How to Lengthen or Shorten a Sewing Pattern

Do you have a particularly long or short torso, legs or arms? If this sounds like you, you might want to consider lengthening or shortening your sewing patterns to get a better fit.

It's Nikki here, and today I'm going to talk you through lengthening or shortening pattern pieces. The first set of diagrams below show a bodice, which you can adjust if you have a long or short upper body, but you can use the same technique on loads of pattern pieces - trouser legs or skirts if you have long or short legs, sleeves if you have long or short arms, you name it. I’ll also talk you through how to lengthen or shorten the rise on trouser and shorts patterns. This is one of the great things about sewing - you can adjust just the parts you need to get a garment to fit your unique shape.

If you are lengthening a pattern piece that has a matching pair or facing that will be affected by the length - for example, a front bodice will often join a back bodice and sometimes a front opening facing - make the same adjustment to the matching pattern pieces, else you'll end up with a wonky garment (not cool).

Ready? Let's get stuck in to...

How to lengthen a sewing pattern

If you want to lengthen your pattern piece, cut along the bottom "lengthen or shorten" line, to separate your pattern pieces into two.

How to Apply Heat Transfers to Clothing (with video!)

Are you looking for an easy way to customise your garments and your latest sewing projects to make them even more unique to you? Heat transfers are a fun way to update your clothing with motifs, names, graphics prints, quotes and more! But be warned, they can be seriously addictive once you know how to apply them!

For our recently released Billie sweatshirt sewing kits, we included the cutest heat transfer drawn by award-winning graphic designer and colour queen Liz Harry. Whether you're looking for extra help applying these transfers or are using something different to embellish your garments, keep reading for a step-by-step guide and video...

What is a heat or iron-on transfer?

Iron-on or heat transfers are ink-printed designs that can be applied to clothing and fabric with the application of heat. Think motifs on sweatshirts, quotes on t-shirts and much more! This can take your simple me-made clothing or RTW styles from plain and simple to totally unique. 

Unlike iron-on vinyl, the soft finish of the transfer makes it feel like part of the garment, and it stretches and rebounds without cracking!

How to apply a heat transfer

Heat transfers can easily be applied at home - yay! You don't need any fancy equipment, just an iron, an ironing board and some baking (parchment) paper or release paper.

Team Button's Marnie Makes!

You may have guessed that this blog post was in the pipeline after all the Marnie love we've been showering on our socials, with makes from Team Buttons popping up here and there since we launched the sewing pattern in September. 

It's time to get the gang together and share our Marnie blouses and mini-dresses (so far) all in one place...

"There's a bit of a story behind this one. In early 2020, Team Buttons gave me a Liberty gift voucher for my birthday (I know!). Then along came a global pandemic and a new baby, which put an end to any opportunities for leisurely in-store browsing. 2.5 years later, over the summer I finally got the chance to go into town, the planner that I am having already chosen the print I wanted (also knowing I had to be quick in store as my 4yo son was with me).

They didn't have that print in stock (doh!) so, on a whim and inspired by the cottage-core trend, I picked out three different colourways of the Betsy print. This is a bit of a style departure for me and isn't a print I would have ordinarily picked, but I LOVE the result!" - Tilly

"I stitched up this gingham seersucker version of the Marnie dress whilst we were developing the pattern and perfecting the instructions. As soon as I put it on I was obsessed! I love the tuck detail on the front yoke - it's so pretty and surprisingly easy to sew! 

Marnie's easy fit means my dress is super comfy and I'm especially enjoying wearing it now the weather's getting cooler with tights and boots. I've got plans for another gingham Marnie dress in the works, this time in a gorgeous rust-coloured fabric from Fabric Godmother that I treated myself to at the Knitting and Stitching show." - Frances

Behind the Scenes at The Knitting and Stitching Show

Tilly wearing a Marnie blouse

What a wonderful time we had at our first in-person sewing show since 2020! 

During the first week of October 2022, we had a stand displaying our sewing patterns and books at The Knitting and Stitching Show at the beautiful Alexandra Palace in London.

Fancy a walk around our colourful stand? Of course you do...

After a couple of eventless years, to go out and interact with our lovely customers again was so much fun. We got to meet lots of crafty folks (old and new) and chat about all things sewing, swoon over your handmade outfits and see which TATB sewing pattern you're adding to your collection next!