Lutterloh Maternity Hack

Supplement 326 Model #209 - 2022

Knit top altered for maternity

 

    Hello again folks. I recently found out that there will be a new baby in our family so I wanted to help out the mother-to-be since maternity clothes can be very expensive these days. Unfortunately all I had to model this shirt was my paper dress form with a pillow stuffed under the waist. You'll have to use your imagination for this one. 😏

 

Pattern Hints:

    For this pattern hack I looked for a fairly close fitting knit dress with just a few pattern pieces. Just like all Lutterloh patterns this one was easy enough to enlarge. I did draw out the entire dress pattern and shortened it below the shirt length but not as long as the dress.

 

Design Changes:

    I looked around the internet and found lots of pages to describe the necessary changes to make this shirt suitable for maternity. Besides shortening this pattern to a tunic length, the maternity modifications are fairly straightforward. Below is a picture of how I changed the pattern.

    You can see the cutting line for the top version #210. I cut my pattern at the next dot for enlarging the pattern, straight across to the center front. The real change, as you might imagine, is around the waist area. I split the pattern just above the waist mark and added four inches of paper to lengthen the pattern in this area. I also straightened out the pattern in this area to make room for growth. Next, I marked a gathering line from four inches below the armhole to about three inches shy of the bottom hem. I made no changes to the back pattern piece or the sleeve. When I sewed the side seams I gathered only the front to match the length of the back side seams.

 

Fabric Used/Suggested:

    The fabric for this particular top is a very stretchy cotton/rayon with spandex knit. This shirt has enough stretch to take the mother-to-be all the way to the finish line! For a top for a smaller baby bump I would recommend a knit with either less stretch or at least with excellent recovery properties.

 

Closing Hints:

    I'll save this pattern for future iterations, just in case. As long as you can find a close fitting T-shirt or dress pattern for knits this alteration was a breeze to accomplish. I've seen this type of maternity top all over the internet but it's usually only available in basic solid colors. I'm glad I worked out the pattern to give this mother-to-be a little more variety in her wardrobe for this short stage in her life. 

 

    Working on maternity patterns is a nice change of pace for a little while. I may attempt more in the near future since the Lutterloh company has been including a few in their supplements lately. Until next time then........

 

Happy sewing everyone, from,

Ann in Calif.      

Lutterloh Patterns Come Alive!

 Supplement 281 - Model #158 - 2011   

One piece swimsuit with bust gathers

 

    Hello there Lutterloh sewists. I have a vacation coming up soon so I thought I would try a Lutterloh swimsuit pattern. As you can see, mine didn't come out quite the same as the fashion drawing.

 

Pattern Hints:

    This pattern was easy enough to enlarge to my size but once it was finished I could tell I would have some issues with it. The first thing I noticed was that the width of the crotch area seemed awfully narrow. The straps also seemed to point at an odd angle but I plodded on thinking this may just be an anomaly created by the gathers in front. Since this was just a test garment I wanted to evaluate it based on as few changes as possible. I did make my normal adjustments for length as I would for any other Lutterloh pattern. The best part of sewing this pattern was that all the pieces fit together very well.

 

Design Changes:

    Although I didn't make any design changes to my original swimsuit I would need to make quite a few to end up with a wearable one piece swimsuit. As you can see from my finished photo this really ended up being a top for a tankini suit. Once finished, all the flaws in this pattern were readily apparent. The most obvious was that the body was way too short. I would need to add at least 1.5 inches to the length to get the bust anywhere near where it should be. The seam that should be under the bust was much too low. Strangely enough the overall length of the suit was adequate but the length was all in the straps area.

     If the length were the only issue I could have just added a band at the waist to extend it but the whole crotch area was not salvageable. The front and back crotch were both too narrow so the coverage was skimpy at best. The front leg area was surprisingly low compared to the back. In back the suit only covered about half of my butt cheeks. I don't mind a high cut leg as long as the back has good coverage. Lastly, although the top and bottom front pieces fit together like a dream, I had so much trouble with the gathering stitches at the top. My threads kept breaking so I decided to call this close enough and moved on. I think if I had been able to gather it as much as was intended it may have been too low anyway.

    Once I realized that there was no way I could wear this suit I decided to cut it off right at the top of the leg holes. I still had to shorten the straps to get the bust seam up where it should be. I think I will need to add some elastic to the bottom to keep this from riding up in the back. It still feels sort of loose and now that I've used another pattern to complete a well fitting swimsuit I can understand why. Below are photos of my swimsuit from a Stretch & Sew pattern. I laid the new back pattern on top of this Lutterloh pattern to show the contrast in their shapes. I can't compare the fronts because they're completely different styles

                                    

    If you look at the shapes of the back pattern pieces you can see why this Lutterloh pattern didn't work for me. Not only is the waistline too low but it's also considerably wider than the Stretch & Sew pattern. If I add length to the pattern to get the waist in the correct place then the straps end up way too long and the whole pattern is still just too wide. Then there's the crotch area to contend with. Not only does the bottom seam area of the crotch need to be at least half an inch wider but the entire butt area needs a completely different shape. I'm glad I tested this pattern with a swimwear fabric that I had in abundance. The swimwear lining and elastic was a bit of a waste. In the end I realized I needed a new pattern altogether so I still ended up with a new swimsuit that I love. Oh well. lesson learned.

