Pattern Hacks Archives - Page 9 of 11

P4P Raglan Week: Animal Faces

September 21, 2016

I don’t know about anyone else, but my daughter is completely obsessed with animals. Lucky for me, she also loves the Jolly Roger Raglan- so it was a natural choice to put an animal face on a raglan for her. Raglans are an essential piece of her fall wardrobe and such a great style on girls or boys and now with the Add-on pack you have so many more options but it’s still fun to add some character to the front. The shape of the raglan sleeve are perfect for fun details like animal ears so we have created 2 different ear options and 5 animal faces for you- a kitty, panda, fox or deer, and pirate puppy! You can find the face file and ear pieces here.

Here is a quick tutorial on what to do!

First we are going to cut 4 of whatever ear option you are choosing (2 pieces for each ear). You can mix and match as you choose, we had quite the discussion on what ear belongs to which animal and we are still undecided on if a raccoon has rounded or pointed ears so we are going to leave it to you to decide! I used a fairly heavy weight cotton lycra on my ears but if you are using a thinner knit you may want also want to use interfacing on your ears (if so, cut your interfacing and iron it on now). Next we are going to take our ears and place right sides together, then sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance around our ear leaving the bottom straight edge open. I like to trim my seam allowance down with my pinking shears but you can also make tiny clips around your curve. Turn your ears right side out and press them well. You can top stitch your ears if you would like, I chose not to top stitch mine.

Next we are going to take our front piece and line up our ears. I placed the edge of the kitty ear 1.5 inches down from the top of the shoulder on a size 5. With the rounded ear I would move it farther down just a tad, I placed my panda ear at 1.75. You may want to move your ear up a bit on the smaller sizes or down a bit on the larger sizes, do whatever you like but be mindful of the 0.5 inch seam allowance on the neckband as you don’t want to place your ear too close to the top and sew it into your neckband. Once you have your ear placed on your front add your sleeve pin or clip in place and repeat on the other side. Sew your sleeves into your front piece and continue construction as normal. TIP: before your attach your neck band iron all your seams, you want your seams where your ears are placed to point towards the shirt and not the sleeve, it makes a huge difference on keeping your ears standing up! Once you’ve finished your shirt, if your ears are wanting to fall forward just tack them in place on the top of each ear. I just pinned them in place and did a couple stitches on my machine. Or you could stitch them all the way around onto your sleeve, completely up to you.

Now you just need to iron on your vinyl! This again, is a personal choice. I like my face fairly high on the shirt but others like it lower. Don’t have a way to cut vinyl, that’s OK! You can cut the pieces out of fabric and applique them on, add buttons for eyes, rick rack for whiskers… just have fun with it!

Go sew a bunch of animal faced raglans and let your inner animal out! Happy sewing and as always post your creations in the Patterns for Pirates Group- we are excited to see what your create! Don’t forget to tag your posts #p4praglanweek

P.S. Another quick tip, the kitty face raglan below is more of a tunic length, but you will see that is not an included option in the pattern. A quick way to achieve a tunic length for girls is by adding the band to the hemmed length! Quick, easy and gives you one more cute option.

If you’ve created your very own adorable animal version of the Jolly Roger during P4P Raglan week, we would love for you to share it with us! Head over to the Facebook Group or share on Instagram. And be sure to use the tag #P4PRaglanWeek so we can find you!

Curious about what else has been happening during our raglan-loving week of fun?

Just take a look at our schedule!

Monday, September 19: Jolly Roger Raglan Pattern Update + Jolly Roger Add-On Pack Pattern Release

Tuesday, September 20: JRR Woven Fabric Hack

Wednesday, September 21: JRR Animal Faces Add-On

Thursday, September 22: Contrast Band Hack for Kangaroo Pockets

Friday, September 23: Women’s Keyhole / Scoopback Raglan Hack

Saturday, September 24: Off-The-Shoulder Raglan Hack

Sunday, September 25: Adding Stripes to Your Raglan Sleeves

P4P Raglan Week: Woven Front Hack

September 20, 2016

Welcome back for Day 2 of P4P Raglan Week! Now that you’ve all grabbed your copies of the Jolly Roger Raglan and the Add-On pack for it, I’m here to share an easy “hack”!

I love being able to make fun shirts for my son. However, I don’t always love having to spend the money for fancy knit prints, or having to search high and low for something that is geared toward the interest of my 6-year old. How to do I get around it? With fun, WOVEN cotton prints, from my local fabric stores! They are money savers and tend to have a million fun prints that are loved by my little guy. Want to know how I manage to mix a woven fabric into a knit pattern? It’s so simple!

No adjustments are needed for the pattern pieces itself. Out of your knit fabrics cut your neckband, sleeves and back panel as the pattern calls for. And for the front, simply opt in your woven print instead of a knit! It’s as easy as that! Because of the way raglan sleeves are attached, they still provide enough ease, stretch, and room for the shirt to fit over your little’s heads. And the Jolly Roger Raglan has enough of a relaxed fit that there isn’t any need to add extra space in the body. Easiest hack ever, am I right?

