Fitting the Nell Blouse + Dress

Ready to make our new Nell blouse + dress pattern and want to know how to get a great fit? Well, you're in the right place!

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

Nell is designed to be loose-ish fitting, with bust darts to give some shaping to the bodice, quite a bit of ease at the waist, and a swishy, gathered skirt. All of this means that the pattern is pretty simple to fit, and so you might find you only need to make a couple of adjustments, or perhaps none at all!

In this post, we're going to cover:

• Making a toile 
• Choosing your size
• Lengthening or shortening pattern pieces 
• How to combine pattern sizes 
• How to do bust adjustments for a bust darted bodice 
• How to do wide and narrow shoulder adjustments

NEW NELL SEWING PATTERN + ONLINE WORKSHOP!

Are you ready to meet your new favourite sewing pattern? Introducing the Nell blouse + dress pattern, a mix 'n' match design that has so many views you could literally wear it all summer long! 

But wait, that's not all! We’ve also created a brand new online workshop to accompany the pattern – Learn to Sew a Button-Front Dress or Blouse. The course covers a whole load of garment-sewing essentials, so it's perfect for budding sewists, or anyone in need of a refresher. 

With so much to tell you about Nell, we'd better get going...

How to Sew Welt Pockets

Welt pockets look neat, chic and impressive - as well as being functional, of course! They have a reputation for being a bit tricky to sew, but take your time and you will be amazed at the finished result. 

Welt pockets are an optional feature on the Tilly and the Buttons Thea trousers sewing pattern. The pattern instructions take you through each step with annotated photos. As we know some of you prefer to see sewing in motion, we've created a video to show you the process of making the welt pockets too.

What are welt pockets?

Welt pockets (sometimes known as "jetted pockets") are sleek internal pockets created by cutting though the fabric of a garment. You often see them on tailored trousers, skirts, jackets or coats. 

How do you sew a welt pocket?

Watch our step-by-step video tutorial on how to sew a welt pocket.

Remember, we are demonstrating on the Thea trousers pattern - if you're using a different pattern, the piece names and markings may be a bit different, but you should be able to use the same technique.

Fitting the Thea trousers

Are you planning on making the Thea trousers and want some extra help on how to get a great fit? Then look no further as this post is for you.

Thea is a pair of high waisted, wide leg trousers with a choice of two lengths and multiple pocket variations. As we're all different shapes and sizes, there are various adjustments we can do to improve the fit of our me-mades. In this blog post we're going to cover the most common adjustments you may want to consider making to your Thea trousers, but bear in mind you probably won't need to do all of them, or even any at all!

In this post we're going to cover: 

• Making a toile 
• Choosing your size 
• Lengthening or shortening pattern pieces 
• How to combine pattern sizes 
• Other common trouser fitting adjustments