Should You Adjust Patterns or Draft a Custom Block? Here’s How to Decide

If you’ve been sewing for a while, chances are you’ve asked yourself this question:

Do I keep adjusting commercial patterns, or should I finally draft a custom block?

The truth is—both methods work. The right choice depends on your goals, your preferences, and how much time you’re willing to invest up front for long-term gain.

In this week’s video tutorial, I break down the pros and cons of each strategy so you can choose what fits you best:

Pattern Adjustments
Great for experimenting with different styles, seasonal sewing, or when you want to focus on improving your fitting skills through hands-on experience.

Custom Blocks
Best if you want consistent results, fewer fit samples, and full control over fit and design. Once your block is perfected, you can draft new styles or adapt commercial patterns with far more accuracy and confidence.

If you're still adjusting fit for every project, a custom block could e...

My Step by Step to a Perfect Fit

Once you've worked hard to fit a pattern to your body, there's no reason to stop there.

One of the best ways to save time—and get more from your sewing—is to reuse a pattern that already fits you well and create new style variations from it.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how I transformed a well-fitting jumpsuit pattern into a floaty, easy-fitting pair of pants. If you're looking to expand your handmade wardrobe with confidence and ease, this is a process you’ll want to see.

What You'll Learn in This Video:

• How to lower a waistline and re-shape it to suit your comfort
• How to draft a new waistband for elastic
• How to adjust the pocket opening after changing the waist
• Why reusing fitted patterns can make sewing more enjoyable and efficient

Your Pattern Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect—Just Fitted

I started with a jumpsuit pattern that I’d already customized to fit me well. From there, I:

• Marked and adjusted the waistline for comfort and style
...

The Pattern Fitting Process Step-By-Step

For me, the motivation to sew is usually sparked by a change in seasons, a special occasion, an unsuccessful shopping experience or travel plans. I recently had a burst of sewing inspired by summer travel plans so I wanted to share what I made and give you a little “behind the scenes” view of the pattern work that allowed me to skip the sample and cut into the fashion fabric with confidence.

In this week's video you'll discover this and so much more:

• How fitting before you sew can eliminate making a sample.
• Tips on grading a pattern to a different size.
• The role of balance lines in achieving a perfect fit.
• Comparing pattern measurements and body measurements to determine ease.
• The pattern fitting process step-by-step.
• Making a cup size adjustment without darts.

I encourage you not to skip through any of this video. In fact you may want to go back and review it again, I shared some really valuable tips on fitting a pant pattern. ...

Most sewers have experienced the frustration and disappointment of fitting issues that persist, even after taking the time to adjust the pattern and sew up a sample. Fit issues often persist because the adjustments you're making aren’t addressing the real cause of the problem.

As you already know, patterns are drafted for an industry standard that doesn’t necessarily reflect the variations in individual bodies, so today I'll share five essential pattern adjustments that can significantly improve how your patterns fit.

The most common fitting challenges sewers face today often come down to proportion and shape. This is why choosing your pattern size according to your bust, waist and hip girth  measurements just isn't enough to create a garment that fits. 

The truth is that your size choice is just a starting point. There is so much more to consider if you want to align the pattern to your individual body proportion and shape. The good news is that many of the fit issues we all face c...

Are your "go to" fitting fixes falling short lately?

If you're trying to understand why your standard rounded back or forward shoulder adjustment isn't working as well as it once did, this video is for you. 

You'll get a glimpse inside a Fitting Essentials Live group session and discover:

• Why your cup size is so important when choosing your size.
• What you'll learn from the pattern measurement worksheet (included in The Perfect Fit Guide).
• What order you need to do your pattern adjustments in for a successful first sample.

If you enjoyed this little peek inside  Fitting Essentials, be sure to sign up for the waitlist so you'll be notified when enrolment opens again.  Join the Waitlist Now.