Create your raglan as the pattern calls for. I always use a serger to finish the bottom hem of my woven-front raglans, but you don’t have to. I just like having that serged piece for a sturdier grip when I’m turning the edge under 1/4″ and then another 1/4″ before I edge stitch the hem. You are welcome to finish the bottom edge however it suits you the best.

Be sure to press your fabric and then have your child wear it (to distract them while you make a million more).

If you’ve created your very own woven-front Jolly Roger during P4P Raglan week, we would love for you to share it with us! Head over to the Facebook Group or share on Instagram. And be sure to use the tag #P4PRaglanWeek so we can find you!

Curious about what else has been happening during our raglan-loving week of fun?

Just take a look at our schedule!

Monday, September 19: Jolly Roger Raglan Pattern Update + Jolly Roger Add-On Pack Pattern Release

Tuesday, September 20: JRR Woven Fabric Hack

Wednesday, September 21: JRR Animal Faces Add-On

Thursday, September 22: Contrast Band Hack for Kangaroo Pockets

Friday, September 23: Women’s Keyhole / Scoopback Raglan Hack

Saturday, September 24: Off-The-Shoulder Raglan Hack

Sunday, September 25: Adding Stripes to Your Raglan Sleeves

Timeless Hacks

September 13, 2016

We are so excited to share the Timeless Tunic with you guys that we couldn’t help but share just a few easy mods you can do to have even more fun with this new woven pattern!

First up is the Crop Length: This is a super easy mod that is great for pairing with high-waisted bottoms.

Cut bodice pieces and skip the 2 skirt pieces. Sew up the bodice following the tutorial like normal. When you’re at the point of attaching the skirt you will instead create a casing with just the bottom edge of the bodice (just like the 3/4 and long sleeve options).

Fold up the bottom raw edge 1/2″ to wrong side, and again another 1/2″ hiding raw edge.

Edge stitch along top fold, leaving about 1.5″ un-stitched. Feed your waist elastic in, around and out of the casing using a safety pin or other tool.

Stitch elastic ends together using a wide zigzag (Make sure not to flip or twist your elastic as you’re guiding it through and stitching into a circle).

Pull elastic all the way into the casing. Stitch remaining 1.5″ closed.

Wah-Lah!

Now you have an adorable crop length that you can pair with your favorite high-waisted bottoms and not have to worry about tucking i in and getting any lumps and bumps from the bottom. I paired mine with the Pirate Pencil Skirt in the high waist and midi length option.

Split Sleeve and Curved Dress Hemline by Angela.

A big fashion trend that I’ve been seeing recently is a pretty split sleeve and the new Timeless Tunic and dress is the perfect pattern to easily add a split sleeve. I’m also a big fan of a curved hem, so I’m also going to show you how to add the curved hem to the dress length. Let’s get started!

First thing we are going to do is draw a line from the shoulder seam directly down the middle all the way down to the bottom of our sleeve piece. This is going to be our extra cut line to create 4 pieces. Now, if you’re lazy like me, you can just cut your sleeve out as normal and then cut down the center line that you created right thru your pattern and fabric. Make sure you don’t forget your notches!! It’s really easy to make a mistake without those notches as you will now have 4 sleeve pieces. Next you’re are going to need to create your binding strips. To do this, I just measured that line we created on the pattern to determine how long the binding needs to be and I added a inch extra just to be safe. As we are binding a straight piece you don’t have to worry about cutting your binding on the bias. I just cut mine the length of my piece by 1.5 inches wide.

Next you’re going to press your binding just like you would any other binding or bias tape. Fold in half lengthwise and press and then press the edges into the center.

You’re going to pin the right side of the binding to the wrong side of your sleeve and sew in the first pressed line which is a 3/8″ seam.

Once you have sewn the seam, press the seam allowance up towards the binding and then fold your binding down and repin so that the fold on your binding meets the seam line. I like to pull mine just slightly over the seam so that when you edge stitch you don’t see the seam underneath. You will then edge stitch your binding down. You are going to do this on all 4 of your sleeve pieces.

Time to sew the sleeves on! Easy peesy- you just match the top of your binding to the top center of your sleeve and make sure that your sleeve binding are right against each other. Make double sure that your notches match here too, ask me how I know! Now you will continue constructing as shown. When you get to your sleeve casings you can sew your casing flat and insert your elastic. I then sewed the elastic together to form your circle and then pull your casing over the elastic so you can’t see it.

On to the curved hem! This is super simple too. I started by tracing off the tunic curve on the front skirt and then lined up the curve to the side seam so that the bottom of the curve was at the bottom of of the dress length and traced it on. You will need to extend your line just a tad at the center as the dress is aline so it doesn’t match on both edges. (This is going to make your dress length a bit shorter on the sides so if you are worried about that add a little length) I then cut my new curved hem. For the back you want to also trace off your tunic curved hem but as it is a different curve then the front you want to make sure that your side seams are going to match. The back hem will dip a bit lower then the dress length so you will need to tape some paper onto the bottom of your back piece so that you can trace your curve easily. I found the easiest way to get your hems to match was to take your front piece and place it on your back piece, matching the side seams and mark where your front curve starts on the back piece and then place you back curve on that mark and trace. Cut your new hem line and continue constructing as normal.

