Blog - Patterns for Pirates

Tips and Tricks on How to Up-Cycle Jeans/Denim

June 13, 2015

Making jeans can be a little intimidating for some… and we’ve already had a post here about making jeans look more like store bought jeans with details like top-stitching thread and distressing.

But, a really easy way to get your jeans looking professional is to use an old pair that an adult is throwing/giving away! This means a lot less work for you distressing and top-stitching if you’re smart about laying out your pattern pieces! So here it goes…my tips on using pre-existing jeans:

1- Making a few cuts along the seams can really make cutting your pieces much easier! I like to cut along the inside legs/crotch, cut off the waistband and beltloops, and the back pockets.

2- Be cautious about distressed/washed jeans and laying out your pattern pieces… meaning, if your jeans have a very obvious fade/wash/distress pattern on them then you need to make sure you like where it will be placed and that it will match when you sew up your jeans. For this pair, I wanted the distressed area of the original jeans, so I laid my patterns around that. Notice that my two pieces are very close to the same area horizontally, and that the back yoke is placed above the back piece. All of this will ensure that the distressing and wash look natural on my finished jeans.

You can also use the original hem line if you prefer to get that instead. Remember to account for hem allowance. I did that with this pair, because my jeans didn’t have a very noticeable distressing.

Use the back pockets when cutting your new pockets, Remember to account for the hem allowance at the top.

If you’d like to use the waistband and belt loops you can…. but warning, unpicking those belt loop stiches is not fun 😉

If you pattern calls for elastic in the waistband, like my Cpt. Comfort Jeans, then you will have to cut a slit on the wrong side of the waistband to slip your elastic through- I just use a wide zigzag to mend the slit after (I hide the zigzag stitches behind a belt loop!). Make sure when overlapping that you line up your jeans button and button hole, you can see here on mine they overlapped much more then the pattern called for. Then you will tack down the bottom of the belt loops 🙂

3- Now that you have your pieces cut you will continue to sew them just like the pattern calls for matching the store bought top-stitching thread as best you can. And although they have a wash and distressing, I STILL distress along the way! That way my finished jeans will have the distressing where store bought jeans do, like along pocket lines.

Now you have a great fitting (no plumbers crack!) pair of jeans that cost you nothing but the thread and time <3 and plus they look amazing!

How to Sew “ready to wear” looking Jeans/Denim

June 13, 2015

Jeans can be an intimidating sewing task, but they really aren’t that difficult and it is so great to have well fitting jeans for you or your little ones! No more plumbers crack when bending down!!!!! 😉

With my recent release of the Cpt. Comfort Jeans I wanted to post about how to distress your new denim to look more like ready to wear jeans! I personally LOVE the distressed look! Although a super clean dark denim can look nice as a “dressy” pair of jeans like here:

But for everyday, I just love the little distressed look… something about looking like Daddy gets me every time with my little guy!

So, lets get started on those great store bought look jeans!

You really MUST use a top-stitching thread for all your top-stiching if you want store bought look… I scoffed at my Mom the first time she told me it was a must… BUT she was right, like always!!

You will use this heavier/thicker weight top-stitching thread in the top only and for top-stitching only. You will use regular thread in the bobbin and for all seams sewing the jeans together– yep, you have to rethread a lot ;). But it is absolutely worth it if you want ready to wear looking jeans! I promise!

You will also NEED a bigger needle designed for heavy weight fabric like denim or you will be breaking needles on those thick belt loops!… here is a single and double needle:

Now, I only have one machine, so there is A LOT of switching threads and needles if I use the double needle. So, I will often just sew two lines with my single needle instead of switching to my double needle 😉

Now for the distressing, you will need some sandpaper! To be honest, I’m not sure the BEST kind of sandpaper to use… I asked my husband if he had some and used whatever he handed me 😉 Here is a shot of the kind I happen to use!

The trick to distressing your denim is to do at WHILE you’re sewing the jeans! If you try to do it before it’s hard to gauge where the distressing needs to be. If you do if after you’ve top-stitched them then you will be breaking your top-stitching threads (ask me how I know that one 😉 ) see left top pocket with it’s broken threads :/ oops!

