How to trace sewing patterns

We all know we should trace a pattern before cutting, but how many of us can honestly say we do? Here are our top tips for perfect tracing

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Roisin McKenna

Published: May 23, 2022 at 8:40 am

It’s best practice to trace your pattern before cutting into it. If you worked for a designer and cut into their master pattern you’d never live it down! If you’ve spent good money on a pattern, it’s nice to save it for future use and be able to pass it on to family or friends should you wish.

Sometimes tracing is optional, but sometimes when patterns are double-sided or overlapped you have little choice. Tracing allows you to make multiple versions should you wish, which is especially important if the garment has multiple variations. You might need to remake the pattern in larger or smaller sizes further down the line; and you will also be able to make any amendments if need be.

Why trace a pattern?

It’s best practice to trace your pattern before cutting into it. If you worked for a designer and cut into their master pattern you’d never live it down! If you’ve spent good money on a pattern, it’s nice to save it for future use and be able to pass it on to family or friends should you wish.

Sometimes tracing is optional, but sometimes when patterns are double-sided or overlapped you have little choice. Tracing allows you to make multiple versions should you wish, which is especially important if the garment has multiple variations. You might need to remake the pattern in larger or smaller sizes further down the line; and you will also be able to make any amendments if need be.

Tools for tracing patterns

There are a few basic tools you will need to trace a pattern. As with any task, there are specialist tools you can buy to make the task simpler, but it’s always best to start with the basics if you’re a beginner and see how much you enjoy your first few projects!

To begin tracing a pattern, as you might have guessed, you’ll need some paper, a pencil and a ruler. Dressmaking rulers and curves will make the task much easier, but if all you have to begin with is a meter rule or a 30cm ruler, these will work fine.

Specialist pattern paper for tracing is inexpensive and can be bought in rolls of ten+ meters. If you do a lot of dressmaking this is the most economical way to purchase the paper. Many variations exist: dot and cross paper (with markings at regular intervals); plain paper; and Swedish tracing paper – this paper can be sewn through so you can turn a traced pattern into a toile!

You will also need a mechanical pencil and an eraser. Mechanical pencils are much better for tracing as the ultra-fine lead will give a much sharper line than a regular pencil.

Other tools which might come in handy include a tracing wheel, pattern weights and a light box – these aren’t essential tools but if you have them in your toolkits already, you’ll definitely be able to make use of them!

Toile making

Run up a quick sample of your traced pattern to check the fit and make any necessary adjustments before cutting into your fabric. You can also pin the paper pattern to your clothing to see how it will fit (provided the garment is a loose-fitting design, this won’t work if the garment is close-fitting).

You will need:

  • Rulers (specialist curves are ideal but a straight ruler will do the job!)
  • Pattern paper (a translucent paper such as tracing paper, thin pattern paper or baking paper works well. Beware that newspaper ink can transfer to your fabric!)
  • tracing wheel (a specialist wheel with spikes for tracing patterns. This leaves little indentations on the paper that you can then join.)
  • Pattern weights (these are useful to stop your paper moving while you are tracing. If you don’t have special weights use tins!)
  • Mechanical pencils (use a mechanical pencil to trace your patterns. The fine lead will create a much sharper line than a regular pencil – if each line is a few mm wide then you can throw the whole pattern off by quite a lot.)
  • Fine liner (like mechanical pencils it’s important to use a pen with a fine nib for marking patterns or you could inadvertently add to the pattern sizing!)
  • light box (not necessary, just helpful if you have one!)

Preparing the pattern

Step 1

Before you begin, make sure your pattern is as flat as possible. A crinkled pattern will be difficult to trace and any folds could lead to you tracing a smaller piece than intended. If need be you can iron your pattern on a low heat setting to remove any creases.

Sewing pattern tracing 1

Outline your size using a highlighter or a felt tip pen. Mark all pattern markings as well (darts, grainlines, notches etc.).

Step 2

Tracing sewing patterns 2

Lay your pattern on a flat work surface such as a desk or dining room table. Place the pattern paper on top and secure with pattern weights. Weights are much better than pins as they won’t mark your paper or get in the way of your tracing. Pins will also cause the paper to lift slightly which could result in uneven tracing.

Step 3

Tracing sewing patterns 4

Alternatively you can place your pattern paper underneath the pattern and use a tracing wheel to trace over your size. If you are doing this make sure to protect your work surface with a cutting mat.

Tracing the pattern

Step 1

Tracing sewing patterns 3

Start by marking the highlighted line with dots or dashes – straight lines can be marked with a dot at each end and connected later on with a ruler (e.g. sleeve side seams or shoulder seams). Marking curves in this way will also help you to achieve a more accurate result than tracing directly from the pattern. Make sure your markings aren’t too heavy as you may need to erase some if you make a mistake.

Step 2

Tracing sewing patterns 5

Connect all of your pencil markings and then trace over them with a fine liner. Make sure to include all pattern markings such as notches, darts, pivot points, gathering lines etc.

Finishing

Step 1

Tracing sewing patterns 6

Label your pattern pieces with the pattern name, piece name, cutting information and any grainlines or foldlines to finish. This is important as it will help you to see if a piece is missing. Even though you might think you’ll remember which piece is which, in a year’s time you’ll have no memory of which pattern a random collar piece belongs to – trust us!

Step 2

This method will give you a copy of your pattern to use for your project. Once you have made any necessary adjustments to the pattern (bust, shoulder, stomach etc.) you could also trace a copy onto manilla card.

Card patterns will stand the test of time and can be manoeuvred easily. Their weight makes them great for tracing onto paper and they can also be used to hack patterns if ever you decide to customise the design even further. Store card patterns hanging up and try to avoid folding your traced paper patterns, instead roll them and store them in tubes.

We hope you found this guide to tracing sewing patterns useful. For more simple sewing how-tos, check out our sewing for beginners guide. If you’re new to sewing, you might also find it useful to take a look at our how to use a sewing machine guide.

Roisin McKenna

Technical Editor

Simply Sewing magazine’s Technical Editor Roisin loves every part of the dressmaking process, from sketching to sewing the final design, and enjoys working with luxury fabrics such as silk and chiffon. She’s a sewing pattern pro with a skill for adjusting and hacking patterns to fit and for editing dressmaking instructions to make them accessible to sewists of all abilities. Before she came to Simply Sewing, the tea-drinking fabric-lover ran her own handmade Lingerie Etsy shop. She drinks a lot of tea and shares a mix of dressmaking projects and fashion history on her Instagram @roisin_handmade.
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