Maybe this isn’t a secret, but medical exam table paper (the kind you sit on at the doctor) makes the perfect patternmaking paper. There is no better tracing paper and it’s pretty cheap, too! You can bet if I can find it on Amazon, that is where I will get it. Just last week I noticed I was running out of it. I panicked, naturally. Then I bought this case of 12
. (After shipping it was like 3 bucks a roll.) It will last me a looong time!
. (After shipping it was like 3 bucks a roll.) It will last me a looong time!
Instead of cutting straight into a commercial pattern, I usually trace out my size on exam paper and then cut that out. That makes it super easy to alter or change the pattern, which I typically do. That way I always have the full pattern pieces, too, so I don’t have to shelve out $15 more for another pattern once I mess up the first one. Leaving room to grow or shrink! (Which is especially great for kid patterns.)
And that’s your sewing 101 post for the day! More on patterns next week!
Great idea!
awesome idea! I will have to remember this if I ever start making clothes regularly :) Thank you!
OK…soooo smart! I have to alter all my patterns and now that my daughter is a preteen, she fits into some ladies patterns and we can save sooo much money this way!! Thank you thank you!!! :)
Hi Kate! I’ve been following you for awhile now and I don’t know why I haven’t left a comment yet?! LOL
Anyway, you are so inspiring to me. All of you projects continue to amaze me and I hope one day I can sew as well as you :) I just started sewing 3 weeks ago maybe? I find myself getting so frustrated with the simplest of things. I am teaching myself as I go and thanks to your blog, I am getting better each day. Thank you!
Brilliant!!! I never thought of using that!
Once again, you are genius!!!! This will be so easy to get, especially since I am a nurse. You have now left me wondering, why (since I see this on a daily basis) have I not thought of it?
Great idea!
Oooh, you just saved me a fortune on tracing paper, thank you! Off to hunt down medical paper on Amazon…
Thanks for sharing this. I just sent your link to my daughter who is studying fashion merchandise at college.
fabulous idea. You can send some to me! ;)
Genius! Not only am I going to troll Amazon for some, I am linking to this on my blog.
I use pattern tracing interfacing paper but it gets pricey after a while so this is great, except I have a question. How wide is it, just 21″? Because most of the time pattern tracing interfacing paper is doubled in the width so I can trace wider patterns too. Is this the same w/this paper? If not, have you had trouble with that before?
Reyna
http://www.glamglory.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/glamglory
That is sssoooo clever!