Use the cutting layout printed in the instructions for your size, your view and your fabric width — it exists because the pieces genuinely fit that way.
Grainline first, always. Every piece carries a long double-headed arrow. Measure from each end of that arrow to the selvedge and make the two distances equal. A piece cut off grain twists in wear and no amount of pressing corrects it. This single check is worth more than any other step in the layout.
Square the fabric before you start. Fold along a thread line, press, and pull diagonally if the folded edges will not sit flat.
Nap and direction. On corduroy, velvet, brushed fabric and any one-way print, every piece must point the same way. That needs a with-nap layout, which uses more fabric — check the requirements table for the with-nap figure rather than the standard one.
Fit the large pieces first, then slot the small ones — facings, pockets, cuffs — into the gaps. Keep pieces close but never overlapping the cutting lines.
Check you have every piece and the right number of each before cutting. Two fronts, one back on the fold, four cuff pieces. A piece cut once when it needed cutting twice is discovered only when the fabric is gone.
Weight rather than pin where you can, especially on fine or coated fabric. Pins distort the piece and leave holes.
Cut the notches outwards, and transfer the internal marks before lifting the pattern off.
Questions people actually ask
My fabric is narrower than the layout assumes.
Use the layout for the nearest narrower width, or lay the pieces out yourself keeping every grainline parallel to the selvedge. Expect to need more length.
Can I ignore the layout to save fabric?
Only if you keep grain and nap correct. Most creative layouts fail on one of those two, and both are visible in the finished garment.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11