Patterns for Pirates

P4P stylish, modern, wearable patterns

Harvey Relief Thank You!

I wanted to say THANK YOU each and everyone of you that purchased a pattern during my one day only flash sale where I promised to give 100% of profits to Harvey Relief charities.  Blog Post Here.

To say the least I WAS BLOWN AWAY with the response.  We raised an incredible amount to give to the southern coast of Texas, that is in such a huge need right now.

I am so proud to be able to give this donation with your help. Helping those victims of Harvey, who are still without their homes and struggling to find the necessities makes my heart sing. Now when I scroll through my Facebook feed and see my friends and family in those flood areas trying to recover from their losses, I can feel a little better knowing that the P4P community was able to help provide some relief. I can’t imagine how scary of a time this is for them, as they’re still not able to get to their homes, and they have such a long, rough road ahead of them.

 

Together we are able to help so many families in need with over $15k donated.  I split the amount between a few local relief efforts including the Houston Diaper Bank, Houston Food Bank,, the JJ Watt Houston Flood Relief Fund  , and  Texas Association of Fire Fighters (designated directly to Harvey victims).

Each charity has it’s own main focus of relief- which is why I choose to split.  The Food Bank to help get meals to those in the area.  The Diaper Bank to get diapers and other toiletries to those in need in that area- and is one of the things I’ve heard most from local disaster relief efforts that is needed so badly.  The JJ Watt Houston Flood Relief is a very specific fundraiser with goals to help with all immediate needs- clean water being a focus currently as well as future planning to help relieve the re-build and aftermath this storm will leave the areas with.  He has an incredible foundation where there are no fees incurred and is working hard to put the money into the very best action for his city.  Lastly, I gave a small amount to the Texas Association of Fire Fighter- designated specifically to Harvey Relief where some of the fire fighters who are working tirelessly as first responders have also lost everything.  Fire families sacrifice so much to be the first in action and help their community.

I waivored sharing the amount raised for a few days, but I hope if you purchased from the P4P site 8/31/2017 that you share the pride in being able to give to these great charities that will absolutely be making a difference in the victims lives both immediately and down the road when the media has moved on to other headlines.  THANK YOU! If you missed the sale and are disappointed, you can always donate to one of the local charities I choose or another you like.

-Judy

Harvey Relief

As most of you know, I’m a Texan.  The tragedy of Hurricane Harvey came so quick and devastated so many, it’s completely overwhelming.  We know so many friends and family who evacuated, are without their home, had to leave in the shortest notice with nothing but their children in tow, and so on.  There are so many heart-wrenching stories and those that were lucky are doing everything they can to help their neighbors, it’s inspiring.  I was at a loss of what I could do with P4P to help, but I’m hoping together we can raise some funds to send down to my fellow Texans in need.

 

I will be donating 100% profit of all sales made TODAY (August 31, 2017) on the P4P site.  And to try to boost that number I will be doing a site wide sale code (we usually only do site wide sales 2-3 times per year!) Use code: TEXASSTRONG for 20% off your total purchase today only- August 31st, 2017.  To help give the most we can, I’m asking kindly to share without affiliate links today- this will help get every penny to those who are is desperate need.

Turns out I’m not the only PDF Sewing pattern designer thinking of those on the Texas coast either.  My sister, who has huge ties to the southern coast, immediately set down and designed some wonderful Texas Pride cut files and is giving 100% profit of all sold to the Harvey Relief.  You can get them bundled all together here or buy few individually as well.

I loved them so much- I purchased them and made one for each member of my family.  Even my husband asked for one, although I haven’t grabbed his pictures just yet.  My son isn’t quite old enough to understand the situation, but he knew the shirts meant people in Texas needed help and we were going to try to help so he was ready to pose for me unlike he usually does.

I think Megan might have made this saying just for my Baby Girl 😉 She’s always Rarin’ to GO! So many parents with younger kids are now without diapers, formula, bottles, let alone their pacifiers, blankies, lovies…any comfort we can provide those little babies will make my heart lift up.  So many found themselves carrying their small children above the flood waters.

