Favorite/Fav Tee SAL – day 2 (choose and cut fabric)

August 7, 2018

Welcome to day 2 of our Favorite and Fav Tee sew along. Today we will be choosing the fabric and cutting it. You should have your pattern pieces ready from yesterday so now we will be using them to cut the fabric.

But first let’s talk a little about the right fabric for this pattern. As you can see in the video below I am using Bamboo Spandex from Fabric Anthropology for my dress. This is by far my favorite knit type for this pattern. I also like Rayon Spandex and Brushed Poly for it too.

If you are unsure about which knit type will work best for your desired look, take a look over our P4P University Knit Types blog. Judy also included a cheat sheet that you can print. If you are like me and sometime are just keen on using a specific print for a specific pattern, read our Different fabric, different fit blog post before you cut your fabric.

The Day 2 video is posted below. Check it out and once you are done cutting your fabric post a picture of it in the comments of the Day 2 photo in the M4M & P4P Sew Along group.

Favorite Tee & Fav Tee SAL

Day 1: print + cut pattern

Day 2: chose + cut fabric

Day 3: shoulder seam + attach sleeves

Day 4: side seam + hem sleeves

Day 5: hem bottom or add band

Day 6: neckband

Day 7: winner announcement

Favorite/Fav Tee SAL – day 1 (print and cut pattern)

August 6, 2018

Welcome to our Favorite Tee / Fav Tee Sew Along!

Day One is reserved to purchasing the pattern, printing and cutting the size(s) you need. If you plan on sewing for yourself you can get the Favorite Tee here, if you’re sewing for your little one, the Fav Tee can be purchased here and if you’re sewing for both of you (just think of the mommy and me matching outfits!) you can get the bundle.

This is our first Sew Along in the new M4M & P4P Sew Along group so be sure to join the group not only for the exclusive discount code available for the Favorite and Fav Tee patterns but also to post your progress this week.

Now that you purchased the pattern(s), print the size needed. In order to do that it is very important that you take your most accurate measurements.

You will need your waist, hips and chest measurements in order to choose the correct Favorite/Fav Tee size. P4P has an amazing blog that gives you tip for accurately taking your measurements. You can read all about it here. If your measurements put you in a different size for chest/waist/hips be sure to check out our P4P University blog and grade to achieve the perfect fit.

Check out the day 1 video below and then post a picture of your favorite sewing tool in the comments of the Day 1 picture. We don’t allow pictures of the pattern posted so this will be a great way to show our fellow sewists our gadgets 🙂

Favorite Tee & Fav Tee SAL

Day 1: print + cut pattern

Day 2: chose + cut fabric

Day 3: shoulder seam + attach sleeves

Day 4: side seam + hem sleeves

Day 5: hem bottom or add band

Day 6: neckband

Day 7: winner announcement

P4P Henley Sew-Along | Recap + Winners!

January 22, 2018

How much fun did you have last week, sewing all the henleys? The Pirate team just loved seeing all of those plackets and neckbands being tackled for the first time, as well as the fun raglan sleeve hack being utilized!

We didn’t really want to have a contest with this sew-along, as much as we just wanted people to have fun without pressure. However, we couldn’t resist picking some random people that sewed along with us, to gift them some free P4P patterns! Here are the four P4P Henley Sew-Along Champs!

Layni Van Hyning

Cathryn Perrotti Larkin

Kit Kabboord‎

Alaura Sproles‎

Worried that you missed something? Don’t be! We ran this sew-along on the blog so you’d have easy access to it whenever you were ready to sew some henleys for yourself. Here was the weekly lineup, in case you need it again!

January 14: Announcement.
January 15: Choosing Your Fabrics, Printing + Measuring.
January 16: Cutting Fabric.
January 17: Placket.
January 18: Sleeves.
January 19: Attaching Neckband + Hood.
January 20-21: Catch-Up Days.
January 22: Recap + Winners Announced!

P4P Henley Sew-Along | Attaching Neckband + Hood

January 19, 2018

Welcome to the day 5 of the P4P Henley sew along. Today’s steps include adding the neckband or the hood.

Crew Neckband

If you have done the solid front shirt (no placket) you will now be adding the neckband as in the pattern tutorial. For additional tip, check out our P4P University Neckbands 101 blog and videos here.

Henley Neckband

If your sew along choice was a Henley style shirt then you would now be adding the henley neckband. This neckband is not sewn in a loop like the crew neckband was. Take a moment to watch the video below. The most important thing to keep in mind when adding this neckband is to go very slow and baste!