So, I suggest sewing the jeans together with your normal thread, then distressing with sandpaper before you top-stitch. Here is my patch pocket sewn, turned right sides out, and distressed along the edges (and any other places I fancied at the moment). Then I top-stitched.

Some areas are harder to distress before topstitching like back pockets, belt loops, any piece that you are top-stitching closed or onto the jean. But I still follow the same steps. I just fold and press, distress, then top-stitch onto the back piece.

So have fun with a little distressing or A LOT! lol! I like a lot 😉 I end up with a mound of blue fuzz all my sewing room by the time I’m done!

Last is the button! I love to use “real” jeans buttons- and honestly, I always have been lucky enough to take them from my loving mother’s stash! But they are very easy to put on, just line up the two parts and hammer away! Yep, you’ll have sandpaper and a hammer in your sewing room for jeans!!

I’ve always used snaps, which are very common on ready to wear for younger children 🙂

Patterns for Pirates and Girl Charlee

June 13, 2015

My love for drafting great modern pdf sewing patterns for women has found a great match…Girl Charlee Fabrics!

We’re both all about modern, trendy looks! And like Girl Charlee I mostly design for knit fabrics 🙂

Here is the first Girl Charlee sponsored pattern of mine: the Everyday Elegance Top

This top is perfect for everyday wear with a great put together look! The loose flowy fit is so comfortable and flattering for women of all ages and shapes! Speaking of shapes, this pattern is from XXS-XXXL… if you’d like to see it in all sizes head over to my group where you can find every size modeled and what fabric they used! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1489835597930083/

I’m wearing Girl Charlee peach skin on the cover photo, this is a soft woven fabric with a lovely drape. It is one of the easiest drapey wovens I’ve ever worked with, because it’s not slippery! Plus! 🙂

Here I am in another Girl Charlee fabric- their chiffon.

Now SOME chiffons can be more difficult to work with, but this navy and white dot wasn’t! Although it is still chiffon, so it doesn’t like to hold a press well, it wasn’t super slippery while sewing. I LOVE this one! The super soft drape is a perfect match for this loose top!

This top can also be made is a knit fabric, which Girl Charlee is best known for! Here is my LOVELY sister in an all knit Everyday Elegance Top:

Isn’t she beautiful? Made in a soft knit, you can’t beat the comfort level of this shirt! And yet, you still look dressed nice, trendy, and even professional enough to go to work, church or out for some fun!

Some of the details on the shirt are the V front and rounded collar here:

That’s right ladies, no tricky placket or buttons for you to get frustrated with! All the techniques on this top are easy and quick!

The sleeves have a small gather at the shoulder seam:

That means all your ease is in that gather–no tricky easing in the set in sleeves! YAY! Again, easy techniques!

The button tabs add such a cute and trendy look to the 3/4 sleeve, so you can wear this top year round!

And the longer tunic length with curved hem is perfect for pairing with leggings, skinny jeans or even your favorite work slacks! No more worrying about anything hanging out when you bend over 😉

And last the back yoke is perfect to play with fabric combos, and the back pleat gives it the extra flowy looseness you need in the back 😉

Not so into loose blouses? That’s okay! This pattern also comes with a quick and easy belt you can tie around at empire, waist or hips-whichever is most flattering for your figure!

Oh… look at that baby bump looking oh so adorable in this non-modified knit Everyday Elegance Top!

So… since Patterns for Pirates and Girl Charlee make such a great pair we decided not only to work together with pattern sponsorship, but Girl Charlee will also be the first and only other place besides Craftsy and Etsy where you can buy a Patterns for Pirates pattern! To kick off our partnership we’re running a CONTEST AND GIVEAWAY!

Come join my facebook group to enter your change to win 3 Patterns for Pirates patterns of your choice AND a $25 gift card to Girl Charlee!

To enter you can share any items made from a Patterns for Pirates pattern WITH Girl Charlee fabrics in the designated contest album! It can be an item you’ve sewn previously or you can order now and make one to enter with! Don’t worry, you have 4 weeks to order, create, and share to win!

