Hi!
I’ve recently made a couple of tops using fairly ‘loud’ and complex prints. My lovely husband chose the fabrics and, not unsurprisingly, the issue of pattern matching said print never occurred to him. Which got me thinking : how often do we disregard a beautiful but complex print when purchasing fabric because the idea of pattern matching it puts us off? So I thought I’d show the foolproof (i.e. it works for me!) method I use for matching seams, so you too can be liberated in your fabric choices!
Pattern matching fabrics with a regular and repeating pattern, like stripes or checks is one thing – the pattern itself actually helps in the pattern matching process. Here I’m going to demonstrate using this busy, not quite so helpful, print at a centre-back seam. (I recommend you read through fully at least once before attempting to follow it in ‘real life’!)
(If you’re looking for guidance on pattern matching smaller areas, e.g. a two-piece/cuffed, patch pocket, I cover that here).
Let’s start by taking a a look at the tools I find useful…
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