Hood (with or without the placket)

The Henley patterns include a hood for the placket option. For this sew along we wanted to show you how easy it is to add a hood to the solid front option. The only pattern modifications you will need to make is to extend the front of the hood by 1/2″.

Sew the hood as per the pattern tutorial. Overlap the front neckline 1/2″ and baste in place.

Mark the quarter points of the hood and the neckline. Turn your shirt inside out and place the hood right sides together, matching the quarter points.

Sew or serge the hood to the neckline following a 1/2″ seam allowance. See how easy it was to add a hood to the plain front shirt?

**The links won’t be active until the scheduled date.

P4P Henley Sew-Along | Sleeves

January 18, 2018

We’re back and working on the sleeves today! We get quite a few posts in the main Facebook Group about having issues with the sleeve so I made a quick video about easing the sleeve to the bodice. I hope this helps!

If you’re doing a cuffed version, be sure to hop on over to our Knit Cuffs Blog Post for more tips. 🙂

We’re in the home stretch now…only one more day to go!

**The links won’t be active until the scheduled date.

P4P Henley Sew-Along | Placket

January 17, 2018

Dun, dun, dun! Today is placket day! But please don’t let this step scare you away, I promise that once it clicks you’ll be a pro at sewing them. (On the other hand, if you have decided that you want to skip the placket on this version of your henley, the patterns already include a neckband measurement for a basic tee option. Easy as that!)

Lucky for you, Alex has already given us an incredibly in-depth hand holding on making plackets work for you. If you head over to her blog post, you’ll find some info on what they are, if interfacing is necessary or not, and THREE wonderful videos taking you through each step of the way.

P4P University – Plackets

Have more questions or as stuck on a step? Or maybe you just want to share your progress so far? Feel free to post in the Sew-Along event group! There are always helpers in there! And, if you are sewing along with us, be sure to tag @PatternsforPirates and #P4PHENLEYSAL on Instagram.

**The links won’t be active until the scheduled date.

P4P Henley Sew-Along | Cutting Fabric

January 16, 2018

Welcome back! So far, we’ve learned how to pick the perfect fabrics and get the perfect fit. Today, we are diving right in and cutting into your beautiful fabrics. We’re also sharing two new hacks so before you cut into your pretties, check them out first!

Is this your first time using one of our patterns? Check out our Pattern Markings 101 and Grainline blog posts for more tips about cutting out your fabric correctly. Now, on to the hacks…..

Henley Raglan Color Block Hack

Download the Color Block Pieces for the Women’s Henley and Yo Ho Henley HERE.

: French Terry

: Sweater Knit and Suede accents

Here we go!

: Print out the Henley Main and Color Block pieces

: Picture of Back Main and Color Block Pieces

: Picture of Front Main and Color Block Pieces

: The Color Block Pieces should line up at the shoulder seam with the main body.

: Transfer the faded line (shown in pink here) to your main body as this will be your new bottom color block. If you do not want to cut your main pattern piece you can also fold it along that line when you cut your fabric.

: Cut 2 (mirror image) of the top color block. Follow the darker size line along the armscye.

: Cut 1 Front on the fold along the line you transferred in the previous step.

: Cut 1 Back on the fold along the line you transferred in the previous step.

: With right sides together, and using a 1/2″ seam allowance, stitch top color block to front bodice.

: With right sides together, and using a 1/2″ seam allowance, stitch top color block to back bodice.

: Press seam allowance down and top-stitch. Repeat for the back.

: Continue as instructed in your pattern.

Women’s Long Sleeve Tall Cuffs Hack

If you’ve been following in the main Facebook Group, a few weeks ago I hacked the Henley and upsized it for a more looser top! With that, I also did a longer cuff. It received lots of love, so we thought we’d make it easy on y’all and share the new cuff measurements. Cut your sleeve on the “Roll up” Cut line and use the measurements below for your cuffs. Construction is the same as the other cuff/band options. 🙂

We hope you love these hacks as much as we do! Check back tomorrow for more details on the Placket….. It’s really not as tricky as you think 😉

**The links won’t be active until the scheduled date.

P4P Henley Sew-Along | Choosing Fabrics, Printing + Measuring

January 15, 2018

Today is all about prepping your pattern and fabric and making sure you get the best fit before you even cut a single fiber!

LET’S TALK FABRIC

The best part of the henley patterns is that they work with a huge array of fabrics. French Terry, sweater knit, thermal, interlock, rayon spandex, and single/double brushed poly-spandex are just to name a few. Check out our Knit 101 Blog post if you need more help with the fabric types.

