Patterns for Pirates

P4P stylish, modern, wearable patterns

New Pattern Release :: Valley Swing Dress (Adult + Youth Sizes!)

We are so excited to release our newest pattern by crew member Katy!

Say hello to your new favorite dress: The Valley Swing Dress, available for both our Adult Hourglass Figure (XXS – Plus 5X sizes) and Youth (3m – 14 sizes).  Like all of her pattern releases so far, Katy’s giving a nod to her home state.  The Valley Swing Dress is named after where she lives in West Virginia: the Ohio Valley.

Are you ready to swish, sway, and (of course!) swing yourself into a new pattern with us?  Let’s tell you all about it!

The Valley Swing Dress pattern lives up to it’s name, in that it’s got some swing to it!  These patterns are fitted in the bust, semi-fitted in the waist, and have an oversized fit in the hips.  The ease of the bodice creates an incredibly flattering silhouette, before it swings out to a swishy, flowy skirt.  This beginner friendly pattern is a perfect wardrobe staple for all seasons.  Pair it with a lightweight knit and a tanktop and you’ve got the cutest summer dress to keep cool in.  Or sew it up with a drapey sweater knit and some long sleeves, throw on your favorite tights and booties and you’ll be incredibly fashionable this fall and winter!  The colorblocked skirt hits right at the waist and allows for some fun pattern, print and color mixing combos.  Or just pick a plain dress option for an even faster sewing project.  Either way, you’ll love how comfortable, charming and easy this dress is to throw on!
Choose from these options:
  • tanktop, short, 3/4 and long sleeves
  • top, tunic and above-knee hem lengths
  • colorblock or plain skirted options
The Valley Swing Dress is drafted for a mid-to-lightweight knit fabric with at least 30% horizontal stretch.
Some of our favorites are: rayon spandex, ITY, poly spandex, brushed polyester, ribbed knit, waffle knit, modal, bamboo lycra, etc.
**Keep in mind that fabric content will affect drape and fit!  Stiffer/heavier fabrics, such as cotton lycra, are not recommended.  And fabrics with less recovery, such as some rayon spandex, may “grow” with wear and fit longer than intended.

The youth sizes range from 3m – 14 and the adult sizes are for the full, newer size chart, extending from XXS – Plus 5X for the Adult Hourglass Figure.

  • *Want to learn more about how to measure yourself for these pattern?  We’ve got you covered with an in-depth blog HERE.  And for even more helpful fun, we have a free* printable that you can use to help record your measurements as you take them.
  • And in case you’re new to Patterns for Pirates and PDF patterns in general, we have a great blog full of new-user tips HERE to help you get started!
  • As with all of our current releases and updates, the pdfs now include our layers feature and can be found in Letter, A4, A0 and projector sizes.
Consider yourself to be a visual learner and need a little extra hand-holding before you sew?  We’ve got you!  Take a peek at this video, where we walk you through the entire sewing process of the Valley Swing Dress!

Okay….let’s check out some of the different features, modeled by our incredible testers:

TOP + TUNIC + DRESS HEM LENGTHS

TANK + SHORT + 3/4 + LONG SLEEVE LENGTHS

COLORBLOCK + PLAIN OPTIONS

We are looking forward to see what you make with the new Valley Swing Dress patterns!  Head on over to the shop and grab yourself a copy and get to sewing!  They are available on sale (no code needed) through 11:59pm CST, July 17th, 2022.

Valley Swing Dress | Valley Swing Dress – Youth | Valley Swing Dress – Bundle

Hoping for a little inspiration before diving into some swing dress sewing?  Journey over to our Facebook group where you can see tester albums full of amazing images!

Valley Swing Adult Album | Valley Swing Youth Album

Grace Dress- Easy Hacks

Ahoy pirates! The newest P4P pattern is here and it’s a must have. The gorgeous Grace dress features so many sleeves options but we just had to show you one more. We couldn’t let this release happen without showcasing probably the easiest hack in the history of hacks…the Grace flared sleeve.

 

Djem here, with another simple hack for some cool flared sleeves! Can’t decide between the flutter sleeve or the bishop sleeve? Want a mash of the two? Flared sleeves is the answer!

This can be done using either the 3/4 sleeve or long sleeve bishop options. Simply omit the elastic and then finish the hem using the narrow hem instructions for the flutter sleeve. Voila!

 

Facing Hack

If you, like me, are getting ready to cut out the fabric for your Grace Dress and realise that you have forgotten to buy your lining fabric, you can very easily make a facing instead. It won’t work if you are using a translucent fabric, like a chiffon (as you will be able to see the facing through the main fabric) but for the crepe I had picked out for my Grace, it worked perfectly. 

 

First of all you will start by taking your main bodice front and back pieces, and drafting your facing pieces. I use a projector these days, but if you have a paper pattern you can use a tracing paper or just re print the pages that give you the necklines of both bodice pieces. 

 

Take your front bodice and trace off the original neck cutline, then using a measuring tape or ruler mark 2 inches away along the length of the neckline. Then join the dots. You can use a French curve to help you here. 

 

Do the same for the back bodice neckline. These will be your facing pieces. 