We’re not the only ones that have joined in trying to send funds for the Harvey Relief. A ton of PDF Sewing pattern designers are looking to help and many have set up their own sale codes in their groups! I’m so grateful to be in an industry that is so kind and willing to work together to help others.  I urge you to go take a look at each designer here and make any purchases today while they are giving some proceeds to a Harvey Relief charity.

The Harvey Relief sale codes are only valid TODAY- August 31st, 2017 so please let everyone know that might be interested in PDF Sewing patterns! We will be posting in the P4P Facebook Group where you can tag any friends/members.  Again, if you are an affiliate with P4P or these other designers please remember not to use affiliate links when sharing today so we can give everything we can to the charities.

Thank you, together we can help!

-Judy

How to Print P4P A0 Copy Shop File with Blue Prints Printing

We now offer the A0 Copy Shop File with all our newer patterns for an added convenience.  The A0 Copy Shop File is meant to be printed on a large printer on larger size paper (A0 size paper that is ;)).  It is about the size of an engineer’s print.

Most of our patterns fit on one to two of the A0 size papers.  This means you don’t need to tape together the smaller paper to tile together your larger pieces.  Very few pieces cannot fit onto that size and still need to be pieced (very long pieces usually- like Essential Tank Maxi which spans from shoulder to floor), but that’s 2 pieces rather than 50!  Here is an example of a pattern printed on an A0 size sheet:

We get asked a lot about where to print them!  And now we have a great suggestion for you.  We had  Blue Prints Printing reach out to us wanting to help make the process smooth and easy for everyone trying to print PDF sewing patterns! Most PDF plotting companies are based around printing engineer blueprints/plans.  So the process can seem confusing to upload and understand what you need for a PDF sewing pattern instead.  Not only did they ask all about the sewing patterns and what P4P seamstresses are looking for, they actually created a page and a great tool on their site for merging all the patterns into an order for a great experience JUST FOR US! <3  *They also set up an affiliate program for the P4P blog- accounts made through the P4P blog links will be affiliate links. *

They worked hard to make the process simple.  They have clickable step by step instructions on how to upload your patterns and order with suggestions on paper size, paper type, etc. to make the ordering process easy for a PDF sewing pattern. They also gave us an exclusive P4P discount code for the kick off: p4p-intro15 which will give you 15% off on print orders of $40.00 or more.  This comes out to $1.12 per page, which is the lowest we’ve found online anywhere.  They have incredibly fast shipping too!

But just to make sure, I’ve made a quick video all about how to get your A0 Copy Shop File from your account here on the P4P site, uploaded to their site and receive that big box of patterns all ready for you to create without taping or gluing sheets together.

They package very nicely so that your patterns come very smooth and protected as well!   You do pay shipping for this box, so it makes most sense to order as many together as possible in a “bundle” to save on shipping 🙂

They are welcoming the Pirates over with huge open arms and if you have any trouble they will be more than happy to help with your question or concern 24/7 at: service@blueprintsprinting.com or you can call from 9am-5pm, M-F Mountain Time/ leave voicemail other times at:  888-507-1002.

I hope this helps all you seamstresses out there that love PDF patterns, but don’t love taping them together!

Judy

Fall Capsule

Once again Patterns for Pirates teamed up with Made for Mermaids and Cole’s Corner and Creations to bring you some Fall Capsule inspiration. As before we will be giving you some ideas how to create Women, Boys and Girls mini capsules.

Today I will show you how to create a perfect mini fall/back to school capsule for your little men. As some of you know, I live in Florida so my kids’ capsules will reflect the warm climate. For the rare days when it’s chilly (and by chilly I mean 70s 🙂 ) I love to have some layering pieces ready. I find Cpt Mack’s Cardigan to be the perfect layering piece for short or long sleeves tshirts. Those elbow patches are so fun!

When you built your boy’s fall capsule be sure to add a button up shirt like the Lumberjack Shirt. They can be worn as stand alone tops but also make great layering tops. You can make the collar option or go for a fun, cool look and add a hood.