Hope you enjoyed these easy hacks and please share your creations in the Patterns for Pirates Facebook group, we love seeing what you make!

V Neck Modification by Alex.

The much anticipated woven tunic and dress is finally here! The Timeless Tunic includes 3 sleeve lengths, a sleeveless option and two hem lengths. So why not add a V-neckline to the mix? 😉 I am a very big fan of V-necklines, I find them flattering on all sizes and shapes so today I will show you how I hacked the Timeless Tunic to get a V-neck look.

First of all print your pattern in the size needed, grab a ruler, a marker and some paper because we’ll do some light drafting. Ready?

Tape your pattern as per the instructions and set aside the front facing. We will draft another front facing shortly. Grab the front bodice piece and mark 3 inches. You can do less or more depending on how deep you’d like the cleavage. For my example I lowered the neckline about 3 inches. Once you mark that point on the center fold line, draw a straight line from where the neckline begins to curve to your marked point. Cut along the line and discard the little pieces.

TIP: If you prefer to save the original front bodice piece, then just fold along the marked line and tuck the little piece under the pattern. This way you can re-use this pattern for the regular curved neckline again simply by unfolding it.

Now that you have your front bodice piece ready, all we have to do is draft the front bodice facing. My V-neck Timeless dress is the sleeve option so you’ll see the sleeve facing throughout this tutorial. You can use the same suggestions and draft the sleeveless front facing option, too. Grab the original front facing, lay it over the front bodice and mark the shoulder width on it.

Now lay a piece of paper (preferably tracing paper but good ole printer paper will do, too, as you can see) over the V-neck front bodice. Trace the shoulder and the V-neckline on the paper. Mark about 2.75 inches down where the fold line will be. Using a French Curve (or drawing very slowly), draw a curve from the outer shoulder point to the bottom point of the center fold. That’s it! You’ve now drafted a new V-neck front facing.

Cut the fabric (and interfacing) using the V-neck bodice and the new V-neck front facing you just created. The rest of the pattern pieces and elastic will remain the same as the original pattern.

Sew your dress or tunic following the pattern’s directions. When sewing the bodice to the facing around the neckline, I prefer to start from the V point, sew around the neckline and end at the V point where I started. If you start at the shoulder seam, make sure to pivot when you get to the V point of the neckline.

TIP: When you snip the seam allowance around the neckline, don’t forget to cut a little V piece at the pointed spot. It will make your neckline lay nice and flat once you press it.

Finish sewing the tunic or dress as per the pattern tutorial. Now you have your very own Timeless Tunic with a V-neckline. As always, I can’t wait to see your creations in the group . Sew like a pirate!

Sheer Overlay by Nicole

There are some gorgeous woven fabrics available but some may be a little too sheer to wear sans under-layer or finish the neck and armholes with the facings method found in the pattern. With a couple of easy changes, you can use fabrics like chiffon or lace. I chose to use a chiffon and left my sleeves sheer but needed the extra coverage in the bodice and skirt.

Once you decide on your fabrics (that’s the hard part, right? 😉 ) you will cut the following:

(1) Main fabric bodice – front and back, (1) Main fabric skirt – front and back, (1) lining – front and back, (1) lining skirt – front and back ( I shortened the hem by 1″ as I used a rolled hem on the edges and did not want it to peek out the bottom edge) (1) front and back facing (2) main fabric sleeve mirror image. Note: Lightweight woven fabrics like chiffon are delicate. When ironing the fusible interfacing, proceed with caution and use a pressing cloth.

For assembly of the bodice, you will treat your front and back as one piece. Place main fabric and lining right sides up (wrong side of main fabric touching right side of lining) and baste along the edges or using a washable basting spray to keep the two layers together. Construct main bodice as shown in pattern.

For the skirt, I did not want them attached at the side seam so I stitched the side seams of both the main fabric and lining separately, creating two skirts. Slip your lining skirt inside your main fabric with right sides out (wrong side of main fabric touching right side of lining). I serged my two skirt together at the top edge to make attaching them to the bodice a little easier. Continue construction as shown in the pattern.

Easy enough….right?! The constructions doesn’t change any and should not be any more difficult to put together. Working with slinky fabrics is the hard part but with a little patience you’ll get through it in no time.

Make it in knit!

We all love the quick and ease of sewing up a knit, right?! You can sew this pattern in a knit with no modifying! Here is Alex’s in a rayon spandex with no modifications other than about 1.5″ added to skirt length for a personal preference on skirt length. She kept the dart and facings as is in the pattern exactly and sewed her size on the measurement chart. With knits you can have less wearing ease and be comfortable, so you could size down if you wanted a more fitted look compared to the woven option. She looks fabulous and she didn’t have to iron it 😉 lol!

How to Sew a Faux Layered Look using Just One Pattern

September 9, 2016

The other day I was browsing Pinterest for some fall inspiration outfits but since I am now a resident of the sunshine state many of the fall looks I liked were not weather friendly. So what better way than to add “faux” layering to my shirts to pretend fall is in the air? 🙂

Today I’ll show you how I used the Women’s Henley shirt to make myself a “layered” shirt. I chose the simple crew neckline and the rolled sleeves option but this style would look amazing with the Henley style neckline or the hooded style.