Here are a few examples from our testers! And be on the lookout for the raglan shoulder color block hack later this week. 😉

: Sweater Knit

: Rayon Spandex/Jersey

: French Terry

: Crushed Velvet

: Sweater Knit and Suede accents

: Burnout Jersey/Rayon Spandex Placket

: Thermal

: Cotton Lycra

: Cotton Lycra

: French Terry

MEASURE YOURSELF

The Henley Patterns are all focusing on three measurement points: Chest, Waist and Hips. Judy created an entire post dedicated to measurements and how to properly measure yourself. You can see the full post HERE.

Chest/Full Bust — Full bust is around the fullest/biggest part of your bust. You want the tape as even horizontally as possible. For men/children, the fullest part of their chest is where the measurement needs to be taken.

Hip – This is a deceiving name. It is measured around your fullest/biggest part, which is usually your booty. Try to keep your tape as even horizontally as possible (a mirror really helps on this one!)

Waist– This is your natural waistline. Contrary to most belief, it is NOT your belly button or where you wear your pants (even though you might like high waisted pants). It is taken at the smallest part of your mid section. if you don’t have a very defined natural waist there is a very easy way to find it.

Take any kind of stretch trim, fold over elastic, thin elastic, even a strip of knit will work, and tie it snuggly around your mid section. Now MOVE around, bend walk around, sit down, it will naturally settle on your smallest part. This is your natural waist.

What if you’re taller or shorter than the pattern is drafted for?

Wouldn’t you know that we have an entire blog post dedicated to helping you with that as well? The “rule of thumb” is to add/subtract 1/2″ for every inch that you are different than the pattern is 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.

Head HERE to read more about it!

What if your measurements don’t fall within one size?

That is why you’re sewing for yourself, isn’t it? To get the perfect fit? Well then let’s get that perfect fit!

Now that you have determined your size and if you’d like to grade, how do you do it? Below are a few examples of grading for a larger waist and hip size. Any adjustments should be made to both the FRONT and BACK pieces. Do not be discouraged if your measurements put you within different or larger sizes than ready-to-wear store-bought clothes as pattern sizing does not translate the same. Our bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and we are all uniquely beautiful.

PRINT YOUR PATTERN(S)

All three henley patterns are “no-trim” pages. That is exactly what it sounds like! The pages are set up to print and be taped/glued together without needing to get scissors out and trim the edges before assembly. It makes this step of the process even quicker. Need help assembling the no-trim pages? No problem! Judy created this fabulous video for us. Go check it out HERE. (You have to be a member of the P4P Facebook group to be able to see the video.)

Before you hit print, BE SURE that your pages are set to print at 100%, no scaling. We still recommend printing only the first page and measuring your 1″ x 1″ (or 4cm x 4cm) square to verify the print size is correct before printing the entire pattern. Even if your square is off by the teeniest amount, the entire pattern will be affected and your dress will not fit. Save yourself some ink and paper (and fabric!) and verify the settings first.

Whew! That was a lot of information to take in, wasn’t it?

Hopefully now, your pattern is printed, taped/glued together, you have properly measured for your size, cut the pattern pieces out and are ready to start cutting into your pretty fabrics tomorrow. If you’re sewing along with us, be sure to tag @PatternsforPirates and #P4PHENLEYSAL on Instagram. Don’t forget to join us on the P4P event page either: Henley SAL on Facebook.

**The links won’t be active until the scheduled date.

P4P Henley Sew-Along | Get Ready!

January 14, 2018

Are you ready for another sew-along with the Pirate Crew? We are so excited to tell you that we are bringing an entire week of P4P Henley love! We thought it was time to shine some light on these “oldie but goodie” patterns of ours, and especially love it because the patterns cover your entire family.

Welcome to Henley Sew-Along Week, friends!

The party doesn’t start officially until tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare yourself a little bit beforehand. In celebration of the Henley Sew-Along Week, all three patterns can be discounted an additional $3, using the code “henleysal” until January 20, 2018 (11:59pm Central Time).

Yo Ho Henley | Women’s Henley | Men’s Henley | Henley Bundle

Be sure to join us in the Event Page for the Sew-Along on Facebook: HERE.
The SAL itself will be on this very blog, but we will be extending the party over to the group and event on Facebook for even more interactive fun!

If you’d like to get a leg up on the yardage of fabric you’ll be needing, here are the size charts and fabric requirements, for easy access:

And before we go…here is the schedule, so you know what to expect from us. We will even be throwing in some new tricks and pattern hacks, so you can get even more out of these adorable patterns. Can’t wait!!

**The links won’t be active until the scheduled date.

Peg Legs SAL: Day 7 – Recap and winners announcement

May 3, 2017

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