For this blog I am focusing on fitting and sewing a contour (curved) waistband. For tips on a fly front zipper and trouser pockets, see the previous blog on sewing pleated trousers. The length of this pant shows off my flat-heeled shirred ankle boots. More about those at the end! CONTOUR BAND ...

Trousers are back! They are comfortable to wear. The pleats give you ease as well as style. For a few years I have been thinking that pleated trousers would make a comeback. Some forward designers added them to their lines, but I didn’t see them at Nordstrom or even at our local ...

By Pati Palmer and Helen Bartley PHOTO PARTY! Raise those arms to show the dolman sleeves! Carol Stalvey, a Palmer/Pletsch instructor from Macon, Georgia, sewed with us. Then we had a photo party for the Butterick Palmer/Pletsch princess dolman shirt. I wore the two dolman shirts I’d sewn and Carol tried on ...

There's a whole new layout for the learning pages for 2023! In this video we explore the new player's features from top to bottom.

  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 ...