Start by cutting the pattern based on your measurements. Ohh, by the way…did you see that the Henley got an updated? It now has layers so you can just print your desired size. Cut the hemmed shirt option and grab a piece of paper so you can draft the faux layers part. It’s easy-peasy, don’t be scared! Simply trace the curved hem option of the front pattern piece, measure 1.25 inches on the side seam and draw a straight line from that point to the center seam. Repeat the procedure with the back piece of the pattern. Now you will have two extra pattern pieces (front and back) that you need to cut on fold at the center.

Sew your shirt according to the pattern instruction, iron the 1 inch memory hem and set it aside before stitching it. We will now prepare the “faux” layer. With the right sides together sew the side seams with 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Once you have a loop-like piece you can go ahead and stitch the curved hem with your coverstitch or sewing machine. Press it! You are almost done. All you have left to do now is attach the layered part to your main shirt. Lay the main shirt on a flat surface and insert the faux layer piece matching the side seams. You can match the raw edges inside the shirt and pin all around the hem.

If you prefer your faux layer to be just “peeking” from under your shirt you can certainly place the layer a little higher inside the main shirt and pin in place. Stitch the bottom hem of the shirt and the faux layer together at about 1 inch above the fold.

You just made yourself a beautiful shirt that takes you from summer to fall. This style shirt pairs beautifully with the SOS pants and the Pirate Pencil skirt. As always, don’t forget to show off your layered creations in the group. Happy sewing, pirates!

Alex

Free Spirit Tank – mash up & high low hem

August 30, 2016

I’m sure by now we’ve all been invited to a least one “Buy these clothes” Facebook party and we’ve been tempted to buy some outfits only to think “nah…I can make it myself”. Am I right? Well that was my thought when I saw one of this big online company’s newest relaxed fit dress that features a high low hem.

Today on the blog I wanted to show you my version of this popular dress and teach you how to use your favorite P4P patterns to make yourself one. First you will need the Free Spirit Tank (which just got updated to include the Layer Feature!) and the Boyfriend Vneck shirt patterns, a ruler, markers, paper, your fabric of choice, a measuring tape and a French curve ,if possible (A great investment if you don’t have one!). Start by printing the patterns according to the instructions and then cut your size and the high low option.

I used the sleeves and armcyce from the Boyfriend V neck shirt because it has a looser fit. If you are unsure how to mash the two patterns to add sleeves to the FST, use Judy’s Free Spirt Tank- Layer Me Up mash up tutorial. You would apply the same guidelines and tutorial. Even better, the Vneck Boyfriend tee includes a pocket piece too!

Now that we have the sleeves part covered, let’s move on the the high low hem. Grab your measuring tape because it’s time to take some additional measurement to create the above knee dress length. Measure the length from underarm to above knee, now measure the FST pattern piece from underarm to the hi low hem mark line. In doing so you’ll figure out how many inches you’ll be extending the side. In my case it was approximately 10 inches.

Attach some blank papers to the bottom of your pattern so you extend it. Using a straight ruler add the 10 inches side extension to both the front and back pattern pieces. Now we will create the front and back curved hems. The back curve will be a much more deep one than the front. Take the front piece and mark 12 inches down from the high low hem. Using a French curve draw a curve from the side point to the center seam. We will draft the back curved hem the same way only this time we’ll mark the extended center mark at 14 inches and carefully draw a curve between the side mark and the center.

That’s all! You’ve now drafted your own “Carly” inspired dress. Cut out the pieces and sew them according to the pattern instruction. The Boyfriend V neck shirt includes a pocket so I added it to the FST front too. Simply mark the pocket placement from the Boyfriend shirt on the FST pattern.

TIP: the bottom hem will have a pretty big back curved hem so don’t forget the tips I gave you in a earlier blog about hemming knits.

Let me know if you have any questions by posting them in the comments below. As always, don’t forget to show off your creations in the group. I can’t wait to see your versions of this dress.

Alex

Sunshine Dress- A Mash made in heaven

July 28, 2016

Some patterns are a mash made in heaven 😉

Here are some of our favorite mashes with the new Sunshine Dress pattern!

Adding sleeves is an easy hack! You will need your Sunshine Dress bodice pieces and a bodice and sleeve from another pattern you like. Here I used the Layer Me Up Shirt, because I thought the tight fit sleeve would look great with this bodice.

You will trace the shoulder and armsyce of the sleeved shirt (Layer Me Up here) onto the bodice of the Sunshine Dress. Aline your shoulders and trace your new armsyce (in yellow).

Cut out the sleeves from the Layer Me Up Pattern in whatever length you’d like and attach in the flat after attaching neckband on Sunshine.

Sew down side seams and along sleeves layering the Sunshine the same as the original tutorial.

Now you just need to finish your sleeves. You can hem or band according to the Layer Me Up tutorial.

Wah-lah… now you can take your Sunshine Dress into the colder seasons easily!

Here is a super simple mash! Nothing but taking the skirt of the Sweetheart Dress and attaching it to the Sunshine bodice! Easy, peasy, lemon squeezey!

