exploring PDF patterns for sewing

A friend of mine for over 30 years sews her own clothes.  She's a definite pear shaped plus size so finding clothes that fit is a significant challenge.  And she's a lawyer so she pretty much had to learn to sew her own clothes to have professional clothing that fit and wasn't just a boxy suit.  She often shares patterns she thinks I'd like and that led to me looking at some websites and then joining a couple of FB groups because of the free patterns.  Now that my studio is mostly functional, I'm starting a couple of projects using these PDF patterns.  One is the Relaxed Raglan shirt from Patterns for Pirates and the other is a wristlet wallet to replace my teal leather one I loved that was stolen in June.  

I've of course continued to buy patterns and some fabric even tho I haven't made my own clothes in decades.  One of the fabrics I bought is the lovely feather print next to the patterns in the photo below.  I'm going to use it for the sleeves on the raglan top and go get a nice blue knit in a similar weight for the body.  

So, what's a PDF pattern?  It's a PDF file that you can download and then print out on printer paper or have printed at a plotter shop if you don't want to spend the time taping/gluing the pages together.  Some of the newer ones are even done in layers by size so if you don't need to modify the fit, you can print just the one size you need.  Here's a shot of the sleeve for the raglan top after I glued all the pages together.  I printed all the sizes since P4P has no problem with people selling things made from their patterns and I have an etsy store and some plans to make fabric and sell both the fabric and clothes made from it.

So once I buy the blue knit for the body of the shirt and wash it, I'm ready to cut out the shirt and see how long it takes to sew.  The general comments on the FB group are that the shirt is really easy so the only issue I should have is remembering how to sew knits.  

While I'm cutting, I may also cut out the fabric for the wristlet.  Again, this is a possible item to go on my etsy store besides being something that I want for myself.  The fabrics I'm using for the wallet are to the right of the pattern picture.  I also have some scrap turquoise leather that I may use for the next one once I've done one and decided if I like the pattern.

The batiks I've picked are a different color than my beloved teal wallet but these are certainly colors I have a lot of in my wardrobe.  I'm planning to get both of these projects done over the long weekend so maybe I'll show the finished pieces in the next post.  

Happy Turkey Day to everyone and I hope you're doing something you enjoy as much as I am.