When I started to sew clothes, I some of the first pieces I made were from my own wardrobe. Part of this was to ease myself into the intimidating world of professionally graded patterns and ultimately, this was great practice to understanding how pattern pieces are constructed into 3D garments. As I’ve sewn more, I’ve learned that this practice is known as “rubbing off ready-to-wear” or the “rub-off technique”. Whatever the term is, the idea continues to be appealing to me for many reasons. It’s economical for my hobby, I purchase fewer fast fashion pieces, and it helps me practice some technical skills. Here is how I make patterns from existing clothes in 4 stages.

I made some basic alterations to a pattern to raise the difficulty of a shirt pattern I was working on. I decided to lengthen the sleeve piece and add a gathered shoulder, which forced me to learn how sleeves are patterned and constructed. When I first looked at flat sleeve pieces, I was confused. What part was sewn to the shoulder? What edge became the cuff? How do I sew these curved shapes? I share that info and the steps I took to adapt a knit sleeve pattern and pin a gathered shoulder.