Designing a colour block Drew sweatshirt (free colouring sheet!)

Making a colour block Drew sweatshirt? We have a fun freebie for you – a colouring sheet download to help you plan your make!

Download the free colour block Drew colouring sheet

Print out the sheet (or two or three), grab some colouring pencils or pens, and have fun trying out some fun colour combos.

How to do a full bust adjustment on a raglan seam bodice

Wondering how to adjust a raglan sleeve sewing pattern for a larger bust? If you're used to making a full bust adjustment (AKA "FBA") on your sewing patterns, but don't know how to go about it on a garment that has raglan seams attaching the sleeves to the bodice, then this tutorial is for you.

First up, how do you know if you need to make a full bust adjustment? 

This sewing pattern alteration is often required if you have a fuller bust. If you buy or sew clothes to fit the fullest part of your bust, you'll often find that there is excess fabric pooling at your shoulders and upper chest, because this part of you is smaller in comparison.

However, when it comes to deliberately oversized tops with deep raglan sleeves - such as the Drew sweatshirt sewing pattern, which I'll be demonstrating on here - these garments have a lot of intentional design ease around this area anyway. So in most cases you won't actually need to make a full bust adjustment - you can select your size based on your high bust measurement and simply make that size without any bust alterations.

But, if your full bust is 5 or more pattern sizes bigger than your high bust, then I would recommend making a full bust adjustment.

How much do I have to add to the bust? 

I'm going to briefly cover how you would work out how much to add to the bust in the adjustment, but do remember this is just a rough framework rather than an exact science.

Measure your high bust (your upper chest, just under your armpits). If you're making sizes 1-6 (UK 6-16) in our patterns, add 5cm (2in). If you're making sizes 7-15 (UK 18-34) in our patterns, add 10cm (4in). If you're making a pattern by another designer, you may need to add a different amount. Choose the pattern size with that full bust measurement – this is the size you’ll do your bust adjustment on. 

Now measure your full bust (fullest part, around the nipples) and compare it to the bust measurement on the pattern size you just selected. If your full bust is 5cm (2in) bigger than the pattern, you’ll be adding 5cm (2in) to the pattern; if it’s 7.5cm (3in) bigger, you’ll be adding 7.5cm (3in) and so on. For a garment in stretch knit fabrics (such as Drew), reduce this amount by 10-25% depending on how much stretch is in your fabric.

What you'll need:

• Your front bodice pattern piece (trace this off so you're not chopping up your original pattern)
• A pen or pencil
• A ruler (or pattern master tool if you have one)
• Scissors
• Tape or a glue stick
• A piece of paper slightly bigger than your pattern piece

Now you've got those ready, let's get into it!

How to make a full bust adjustment on a sewing pattern with raglan sleeves

Fitting the Drew sweatshirt sewing pattern

Making the Drew sweatshirt sewing pattern and looking for some advice on fitting? Then this post is for you!

Drew is available in printed and PDF formats, in sizes UK 6-34 / US 2-30 / EUR 34-62 / AUS 6-34.

The good news is, with its deep raglan sleeves and plenty of ease, Drew is designed to be oversized and easy-fitting, so you might find you only need to make a couple of adjustments, or perhaps none at all!

If you only take one thing from this post, remember that you're always going to see some folds and drag lines with this style of sweatshirt - it's all part of the slouchy style, so don't be tempted to overfit it!

In this post, we're going to cover:

• Making a toile
• Choosing your size
• Lengthening or shortening pattern pieces
• Combining pattern sizes
• Making adjustments for a larger bust
• Adjusting the raglan seams for narrow or wide shoulders
• Raising or lowering the neckline
• Adapting the cuff for differing wrist sizes

Meet the Drew sweatshirt sewing pattern + online workshop!

Say hello to our brand new sewing pattern - the Drew sweatshirt! Speedy to sew, and an absolute DELIGHT to wear, we think you're going to be as obsessed with this pattern as we are. 

This pattern is the perfect introduction to sewing with stretch knit fabrics - whether you make it on a regular sewing machine (with a zigzag stitch) or on an overlocker (serger) is up to you!

But wait, there's more! We’ve also created an online workshop to accompany the pattern - Sew a Sweatshirt on an Overlocker or Serger. This course will teach you how to whip up stretch knit garments with confidence on an overlocker or serger - without resorting back to your sewing machine!

So grab a cuppa, settle in, and let us fill you in on everything you need to know about Drew...