Winner will be chosen by all of us here at Mother Sews Best for our pick of the best pairing of fabric to pattern! There will also be one random winner for 2nd place for 1 Patterns for Pirates Pattern of choice.

How to do a Full Booty Adjustment

June 13, 2015

n my post about the Greenstyle Taylor Shorts I made myself here … I mentioned I did a “full butt adjustment”.. well because I have a FULL butt 😉

Well apparently the apple didn’t fall far from the tree… because when I went to measure my LO for some cute Winter Wear Aviator pants, I shared about them here in this post … his measurements all hit a size 2… but THAT BUM was a size 5! UH-OH! ha ha ha ha… so I flat measured the bum area to see how much ease the pattern had… I decided he did need more room then the size 3 had… so I went to work doing a full butt adjustment for my not quite 2 year old…I thought kids were easier to sew for?????

I had lots of inquires about a more detailed blog post, so I thought I would share his… it is the same on any size pattern 🙂

It is a really quick and simple adjustment!

Take your back piece and splice it across where the roundest part of their/your booty is. usually about mid rise on younger/athletic builds 🙂 You will want to leave the seam allowance! Here is a picture of his:

Now when you go to cut, you will spread out the back rise however much you need to add for the bum… I added about 1/2″ to my LO’s after flat measuring and comparing to his measurements.

Then you will need to “true up” the sides… since you’re adding length into the rise it wont match perfectly anymore, neither will the outer leg seam… Here is where you can customize your fit even more…

For my Little Guy who still has a baby figure I didn’t want to loose ANY width on the waist or high hip… so when I “trued up” the outer leg I took the outer edge and added slightly straightening the line up.

When I adjust for myself, I have a small high hip and waist… so I don’t mind taking the inner angle and loosing some width up there.

(Looking back I should’ve taken another picture with a chalk line describing these… I will add those when I need to adjust a pattern for myself, or my little one!!)

I hope this helps those blessed with big bums! 😉

P4P University: Petite and Tall Fitting Adjustments

June 13, 2015

So… I’m tall… I mean… I’m TALLLLL 🙂

5’10” no shoes ha ha ha See me towering over my tiny mom?

It makes finding RTW clothes a CHALLENGE to say the least… yes, I can pay an arm and a leg for “talls” but I want young trendy clothes!! So making my wardrobe is so rewarding for me!

Here are some tips for adding, or taking away length to a pattern for an adult… I’ve already posted how I like to do it for children here. But this method doesn’t work well for adult patterns because all the sizes are made to fit an average height adult– for women, most patterns are drafted to 5’5″. The “rule of thumb” is to add/take away 1/2″ for every 1″ that you are “off” the avg height drafted for. For example, at 5’10” there is a 5″ difference so I would need to add 2.5″ throughout the pattern. If I were 5’1″ then I would remove 2″ of length since there is a 4″ difference.

Just like children’s patterns I DO NOT recommend only adding to the bottom hemline… it will make the overall garment longer… but it will not give you a great fit. If you are shorter or taller you need to add/take away length throughout the whole pattern!

Knit patterns are much more forgiving in fit… with that being said, the four places I recommend adjusting are: at the shoulder/armscye… just under the bust line… and just under the waistline… and at the bottom hemline.

Adding throughout the pattern helps keep the bust, waist, and hip where they actually hit you 🙂 P4P uses a standard side waist length of 8″ and a waist to hip length of 8.25″ (not sure where to measure? check out our post here.) so if you know your specific length measurements between those points, you will want to add/remove the exact amount in those areas.

I have made myself enough clothing to know how much I need to add to MOST patterns designed for average height– I add about 2 1/8″ to every shirt I make myself… 2 5/8″ to tunics…I even know how much I like in each spot– shoulders a scant 1/8-1/4″, chest and waist area 3/4-1″, and bottom hem 1/2-1″.

The shoulder/armscye can be done a couple ways– I like to take a smaller seam allowance there to add some length… You can also splice your pattern straight across where the armsyce is and spread your pattern… I only add about 1/8-1/4″ to mine, but that tiny difference makes SUCH A HUGE difference in how a shirt fits me!

