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Writer's pictureMingMakes

How to pattern match a seam


Clemence skirt from Tilly and the Buttons book Love At First Stitch

This seemed like an interesting challenge for me, having watched contestants on the Great British Sewing Bee create great results with it. I decided to try pattern matching for the first time on the Clemence skirt from the Tilly and the Buttons book Love At First Stitch.


It is a pattern made up of rectangles and so I thought it would be perfect to try this out on the straight back seam. Here is the back seam of my finished skirt:

Pattern matching on the back seam of the Clemence skirt from Tilly and the Buttons book Love At First Stitch

Tutorial - Pattern matching a seam


In this pattern, the two back pieces are identical rectangles and the seam allowance is 1.5cm. I am demonstrating this on a scaled down version in this post and video. Read on until the end where I share the two rookie errors I made!


Step 1 - Cut the first piece and press the seam allowance under


Cut the first piece in fabric in a single layer. Remember that the pattern piece needs to be flipped back-to-front so that the two back pieces are a mirror image. Here I have cut the piece with the wording on the pattern faced down. (In this particular case, the back pieces are rectangles so this isn't strictly necessary).

One back piece of the Clemence skirt from Tilly and the Buttons book Love At First Stitch indicating the side and centre back seams

Press the seam allowance under at the seam you are matching, in this case it is the centre back seam. I’m using the Clover hot hemmer which is perfect for this kind of task.

Right side of the back piece showing the centre back seam pressed under

Step 2 - Fold the seam allowance on the paper pattern


Fold the paper pattern for the second back piece, so that the seam allowance on the side you are matching is folded over (not under). In this case it is the centre back seam.


Step 3 - Match this piece to the remaining fabric


Place the first piece onto the remaining fabric wherever you can get the pattern to match, ensuring you have enough fabric to allow for the second piece to be cut next to it.