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Simple Sewing and Finishing Details That Can Give Your Handmade Wardrobe a Polished, Designer-Made Look
One of the wonderful things about sewing your own clothes is that an ordinary commercial sewing pattern does not have to look ordinary when you finish it.
Two people can sew exactly the same pattern and end up with garments that look completely different. Fabric choice certainly matters, but there is much more to a beautiful garment than fabric alone.
The difference is often in the details.
A carefully chosen button, a beautifully finished neckline, an unexpected contrast facing, or perfectly placed topstitching can take a simple garment and make it look as though it came from an expensive boutique.
You don't need to add every possible embellishment, either. In fact, some of the most elegant garments are quite simple.
The secret is choosing the right details and executing them well.
Here are some of my favorite ways to give handmade clothing a more polished, designer-made appearance.
1. Start With a Good Fit
Before adding decorative details, concentrate on fit.
An expensive fabric cannot compensate for a garment that pulls across the bust, hangs poorly from the shoulders, has sleeves that are too long, or is simply too large.
Commercial sewing patterns are starting points. Don't be afraid to adjust them for your own body.
You may need to:
Shorten or lengthen the bodice
Adjust the shoulder width
Change the sleeve length
Blend between pattern sizes
Adjust the waist or hip
Raise or lower a neckline
Shorten or lengthen the finished garment
When clothing fits properly, it immediately looks more intentional and polished.
That is one of the greatest advantages of sewing your own wardrobe. You can fit the garment to your body rather than trying to make your body fit ready-to-wear clothing.
2. Choose Buttons That Look Special
Buttons may be small, but they can completely change a garment.
Think about a simple solid-color cardigan or jacket. Ordinary plastic buttons may look perfectly acceptable, but replacing them with beautiful metal, pearl-look, wood, fabric-covered, or decorative buttons can give the garment an entirely different personality.
Vintage buttons can be especially beautiful on handmade clothing.
Before automatically using whatever buttons you have available, place several different styles on the garment and step back.
Ask yourself which buttons look as though they belong there.
Sometimes the right button becomes the jewelry of the garment.
3. Use Topstitching as a Design Feature
Topstitching isn't only functional.
It can also become part of the design.
You might add topstitching around:
Collars
Cuffs
Pockets
Jacket fronts
Waistbands
Yokes
Necklines
Hems
Matching thread creates a subtle professional finish, while contrasting thread makes the stitching a deliberate design feature.
The important part is accuracy. Straight, evenly spaced topstitching looks polished. Uneven stitching attracts attention for the wrong reason.
Take your time.
A few extra minutes at the sewing machine can make an enormous difference in the finished garment.
4. Add Piping for Definition
Piping is another detail that can make a simple pattern look much more sophisticated.
Consider piping around the edge of a jacket, collar, cuff, pocket, neckline, or yoke.
You don't always have to use matching piping.
A navy jacket with cream piping can look crisp and classic. A floral garment might look beautiful with piping made from one of the solid colors found in the print.
You can even make your own piping from leftover fabric.
That allows the detail to coordinate perfectly with the garment.
5. Use Contrast Fabric in Unexpected Places
Contrast fabric doesn't have to dominate the garment.
Sometimes a glimpse of another fabric is much more interesting.
Try using a coordinating fabric for:
Inside cuffs
Collar stands
Pocket linings
Facings
Yokes
Plackets
Waistband facings
Hood linings
Jacket linings
Imagine a solid navy shirt with floral fabric inside the cuffs and collar stand. With the cuffs turned back slightly, just enough of the print appears to make the garment special.
These little surprises are often what make handmade clothing memorable.
6. Pay Attention to Pockets
Pockets are practical, but they are also design elements.
Changing the pocket can change the entire appearance of a garment.
Instead of automatically using the pocket included with the pattern, consider whether another style would look better.
You might choose:
Patch pockets
In-seam pockets
Welt pockets
Flap pockets
Curved pockets
Decorative pockets
Contrast pockets
A simple top can even be personalized with one small pocket made from coordinating print fabric.
Also remember that not every garment needs pockets. Sometimes eliminating a bulky pocket creates a cleaner, more flattering silhouette.
Design is as much about knowing what to leave off as knowing what to add.
7. Give Special Attention to the Hem
The hem is one of the last things you sew, but it should never be an afterthought.
A clean, even hem contributes enormously to the appearance of handmade clothing.
But you can also turn the hemline into part of the design.
Consider:
A curved hem
A shirt-tail hem
A high-low hem
An asymmetrical hem
A handkerchief hem
A faced hem
A lace-trimmed hem
A contrast hem band
Changing the hemline is one of the easiest ways to make a familiar commercial sewing pattern look completely different.
