Eliza M Vintage Patterns: Stylish, Easy and Affordable Sewing

I was very excited to find Eliza M Vintage sewing patterns online late last year.

Although vintage and reproduction patterns are available, the instructions can be confusing for less than experienced sewers. Actual vintage patterns nearly always require some adjustment, and the prospect of cutting a vintage pattern and messing it up is extremely daunting.

The rather fabbylous circle skirt pattern - a staple in any fifties gal’s wardrobe

The beauty of Eliza M patterns is that Eliza developed them with ease of use in mind, so even a beginner can give vintage sewing style a whirl! She has also provided an easy online tutorial on pattern re-grade, and there are additional tutorials on Eliza’s blog. The patterns come in an excellent size range and are reasonably priced. And to top it off, they are made in the UK, too (and we all know how important that is at Granny Chic Cottage!).

There is an excellent range of patterns from a tea dress to a wiggle skirt to sailor trousers, so there is something to appeal to every vintage gal. Or if you are like me and don’t stick to one era, you will probably want them all!

I caught up with Eliza last week to get the low down on her brand for Granny Chic Gal readers.

What was your inspiration for setting up the Eliza M Brand, and how long has it been established?

I set up the brand because I was fed up with mass produced clothes and dresses that didn’t flatter me in the places I wanted to be flattered! I originally had the patterns created by a professional pattern cutter just for my own personal use. It was only after a while I realised that other women might benefit from modern vintage style patterns. Eliza M was born in 2011, but we re launched with a new site and new collection in August  2012.

A key part of the design of the pattern was ease of use, because of your experiences with vintage patterns. Can you share one of your top sewing tips with Granny Chic Gal readers?

Top sewing tip, well from my experience you absolutely have to measure everything twice! Always make sure your bodice and waistbands match up and are the same length, which might sound obvious but even being a couple of mm out on each seam can throw out the pattern.

Difficult, if not nigh on IMPOSSIBLE! At first I hand drew each and every pattern ordered and then hand cut all of the pattern pieces..I was about to give up after the experience of hand cutting a wholesale order of 40 patterns with Maria (one of our pattern cutters)  Can you imagine? It took forever even with two of us, we lost the will to live after about 25!  We print in house now, and actually offer sewing pattern printing through our sister company Sew Print UK.

Do you have a favourite pattern from your collection?

I love them all, but Betty has a special place in my heart.

The Betty

Do you plan to add more patterns to the collection in the future?

You bet! We have a new collection out in Spring and a children’s Mini Me range of patterns as well. (I can’t wait for the mini me patterns!! – J)

What advice would you give to someone who wants to make their own patterns?

If you aren’t a pattern cutter, get a really good one to do it for you. Otherwise there are a lot of courses nowadays for pattern cutting it is becoming really popular. Go to Ralph Pink’s site, he has loads of really good tutorials!

No it is hard for me to choose, there are elements of the 30′s,40′s and 50′s that I really love, each one is unique. I do love the way you can see the fashions of the eras blend when you get towards the end of one decade and into the early part of the next. Fascinating.

What next for Eliza M patterns?

We are looking at multi-grading the new collections, and putting  simple video tutorials on the site for the patterns this year (time allowing).  These will happen after the new collections are available.

And finally can you sum up Eliza M in a few words?

Eliza M is about sewing your own style and expressing who you are through the clothes you create for yourself.

The trousers and the pussy bow blouse are both available as patterns.