For the chest and waist, you can only do with overlap patterns like mine, I simply untapped it, and moved them down, adding what I needed, and retaped that section.

Or you can (with any pattern)… splice it straight across and measure what you’d like to add.

Shortening is the same method, you would just be overlapping instead of adding.

Now all you need to do it cut out and “true up” the sides… since you’re adding or taking away length the sides will not line up perfectly… you will just match them up and straighten them out with your new length.

Repeat process for the other pattern pieces 🙂

Pants, like our Peg Legs, Mama Bear Joggers or Linen Loungers should also be shortened or lengthened throughout. Each of the patterns included a finished inseam length. Measure your inseam and compare to the pattern to make your length adjustments.

Ta-Da!!!! Now you have shirts and pants that will FIT you! ALL over! 🙂

Boys Bundle Up

June 13, 2015

Is everyone getting excited about the next Bundle Up? I know I have been excited about it since I heard plans of it ages ago!!

Link: www.bundleupsale.com

I have the Lumberjack pattern in the bundle up: It is a traditional button up shirt with collar, but also has a few more options like hood and full lining. My Little One will be wearing these all fall and winter!

But here are some other Bundle Up patterns I had the time to whip up!

First up is the Aviator Pants by Winter Wear. They are a knit pant with optional triangle accent pieces on the bottom leg, front slit pockets, back welt pocket, and a shorts cut line. They were so quick to make and knit, which of course I LOVE!

Okay, so my little one has mama’s backside 😉 He measured much larger for his hip/booty measurement then all the rest… SO I went to work doing a full butt adjustment…for my not quite 2 year old! WHAT! But I’m glad I did because they fit great… look at that little round tushy! 🙂 I took a few pictures and I will get another post on how to do that!

Suzanne over at Winter Wear did a great job keeping her pattern easy to use with all the cutting info on the pattern pieces (love that!). If I’m honest I put them together without reading her instructions, but I’m sure they are fab! I love knit patterns for boys…for our photo-shoot, I took him to be in his element… OUTSIDE!

And in these knit pants and shirt he could run (away from me!) and play freely and comfortably…and still look adorable!

The knit shirt is my Deep Sea V-neck… I did a contrast camo sleeve and free-hand deer applique. My husband LOVED this outfit! Little One LOVED sticks… ha ha ha!

He could climb, jump, bend over, and I didn’t have to worry about a stiff waistband being uncomfortable for him. I know lots of beginner seamstress have a little fear of working with knits, but I jumped RIGHT into knits when I got serious sewing! I knew I wanted my little one to be COMFORTABLE! Make the jump ladies! You’ll never look back!!! 🙂

Okay, now I really tortured my son, but I made him model this, oh so cute and trendy, long sleeve pull over in the 100 degree weather… But look how cute he looks in it! This is Greenstyle’s Shawl Collar Pull-Over in the Bundle Up.

Again, it is knit… super quick sew and soft and cuddly! I used a super soft sweater knit and some ribbed knit.

I made him a size up, because it wont be cool here until Oct/Nov, but he will be ready! I really love the no trim pages for Greenstyle’s new patterns! Since I’ve started doing mine like that, I’ve gotten pretty spoiled to it! I printed out my V-neck to assemble and HAD TO CUT THEM! Ha ha ha, which reminds me I need to go back and update those patterns with no trim pages! 😉

I used a toggle button on the lower part of the collar… I think it gives it a great touch since I used a solid muted sweater knit. I really loved how it turned out…and so did my mom! Which is always a plus to hear compliments on something you made!

Okay…I HAVE to share… I snapped “a few” pictures of my adorable dad with my little one… he came with us to model, because he’s the sweetest dad/pops ever! It’s SO much easier for me to get some shots of him when somewhere else is there! I mean… aren’t they CUTE?!?!?!!

My son ADORES my dad! I had a hard time not making every. single .picture. black and white because I just thought they were so sweet! <3

He was having so much fun with his Pops throwing rocks into the creek!

I think the adoration is mutual too 🙂

Thank you for coming with us Dad!