 

Cut these out of your fabric and you will have two pieces that look like this. 

 

Then cut out the same facing pieces from a light weight interfacing. This will help stabilise the neckline and give a better finish. Apply the interfacing to the wrong side of your facing pieces following the manufacturers instructions.

Sew them together, rights sides together, at the shoulder seams. 

 

If you haven’t already, sew your front and back main bodice pieces together at the shoulder seam. Then lay your facing pieces, rights sides together with the main bodice pieces, matching the fronts and backs together and matching the shoulder seams.  Sew them together around the neckline. Making sure not to stretch the fabric as you sew. 

 

Finish the raw edge (the long, outer curved edge you haven’t just sewn to the bodice) of your facing using a serger or your preferred method.  Using a sharp pair of scissors, like these duck bill scissors, CAREFULLY trim down your facing seam allowance only to a ¼”. This will layer the seam allowances and reduce bulk. Then clip along the neckline, up to, but not through, the seam line. Turn through and give it a good press. 

 

You now have two options. You can use a hemming tape, like this Wundaweb, to fuse the facing to the outer which stops it flipping out, or you can top stitch the facing down. I did both! 

 

That’s it. You can now finish the rest of your garment as per the tutorial. 

Enjoy your beautiful new frock.

 

Happy Sewing! 

Dana x

 

How gorgeous do Djem and Dana look? I must admit, I will be adding these sleeves to my next Grace dress. I am thinking lace! I can’t wait to what your take will be on the Grace dress.

Go Team SAL – day 7

 

Good evening, friends! Thank you everyone who joined us last week for the Go Team sew along. I had so much fun making the two jerseys for my kids. I know you are here to find out the winners so without further ado, here they are!

Congratulations, Mel Goulet! She is our first winner. Mel won a $20 gift card from Patterns for Pirates and a $30 gift card from Purple Dragon Fabrics.

Congratulations go to Naomi McGrath as well! Naomi won a gift card from Made for Mermaids valued at $20 and a $30 gift certificate from Purple Dragon Fabrics.

A huge THANK YOU to our sew along sponsor. Make sure you check out Purple Dragon Fabrics on Facebook to keep up to date with their sales and preorders.

November’s sew along will be hosted by the mermaids so keep an eye on the Facebook group! See you back here in 2022! 

Go Team SAL – day 1 | cut fabric

Go Team SAL – day 2 | shoulder seams & neckline

Go Team SAL – day 3 | yokes

Go Team SAL – day 4 | sleeves

Go Team SAL – day 5 | side seams & hem bottom

Go Team SAL – day 6 | hem sleeves or add cuffs

Go Team SAL – day 7 | winners announcement

Go Team SAL – day 6

Welcome to the last day of the Go Team sew along. All we have left to do today is add the cuffs or hem the sleeves. I did both options in today’s  video. The short and 3/4 length sleeve have only a hemmed option. 

  • When creating the cuffs it’s highly important to press the wrong sides together lengthwise. Stitch each cuff, right sides together to create a loop. Take a look over our P4P University Knit Cuffs blog to get some tips and tricks for beautiful cuffs. 
  • If you are doing the hem option, you can use your sewing machine’s twin needles option or your coverstitch as I have. Before you start, take a look over our Hemming blog because we have a few tips for easy and successful hemming. 

All done! Give your shirt or dress a good steam press and pair it with your favorite P4P bottoms for an extra cute look!

Needless to say, my little one loved both of his Mousefetti Go Team jerseys. 💜

Last Go Team sew along video is posted below. Once you complete your dress and/or jersey snap a photo of your finished project and add it to the day 6 photo comments in this SAL album. That is where the P4P team will select the winners. I do encourage you to share your pretty makes in the main P4P Facebook group so everyone can admire them. See you back here on Tuesday for the winners blog!

Go Team SAL – day 1 | cut fabric

Go Team SAL – day 2 | shoulder seams & neckline

Go Team SAL – day 3 | yokes

Go Team SAL – day 4 | sleeves

Go Team SAL – day 5 | side seams & hem bottom

Go Team SAL – day 6 | hem sleeves or add cuffs

Go Team SAL – day 7 | winners announcement

Go Team SAL – day 5

We are almost there! We made it to the 5th day and it’s an easy one. Today we sew the side seams and hem the bottom. 

   STOP! Before you pin the side seams, press your memory hem on the bottom of the shirt, both front and back. Trust me, you will thank me for not letting you skip this step. 

Now that you have that covered, pin the sides, right sides together and stitch with a 1/2″ seam allowance. If you opted for the sewing machine, make sure you use a stretch stitch. 

If you chose the dress, you will be hemming the curved edge. We have a P4P University blog with tips for hemming knits. You can read about it here. The most important thing about hemming knits with your coverstitch or sewing machine is to PRESS, press and press some more. If you are finishing the bottom hem using twin needles, a good refresher blog is the P4P University Twin Needles Tips. 

Day 5 video is below. Once you sew the side seams and hem the bottom, post a picture of your progress in the comments of day 5 photo of the Go Team sew along album. You can find the album in the M4M & P4P Sew Along group on Facebook. 

