Using a Croquis to Choose a Sewing Pattern

A little over a year ago, I made a croquis (click here for my tutorial) to compare my body shape to the Wolf dress form. Since my analysis, I did little with it, until I was inspired by this Pattern Review post that uses Photoshop to superimpose line drawings over the croquis.

I spent two or three days obsessively drawing patterns – seeing the finished product was almost as satisfying as sewing!

Here's what I came up with:

Simplicity 2176



McCalls 2401 (am working on currently)



New Look 6375



Simplicity 1914



Simplicity 2594 and Simplicity 2451



Simplicity 2217



New Look 6557 (finished & blogged here)



New Look 6888 (abandoned & blogged here)



Simplicity 2443



I own this Cynthia Rowley dress in ready-to-wear. I picked it up at TJ Maxx last year and wore it to a Chicago Cubs game. A woman stopped me on my way into the restroom to compliment me on it. I was thrilled!

New Look 6349



I had a dress from Chadwick's that looked like this, and I despaired when I found a stain on it. I couldn't find a dress to replace it, and it has only dawned on me in the past week that I could sew one up. I can't tell you how relieved I am!

Assessing the Accuracy of my Croquis

I drew two patterns that I'd previously sewn to assess the accuracy of my drawings, and I'd say that they're pretty close.

Remember New Look 6888, which ended up looking like a potato sack? When I hated the finished product, the members of Pattern Review consoled me that I wasn't the problem, that the pattern was built to be shapeless. I can see clearly now that they were right.



And then there's New Look 6557, which is my first finished garment:



The bust is a little different on the croquis (my fault) but other than that, the results are pretty much the same. I'm looking forward to wearing the dress in warmer weather.

My Sewing Plan

Based on my croquis, here is what I plan to sew:

What Can You Do With a Croquis?

Understand Your Pattern Changes

When I started drawing on the croquis, my efforts were a little misguided. I noticed that when the pattern fit my shoulders, it was too small at the hips. So I did what any gal would do and erased the hips. Easy, right?

Ben took a peek at what I was working on, and pointed out that I'd made my body smaller – not an accurate representation of what the pattern would like on my fully intact body.

I did some surgery on practically all of the line drawings – cutting the bottom half of the pattern, widening it, and smoothing out the transition. Turns out that I did the same alteration on McCalls 2401, and will probably continue to do so in any fitted pattern, since my bottom half is bigger than my top.

Make Better Clothing Choices

The croquis exercise also prepared me for the shopping excursion that Ben and I took yesterday. I was on a mission to replenish my wardrobe, and I looked for styles that mirrored what I'd drawn on my croquis. In fact, I bought a brown skirt that looked similar to Simplicity 2451. But that's not to say that I'm abandoning the pattern. I'm planning to sew it in navy blue.

Get Motivated

In any endeavor, I'm motivated by the finished product. Having the croquis tacked to the new bulletin board in my sewing room will motivate me to start or continue working, and help me to push through my most challenging tasks.

If you would like to know how I drew on the croquis, let me know in the comments, and I'll post a tutorial with photos.