Here is the link to go get your BOYS BUNDLE UP! 🙂 I’ve made 3 so far, but I have the Sleepy Bear PJS by Ellie Inspired already printed, taped, and cut! I just <3 sewing for my Little Guy! Don’t leave the boys out!!!

www.bundleupsale.com

How to Mash Sizes for a Custom Fit!

June 13, 2015

Do you have a tall skinny minny? Or a little one who needs a bigger width then their height? This is a simple easy route to mashing sizes for children to get a better fit! No more just adding to the hem!! If your child needs length they need it throughout the whole garment, not just the hem! And vice versa if your child is shorter they need it shortened throughout the whole garment.

So here is the quick guide. You will take their overall height and match that to the size chart of your pattern… for this example I’m going to be using my niece who is 44″ tall- which matches my size 5. Her chest and waist match a size 4. So I will be using the width of a 4 and the length of the 5 on every pattern piece!

**I’m going to note in here too that going more then 2 sizes is very hard to keep the proportion and shape of the pattern.

Here is a picture where I highlighted the size 4 and 5 (Size 4 in yellow and size 5 in orange). I don’t typically do this, but I did to help illustrate 🙂

And here I drew in black to show how I followed the size 4 width overall on the piece and the size 5 length. See how I made the armhole the size 5 length, and neck hole… these are places where your little ones fit will drastically improve with this method!

And again, here is the sleeve with a 4 width and 5 length. Make sure you keep EVERY piece the same length/width and your pattern will fit together beautifully 🙂

Coming from a very tall girl- if your little one needs added length they will be so much more comfortable with that longer armhole/neckhole/bodice!! I can hardly wear shirts that I don’t add that 1/8-1/4″ at my armhole… even though it seems like such a small adjustment it makes such a BIG difference in my fit! 🙂

This method can also be used with a shorter length to width— I used to do this for my little one when he was younger– he is big for age so he was in toddler sizing with a baby figure! He needed a much bigger around then his height and it worked wonderful for him!

Now go create that perfect custom fit!! 🙂

Bundle Up

June 13, 2015

Have you seen all the fabulous women’s patterns in the new Pattern Revolution Bundle Up deal?? There are so many great patterns to sew up for yourself! I don’t sew for myself as often as I’d like…. but my sister Judy sews almost her whole wardrobe… NO joke! It’s awesome! She actually sews for me too, even more awesome! She’s so sweet making me things when I don’t have time, so I thought I would return the favor and sew her up the Four Seasons Cardigan & Duster pattern for Everything Your Mama Made (EYMM).

Judy was making herself the Greenstyle Taylor shorts, so I decided to make the sleeveless option for her to pair with the shorts. There are LOADS of options in this pattern, cardigan length, duster length, hood, no hood, no sleeves, short sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, long sleeves PLUS it includes 10 sizes, XS – 5X plus! I mean it really is for all four seasons 😉

To say this sleeveless option is a quick sew is an understatement! FOUR seams ladies, FOUR seams and you’re done! I cut out and whipped this up in less than 15 minutes. Now I did not hem the bottom, Judy is 5’9 and I forgot to add length…oops, but it looks great unhemmed!! Plus bonus that it was quicker. I used my serger to construct the entire thing… well my 4 seams I used the serger 😉

If you have never made a EYMM pattern, the ‘no trim’ pattern piece pages are AMAZING! I actually started using this method on my own patterns I love it so much. In a women’s pattern where you are printing several pages, this really really saves time! Here are some photos of Judy looking adorable… It actually started raining on us, oh no! But we always have fun, so OH WELL!

I can’t wait to make some of these up for myself. I love wearing cardigans and these will be very flattering while I’m getting my pre baby body back 🙂

Judy is going to tell you about her cute Taylor shorts now!!

Megan

I was so excited to see the GreenStyle Taylor shorts design! Angela always has such great designs that are perfect for a comfortable, stylish look…just my thing! I love sewing for myself! I’m much taller then average, so I find it very hard to find clothes that fit at all, let alone fit well and are stylish!

