We are in the middle of a second heatwave here, so forgive me if I wilt. No draping today: this was a pattern making session, turning last week’s jersey knot front dress into something you can actually cut from.

Before transferring anything to paper I marked up the fabric itself with every reference line I would need. With a design that twists and wraps, the pieces stop making sense the moment they come off the form, so the notes have to go on while it is still recognisable.

I also spent time on the decisions that come with jersey rather than a woven, because they change how you finish this dress.

Demonstration Steps:

• Labelled the pattern with the essentials first: grain direction, cut to self, size UK 12, and 1 cm seam allowance as a working figure, noting that the allowance genuinely varies by area on this design.
• Talked through closures. This dress can be assembled with no back zip at all if the jersey has enough stretch, and a four way stretch makes that easier. With a two way stretch that drapes but does not give much, add an invisible zip at the centre back or keep the fit relaxed.
• Explained the waist stay, which is what I always add here. Attach it to the centre front knot so the knot cannot travel and the waistline stays at the waist, since a heavy jersey will otherwise drag it down. It can be elastic or made from the self fabric and tied at the back.
• Made the point about recovery rather than just stretch. The jersey needs to spring back when released, otherwise a fitted version will bag out with wear.
• Folded the draped fabric to make the structure readable again, and identified each area: the V neckline, the back neckline, the shoulder gathering, the batwing sleeve and its opening, the side seam, and the twist through the waist.
• Marked the reference lines directly on the fabric: centre front line, centre back line, side reference line, front and back waist, and the fold line where the piece turns to form the back neck.
• Corrected a fold line I had misread partway through, which is worth seeing. I had taken the wrong line, spotted it when the measurements stopped adding up, and moved it. Being tired and hot is exactly when that happens.
• Recorded the working measurements on the pattern, including gathering to 11 cm at the shoulder neck point and roughly 27 cm along the relevant edges, so the gathers are repeatable rather than judged by eye.
• Added an extension at the V neckline so it can be folded back as a self facing, and did the same at the back for a clean edge.
• Set the skirt out with the centre front on the straight grain, keeping it almost straight with only a slight curve at the waist so it does not stretch, and extended the centre back outward into an A line so it does not cling at the hip.
• Added 20 cm of length from the reference line for a floor length version, and noted that this is where you choose midi, maxi or floor.

Questions & Answers:

• Q: Do you always wear black on camera?
• A: Mostly, and only for filming. A pattern or a bright colour makes the screen too busy when you are trying to watch fabric on the form. I wear plenty of colour otherwise, more so since losing weight.

We now have this dress as a proper pattern, and it joins the other knot style pieces. They are very much in fashion, and each version behaves differently: one fitted and sleeveless, this one relaxed with a V neck and a batwing sleeve.

Next week we will do the same thing for the remaining two silhouettes from the three quarter technique, starting by throwing the fabric on the form again for the symmetrical look and marking it up.

The session after that may not be a Friday, since we are away in Turkey for a week. Stay cool if you are in this heat, and thank you for sitting through a pattern session with me.