To match plaids and stripes, buy 25 to 50 percent more fabric than the pattern asks for, cut in a single layer with the fabric right side up, and place each pattern piece so the same bar of the plaid falls at the same notch on both sides of every seam you want to match. Match the side seams, the center front and back, the pockets and the front of the sleeve; accept that shoulder seams, darts and princess seams cannot match. Pin through the stripes from the right side, or hand baste, and sew with a walking foot so the layers do not creep.
Why do plaids and stripes need matching?
A plaid or a horizontal stripe draws lines across the body, and the eye follows them straight into every seam. Where the lines jump by even 3 mm (1/8 in), the garment looks homemade in the wrong way; where they run across the seam unbroken, the seam disappears. Pattern matching is the work of planning the cut so that happens, and it is done at the cutting table, not at the machine.
Matching also includes placement: which bar of the plaid sits at the hem, which runs down the center front, and where the heaviest horizontal falls on the body. A dominant bar across the bust or the widest part of the hip is a choice you make, or fail to make, before cutting.
What do you need?
- 25 to 50 percent extra fabric (see below).
- A large flat surface for a single-layer layout, right side up.
- A ruler and chalk or a water-soluble pen for drawing stripe lines onto the pattern pieces.
- Fine pins, and a hand-sewing needle for basting.
- A walking foot, or the machine's dual-feed, for sewing.
- Pattern pieces with clear notches at the side seams and sleeve.
How much extra fabric do you need to match plaids?
A pattern's fabric quantity assumes a plain fabric cut on the fold. For matching, add one full repeat of the plaid for each pair of pieces you need to match, plus some for single-layer cutting. In practice that is an extra 25 percent for a small repeat of 5 cm (2 in) or less, and 50 percent for a large repeat of 15 cm (6 in) or more, or for an uneven plaid that must all run one way. A top that needs 1.5 m (1 5/8 yd) in plain fabric needs about 2 m (2 1/4 yd) in a plaid. The fabric quantities guide explains how pattern yardages are worked out; the figures in Sewly's sewing guide are for plain fabric too, so add the margin yourself.
How do you cut plaids and stripes so they match, step by step?
- Identify the repeat. Fold the fabric diagonally through the center of a block. If the lines on both sides mirror each other in color and width, the plaid is even. If they do not, it is uneven and behaves like a directional print: every piece must be cut with its top in the same direction. Measure the repeat in both directions.
- Decide the placement. Put the center front and center back on the center of a dominant vertical bar, or exactly between two, and be consistent. Put a dominant horizontal bar at the hem, with the hem fold on its lower edge, rather than cutting through its middle. Hold the fabric up to your body to see where the heavy horizontals land.
- Lay out single layer, right side up, so you can see the plaid under the paper. Straighten the crosswise edge along a bar first; a plaid printed off grain cannot be matched and is best returned.
- Place the front first. Draw the lines of the dominant horizontal bar onto the pattern piece where they cross the side seam, at and below the side notch, and the hem bar at the hem.
- Place the back to match. Set the back so the lines you drew cross the back side seam at the back notch. Side seams match below the armhole notch, where front and back run at the same angle; above it they diverge and the match is lost, which is normal.
- Cut one of a pair, then use it as the template for its mirror image: lay the cut piece face down on the fabric, match its plaid line for line to the plaid underneath, weight it and cut around it. This is more exact than placing the paper twice.
- Sleeves and pockets. Match the sleeve's front armhole notch to the bodice's front notch on the same horizontal bar; the back of the sleeve will not match, and nobody looks there. Cut pockets by placing the paper over the exact spot on the finished front, marking the plaid, and cutting them to continue the lines. Cut collars, yokes and cuffs on the bias as a deliberate contrast if matching them is impossible.
- Pin from the right side. Fold the seam allowance of one piece under along the seam line, lay it over the other so the bars line up, and pin through both layers at right angles to the seam, one pin on every bar. Or slip-baste: tiny hand stitches through the fold and the lower layer, which hold better than pins on a long seam. Basting takes ten minutes and saves unpicking.
- Sew with a walking foot, slowly, removing pins as you reach them. The feed dogs push the bottom layer slightly faster than the top; the walking foot feeds both together, which is the difference between a match at the top of the seam and a drift of 5 mm by the hem. Sewing with a walking foot covers its settings.
- Check and press. Open the seam and look at it from the right side before finishing the allowances. A seam that is off by a bar is worth resewing now.
Which seams can you match and which cannot?
| Seam | Can it match? | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Side seams | Horizontals, yes | At and below the side notch, where front and back run parallel |
| Center front and center back | Both directions | Along the full length if the seam is straight |
| Shoulder seams | No | The front and back run at different angles; the horizontals meet at an angle |
| Sleeve to bodice | Front only | On the front armhole notch |
| Darts | No | The lines bend across the dart; keep darts small or convert them to gathers |
| Princess seams | No | Curved seams cannot match; cut the side panels on the bias instead |
| Patch pockets | Yes | Cut after the front, to continue the lines exactly |
| Waist seams | Horizontals, yes | Place the same bar at the seam line on bodice and skirt |
| Collars, cuffs, yokes | Usually not | Cut on the bias for a chevron, or choose a plain fabric |
Common mistakes when matching plaids
- Cutting on the fold. The two layers slide, and a plaid rarely folds so that the bars align underneath. Single layer, every time.
- Matching the cutting line instead of the seam line. The bars must align where the seam will be, 1.5 cm (5/8 in) in from the edge. On angled seams the difference is visible.
- Ignoring an uneven plaid, so that one side of the garment has the sequence running upward and the other downward.
- Buying the plain-fabric amount and discovering the shortfall at the cutting table.
- Trusting the feed dogs. Without a walking foot or basting, a 40 cm (16 in) seam drifts out of match by the end.
- A dominant bar through the bust or hip that nobody considered before cutting.
When should you skip matching?
Match whenever the plaid is medium to large, the stripe is horizontal and the garment has straight side seams: a shirt, a woven top, a flannel shirt (see sewing with flannel), a straight skirt, pajama trousers. Skip it, or limit it to the center front, for very fine stripes under 5 mm (3/16 in), for tiny gingham and seersucker (see sewing with seersucker), and for gathered or shirred garments, where the lines break anyway. Cutting a whole garment on the bias, so that every stripe runs diagonally, avoids the question and gives chevrons at the seams if you flip the pairs. On a budget of fabric or time, a vertical stripe is the kindest: vertical lines match at the center front and back and disappear at the sides.