I’ve always been a sucker for a tab. In fact, I’ve had a blog post on tabs sitting in my to-do list for about a year now. I like them for girls, I like them for boys, I like them for everyone. I particularly like them when I make Jon-Jons or Jumpers out of thicker fabric and I don’t want to pipe the top of the garment. I think they give the garment a polished look, without having to add bulk with piping.
So, this little pattern is now available here. Not gonna lie guys, it took me a minute to figure out how to draft a pattern. I tried several platforms and wound up landing on Photo Shop, if you’re interested in hearing more, let me know! I don’t mind sharing. Hopefully it’s one of those skills that gets easier with practice because I am loving being able to offer these .pdf downloads. You’ll notice a new tab in the menus on my website called, “All Downloads.” All of my purchasable .pdfs will now be found there.
My goal with these is to offer them at a price-point that is very affordable and accessible to all sewists. I know how big of an investment a pattern is, so I often find myself trying to hack existing patterns to get the look I want, without a crazy high price tag. This tab was born out of one of those hacks. I saw a ready-to-wear garment that I wanted to make, knew I could use a Jon-Jon pattern and drafted myself a tab. I continued to do that every time I wanted that garment in bigger sizes. Because of that, I now have this tab in sizes 6 month-4T. I’m thrilled to be able to offer it to you as well.
Anyway, I have ideas for hundreds of patterns and hacks. Hopefully the kiddos have ideas for hundreds of long naps so I can make them happen…I’ll keep you updated as I do. You all are awesome. Thank you for being interested in what I do and encouraging me to share. If you have ideas for patterns or hacks you’d like to see, comment below, I’d love to hear them!
ps. here’s a sneak of one of my pattern ideas….baby nap dress anyone?
7 Comments
Becky
I am a user of Photoshop and, yes, I’m interested in hearing more about your process of using it for your pattern drafting. Thanks for sharing. I enjoy reading your sewing blog!
ardyrd01@gmail.com
Hi! Thank you for reading ☺️. So I relied heavily on this blog post https://blog.spoonflower.com/2014/03/how-to-digitize-your-sewing-patterns/.
I have, up until this point, used mainly Lightroom. So, photoshop was pretty new to me. I found this post to be geared toward newbies like me. Now that I’ve started using it I love it though! I also found that I got a better look if I used “stroke” instead of “fill” for my shapes but that post pretty much covers it all. The biggest step is making sure your pattern piece scans in at actual size and using the grid view to facilitate that. I’ll likely take pictures of my pattern next time on my cutting board for reference.
Becky
Thank you!
Dee Anne Proctor
If you would be so kind to explain to my 6+ decades old self that sewn, stitched, hand embroidered, smocked, taped, pinned, and once glued in a pinch garments..,, what is a “tab”? I want to know! I love reading your posts and seeing the pictures of your family.
Thank you so much.
ardyrd01@gmail.com
Hi! No problem! It’s just that little extra piece sewn into the side seam under each arm. It has a button holding the other end of it down. Hope that was clear! I’m so grateful that you take the time to read! Thanks for following along ☺️
stepcp
Great idea! I, too, love tabs! I’m thinking you could cut it shorter but on the fold to use in center front or back. ❤️
ardyrd01@gmail.com
Wouldn’t that be cute!! Great idea ☺️