Every boy needs a cool jacket! Am I right? Well…look no further than the Spirit jacket from Cole’s Corner and Creations. The raglan style sleeves make it such an easy sew that you’ll be whipping those in no time.

Between the 3 sisters pattern companies you have so many tops options. For Noah’s fall capsule I went with my 3 favorite choices…the P4P Jolly Roger Raglan, the M4M Dylan Tee and the P4P Yo Ho Henley. All patterns feature a long sleeve and short sleeve option so you can pick whatever style works best for your area.

 

When choosing the bottoms for the mini fall capsule I kept in mind one thing: COMFORT! My little man lives in shorts all year long so I went with the Pirate Playground shorts and a modified knee length Baby Bear Joggers. I like the loose fit of the Playground Pants for PE days and the slimmer fit of the Baby Bear Joggers for everyday wear.

For the occasional colder day I had to add a pair of the new Little Loungers pants. This pair is made with a striped linen blend and it’s such a classic look. It pairs beautifully with the Yo Ho Henley, the JRR and the Dylan Tee.

 

We can’t wait to see your little one’s capsules this fall! You can read the contest details on the M4M blog here. Regardless of which top, layering piece or bottoms you choose remember to: Keep it fun! Keep it simple! Keep it comfortable!

P4P Presents the Summer of Wovens!

As many of you already know, I am a lover of knit fabrics.  I love how quickly they can be sewn up, and how comfortable the different types of knits are to wear.  BUT, we’ve seen in our Facebook Group that there is a desire for patterns that use woven and non-stretch fabrics.  We hear you and are about to make your woven pattern dreams come true!

To help kick off the first official day of summer, our P4P Team is announcing our “Summer of Wovens”!

What does a “Summer of Wovens” entail, exactly?

— Our pattern releases throughout the summer will ONLY be for woven fabrics.  Was there something you were hoping to see from us?  Of course we’d love to hear!

— Before we can get to the new goodies, we are making sure to update our older woven patterns to feature our layers format, including the A0 copy shop printing formats.  We will also be extending the sizing into the full range that we use now.  Our very first woven pattern for women was The Everyday Elegance  and we have been working behind the scenes on updates for this, as well as perhaps including a few new options for the pattern itself.  Here is our gorgeous Nicole modeling her newest EE:

— Of course we have new patterns already in the works!  Along with her EE, Nicole is sporting a sneak peek of the first *new* pattern, which is already in pre-testing! Perfect for a lightweight fabric for a comfortable and casual summer days/nights, these bottoms are a pull-on woven pant filled with options.  Since we are in pre-testing now, we still haven’t found the perfect name for these pants.  And, I always reserve my right to change my mind on the options we will offer on the final pattern! (I fully admit that I’m a girl who likes to exercise her right to change her mind! Lol.)  So things might change but this is the basic idea of what we are working on at the moment.

— Lastly, we will dedicate the blog to tips, tricks, and posts all about sewing with woven apparel fabrics.  A lot of seamstresses think of quilting cotton when they see the term woven, but we will be focusing on woven fabrics that are specifically made for apparel.  After all, they will be used for apparel patterns!  There is a large variety of available woven fabrics and it will be our mission to help you understand what works best for the project you’re about to tackle.  Let us know the questions you have about sewing apparel in woven/non-stretch fabrics and we will try to answer as many as we can.  We would really love to help you better understand this new type of fabric!

We hope everyone is excited to see what else we have coming this summer and can use up some of that woven fabric you’ve got hiding in your stash!

Sew What Do I Wear on Vacation

Once again, Patterns for Pirates teamed up with Made for Mermaids  to bring some amazing vacation outfits inspiration. This blog tour is full of outfits that would be perfect for any destination.

Whether I pack for a quick getaway weekend or a week long trip, I always make sure to bring clothes that do not wrinkle easily and do not take a lot of space in my luggage. With two boys to keep up with I also need my outfits to be super comfortable.

My next vacay suitcase will certainly include a few Favorite Tee dresses since I have sewn at least ten of them since the pattern launched. I am all about tshirt dresses this summer, comfortable and stylish. My favorite ones are rayon spandex, since they hardly ever wrinkle when packed and they feel great in high temperatures.