So I started with my hip/booty measurement which put me at a medium… But I have a much smaller waist and legs then that measurement. So I like to size down and do a full butt adjustment for a better fit! Here is a quick shot of how I to the adjustment:

I love that she has no trim pages for her pattern like mine! I mean who doesn’t want to skip that tedious step? Especially in an adult pattern! I used a very light weight denim with a sweet little print on it, because I’m in love with the floral trend!

I did my construction a tad different only because I wasn’t patient enough to wait to sew them up before I had time to go buy a great zipper! So I constructed the whole shorts besides the zipper and waistband– I’m always so anxious to get started and whip through something I know I will love!! Since I used a denim I added a few modifications that are only popular with jeans, like lots of topstitching and a metal zipper 🙂 I also love to use topstitching thread when I with with denim! The thicker thread really looks so much better, it really is worth changing it out for every time you topstitch!

I really liked that she had instructions to double stitch the crotch for durability! That area sees a lot of stress… Especially those of us who needs full butt adjustments 😉 I also adding a couple rows of topstitching to the inside inseam for the same reason!

I always like when patterns have hem gauges for a cleaner hem line! I like to iron up my hem in the flat… Sew per instructions, then when it is time to hem it folds so nicely into place… It’s the best of both worlds hemming in the flat vs round BC you have the ease of folding/pressing in the first, but have the nicer, cleaner finish off hemming in the round! I went in between the hem lines for a 3″ inseam… I love SHORT shorts, but since I’m tall short inseams tend to look extra short on me, plus as much as I HATE to admit it I’m starting to get older and need that extra inch!

I also did french seams on my pockets… I didn’t want the serging to be touching my hands in the pockets or my thighs… so I just sewed the pockets wrong sides together, then flipped them right sides together and stitched around the seam.

Inside of the pocket:

I love them! They fit so much nicer then any RTW shorts since I’m tall and need that full booty adjustment! I can’t wait to make up since more!

June 20

Max California, Gloria June, Mother Sews Best

June 21

Feather’s Flights, Gloria June, Becca Duval Photography,

June 22

The Mother Huddle, Gloria June

June 23

Mother Sews Best, Idle Fancy, Swoodson Says

June 24

Shaffer Sisters, That’s What She Crafted

June 25

Friends Stitched Together, Handmade Dress Haven, Sprouting Jube Jube

June 26

Modern Handmade, Rebel and Malice, Lulu and Celeste

June 27

Sew McCool, Pienkel, Gloria June, Sew Maris

Dive Into Swimsuit with Coles Creations

June 13, 2015

It’s my turn on the “Dive into Swimsuits” blog tour hosted by Coles Creations! You can find all the blog posts and enter to win prizes over at Cole’s page!

I love making my little guy swim trunks, they’re quick and easy and so much more comfortable then the store bought with those itchy netting panties (WHO thought those were the answer???)

These are my pattern, the Swashbuckler Swim Trunks and my FAVORITE feature is the boxer brief style lining pieces…SO much better then those netting panties! I would always cut them out of his before he was potty trained. Then once he was potty trained I thought he needed some lining and support under there, but no way were those netting panties the answer!

I have a great picture of the boxer brief lining piece, BUT for some reason my wordpress wont upload it today!!!! 🙁

I use either swim lining or a swimsuit fabric (nylon spandex). I love to coordinate the lining piece to a matching rash guard! Of course I don’t have any finished modeled pictures of that (and no one else will likely see the lining piece) but I love it!

I get asked a lot where to find the fabric for swim trunks. You can grab a remnant or scrap piece of swim fabric or lining for the boxer brief lining again, you’ll want a nylon spandex 4 way stretch swim knit. For the main shorts you can use “boardshort fabric” as some shop labels it (top skull print was labeled this from Funkaliicious Fabrics), “woven supplex” is a thinner version (great for super hot climates- the tricolor here is woven supplex from Chez Ami, who have since gone out of business.) I also know the Fabric Fairy usually has some in stock as well as Rockywoods Outdoor Fabric also carries it.

And of course sewing always provides you with the ability to give your little one the perfect fit if they need a different width to height ratio and don’t fit into the “average” sizes.

I hope you dive in this summer and make some swimsuits! Have fun!

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April 25, 2015

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