How to Read a Vogue Sewing Pattern
Vogue sewing patterns are known for being more upscale and complicated compared to other sewing pattern brands. They often have extra pattern pieces that require more than your basic sewing skills. Of course, the brand did recently come out with its Very Easy Vogue line of patterns that is a little more beginner friendly.
Even though the patterns themselves tend to be more complicated, Vogue pattern instructions and markings are fairly standard and not too complicated to follow. If you’re just picking up your first Vogue pattern, I’ll walk you through the layout and instructions so that you know how to approach the construction of the garment and can easily get started.
Reading a Vogue pattern envelope
The sewing pattern envelope will tell you basic information about design features, fabric, sizing, and supplies you need to create the final garment. It will let you know how much fabric to buy and what size to make so your finished garment will fit you. Always keep the pattern envelope and don’t throw it out. The information on the envelope is usually not repeated anywhere else on the pattern pieces or instruction booklet.
The front of the pattern envelope
On the front of the envelope, you’ll find the basic information to expect from your sewing pattern. It usually only includes what each version of the final garment will look like and the size of the pattern pieces.
The information you’ll find on the front of the pattern envelope includes:
- Pictures of the main design and alternate versions. Usually, this is alterations in sleeves and length, but sometimes other design details are different too.
- The number of the pattern. This helps you organize and reference the pattern later.
- The sizes included in the pattern (always double-check this, most Vogue patterns are split into XS-M sizes and L-XXL sizes)
The back of the pattern envelope
The back of the vogue pattern envelope is split into two parts, one in English and the other in French. Usually, it will have the instructions in English, followed by the same instructions in French. So it always looks like there’s a lot of information crammed onto the back of the pattern, but it’s really just the same thing twice.
The English part of the pattern envelope will give the fabric amounts and measurements in inches, feet, and yards. The French side will give these numbers in centimeters and meters.
1. Size guide
The size guide is located on the flap of the pattern envelope. If you untuck it from the top, you’ll see the size recommendations based on your bust, waist, and hip measurements. Use these as guidelines to help you pick the right size and purchase enough fabric.
The sizes of sewing patterns do not correlate with sizes in a department store. For example, if you’re a size 6 normally, you might be somewhere around a size 12 or 14 on the sewing pattern. You want to base the size you choose on your body measurements only.
What to expect from Vogue sizes
With most Vogue patterns I’ve used, the size recommendations have been pretty accurate. Meaning, if I made the size according to my measurements and their size guide, the final garment fit the way I like it to, not too big and not too small.
I just want to point this out because many other sewing pattern brands tend to err on the side of too big. So I often have to size down with other sewing patterns, but Vogue patterns tend to be true to size. (in my experience)
2. Description and type of fabric
The first section gives a quick description of the garments in the sewing pattern. It can give you some details it’s hard to tell from just the pictures. For example, which areas of the clothes are lined or what type of zipper should be used.
The section also includes fabric recommendations. It lets you know what type of fabric will work best with this pattern. It can also include information such as requiring fabrics that stretch, or whether the pattern will work with fabric that has a nap or is printed with diagonals.
3. How much fabric you need
The next section lets you know how much fabric you need for the size pattern you want to make. Usually, it will be separated into 45” and 60” fabric since most bolts of fabric will come in one of these two standard widths. It will also include the amount of contrast fabric you need if the design uses more than one color.
4. Interfacing, lining, and notions
Underneath the fabric amounts, you’ll also see yardage for interfacing and lining. Since you usually are not going to line or add interfacing to an entire garment, these amounts are significantly less than the fabric yardage.
The notions section lets you know what types of other supplies you need and exactly how much of them. For example, how much elastic you need, or how many buttons. This will be broken down by the different designs included in the pattern since they usually need different supplies to complete.
5. Finished garment measurements
This section will tell you what to expect from the measurements of the finished garment you’re making. It will usually only give you the final length of the final garment. In my opinion, this is not the most helpful information, but it can give you an idea of how far a skirt will go on your legs.
