By Helen Bartley with Pati Palmer Seattle resident Jaimie attended our 5-day Fit and Sew Custom Jeans Workshop in Portland, OR. She successfully sewed jeans for her curvy body. But using denim with almost no stretch, she couldn’t get a tight fit under her bum, so I offered to fit her ...

By Pati Palmer with Helen Bartley I created 10 jeans patterns for men and women for McCall’s since 1980. So how is this new Butterick jeans different? There are actually two patterns, B6911 for misses sizes 4-20, and B6912 for Plus sizes W20-W38. Together they accommodate a hip size range of 30.5” ...

Flipbooks are COMING SOON to Palmer/Pletsch and we couldn't be more excited! Popular titles now available for online viewing with some great features...

This blazer made the cover of the Butterick catalog. Helen Bartley, author of Fit and Sew Custom Jeans, decided we should both sew the new Palmer/Pletsch blazer Butterick B6862 and photograph our masterpieces for a blog post.

After designing and writing guidesheets for over 350 McCall’s patterns, I was invited to design for Butterick. Including Vogue, this is the third brand for which I’ve designed. This spring my bestselling McCall’s designs were moved to Butterick with new photography. You can see them all on our website. Then in ...

Winter is a great time to sew simple tops that can be worn into spring. I got the idea for this one from one Marilyn made in sewing camp last July. She had a fabric that she strategically cut to get the print placement where she wanted on her body. She also ...

In this blog, Helen Bartley, our workshop instructor, and I introduce you to our newest pattern. We liked it so much, we hacked it! See how we tweaked the pattern to give us several options!

Don’t you love two-sided fabrics? They give us instant coordinating fabrics! When my client Anna Brannen brought this wonderful piece of cotton/wool to me, we knew we had to incorporate both sides into the garment. We decided on a jacket, McCalls M7665.

Here’s more about that outfit I wore to Frocktails, the Portland, Oregon, event that brings together sewists to show off their skills and exchange Instagram handles. In this photo I’m with Andrea (@duchessofcloth), in pink, and Peggy Mead from @sewhouse7, a Portland indie pattern company. I will share with you a few ...

Using our McCall’s pattern M6901, I recently made two pairs of pants that look totally different from each other. McCall’s 6901 is the Palmer/Pletsch pant pattern that we use in teaching Pant Fit and Sewing workshops. It has narrow legs. I’ve made it as a dressier trouser using a washable rayon, polyester, and ...