Project plan: cut list, order of work and measurements
The plan for the project you chose at setup: its sizes, fabric and notions, the pieces to cut, the order of work, and your measurements if it is a garment. Seeded from your setup.
For a first pass, the plan, the cut list and the order of work are essential: they are what Your project sews from. The measurements sheet is essential only if your project is a garment; otherwise it can wait.
The plan
Fill this in before you cut. The care note is for the finished item, written from the bolt end.
Cut list
One row per piece. The calculators fill in the sizes; tick Cut as each piece comes off the fabric.
Order of work
The order you will sew in, seeded for the project you chose. Press each seam before another seam crosses it.
Measurements
Only for a garment. Take them with a helper, over the underwear you will wear, with the tape snug but not tight.
How to use these sheets
- Plan before you cut. Fill the plan and the cut list from the calculators, then sew a test sample on the real fabric and tick it before the shears come out.
- One piece, one row. A piece cut twice is one row with a quantity of 2. Grain says how the piece lies on the fabric; on the fold means it is cut doubled with one edge on the fold.
- The order of work is a draft. It was seeded for your project; if your pattern's guide sheet gives a different order, the guide sheet wins.
- Measurements are a record. They are for choosing a pattern size and nothing else. Date them; Simplicity suggests retaking them every six months.
Dana's plan: two envelope covers for pillow forms sold as 18 in that measure 17 1/2 in, with 1/2 in seams. The pillow calculator gave a front of 18 1/2 × 18 1/2 in and two backs of 12 1/4 × 18 1/2 in each, on this manual's labelled assumptions of a 4 in overlap and 1 in hems. Her cut list has those three rows with a quantity of 2 each, and the pillowcase rows from Seams and a first piece above them, ticked. The measurements are invented for the example.
The plan is yours, and so is the result. The sheets record sizes and decisions; they do not say whether a garment will fit (a tissue fit or a muslin does) or whether anything made for a child meets the federal rules for children's clothing sold in the US. For a child, the drawstring and sleepwear cautions in Closures and elastic and Choosing and preparing fabric apply.