Fit for Art Patterns

Carrie ready for barre class in her new fitness top. Ready to make your own? Check out our most recent blog post about adapting the Tabula Rasa Knit Tee pattern and variations to create fitness tops that suit your preferences. Link in bio.

Today in Durfort , home of La Cascade, it was the water festival. It was a beautiful day for water games, face painting and a musical performance at the church featuring water like instruments. A great time was had by all.

Update on Peg’s heron jacket: The collar has been added and the lining/facings are ready to insert. We had to piece the jacket’s front facing because there was not a long enough section left after cutting all the other pattern pieces out. Now I just need to find the perfect buttons to put it all together!

A trip to Toulouse for haircuts for a little pick me up with Anna's friend and stylist Guillaume. Plus, a visit to the loveliest children's shop full of intricate fabric toys and accessories. Kept expectant mom and Nana Rae dreaming. Only 2 weeks left. Send good thoughts.

Carrie desperately needed new exercise tops to wear to her barre and yoga classes, so she set about modifying her knit tank top pattern from Twin Set Variations. The first time she wore her new fitness tank, she asked her favorite instructor in her favorite class, SoulBody Barre, to snap a pic together. Thank you for your inspiration to keep moving! You can see a few close-ups of the front and back pattern alterations here, so follow Carrie’s pattern journey in this week’s blog post. Link in bio. Then start your own journey!

Carrie featured some tiny exercise tops in this week's blog post which she has been making using her Tabula Rasa Knit pattern as the base. You don't want to miss them, so inspiring. Here are some of Rae's exercise clothes, made in her favorite french terry, sweatshirt fleece and ponte. Check out the blogs Look Good Feel Good Knits https://fitforartpatterns.com/2022/02/01/look-good-and-feel-good-knits/ and Soft Pink Cardigan, https://fitforartpatterns.com/2022/03/29/soft-pink-cardigan/ to read about some other exercise clothing options for all seasons and types of exercise.. Keep working out and using your Eureka! Pants, Tabula Rasa Knit patterns as your baseline.

Knits Fit for Exercise -

Knits Fit for Exercise Make your own exercise top with stretchy knits and the Tabula Rasa Knit Tee pattern! There are plenty of activewear and athleisure fabrics available today and you can tailor the exercise wear to your preferred style and degree of fit. Carrie explains how she modified her knit tank top pattern… 

Peg is thrilled with how her elegant jacket is coming together! We managed to get the shell assembled while Peg was visiting Carrie to check the fit. Now we turn to the lining, facing and finishing details. Stay tuned!

This little photo captures 3 different blog posts of the summer: the current post about the buttons on the little Tabula Rasa Summer Jacket that Rae is wearing, an earlier post about the peplum top Carpe Diem that Carrie is wearing, and her barrel leg Eureka! Pants. We shot this photo just before Rae left for France. WE have had lots of fun in these outfits all summer. Enjoy these posts again or for the first time by following this link https://fitforartpatterns.com/latest-tips/ . The ideas will keep you happily stitching into the new season as with all Fit for Art ideas, they can be used in many different ways.

So fun to see Rae's piece about planning her MOB wardrobe for daughter Sarah's wedding featured in My Body Model's posts and newsletter! Have your used a croqui from MBM to plan a sewing project? What were you making?

In the midst of wedding season, it's the perfect opportunity to craft exquisite garments for those special occasions.

Deciding what to wear to a special event is hard enough – imagine outfit planning for one of the biggest events of your life! Rae used her personalized croquis to help her with just that. As the mother of the bride, she had a lot of sewing ahead of her.

With planning three separate outfits, she explained her process for her ceremony dress:

“As is my habit, I drew the outfits in pencil on a blank paper laid over my 3-model sketch page, with the croquis outlined in black marker for ease of tracing. Then I began coloring them for a more informed perspective. It quickly became apparent the middle view was my favorite.”

Read more about Rae’s special occasion outfit planning at: https://www.mybodymodel.com/virtual-fitting-room/mother-of-the-bride-outfit-planning-with-mybodymodel-by-rae/

Ready to start designing clothes for YOUR body? Create a custom fashion croquis (body outline sketch) based on your measurements with MyBodyModel. It's free to see your body model preview - and then you can create a printable and digital fashion sketchbook, featuring your personal croquis! Start your free preview today at mybodymodel.com.

Phew! This has to be the most challenging layout Carrie has ever faced. The pattern and repeat of the herons, which alternate between facing toward and away from each other, made it quite tricky. First we adjusted all the pattern pieces to fit and then lengthened by 9” for the long jacket Peg envisions. Next step was making a full set of patterns with right and left fronts, sides, and sleeves and a full back, so it could all be arranged at one time. It took several tries, and stepping away for a break in between, to find a satisfactory solution. Here you can see the layout for the main pieces. The facings and collar were cut out afterward from what was left. A few compromises - the sleeves are not exact mirror images and the front facings have to be pieced together. Onward to sewing tomorrow while I’ve got mom here to test the fit!

Rae is thinking about painting these very tired but very comfortable shoes. She was so inspired by Barbie's painted shoes at La Cascade. Got any ideas? Stay tuned for updates to see if she makes any progress.

