seams
Using base patterns and pattern hacking
Deciding which base pattern to use
Getting started with pattern making
Turning a design into a pattern
How to measure yourself
Making a toile
How to transfer markings from toile to pattern

ESSENTIALS

Checking patterns - Walking the seams
Checking patterns - Fixing uneven seams
Labelling patterns
Truing seams
Adding seam allowance
Tracing a pattern
Lengthening or shortening a pattern
Grainlines
Squaring off a pattern
Creating a hinge
Creating a facing
Lengthening/shortening patterns
Creating a channel

Most of all..

You'll learn how to experiment, sample ideas and problem solve, so you can take the designs you’ve been dreaming of and start wearing them!

We know everyone learns differently, so we've included lots of visual content to break down pattern making in a fun and easy way.

Gain access to:

Video tutorials
Step-by-step illustrations
Design inspiration
Try-it-yourself exercises
A community group

We design our online courses to be as hands-on as real-life workshops, yet with the flexibility to work in your own time.

You can ask questions along the way and get expert help. You'll gain access to our course platform and an amazing community group - a space to ask questions, share inspiration and cheer each other on!

How many hours a week?

If you can, we recommend allowing 2 hours a week to get the most out of the course. Then there's plenty more to explore and experiment with if you want to!

If you're short on time, key videos will be highlighted to watch before week 5 to allow you to take part in the design activities and start to make your dream clothes a reality! We can't wait to get started.

Please read the course content above before booking, and check out our FAQs if you have any questions.

FAQs

Giving this as a gift? Add on a cute gift card so they have something to 'open'!

Patterns Unpicked: The Essentials. Online pattern making course