January 2025 – Pattern hacking with Charlotte Cronin

Charlotte Cronin shared with us her process and several examples of how she “hacks” patterns to create unique tops. She draws inspiration from her favorite ready-to-wear brands to determine which styles to make. Then, using her tried and true patterns from Sewing Workshop, she modifies them to resemble the garments that inspire her. This involves changing seam placements and/or merging patterns to create different sleeve styles or collars. The new tops incorporate just enough changes and feature different fabrics, so it’s undetectable that she is using the same base pattern. Charlotte told us she finds a dress form to be an invaluable tool throughout this process and that she traces everything, never cutting the original pattern. Additionally, she shared her detailed method for keeping track of her patterns and the new “hacked” versions.

Show & Tell