All My Best,
Alexandra

If you've been sewing for years but are beginning to find that your usual fitting adjustments are no  longer giving you the results they once did, it may be time to rethink your approach to fitting.

Let's face it, bodies evolve over time. If it's been some time since you first learned your "go to"  fitting techniques, keep watching. In this video, I’ll share why the adjustments that used to work aren’t working anymore—and what you can do to start getting the fit you want again.

Inside this week's video you'll discover:

• Three key reasons why the techniques that once worked might be falling short now

• Four common mistakes that can create more fitting challenges and how to solve them

• Three principles I teach in my Fitting Essentials online course and the best project to get you started.

If you’ve been frustrated with fit, your approach may need to evolve. Consider how your body may have changed since you first started sewing, or if you're new to sewing, consider h...

Let me ask you a question—Is your custom dress form just standing in the corner of your sewing room, unused?

You invested in a custom dress form because you wanted a reliable fitting tool—one that could help you perfect your garment fit, allow you to work independently, and help you eliminate the frustration of trial and error.

But instead… it’s just standing there holding untapped potential.
Maybe you tried using it, but something didn’t feel right. The fit still wasn’t perfect, and you weren’t quite sure why.

Sound familiar?

If so, you are NOT alone. This is one of the most common frustrations I hear from dress form owners—and I completely understand.

Here’s the thing:
Having a custom dress form is an amazing advantage. But if you don’t know how to use it properly, it’s not actually helping you. The truth is, having a dress form that matches your unique body shape is just the first step to achieving a desirable fit. You also need a system—a clear, professional method to assess fit...

Today, I want to talk about something that I think may resonate with many of you: perfectionism.

It's a pretty heavy word that is often associated with anxiety and a fear of failure. If you consider yourself a perfectionist, as I do, you're probably pretty hard on yourself when you don't meet the standards you set for yourself. Your fear of doing it wrong, wasting fabric, or messing things up can sometimes stop you from even starting a project, or for most of us, finishing it.

Perfectionism is most commonly thought of as a negative trait for exactly these reasons, but I'd like to put a positive spin on perfectionism and show you how to use it as a superpower instead.

When it comes to fitting, we all know—it isn’t easy.

The path to mastering fit can feel overwhelming at times. Especially for those of us who consider ourselves perfectionists. But I believe that perfectionism can be used as a tool that will help you to truly enjoy the fitting process.

As I mentioned, perfectionism of...

Recently this question popped into my inbox: "How do I begin creating my own patterns that fit?" I get this question a lot so I thought it would be good to address it. In this video I'll share the answer to this question and give you an opportunity that you'll definitely want to take me up on if you want to get started at no cost to you.

If you're someone with a growing desire to learn more about pattern making for fit and design, you're not alone.  As you gain and master more advanced sewing skills you'll naturally become intellectually and creatively ready to level up. You'll likely become tired of constantly making the same fitting adjustments to commercial sewing patterns and fed up with compromising on styles that are close, but not exactly what you're looking for.

If you constantly struggle with fitting no matter what pattern company you use, creating a set of personalized pattern blocks may just be the right next step for you. A basic block drafted to your measurements and ref...

I have a very, very important concept that I want to share with you today. It is the concept of garment balance.

If you don't know me yet, my fitting philosophy is all about balancing the garment on your body using horizontal and vertical balance lines. I truly believe that balance lines, when put on the pattern and then transferred to the sample garment, will give you the ability to understand how to balance the garment on the body you are fitting.

Tracy, a member of the In-House Patterns Sudio Facebook Group, was kind enough to allow me to use her photos to demonstrate how to use the balance lines to assess fit. Tracy shared her sample of the Lila sewing pattern which already has the balance lines marked on the pattern. When she posted her images in the Facebook group many of the members of that group were suggesting that she needed a "sway back adjustment" I respectfully disagreed.

Watch the video to see how I interpret the balance of the garment on Tracy.

I know that as sewers, y...