Some newer patterns have started to include the finished bust and waist measurements on the envelope. This is more useful and can give you an idea of how much ease the finished garment will have when you wear it.
6. Stretch guide
On patterns that use stretch knit fabric, you will also see a stretch guide. This will let you know how far your fabric needs to be able to stretch for it to work with the pattern. To use it, hold the fabric up to the guide with your fingers at the edge of the gray section. Pull the fabric as far as it will go, and see if it stretches enough to reach the end of the stretch guide.
7. Line art for the back of the design
You will also see line art on the back of the pattern envelope. This gives you a slightly more detailed view of the front and back of the garments compared to the front of the envelope.
The Vogue instruction sheet
The instruction booklet is where you’ll find more detailed information about how to cut and sew the pattern. It contains a guide for the markings you’ll find on the tissue paper, and it includes instructions for how to put the whole thing together.
1. Line art and pattern pieces
The first section of Vogue pattern instructions includes the front and back line art of the garments you’re making. Usually, this will be more detailed than the line art you see on the pattern envelope.
Just below this section, you’ll see the shape of each pattern piece labeled with numbers. Below these shapes, you see labels for all the pieces. These labels will also tell you which design view the piece is used for. For example, pattern piece 1 might be used for designs A and B, while piece 11 is used for designs C and D.
2. Pattern cutting layouts
Vogue patterns also include recommended cutting layouts to guide you through cutting out your pattern pieces without using too much fabric. You’ll see cutting layouts for 60” fabric, and 45” fabric, and for interfacing and contrast colors as well.
3. Sewing information
The sewing information section includes a key for the following sewing instructions and basic sewing skills that will be referenced in the directions. For example, if it ever tells you to clip the corners or curves, this section shows you what is meant by that.
4. Vogue sewing instructions
The sewing instructions are fairly standard, especially if you’re used to following other common brands of sewing patterns. Since Vogue sewing patterns tend to be more involved than other common brands, the instructions can be a bit complicated. However, the Vogue patterns that I’ve used have done a good job of explaining the steps and using clear pictures, making them easy to follow.
Vogue cutting and markings guide
Vogue uses fairly standard markings on their pattern pieces. Most of these will be the same for other pattern brands, such as McCalls and Simplicity. However, there may be some slight differences, so I’ve included a guide of all the markings you might see on Vogue pattern pieces.
The guide for some of the basic markings can be found in the general direction section of the pattern instructions.
Here is a quick guide for all the symbols you’ll find on Vogue pattern pieces:
- Lines for pattern sizes (on a multi-size pattern)
- The numbered pattern piece (so you know which ones to trace and cut)
- Number of pieces to cut (lets you know the number of this piece to cut from your fabric)
- Hem allowance (this will let you know how big the hemline is supposed to be)
- Seam allowance (this is used when a specific seam has an allowance different than the standard ⅝ inch. You may see a special notation for this around the sleeves or neckline)
- Waistline (lets you know where your natural waist should be. Lengthen or shorten the pattern if it’s not lining up with your actual waist)
- Center front and center back lines (a reference line to help you line up the center of your pattern pieces)
- Cut on the fold (this is also the grainline for pieces that are cut on the fold)
- Notch marks for lining up pieces
- Fold line (for pieces that are folded in half, like waistbands)
- Seam attachment symbols (lets you know where the seams need to meet up)
- Stitch line (if there is shirring or stitching in the center of a pattern piece, not for seam allowance stitch line)
- Sleeve easing notations (you should ease the sleeve head between these points)
- Button marks and buttonholes
- Grainline of fabric (if there is no grainline, check to see if it’s cut on the fold. If so, the fold is your grainline)
- Shorten and lengthen lines (these are the same as any other pattern)
- Final hip, bust, and waist measurements (this lets you know what the final measurements should be)
