How to Use Ready-to-Wear Inspiration in Sewing

This week, Linda and Betsy shared their process for deciding what patterns to use when taking inspiration from ready-to-wear garments. Watch the video and get the details here, and then look at the following pictures for inspiration! 

We started by discussing the Sew Confident! project which transforms the Whistles Shirt into a fabulous pullover (sign up for the class here!). Linda shared her inspiration, a shirt by the fashion brand Libertine, and how she used the Whistles technical drawings to work out the details.

Linda also shared the inspiration behind the Hudson Poncho, including the original Eileen Fisher garment which she decided to recreate using the Hudson Shirt.

They also shared some photos from the inspiration file that Linda keeps on her computer. There is a great two-fabric jacket that could be recreated using the Opal or eJacket patterns, as well as a cute shrug which is almost the same as the eShrug! 

Linda also keeps an inspiration folder for color and applied design ideas. She shared two photos with unusual color pairings and a simple shirt that is elevated with hand-stitched patches. 

For a better explanation on the process, be sure to watch the video. Hopefully, you will be inspired to start compiling your own ready-to-wear inspiration folders!