8. Add Lace Without Making the Garment Look Fussy
Lace can look extremely elegant when used selectively.
Instead of covering an entire garment with lace, consider using it as an accent.
Add lace to:
A neckline
Sleeve cuffs
A camisole edge
A yoke
A hemline
The edge of a cardigan
A blouse inset
A dress bodice
You can even substitute lace for part of an existing pattern piece.
A simple blouse with lace sleeves, for example, can look completely different from the same pattern sewn entirely from one fabric.
The key is restraint.
Let the lace be the special detail rather than competing with several other embellishments.
9. Finish the Inside Beautifully
Designer-looking clothing should not stop looking good when you take it off.
Beautiful interior finishing is one of the pleasures of sewing your own clothes.
Depending on the garment and fabric, consider:
French seams
Bound seams
Hong Kong seam finishes
Neatly serged seams
Clean facings
Bias-bound edges
A beautiful lining
Even if nobody else sees the inside, you will.
There is something satisfying about putting on a handmade jacket and knowing that the inside is as thoughtfully constructed as the outside.
10. Add a Beautiful Lining
A lining can completely change how a jacket, coat, skirt, or dress feels.
Instead of automatically choosing plain lining fabric, think about using something with personality.
A conservative solid jacket can hide a beautiful print inside.
A floral jacket might have a coordinating solid lining.
A black jacket could have a rich burgundy lining.
The lining doesn't have to match exactly. It simply needs to look intentional.
A beautiful lining is one of those details that makes a garment feel special every time you put it on.
11. Match Prints Carefully
If you're sewing stripes, plaids, checks, or obvious directional prints, take a little extra time when cutting.
Matching the print at important seams can make a garment look much more professionally constructed.
Pay particular attention to:
Center fronts
Side seams
Pockets
Yokes
Waist seams
Jacket fronts
You don't necessarily have to match every single seam perfectly. Concentrate on the areas where mismatched motifs would be most noticeable.
This may require a little additional fabric, but the finished result can be worth it.
12. Press as You Sew
This may be one of the least glamorous designer secrets, but it is also one of the most important.
Pressing is part of sewing.
Don't wait until the garment is finished to iron it.
Press seams after sewing them.
Press darts.
Press hems before stitching.
Press collars and cuffs.
Press facings.
Shape curves carefully with steam when appropriate for the fabric.
Good pressing helps seams settle into place and gives garments their final shape.
It can make the difference between clothing that looks homemade and clothing that looks beautifully handmade.
13. Don't Add Everything to One Garment
Once you begin discovering all the ways you can customize sewing patterns, it can be tempting to use every idea at once.
Resist that temptation.
A garment doesn't need decorative buttons, contrast piping, lace, embroidery, unusual pockets, a dramatic hem, and contrast cuffs all at the same time.
Choose a focal point.
If you're using spectacular fabric, let the fabric be the star.
If the garment has an unusual neckline, keep other details quieter.
If you're using beautiful statement buttons, give them room to be noticed.
Designer style is often about restraint.
14. Coordinate the Details With Your Wardrobe
Before adding a design feature, think about how you plan to wear the garment.
If you're sewing a jacket that will be worn with black, beige, brown, and off-white tops, details that coordinate with those colors will make the jacket even more versatile.
This is where sewing your own clothes becomes especially rewarding.
You aren't simply making a garment.
You're designing part of a wardrobe.
Buttons, trims, linings, contrast fabrics, and topstitching can all help connect one garment to other pieces you already own.
Look Beyond the Pattern Envelope
A commercial sewing pattern gives you the foundation.
You decide what happens next.
You can change the buttons.
You can reshape the hem.
You can add piping.
You can remove a pocket.
You can add lace.
You can line the jacket with something unexpected.
You can use contrast fabric inside the cuffs.
You can change the sleeve.
You can improve the fit.
Those decisions are what turn pattern following into garment design.
The next time you look at a commercial sewing pattern, don't only look at the garment pictured on the envelope.
Look at the possibilities.
Ask yourself, "What could I do to make this look like mine?"
Expensive Looking Doesn't Have to Mean Expensive
Creating beautiful handmade clothing isn't about spending the most money.
It's about making thoughtful choices.
A reasonably priced fabric combined with excellent fit, careful pressing, attractive buttons, neat topstitching, and beautiful finishing can produce a garment that looks far more expensive than its actual cost.
That is one of the wonderful advantages of knowing how to sew.
You don't have to depend on a designer to create the details you love.
You can become the designer.
At The Designer's Needle, I want to encourage sewists to look beyond simply following commercial sewing patterns. Learn the techniques, understand the pattern, and then make thoughtful changes that turn it into clothing that reflects your own style.
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary handmade clothing is often found in the smallest details.
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