Two years ago Carrie’s mom came to Fit for Art’s retreat at La Cascade in Southern France. On a shopping trip to the fabric store in Revel, she fell in love with this embroidered upholstery weight cotton and bought it for a birthday present (she celebrated her 90th birthday in Durfort) to herself. Peg can’t resist Heron themed artwork. Her birthday has come around again and so we decided it’s time to sew it up! Today we talked about her vision for the fabric and did a new Tabula Rasa Jacket fitting to prepare for pattern work. Follow along over the next couple weeks to see what this beautiful fabric becomes.

Rae's French studio was busy the last few days stitching up some modern baby accessories: a cover for a large nursing pillow, cover for a changing table pad and extra liners, burp clothes and bibs as well. Such contemporary colors for her daughter's nursery. What is on your sewing table? with

This little cotton lawn Tabula Rasa Jacket with summer sleeves and a narrow opened band is one of Rae's wardrobe basics. Love this photo of a lazy Sunday afternoon at her daughters house enjoying a little pancake snack with honey butter. Read this tops button saga on this week's blog post at https://fitforartpatterns.com/2024/08/13/buttons-that-can-burn/.

Vintage Buttons that Can Burn -

Vintage Buttons that Can Burn Two years ago, Rae made a series of lawn Tabula Rasa Jackets, to introduce summer TRJ design options to the readers of Classic Sewing Magazine. Lovely lawn was ordered from Farmhouse Fabrics for the tops. She was especially fond of a piece covered in tropical fish and a coordinating paisley… 

Several years ago Carrie’s daughter gifted her with this tie-dye style cotton fabric from a trip to Africa. She wasn’t crazy about the colors, so this year she brought the fabric along to Fit for Art’s France retreat to dye with pastel blue. Photo 1 shows the fabric before and photo 3 after the pastel dye. What a difference! Photo 2 shows the 2 pieces (it was cut into 2 to make it easier to manage) in process with one piece wet and ready to dye and the other piece after 1 or 2 dunks in the dye bath. Carrie wants this fabric to be her next project. What would you make with it?

Let's take one more look at an easy contrast hem for Tabula Rasa Knit Tees. This wide neckline tee is bound along its straight hem, in the same way that the neckline and tulip sleeve edges are bound. Carrie is wearing her tee on her last night in France while out to dinner with Marijo at the historic Le Bibent in Capitol Square in Toulouse France.

In this week's blog post Rae demonstrated how to apply a contrasting band finish to a Tabula Rasa Knit Tunic with a swing side (Longer pointed sides with shorter front and back). You'll find another kind of curved hem (shorter at the sides and longer front and back) in Wide Neckline Variations for Tabula Rasa Knits. Apply a contrasting binding to the curved hem for another easy finish to repeat a fabric or accent the hem line., as seen in these knit tops from Fit for Art.

Prompted by seeing that sherbert colored cotton knit Tunic in today's earlier post. Rae sends along this photo from France where she wore it last week on a brutally hot day that included some fabric shopping. This is really light weight fabric and the band hem adds some needed weight for a better drape.

Here is another example of a swing side knit tunic with a banded hem, just like the cute top featured in this week's blog post. Link in bio. What an easy way to finish a curved hem, repeat a fabric, or add a colorful accent to your top!

Wearing her band hem knit Tunic to keep cool on a hot summer day, Rae met Nese, our La Cascade host, at their favorite tea room for a visit. So nice to catch up and remember the great group of participants we had in the studio at La Cascade this year.

Band Hem Knit Tunic -

Band Hem Knit Tunic Finish a Tabula Rasa Knit Tunic with the swing side using a contrasting band hem. This is such a great alternative on a shaped hem that resists a straight finish. Plus, a hem band offers up another place to use a contrasting fabric and provides weight for better drape on… 

Fabric has been used for centuries to carry newborn babies close to their mothers body. Last week Rae had the privledge of going with her daughter to the mid wife who taught them how to wrap the baby securely in an echarpe de portage. Can you see the little doll peaking out from the top of the criss cross? Such a wonderful use of a piece of fabric and so great to have a chance to try out the process.

The first weekend of the month Toulouse hosts an Antique Market full of interesting treasures in a park near the war memorial. Rae loves to visit and poke around, mostly looking at Textiles. She is wearing one of the spicy summer tops featured in this week's blog. Cool but colorful on a warm summer day. Read more at

Driving through the French countryside this time of year, sunflowers fields are so bright and cheerful. Enjoy the beautiful view with Rae. Wish you were here

Helping her daughter pack her bags for the baby's arrival. Rae was struck by how different baby clothes are these days. She has at Anna's request used her new serger to make little knit hats, scratch mitts and bibs for the new arrival. So cute and functional using scraps from previous projects. Thanks to Peek-a-Boo patterns for some terrific patterns and great directions

During Rae's extended days in France she visited a mall near her daughters house and found a fabric store. She picked up the velcro she needed to finish the baby bibs and admired some bright but light fabric on a super hot day. Check out this week's blog about spicy colored Fit for Art makes for hot summer days on the website. # sewsuccessfully with

Spicy Summer Looks for Hot Days -

Spicy Summer Looks for Hot Days With this year’s French adventure in the rear view mirror, we are back to the basics of sewing garments that look and feel great. Our current home page banner offers a look at some spicy summer looks that can be stitched up in a hurry. (See an image of the… 

While at La Cascade, Carrie was busy helping, but also stitching. Check out her scrap lace sleep mask, her embellished painted snippet strip, her excellent pressing skills getting the apron pressed for Nese's gift and helping Anna serve fabulous pastry to our busy stitchers. Our studio time this year was rich with successful sewing experiences.