Month: August 2023

How often do you make a new garment following every single line of the pattern and every single direction about how to sew it together? If you’ve been sewing for more than a nanosecond, I’m willing to bet that it is rare for you to do this. And how often do you look at a commercial pattern and say to yourself, “I generally like it, but I’m not so enamoured about the…fill in the blanks.” It could be the sleeve length, the yoke at the back that seems unnecessary, the amount of design ease. Take your pick.

So often, these days, a commercial pattern is only the beginning. Does this mean you’re “hacking” the pattern? (*rolls eyes*) Or perhaps it means you’ve found a better way to do something or a way to improve the design and fit—for you. This is what makes commercial patterns fun. So, where did we get the idea that this was “hacking?”

If you have spent more than ten seconds on Instagram, you’ve probably seen oddities as you scroll. I see scarf hacks, travel hacks, packing hacks, T-shirt hacks, cooking hacks, life hacks, and the list goes on. Hacking seems to be all over the place.

In my view, here’s what these really mean:

• Scarf hack = scarf-tying methods
• Travel hack = buying a shirt that rolls up small (Yes, this was really called a travel hack.)
• Packing hack = using common sense and buying packing cubes
• Cooking hacks = using the right tool
• T-shirt hacks = putting it on upside down and tying it over your shoulder (or something like that)
• Life hack = using common sense

The term’s actual meaning —at least according to online dictionaries—is gaining unauthorized access to data in a system or computer.” Computer hackers, anyone? So, I guess the idea of hacking just naturally migrated to doing “unauthorized things” to everything. This is pure BS. And, as far as I’m concerned, it denigrates what you’re doing when you redesign something. It’s a creative pursuit—unlike simply being smart enough to buy a T-shirt that doesn’t wrinkle for travelling. (*rolls eyes—again*)

And even if you believe there’s something a bit “unauthorized” about making redesign changes to your pattern, some of the pattern companies now have the nerve to suggest they’re selling a pattern designed to be hacked. Dear god, where’s the unauthorized creativity in that?

All Well Sewing Patterns offers what they call a “hacking guide.” It’s just a pattern with a simple body and variations. You take your pick. There’s nothing hacky about that—or even very creative.

(Image credit: https://allwellworkshop.com/what-is-a-hacking-guide)

Then there’s Simplicity 7376. Hacking? It’s just a pattern with variations!!

There is no such thing as pattern hacking. There is only pattern redesign. Calling it hacking is just a way for you to be tricked into thinking it’s something slightly subversive. Have a look at the patterns you own. Are there a few that could use a bit of creative redesign to improve them for you?

When I made Butterick 6324, I used View A with View B front band but not in a contrasting colour. I put it on the bias and lengthened the sleeves to make a cuff. This is a bit of pattern redesign. No hacking involved.

I made so many changes to McCalls 8086 design that it was hardly the same pattern in the end. What I liked was the shirt dress base, but I didn’t want roll-up sleeves, and the whole thing had too much design ease. So, I redesigned the sleeves and curved the body to fit better. Again, redesign.

Vogue 9270 was so awful I redesigned it late in the sewing process. It doesn’t look remotely like the original pattern, does it?

So, here’s what I’m saying. Be creative. Don’t be fooled into thinking you must use a commercial pattern design as it is presented to you. Decide what you like and how it will work for you. And have fun creating your personal design by redesigning a commercial pattern. Just stop hacking!