It is no secret that my closet is full of Sweet Tee dresses so they will definitely be a staple in my vacation wardrobe. They are such a quick sew and a very flattering silhouette. I do lengthen my Sweet Tee dresses about 3.5 inches, but that is just a personal preference. You can rock your flirty shorter pattern version for sure!

The Sweet Tee pattern includes a banded short sleeve option and a neckband finishing of the neckline. To make it an ever faster sew I hem my sleeves by folding 1/2 ” and topstitching with my coverstitch. You can very well use a zig zag stitch or a twin needle too.

I like to use the same technique to the neckline as well. I simply fold it 1/2″ wrong sides together and clip it in place…use a lot of clips (or pins) and press it well. all you have to do now is top stitch it the same way you did your sleeves.

Tadah! A super quick 30 minutes sew, comfy and elegant….perfect for vacation. I love that the Sweet Tee can be dressed up or dressed done, wear it with heels for an evening out or with flats for a fun day of vacation activities.

Don’t forget to check out the other blogs in this tour! The ladies really delivered!

June 12:  Little Heart Threads , The Crunchy Mommy , All_Sewn_Up_By_Stacey , Heavenly Threads Blog

June 13 : SewSophieLynn , Love Madelynn , Stitches by Laura  ,  All Things Katy!

June 14: Middle River Studio, Ammon Lane , The Art of Oh, Ma Moose

June 15: Sewing Curves, Margarita on the Ross, Stitching and Making, Very Paige,

June 16: Sewing with Sarah, I’m Just Like Mommy, Vinya Sew,

Made for Mermaids, Patterns for Pirates

Peg Legs SAL: Day 7 – Recap and winners announcement

We made it to the last day of the Peg Legs sew along. You all did an amazing job this past week! I’ve seen so many beautiful pairs of Peg Legs being sewn.

Let’s recap what we did so far:

Day 1: Fabric selection

Day 2: Printing and measuring

Day 3: Cutting the fabric

Day 4: Attach add ons

Day 5: Sew inseam and attach legs

Day 6: Attach waistband

Without further ado…here are our 5 Peg Leg SAL winners

 

First winner: Sarah Wilkinson

$15 P4P store credit

$50 So Sew English store credit

$50 Stika Fabrics store credit

$50 Midnight Mountain Fabrics store credit

$25 Beanpop store credit

$50 RP Custom Fabrics store credit

 

Second winner:  Erin Cooper

$15 P4P store credit

$50 Aurora Designs store credit

$50 Little Bear Fabric + Trim store credit

$50 Smoogie Custom Fabric store credit

$25 Little Lady Bug Fabrics Gift Card

$30 Store Credit($50 NZD) Levana Fabrics

 

Third winner: Raven Brown

$15 P4P store credit

$60 Boss Lady Fabric store credit

$50 The Fabric Snob store credit

$50 RockerBye Destash Fabric store credit

$50 Water Tower Textiles Canada store credit

€25 Droomstoffen store credit

 

Fourth winner: Lorie Peugh Judd

$15 P4P store credit

$50 Made Whimsy/ You Made Something store credit

$25  Star Dust & Moon Beam Textile Company gift card to each store

$50 Pretty Posh Prints store credit

$50 Sash Fabrics store credit

$30 Phat Quarters store credit

Big prize winner: Phillipa Lyes

$50 P4P store credit

$100 Sincerely Rylee store credit

$75 Sew Vagabond store credit

LFRB full of fabric from Sly Fox Fabrics

$50 True North Fabrics store credit

$50 Sweet N Charmed Fabric store credit

 

Congratulations to all of the winner and all participants! Please contact the shop owners to claim your prizes.

 

Thank you to the sponsors who made all these amazing prizes possible. Be sure to check out their awesome fabric selections!