Did you see the SUNSHINE dress that just released? The dress not only featured 3 bodices but the skirt is perfect for a mash up with other P4P patterns. In the blog today I’ll show you how I made myself a Boundless dress with a Sunshine skirt.

Start by printing and cutting the Boundless top according to your measurements. Use the waist cut line and not the empire one. If you use the empire cut line your sunshine skirt pockets will be too high on your torso. If you like the sleeveless look be sure to add lining too. For my dress I preferred to add short sleeves and not line the bodice. My dress is 100% cotton lycra (95%/5%) so it’s pretty thick. Plus this 100 degrees weather we’ve been having would not work well with a lined top. Am I right? ☺

For the Sunshine skirt I used the above knee cut chart. The length is very similar to the Boundless knee length so the look would not change. I don’t know about you but I am a big fan of pockets…inseam pockets, outside pockets, welt pockets….you name it…I love it! So when it came time to make the Sunshine skirt the choice was obvious, I cut my pockets with a coordinating fabric so they pop.

Sew your bodice according to the pattern and your choice of style (sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve etc). Since I did not line my bodice I just hemmed my neckline with ½ inch fold. Remember the tips I gave you in my last blog? Pin,pin, pin and iron your fabric and you will have a perfectly looking neckline for your unlined bodice.

When making your Sunshine skirt, be sure to follow the instruction in the Sunshine pattern. I like to use the elastic gathering method shown in the Boundless pattern but if you add pockets to the Sunshine skirt then that would not work well. You want to avoid gathering your pockets so just use gathering stitches.

If you did not add pockets to the skirt then the elastic gathering method will work great for this skirt too. Once you gathered the skirt to fit the width of your bodice you can go ahead and attached the two.

Tadah! You now have your very own Boundless/Sunshine dress perfect for year round wear. I hope to many, many Sunshine dresses and Sunshine mash-up dresses in the group (insert link) so be sure to show them off. Sew like a Pirate!

Sunshine Dress- Hacks

July 28, 2016

You know we love to show you how to take your P4P patterns that are filled with options and stretch them even further!

Here are a few easy hacks to the newest P4P pattern the Sunshine Dress!

Hello there! For those who don’t know me, my name is Erinn and I have a confession to share with you… I love dresses! Ok, truth: I love them September through June when I have to wear “real clothes” for my job as a teacher and not live in my comfy summertime clothes! So when the Sunshine Dress came out, the first thing I thought of was, “How can I make this work for a teacher?”. I absolutely love the cross-over bodice, but knew I would need to wear a cami under it for work, which would just mean more laundry (another confession: I hate laundry!). So, I give to you my friends- the modesty panel! It provides you with the extra coverage of a cami, minus the bulk of layering (again, not to mention the extra laundry of one more shirt- isn’t that reason enough to make one?).

What You’ll Need:

Partially finished cross-over bodice (Complete through attaching the neckband)
Pattern piece for Strapless liner (front only)
Coordinating fabric

Creating Modesty Panel

First up, you will need to create your modesty panel. To do this, you will need to make a few quick changes to the strapless liner piece. Cut along the armscye line that would have be used for the halter version. Next, remove 1” from the bottom of the pattern- there is already a lot of layers once the skirt is attached, so this will allow you to reduce some of “extra bulk”- nobody wants that!

Cut out your modesty panel using your new pattern piece as well as the binding for the top of panel. For the binding, you will want to cut a strip that is 2” wide and long enough to go across the top of panel.

Fold binding in half and iron, then attach to the top of the panel- make sure to stretch slightly as you attach. Trim the excess binding to align with your armscye. Press seam down.

Attaching Modesty Panel

You should have your cross-over bodice finished through attaching the neckband. Layer pieces in order according to pattern, then place the modesty panel as the top layer. Pin in place (no one will judge how many you use- that’s a lot of layers to keep in place!). Run a basting stitch down both sides- be careful on armscye, making sure to not baste all three layers together. Check the fit/placement of your panel and once everything looks good, sew your side seams together.

Voila! You have now created your modesty panel. All that’s left to do is attach the armbands and skirt, then enjoy your Sunshine dress… with a little added coverage.

Bodice with No Ruching:

This is a SUPER simple hack! All you need is your Sunshine pattern, no measurements, no guessing and just one quick change! For halter and strapless instead of cutting 1 main fabric bodice (front and back) simply cut out 2 lining pieces front and back.

Assemble exactly the same skipping the ruching steps in the tutorial. Done! For cross over bodice just cut out 2 under/not gathered front pieces, making sure to make them mirror image. Skip ruching steps and assemble normally. 🙂 Was that the easiest hack or what?!?! Now you have 3 more bodice choices with this already option packed pattern!

Making a separate skirt from the Sunshine pattern:

Maxi skirts are all the rage right now and with this simple hack, you can use the Sunshine Dress Skirt portion to create your own. (of course it works great for the other lengths too!)

Cut 1 waistband and 2 skirt panels. Construct the skirt in the same manner as the tutorial. Instead of attaching to a bodice, you will attach to the waistband. To create your waistband, sew short ends together, creating a circle then fold in half with wrong sides together. Find the 1/4 points of both the waistband and skirt and match skirt side seams to the waistband. I like to gather my skirt while it is pinned to the waistband to help ensure even gathers along each of the 1/4 points. Your skirt will be gathered to the same width as the waistband. Stitch with 1/2″ seam allowance. Pull basting threads. All finished!

