We Sew Thrift Flips

Helen Wilkinson (0:00)

We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwakiwak peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and Comox First Nations. Hello and welcome to Love to Sew. I'm Helen, the designer behind Helen's Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline Somos (0:19)

And I'm Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen Wilkinson (0:23)

We're two sewing buds who love to sew, and it's basically all we ever talk about.

Caroline Somos (0:26)

We thrifted some amazing pieces and made them into new garments. And in this episode, we're going to reveal them to each other for the first time. We'll talk about where we thrifted our materials, how we mashed them together, and the sewing techniques that made it all possible.

Helen Wilkinson (0:42)

If you love to sew, this is your show.

It's our first We Sew of the Season. Very exciting.

Caroline Somos (1:00)

Yeah, it's a big season of We Sews. We were extremely ambitious, and it's just the beginning.

Helen Wilkinson (1:07)

It's just the beginning. And we asked our listeners to join in, and we have received some emails of people showing us their thrift flips, which has been really fun.

Caroline Somos (1:15)

So.

Helen Wilkinson (1:15)

If you want to join in, it's not too late. It's never too late. Even if it's two years from this release date. Please, thrift flip something and send us a picture. I would love to see it.

Caroline Somos (1:23)

We'd love to see it.

Helen Wilkinson (1:24)

Yeah.

Caroline Somos (1:25)

Okay. Before we get into it, we wanted to remind you all that the best way to support Love to Sew is by joining us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions.

Helen Wilkinson (1:34)

Yes. Over there, you get access to bonus content every month. And we have a lot of fun catching up with you all in those more casual bonus episodes. We just chat about our lives, our businesses, what we're sewing right now. It's a great time.

Caroline Somos (1:46)

Yeah. And it means so much if you're able to support us, even if it's just for a month or two. And obviously, if that's not in the cards for you right now, we totally get it. You're here and that's enough.

Helen Wilkinson (1:56)

Exactly. And if you want to support us for free, you can always rate and review us on Apple Podcast. It really helps us out. It helps other people discover this show. And we would love some lovely reviews from y'all.

Caroline Somos (2:07)

And thank you all so much for listening and cheering us on. We love you.

Helen Wilkinson (2:11)

Yeah.

And thanks for participating in these We Sew episodes. If you made something, I'm so stoked about that. I just can't wait.

Caroline Somos (2:18)

Me too.

Helen Wilkinson (2:18)

I can't wait.

OK, let's kick off this episode with a listener question. Heather wrote in to say, hello, I'm a fairly new garment sewer and very new paid subscriber to your podcast. Oh, thank you, Heather. I'm loving it. Thank you. I have a question about unisex patterns. I don't quite know how to approach them. I'm definitely drawn to the more unisex aesthetic, but confused about unisex fitting. If I buy something unisex and ready to wear, it's basically a fit disaster. So I'm not quite sure where to start. I have a very full bust, a 36I bra with five inch difference between the high and full bust. Is there a standard high full bust assumption when it comes to unisex patterns? My understanding is that traditional women's patterns draft for a two inch difference. In Helen's closet, de-cut patterns, I need to do a one inch FBA. How do I approach the unisex patterns? If I just go with my full bust measurement, I'm afraid I will end up swimming in the shoulders. Thank you for any advice you can give me.

Caroline Somos (3:14)

Ooh, hi Heather.

First of all, thank you so much for supporting us by subscribing. It means so much. This is a really great question. You are absolutely right that if you go by your bust measurement, you're going to end up with giant shoulders and unisex patterns. That's the beauty of sewing.

Helen Wilkinson (3:32)

Exactly. If you're drawn to that like gender neutral, gender inclusive aesthetic, unisex aesthetic, you can achieve that better with sewing because you can take the patterns and customize them to fit your body, but still have that look, which is great.

Caroline Somos (3:46)

Yeah. So to answer your question, unisex patterns are generally drafted without any bust shaping, meaning that the bust and high bust are the same measurements. And patterns that are drafted for a B cup have a two inch difference between the high bust and full bust. Patterns that are drafted for a D cup have a four inch difference. So you're going to be working with no difference, most likely if you pick a unisex pattern.