 

Closing Hints:

    Even though this particular Lutterloh pattern didn't work for me I'm still glad I gave it a try. I think someone shorter than about 5'5" could still use this pattern with some modifications. I would absolutely recommend a test run first. 

Here's hoping you have some fun sewing plans ahead. Until next time........

 

Happy sewing everyone,

 

Ann in Calif.

Lutterloh Patterns Come Alive!

Supplement 333 - Model #110 - (2024)

Button front blouse with ruffle collar

 

    Hi there fellow Lutterloh enthusiasts. Spring is in the air and my favorite sewing patterns are coming together. Since it's so warm where I live I find the Winter sewing patterns often don't appeal as much to me. This particular blouse pattern is actually sleeveless but the ruffle collar is so wide that it covers the shoulders too. I have paired it with a new skirt reviewed in my last blog post here.

 

Pattern Hints:

    There didn't seem to be any anomalies when drawing out this pattern. The only trouble I ran into was when trying to connect the dots for the huge circular collar. The back of the collar is a very large, sweeping curve so I couldn't find any spot on my rulers that would connect the dots. I ended up just drawing in the curve by hand and then adjusting it further in sections with my ruler.

 

Design Changes:

    When I initially saw this pattern I was attracted to the ruffled collar. I wanted to exaggerate the ruffles but I'm afraid I may have gone too far. I sliced open the pattern piece in four places around the half circle, leaving the slits attached at the inner edge. I spread the slits about a half inch in each spot and added paper behind to complete the pattern piece. My mistake was where I added the fullness. I should have only added the fullness in the back. Because two of my additions were at the shoulder and the front I ended up with quite a bit of ruffling around the button placket. I don't hate it but it wasn't exactly what I was aiming for. Before I put the pattern away I removed this fullness in the collar piece.

    Because my collar was more ruffly, even where it joined the neckline, I decided to add a facing on the inside rather than the binding that seems to be suggested. This worked really well so I will do this again in future iterations. The only other change was to add some long fitting darts both in the front and back. This blouse really is as loose and billowy as it appears in the fashion drawing.

 

Fabric Used/Suggested:

    My blouse is made up in a lightweight cotton/poly fabric. I would say this is a lawn fabric but I'm not 100% certain. This was an inherited fabric from a dear neighbor. This blouse pattern, although recommended for a woven, could probably be made from a knit fabric as long as it's lightweight and drapey. The important point here is that your fabric, either woven or knit, is both lightweight and drapeable. Any stiffness to your fabric will result in a collar that stands out at the shoulders and a bodice that billows out way from the body.

 

Closing Hints:

    Now that I've figured out the fullness in the ruffled collar I would say this pattern is a keeper. It feels feminine and flirty but still not too formal. I like how it dresses up a simple skirt or jeans without looking too fussy. I'll likely make another one in a print fabric just for fun. This should make a really nice transition from Spring to Summer.

 

Here's hoping you find some favorite patterns of your own for some Spring or Summer sewing. Until next time.....

 

Happy sewing from,

Ann in Calif.

Lutterloh Patterns Come Alive

Supplement 272 - Model #212 - 2009

Jeans style skirt with shaped waistband

 

   Hello again Lutterloh sewists. I know it's been a minute since I last posted a project. My son moved just days before Christmas and needed help with some home decor projects. He's all settled in now so I can work on my own stuff again. I had this skirt cut out before Christmas but just wasn't able to finish until recently. I'm so glad I did since this will be a great transition piece for Winter/Spring.

 

Pattern Hints:

   There were no issues enlarging this pattern to my size. My personal fitting adjustments were easy enough to apply. All of the necessary darts are cleverly drafted into the yoke in back and between the pockets and shaped waistband in the front.

 

Design Changes:

  This pattern is a very classic style straight skirt with a shaped waistband. It's not a pencil skirt that narrows at the hem. It just follows a fairly straight silhouette from the full hip. There are no back pockets but there is a back yoke. I had to go back quite a few years in my pattern collection to find this classic that included a shaped waistband but wasn't designed for stretch fabric. Most of the more recent patterns were either designed for stretch fabric or had a straight waistband rather than the shaped style that I prefer. The only minor tweaks I made were to leave off the tiny coin pocket and the belt loops. Oh, and I did make the side pockets deeper because, why not?

 

Fabric Used/Suggested:

   This version is made up in a wide wale, 100% cotton corduroy. I still have at least half the bolt left but that's OK. I find a neutral color corduroy makes a great transition fabric for the mild California climate. Because of the classic shape of this skirt it could be made up in so many different fabrics. Denim or twill would always be appropriate but there's no reason it couldn't be made in a more lightweight fabric.

 

Closing Hints:

   The timeless nature of this skirt really lends itself to so many possibilities. I may make another one in a lightweight twill to take me into Spring/Summer. I'm already working on a lightweight blouse that could really dress this skirt up for a Spring outing. We'll just have to see if some other project calls to me before I find the right fabric for another skirt.

 

Until next time then, 

Happy sewing everyone,

 

Ann in Calif.