Essential Tank- Open Back Hack

June 12, 2016

I’m excited to share another hack to the new Essential Tank pattern! I’ve seen this look in the popular athletic wear brands and love it! But being 5’10” means no way I can buy it off the rack, even if I wanted to splurge on the price tag 😉

So, I hacked the newest pattern in the P4P collection and I’m so in love with the result! I used a brushed polyester blend that is super soft.

I took the front and raise the neckline by 2″ (although the inspiration tank was probably 3″ higher I just can’t take a neckline that close!). Make sure your neckline ends at a straight angle or you will have a point when you open up your folded front. If you have a french curve use it for a nice smooth neckline. If not, you can get it as smooth as possible.

Next I cut the back. Here I cut the full piece to help demonstrate, but you can skip cutting the entire piece to save on fabric.

I took my straight edge and alined it to the widest part of the racerback. I sliced it straight from the top of the shirt to the bottom hem. (I’ll mention here I did shirt length cutline. but left it unhemmed).

Then I cut another MIRROR image back piece.

I decided to leave my hem and back edges raw. If you wanted to hem, go ahead and hem those back center edges now.

Tip-I ALWAYS cut a center notch on the necklines of every shirt- they’re cut on the fold and you always need that center mark for attaching your neckband marked anyways. It is such a quick, easy time to mark it with a notch!

With both right sides up and aligning the center, baste the overlapping sections along the neckline. Looking back I would also advise to baste just outside the 3/8″ seam allowance as well to hold it in place while attaching the neckband. It’s such a small section that extra baste will really help keep it nice and neat.

Then just sew up the shirt as the tutorial recommends, treating the back as 1 back piece. If you make the neckline higher you will need to shorten your neckband a bit as well. A good ratio is about 80-85% of the finished neckband plus your seam allowance.

And wa-lah! Now you can waer it open and loose or tie it at the bottom for a more fitted look! And a big bonus (for me anyways ;)) is that you can untie the back and it’s super nursing friendly! I already have 2 more fabrics that need to become this hack! I can see myself wearing these with some capri peglegs throughout the hot TX summer! I have it paired with a cute Siren Swim Top I made for a sports bra!

Don’t forget to share your final creations in the P4P Facebook group, tag me on Instagram, or in your favorite sewing forum! <3 I absolutely love to see your P4P creations!

Essential Tank Maternity Hack | Guest Post

June 9, 2016

MATERNITY BLOG TUTORIAL: Applying the Layer Me Up Maternity Modification to Other Patterns For Pirates Patterns

Guest Blog Written by Kelly Bailey

Hi there! I’m Kelly and I am here to share with you my knowledge of making maternity garments; more specifically, how to apply Judy Hale’s Layer Me Up maternity modification to the rest of her other patterns. I have been a pattern tester for Judy for a while now and love it. I also run my own sewing shop Spindle & Seams and I work for the fabric shop So Sew English! If you are here I imagine you are expecting or expecting to sew for somebody who is. Congratulations! This is a step by step tutorial and I hope that after reading through this you feel much more comfortable trying your hand at maternity wear. For this tutorial you will need your pattern of choice and the Patterns for Pirates Layer Me Up Maternity pattern.

NOTE: I am 20 weeks gestation (4^th baby) in all of these photos.

STEP 1: Does the pattern even require a maternity modification?

Does the pattern your thinking of making really need a maternity modification? There are several patterns out there that are maternity friendly without even trying to be and some that would turn into a mess if you tried. Two of my favorites are the Patterns for Pirates Free Spirit Tank in the curved hem and the Boundless dress in the empire waist option. The Free Spirit tank leaves lots of ease throughout the bodice and angles out wider as it approaches the bottom hemline. The Boundless dress, in an empire waist, is only fitted just under the bust and accentuates the baby belly in the most darling way! The Everyday Elegance can also be maternity friendly if you opt to make it using a knit fabric with great stretch. This one has a lot of ease throughout the bodice even without using knit fabric but definitely will fit you until the end if knit is used. Some patterns just are not meant to be altered to be maternity. There is one P4P pattern that I just wouldn’t attempt for this purpose; the Sweetheart dress and peplum. This pattern is drafted to be an “at the waist” and is very fitted from the waist up. The Sweetheart looks best in thicker, more stable knits like ponte or scuba that only provide restricted stretch and are the most fitted in a location where your belly is going to grow drastically.

So when looking at a pattern ask yourself; Does the pattern have an empire waist? Does it have an at the waist skirt/peplum? What is the ease like through the waist and hips? What patterns cannot be modified easily for maternity and which ones IMO just wouldn’t look great on me? What kinds of patterns are COMFORTABLE for maternity wear? Will I be able to wear this garment post partum to ease the transition back into non pregnancy clothes?

