Levels

If you are unsure which pattern to choose, follow the guide and choose the sewing patterns corresponding to your level. To help you further we have also included a list of our best advice to sew with peace of mind.

The different levels

With a small amount of pattern pieces and clear illustrated instructions, our patterns charm sewists of all levels. From beginners to experienced seamstresses, everyone will find what they are looking for.

At I AM Patterns we believe that with a bit of patience and persistence we can accomplish anything even with little experience. So try the level up and surprise yourself.

Simple

These patterns are designed for beginners whom have a bit of experience in sewing simple garments.

If you have experience but not a lot of time and you’d like to have a simple, stylish and fast to sew garment, then you’ll love those too.

Intermediate

Those patterns are designed for sewists whom have experience sewing simple garments and want to challenge themselves with new technics.

They are also perfect for seasoned seamstresses.

Sewing advice

Essentials

  • Wash and iron the fabric before cutting it. It avoids shrinkage after sewing and remove extra dye and chemicals that have been used on the fabric.
  • Before cutting your fabric, verify the pattern pieces are oriented correctly on the fabric. This advice is even more true for fabric with patterns or nap
  • It is essential to cut the fabric following the grain line of the fabric to ensure the optimum appearance and correct fit.
  • Always test your stitches on a scrap of fabric before starting sewing the garment itself to set the stitches properly and ensure that the thread matches your fabric.
  • Reinforce each seam with a back stitch at the beginning and at the end of the seam.
  • In most cases, the seam allowances need to be overlocked to avoid the fabric to unravel. It is possible to overlock without an overlocker (serger). Here are a few examples:
    • Zig zag stitch using a sewing machine
    • Bias bind the edge with bias tape
    • Overlock by hand with an overlock stitch
  • For better results, after each seam cut the thread really close and iron the seam. Ironing all seams is the best advice we can give you to ensure a neater finish.

Good to know:

  • To precisely sew along the seam allowances use a seam guide.
  • When the parts to sew are pinned together perpendicularly to the seam, keep the pins in whilst sewing. The needles of the sewing machine will slide on the pins and will not break. This way your fabric doesn’t move and it avoids having gaps between the different layers of fabric.