ROBERTS | WOOD is a design studio focusing on an innovative approach to textiles and construction. We are committed to developing sustainable, flexible production methods, valuing a hybrid of technology and artisanal making.
After a PDF pattern has been purchased, you will receive an order confirmation email (which contains a summary of the product you have purchased), followed by an email containing a link to the download the pattern and instruction files.
Order confirmation and emails containing the download link will be sent to the email address that you provide at the time of purchase and emails should arrive within 24 hours of purchase.
It is important to note that our PDF patterns are a digital download purchase - no paper documentation will be sent to you. All information will be provided electronically by email.
There are a couple of reason that our emails might not appear in your inbox within 24 hours. Sometimes an email address provided at checkout can have a typo, sometimes our customers have a full inbox and sometimes our emails can end up in a spam folder.
But don’t worry, if you have any trouble accessing the files that you have purchased or if they don’t arrive within 24 hours, just send us an email with your name and ideally your order confirmation number (which we will match will our sales records) and we will assist in getting you a copy of the documents you have purchased.
Send any queries to:
info@roberts-wood.com
Our PDF patterns and instructions files are sent via an email containing a link to download the pattern and instruction files. The downloaded pattern and instruction files come in a single zip file.
If you have an issue unzipping the files or opening the pdf files please send us email and we will provide assistance to resolve any technical issues.
We aim to get back to everyone as quickly as possible and almost always within 24-48hours.
Please bear in mind, we are a small independent company and on the odd (rare) occasion messages get missed. Please do not hesitate to send a follow up if we haven’t got back to you. We really want to assist as much as possible.
Ours designs are generally very complex to draft and grade. We use don’t use nested sizing, because the patchwork piece designs use many, many small pattern pieces. If we were to nest the pattern pieces, like a traditional pattern design, it would be impossible for our customers to determine which lines to cut as we would end up with tens of lines touching or 1-2mm apart on every pattern piece. Additionally there wouldn't be space to annotate the lines clearly between nested sizes.
For our patchwork designs, a nested sizing approach would also not be of any help to customers that normally tweak fit by altering patterns between nested sizing lines. Our grading lines cross so many pattern pieces that this approach would make additional drawn lines impossible to follow.
Therefore we have opted for a non-nested sizing approach. We recognise this approach is unusual when compared to standard patterns, however our patterns are not standard, and we are trying to make something really unique and special - this sizing method is the best solution available for this type of design.
We recognise fit is a very personal issue, so sizing data is provided to give you the information you need to make your own decisions, that work best for you.
We always recommend referring to the final garment sizing measurement tab on the garment listing on the website when deciding which size to go with, as many of our garments are not particularly 'fitted' (We hope our offering can fit as many body types as possible).
Using the final garment sizing measurement means you can choose a size based your body measurement plus the amount of ease you want. (A quick word on ease - If were to sew a pattern (in a woven fabric) that matched your exact body measurements, it would be like a second skin and you wouldn’t have any range of movement. So we add ease. )
Below is a very generalised guide to ease which may be useful (for dresses, shirts, skirts etc), but please feel free to use your own experience and preferences:
Elasticated: no ease
Fitted: 3-6cm of ease
Relaxed: 7-11cm of ease
Loose: 12-19cm of ease
Oversized: more than 20cm of ease
Free sizing: The ease measurement is so big it really has no relation to the body (see for example the hip measurement on the Elysia dress).
(*jackets and coats are slightly different - you will want a few more cm of ease for outerwear than the suggested measurements above)
A lot of our garments are designed with a relaxed / loose fit or an oversized silhouette, rather than being fitted. We always provide a general statement for each garment to say what the design intent of the garment fit is. But you are of course welcome choose a size that means that the garments fit will be different to the design intent.
Some of our trousers and skirts have elasticated waists and for these designs, we provide both an un-gathered measurement and a range of suitable finished garment sizes once elastic has been added.
And if you’re still unsure….just drop us a quick email and we will try and help answer any specific questions.
Where products are not single size, each download is a bundle which includes 2 sizes of the pattern. Note the two sizes in each bundle are supplied as separate patterns / separate files (i.e the patterns are not nested together on the same file).
In cases where the sizes are marked with a hyphen (e.g size 6-8) this represent one single-size pattern. For examples if the bundle is labeled ‘Size 6-8 and Size 10-12’ you will received 1 pattern file relating to the size 6-8 and 1 pattern relating to size 10-12.
On some of our patterns, we refer to sizes 6-8 or 10-12 but this does not mean, the pattern or download contains multiple patterns. It means that the single pattern provided will typically fit someone that is about a size 6 or size 8.
We only use this approach where typically the amount of ease in the pattern is significantly greater than a typical measurement between grades. For example the when grading from a size 6 to 8, the bust measurement usually increase by 2-3cm, however if the pattern is oversized with 20cm ease on the bust a single pattern is suitable to cover the majority of people in both size 6-8.
Generally with grading, the amount a pattern grows between sizes, increase as you go up the size range, so for some of our patterns with move from a hyphinated pattern approach (e.g. size 6-8) to a single size (size 18) within a pattern to account for this
If you’ve got experience of making patterns alterations then of course its possible to amend ROBERTS | WOOD KiT patterns to tweak fit (etc). The main difference between altering a ROBERTS | WOOD KiT patchwork pattern and a more traditional pattern is that you likely need to make pattern changes to more pieces than you would normally. So where are you might only normally alter 1 or 2 pattern pieces, with a patchwork pattern you are more likely to need to alter 4-6 pieces. But if you got a little skill and patience then making alterations is certainly possible.
Also, for all you talented pattern cutters out there, you will find that having lots of seams just means you have endless options of where to add or remove volume!
A last word on pattern changes. Even if you have never altered a pattern before, just owning a pattern is the first step in your pattern cutting learning journey.