Fittingly Sew, your
Layout, and Fabric
space
Almost anyone can put a dress together somehow. But clean lines, the silhouette that flatters the wear’s figure while keeping in the fashion these are a matter of cut.
Cut cannot be camouflaged. Mistakes made with scissors will show through the loveliest of fabrics, and the most skilful sewing.
The first golden rule for home dressmaking is Take care over cutting out. Never hurry. Concentrate completely.
To cut out well does not mean that you must be very skilful or have had a great deal of experience; there are no hidden mysteries in this process that are only revealed to the few. But care, deliberation, and concentration these will make you a successful cutter.
To have success every time you create a pattern with Fittingly Sew the above guidelines should be followed. Spread yourself on the job. Have the room to yourself if possible to aid concentration. Collect and place nearby all your tools; cutting-out sheers, smaller scissors, plenty of pins or convenient pincushion, tape measure, tracing wheel or tailor's chalk.
Iron fabric, pin selvages together every few inches to ensure having centre fold straight down the material.
Use Fittingly Sew to plan your layout, and to determine the amount of fabric you'll need to cut your pattern out.
You have created patterns for the above design. You will need to know how much fabric would be sufficient to make up the design. Remember the cut is important and a bad cut will result in fitting problem.
So open your pattern in the Fittingly Sew Pattern window. Then go to the Edit Menu, subcommand Document Info. Under Fabric Space we have made the width 30 inches, as most fabric width is 60 inches, and our fabric is placed on the fold. We now need to work out how much yard of 60 inches wide fabric is needed . So do your layout. Arrange the pieces on screen. Line up pieces that will be placed on the fold, on the edge of the Fabric space. Remember to display your seam allowances to avoid pattern pieces overlapping. Name your pieces to make them easy to identify.
Once you are satisfied with the layout, then go to the Display menu and Select subcommand Fabric Grid.This will divide the screen into grid and display the amount of fabric needed to make up your pattern.
Play around with your layout as much as you
can. Keep in mind pieces that have to be laid on the fold. 
Once you are satisfied with your layout you will see from the grid how much fabric is needed. For this simple design layout roughly 2½ yards will be needed, of 60 inches wide fabric.
Fittingly Sew gives you full control over your pieces, they can be rotated, flip vertically, horizontally, and laid on the bias, to make the best use of your fabric space.
In the layout below the pieces were joined and laid on the bias. The bodice pieces were duplicated and laid as individual pieces, along with the bias strips.
It is also necessary before you start cutting to make all preparations. Make sure you have created all the pieces needed for your design. Think about facings. Make sure you have added the right amount of seam allowance to areas that need a wide allowance. Never cut fabric that has wrinkles and fold lines, seam press these out. Never take cutting-out lightly!