Here is a rough guide of the patterns I would, wouldn’t or might alter:

Patterns that don’t necessarily require maternity modifications:

Patterns that I wouldn’t attempt to make maternity:

Sweetheart Dress and Peplum Top

Patterns that can be easily modified for maternity:

STEP 2: Choose your fabric content wisely. What fabrics to use for maternity and what to avoid.

Sometimes you can get away without making any maternity modifications if you use the right fabric on a pattern that has enough length to accommodate. Tunic length garments can be a great way to have a before and after baby closet staple. But most of the time you will need to make the modifications to comfortably fit until after baby is born. Here are a list of some knit fabrics to use and some to try to stay away from when sewing maternity.

Fabrics that are great for maternity use:

Rayon Spandex Blends (This can include french terry)
Polyester Spandex Blends (like ITY or brushed poly)
Cotton Spandex/Lycra Blends (This can include french terry)
Cotton Spandex Interlock Knits
Liverpool depending on the amount of horizontal stretch
Lightweight Sweater knits with lots of stretch

These fabrics all have great stretch and recovery. 4-way stretch is great but because you are adding in length to the front bodice you can easily use 2-way stretch knits as long as the horizontal stretch is pretty good.

Fabrics to try your best to steer clear of using for maternity wear:

100% cotton Jersey knits or Interlock
100% cotton French Terry
Ponte
Scuba
Nylon spandex and other athletic knit blends

These types of knits typically do not have very good overall stretch or they have what I call restricted stretch. Restricted stretch would be a fabric that has good overall stretch but is tougher to pull to get there. Similar to how some athletic knits try to hold you in as you work out. Maternity garments made with these knits may fit for a little while, but will likely not comfortably last you up until that cute little babe pops out of your full-grown belly.

Now that you have chosen a good sewing pattern and paired it with the right fabric we can move on to altering the front bodice piece of your chosen pattern. There is no need to alter any other pattern pieces. Yay!

STEP 3: Assembling and analyzing your maternity modification pattern piece and what the modifications mean.

Your Layer Me Up maternity pattern is going to give that belly some ease throughout the waist to accommodate growth width wise. It is also going to give you more length through the front bodice to completely cover your full-grown baby belly. You definitely don’t want your hand crafted top turning into an early 90’s belly shirt ¾ of the way through your pregnancy! For this tutorial you are going to need to purchase the Layer Me Up maternity mod pattern and a maternity mod friendly pattern of your choice. Now is the time to assemble both of these patterns and to cut out your sizes. Pay attention to your current bust and hip size. They may have changed since before you became pregnant. You may need to do some pattern grading because of it. See Judy’s blog post on pattern grading if this is something new to you.

STEP 4: Picking the pattern you wish to modify and lining up the maternity mod pattern correctly on top of it.

Now we are going to lay the pattern pieces on top of one another to see where we need to make modifications to our non maternity pattern. We will only be modifying the FRONT BODICE piece of the non maternity pattern. We are using the Layer Me Up maternity piece as a guide to adjust our original pattern. Line up your maternity pattern piece on top of your original pattern piece using the armpit at the reference point. The Layer Me Up mod piece should be placed a couple inches below the armpit of our front bodice piece. As you can see in this photo I have also laid the top original Layer Me Up front bodice piece to show that the reference point. If you do not own the Layer Me Up original pattern, don’t worry, just place the maternity piece a couple of inches below the armpit.

STEP 5: Adding paper along the original patterns waist curve for tracing.

You can see from the above photo that some parts of the maternity piece fall within the bodice piece of your original pattern, but there are parts that stick out as well. We are going to do some gentle transitioning and tracing on our original pattern to accommodate. First things first, decide where you need to add your tracing paper to your original pattern. Tape that piece of paper into your original pattern like so.

Now once again lay your maternity pattern piece over the top so that we can trace the new curve.

Be sure to use some gentle grading to transition the curve from your original pattern bodice piece to the maternity pattern piece. Trace along the maternity curve. When you are finished tracing trim off the excess paper.

Here is where you can decide to use the full width of the maternity curve or to trim it down about 1/3” to be more fitted for early pregnancy. If you choose to slim it down your top may not fit all the way up to your due date.

STEP 6: Adding Length to the front bodice piece.

Analyze the pattern pieces to see how much length discrepancy there is for the hem lengths. Pick a good location on the original pattern to cut and add in more length there. I like to add the length in at the shortest hem length on the original pattern. Once again, we are going to lay the Layer Me Up maternity piece on top of your original pattern piece.

As you can see from the above photo there is several inches of difference between the hem lengths. For this part of the tutorial I am going to illustrate how to add in the length necessary for rouching. Take measure of the difference.

Take note of this measurement and then cut your original pattern piece at the shortest hem length. On this particular pattern, this falls at the curved hem.

Add in your blank paper here and tape your original pattern pieces to the blank sheet being sure to only add the measured difference back into the original pattern. Trace a smooth transition line and trim off excess paper on the sides.

Now once again lay the Layer Me Up maternity pattern piece on top of your now altered original pattern and be sure that your hem lengths now line up with one another.

STEP 7: Transfer over the elastic sewing markings.

Line up the two pattern pieces and from the Layer Me Up maternity add on pattern and transfer the triangle elastic markings to your now altered original pattern.