Made Whimsy Fabric

Sew Vagabond

Sly Fox Fabrics

True North Fabrics

Sincerely Rylee

RP Custom Fabrics

Smoogie Fabric and Design

Sitka Fabrics

Star Dust and Moon Beam Textile Company

Levana Fabrics

Midnight Mountain Fabrics

Water Tower Textiles

Droomstoffen

Aurora Designs

Boss Lady Fabrics

Little Bear Fabric and Trim

Sash Fabrics

Rockerbye  Destash

The Fabric Snob

So Sew English

Fabricmail Sweet N Charmed

Phat Quarters, Pretty Posh Prints

Little Ladybug Fabrics.

Peg Legs SAL: Day 6 – Attach waistband (with optional pocket)

Can’t believe we’re almost at the end of the sew along. Today we’ll be attaching the waistband. Whether you’re doing the high or low rise or the contoured waistband like I did, now is the time to add it to the leggings. This step can also be done with the sewing machine or the serger. If you use a sewing machine, remember to set it for a stretch stitch. A triple stretch stitch will work great!

If you are attaching your waistband with your serger you can either do a regular overlock stitch or you can even do a flat lock stitch. Using a flatlock stitch will eliminate the bulk at the seam that you get with an overlock stitch.

For this sew along I used the new contoured  waistband which, let me tell you, is the best thing ever! Best tummy control while still comfortable.

It is very important to cut your fabric along the grain. We have seen some FB comments suggesting to cut the waistbands against the grain for more support. I highly discourage that because your peg legs will loose shape in the wash and will not fit as intended.

TIP: If you are more of a rectangular shape than hourglass, you can add elastic to the top seam of your contoured waistband.

You can see the waistband construction video here.

Don’t forget to post your final picture in the Peg Legs SAL event and hastag it #peglegsSAL before May 3rd 10 pm EST. Be sure to come back on Wednesday for the Sew Along recap and the winners announcement.

Peg Legs SAL: Day 5 – Sew Inseam and attach legs

Welcome to day 5 of the Peg Legs Sew Along! Today we will be sewing the inseam, hemming each leg and attaching them. Start by pinning (or clipping) the inseams on each leg, right sides together. You can either serger it or stitch it with your sewing machine. If you use your sewing machine for this step, make sure to use a stretch stitch!

If you’re using your serger, test the stitches on a scrap piece of fabric, preferably the same as the one you used for your pegs.  Testing first will give you a chance to see if you need to make any adjustments to the tension or stitch length or width.

Once you’ve sewn the inseams you can either hem or sew the crotch curves. I prefer to hem first because I find it easier to maneuver if the legs are not attached together. When hemming your Peg Legs make sure you steam press before and after you stitch. You can use your coverstitch machine or your sewing machine for this step, just remember to use a stretch stitch.

Last step of the day is sewing the crotch curve. Pin or clip the curve right sides together, matching the inseam and the back and front rise. The easiest way to do this is to turn one of the legs inside out and place the other leg (right side out) inside.

You can see the day 5 video here !

When you’ve finished these steps, don’t forget to post a picture in the Peg Legs SAL Event and hashtag it #pegsalday5.

Peg Legs SAL: Day 4 – Sew add ons (pocket, color block, side strip etc)

Hello there! Day 4 is here and we’re starting to sew! Woohoo! Today we’ll be putting the leg pieces together. If you added a pocket, or a side strip, or color blocked the side strip, now is the time to put them together.

I love to work “assembly line style” so I pin…well clip…all pieces together first. Then sew/serge and then topstitch. If you are using a sewing machine make sure you use a stretch stitch like the “thunderbolt” , a triple stretch stitch or a very narrow zig zag. When top stitching with a sewing machine I highly recommend using twin needles. Check out the Twin Needles Blog for some tips and tricks!

For my SAL Peg Legs pair I stitched with my serger and topstitch with the coverstitch machine. You can see how I put together the add ons in the day 4 video here!

If you want to take it up a notch you can use decorative top stitching too. The Decorative stitching blog is an excellent source for all of you who would like to take the Peg Legs up a notch!

 

Once you’ve assembled your leg pieces post a picture in the Peg Legs SAL Event and hash tag it #pegsalday4. See you back here tomorrow!