Thursday Tip with Hali - Colour Blocking
Thursday Tip // Colour Blocking
Three cheers for colour!
Today we are talking about colour blocking and how to tackle it yourself! There are several ways to approach colour blocking if you want to add some variety to your wardrobe or spice up a TNT (tried and true) pattern! It’s another great way to use up scraps or smaller remnants too.
Most patterns come with a line drawing of the style lines in the pattern. These can usually be found on the pattern envelope, in the instructions or on the pattern listing on a designers website. To test out different colour combos for colour blocking, save and print these out to test fabrics swatches or color in the pattern pieces with markers, crayons etc.
3 ways to colour block
Use existing seam lines:
Seam lines already divide up the garment into logical and proportional sections so this is a great place to start if you are intimidated by colour blocking or you just don’t know if you will like the look or not. You simply decide which colors you want to use for which pattern pieces and then cut them out accordingly. As a quick example using a basic pullover sweater pattern; you could cut the front and back in colour A, the sleeves in colour B, and the neckband, cuffs and waistband in colour C.
Other patterns with more seam lines, like the popular Marcel Dress by Chalk and Notch Patterns (up to 58” bust, 59” hip) just begs for colour blocking. Check out the tester versions here for inspiration. You can play with stripe or print direction too!
Create your own colour blocking seam lines (Video tutorial below):
You can create your own seam lines and decide where you want your garment to be colour blocked. In our video tutorial we show you how to create new seam lines on a simple sleeveless bodice piece but a similar process can be used for other parts of the garment too.
The steps in the video are outlined below (same text included in the video as well):
If your pattern piece is cut on the fold, trace it so you have the full pattern piece to work with.
Draw in your colour blocking lines. Get creative! Using a ruler or french curve will make this part and the sewing steps easier.
Mark the grainline on each new piece using the original grainline as a guide.
Mark notches on each new seamline to help with the sewing step.
Label each new pattern piece so you remember how they go together.
Cut pattern pieces apart along the new seam lines.
Place paper behind your pieces to add seam allowance.
You should measure the seam allowance accurately along the piece. (For this example, I didn't measure)
Move your notches to the edge of the pattern piece and make sure you don't cut through the seam allowance when marking notches on your fabric.
Cut out your new pattern pieces, sew them together and then continue with the pattern instructions as written.
Prepare colour blocked fabric first:
Another way to colour block is to prepare your colour blocked fabric in one larger piece first. You can piece fabric in a patchwork sort of way or cut specific shapes you want in your garment. Sew the pieces together without worrying too much about being as precise with the dimensions of each individual piece or the seam allowances between them. When you have a large enough piece of fabric ready then place your pattern pieces as desired and cut out each pattern piece. Then sew your garment as per the instructions. This method is often used for the ever popular quilt coat. (Come make one with us! Find the Quilt Coat class here.)
Have you ever tried colour blocking? What’s your favourite method?