Wallah! You now have altered your original front bodice pattern piece to be maternity!

STEP 8: Check out your new maternity pattern.

It’s super easy from here! Cut out your altered front bodice piece from your fabric and follow the LMU Maternity mod instructions as written. Make any adjustments through the bodice as necessary for a better fit for you! Again, you do not need to modify any other pieces from your pattern to make it maternity. I highly suggest trying on your top or dress BEFORE you attach the binding or hem in order easily make any necessary adjustments.

Siren and Hello Sailor Hacks

April 25, 2016

We couldn’t help ourselves to a few hacks to the new Siren Swim Top and Hello Sailor Swim Bottoms during testing! We loved them so much we decided to share a few of our favorite quick and easy mods.

The Double Strap Hack: (My favorite! I couldn’t stop using this one 😉 )

This one is super simple and quick! You have 4 straps per cutting instructions. Instead of sewing them right sides together to create 2 straps, we sewed each strap folded in half width-wise down the long edge.

Turn right sides out.

And place both side by side on the top pick ups.

The Double, Straight and Cross Strap Hack:

Then we had even more fun doing one set of straight straps and one set of criss-cross straps… cute right?!?!? Just baste and double check you have them all placed correctly before finalizing the stitching! I slipped swim elastic inside this navy/white top straps for more support. It also keeps the straps in place and hold their shape (not get folded or wrinkled up).

Fringe Hack:

The only change during construction is that I did not sew the flounce into the side seam.

Once the top was compete I began in the center and used my rotary blade and clear quiting ruler to cut 1/4″ strips up to the seam line. I continued all across the top, keeping my slits straight. I wont lie though, it was REALLY late and I was tired… I threw the ruler aside and went at it all crazy!

I went back with scissors and clipped all the way up through the pick ups (I couldn’t get my roatary up that far without cutting through the main top pieces.

It was crazy windy on our picture day with my cousin (isn’t she the cutest?!?!) so we only caught a few where the fringe wasn’t wildly blowing around! You could do the slits as small as your patience allows for and you could also tug them a bit to let the knit curl to hide some imperfections too! It’s a fun, flirty mod! I hope you don’t mind the other watermark on her pictures, my amazing sister took these photos and edited for me :).

Double Flounce Hack:

Creating the double flounce is as simple as cutting 2 of the front and back flounce pieces. I just kind of eyeballed how much shorter I wanted the top layer flounce but ended up cutting about 1.5″ off the front and 1″ off the back. Depending on your size, you could also use a smaller size length as a guide. Be sure to keep the side seams the same length on both the front and back flounce of the layer you cut. For construction, I basted the two layers together to help keep them together as it is a little trickier to stitch 5 layers of fabric.

HELLO SAILOR BOTTOMS

Piping Detail Hack:

This adds a bit of visual interest to those paneled options! Just cut strips at least as long as your seam where your front center and front side panels meet. The width is a personal preference, but you will need double what you’d like your finished width, plus double the seam allowance (3/4″). I choose 1/4″ finished width for mine, so I cut a strip 1 1/4″ wide.

Fold strip width-wise and place right sides together matching raw edges along seam where front center and side panel meet.

Then place side panel on top and stitch with normal 3/8″ seam allowance. (You will be stitching through 4 layers of fabric)

I choose to top-stitch mine down along the folded edge.

I love the little, simple detail!

Separate Skirt Cover Up Hack:

I created a separate skirt for my cousin to use as a cover up! I just cut 1 extra waistband than the pattern calls for and sewed it to the skirt just like the waistband (folded with right sides together along the top raw edge.)

Now she can slip on the skirt when she’s walking around and take it off when she’s ready to really go swimming 🙂

One-Piece Hack:

For some, a two piece suit is not their style, so we hacked the Siren Swim Top and Hello Sailor to create an on trend one piece. You will construct your top and bottom as in the tutorial but will not attach your bottom band of the top or the waistband of the bottoms. I chose to keep the bottom band of the top for extra support, but you can omit if you choose. We will be connecting the top and bottom with a connector piece so you do not need the waistband of the bottoms. Try on your top and bottom.

To determine the length of the connector piece, measure the distance between the raw edge of your top and the top edge of your bottoms at center front and center back. You may need to find someone to help you with the back ;). Add double the seam allowance (0.75″) My gap was about 3″ so the length of my connector piece was 3.75″. I used the waistband measurement for the width of the band as I wanted it to be held tight there. Note: if your hip is much wider than your under-bust and waist, it will be difficult to pull up over your hips so you may need to shimmy it on!

Connecting the top and bottom is the same construction as the bottom band and waistband but you will be using the connector piece instead. Stitch short ends of the connector piece and bottom band. On the bottom band only, fold with wrong sides together.

Matching raw edges and wrong side facing up, slip bottom band over connector piece. You should have 3 layers of fabric. Mark in 1/4s and with right sides together, match raw edges of the connector piece to the Siren Top. Stitch. Flip open and press seam down.

Turn your Hello Sailor bottoms inside out. Matching raw edges of the connector piece, with right sides together, slip your Siren Top inside the bottom. Be sure to match the front of your top with the front of your bottoms. Stitch.

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