Cutting out patterns

I am going to be totally honest and say that cutting out clothing patterns bores me - there I have said it!

Not great when you have decided to make a dress!

It is all the pinning and precision cutting with scissors.

I just can't get the cutting with dress scissors thing right. I have made many clothes over the years and this is the one thing that stumps me. Sewing and following the pattern is fine, but the pinning and cutting drives me crazy and then I rush through the making just so I can get it finished...

Result is clothes I don't like...

So this time I was determined to find another way. I have made a bed sheet version of the Tova- well more like tested out the complicated bits! And I have bought my gorgeous Moda Cotton Weave.

Pondering over how best to cut the fabric I realised that I am a demon with a rotary cutter. My hatred of the dress scissors could be side stepped if I used my cutter... but would it work?

Turns out yes! Loads of people are using their rotary cutters. Now I feel like a silly girl in the class!

Then I found out about pattern weights. My problems with pins are solved!

Very late last night I made 12 of these little beauties:

They are a dinky 2.5" square and filled with rice. Of course having made them I needed to test them!

I placed them all over the pattern pieces and grabbed a rotary cutter with a new blade.

They worked. It was fast, easy and the edges are smooth. Total genius!

I am so excited I have managed to overcome the 'worst' part of dress making for me!

(It is a good thing as I have bought yardage from the sale section at Hawthorne Threads for more dresses and tunics... more on that later in the week!)