Go Team SAL – day 1 | cut fabric

Go Team SAL – day 2 | shoulder seams & neckline

Go Team SAL – day 3 | yokes

Go Team SAL – day 4 | sleeves

Go Team SAL – day 5 | side seams & hem bottom

Go Team SAL – day 6 | hem sleeves or add cuffs

Go Team SAL – day 7 | winners announcement

Go Team SAL – day 4

Welcome to day 4 of the Go Team sew along! Today is the day most of  you have been waiting for, we add the sleeves details. The pattern includes pieces for both strips but we also added measurements for the cut chart in the tutorial. 

Start by pressing the strips hems, two for each strip. If the type of fabric you’re using does not hold the pressed hem (like mine), use a some water soluble double sided tape to keep the hem folded. You can see how in today’s video below. Remember the markings we did on the sleeves on day one? Today we take peel off the paper backing and adhere the strips we made to them.

If you don’t have water soluble double sided tape, you can mark the strip placement on the sleeves with a fabric marker or chalk. Use a ruler and be sure to only mark the inner lines on the strips. Here is a short video with some tips for achieving the perfect strips. 

— If you are doing the HTV hack I mentioned during day 1, today you are fusing the strips to your sleeves. You can do that using a heat press or your iron. If you use your iron, add a hard surface under your sleeves, like a ceramic tile. HTV needs pressure to fuse, not just heat. 

Once the strips are added, pin them to the sleeve opening, matching the shoulder notch to the shoulder seam and the front notch to the front armscye. Sew it down with a 1/2″ seam allowance using a stretch stitch. 

You can see day 4 video below. Don’t forget to add your progress photo to the comments of day 4 photo in the sew along album. See you back here tomorrow when we’ll sew the side seams and hem the bottom. 

 

Go Team SAL – day 1 | cut fabric

Go Team SAL – day 2 | shoulder seams & neckline

Go Team SAL – day 3 | yokes

Go Team SAL – day 4 | sleeves

Go Team SAL – day 5 | side seams & hem bottom

Go Team SAL – day 6 | hem sleeves or add cuffs

Go Team SAL – day 7 | winners announcement

Go Team SAL – day 3

 

Ahoy, pirates! Welcome to day 3 of the Go Team Sew Along. Today we attach the yokes to the bodice. At the start of the day you should have one piece with the front and back sewn together (with a V neck, crew neckband or hood) and two pieces for the bodice, one front and one back.  

Mark the center of both the front and back bodices. Add a pin or a clip to the center back of the yoke. If sewing the crew or hood style, add one to the front yoke too. Matching the center fronts and center backs place the yoke and bodice right sides together. Sew with a stretch stitch or serger. Top stitch the seam allowance down. you can do this on your sewing machine with a zig zag stitch or a twin needle. Alternatively, you can use your serger. If you need a refresher or you are new to sewing with a twin needle, here is one of our P4P University post to help you with that. 

If you opted for the V neck style, overlap the two front pieces slightly and sew a basting stitch to keep them in place. Place the front of the bodice on the front V neck yoke, sew in place and top stitch. That’s it! You are done for today!

Here is the day 3 video where you can see both the hood and V neck options sewn. Once you finish today’s steps, post a photo of your progress in the day 3 comments of the Go Team sew along album. See you back here tomorrow! 

Go Team SAL – day 1 | cut fabric

Go Team SAL – day 2 | shoulder seams & neckline

Go Team SAL – day 3 | yokes

Go Team SAL – day 4 | sleeves

Go Team SAL – day 5 | side seams & hem bottom

Go Team SAL – day 6 | hem sleeves or add cuffs

Go Team SAL – day 7 | winners announcement

Go Team SAL – day 2

 

Good morning, friends! Today we start sewing our Go Team jerseys or dresses .  Let’s begin by stitching the shoulder seams, right sided together. The pattern follows a 1/2″ seam allowance so if you are using the serger for this step, don’t forget to cut off 1/4″. You can stitch the whole project using your sewing machine, just remember to sew with a stretch stitch.

All Go Team patterns feature 3 necklines: 

+ crew neck

+ V neck

+ hood

If you chose the crew neck, create the neckband first. Don’t forget to press it lengthwise prior to stitching it in a loop. It is very important to follow the pattern’s seam allowance when attaching the neckband to the neckline. If not, you may see that the opening is smaller than needed.

If you opted for the sporty V neck you will not be sewing the neckband in a loop. For this shirt the neckband will be stitch flat. Find the center of the back and the center of the neckband. Pin them in place, matching these center and the two fronts. You will have a small corner of the neckband sticking out on both sides. That’s the way it supposed to look. You can trim these corners today, or wait till we add the yokes tomorrow.

If you are adding the hood, start by stitching the curved part of the hood pieces right sides together. This pattern has an unlined hood. However, if you prefer the look of a lined one, simply cut one more pair of mirrored hood pieces. Instead of hemming the front opening 1/2″, you will place the two hoods right sides together, and stitch along the front opening. Turn your lined hood right sides out and top stitch the seam allowance. 

All you have left to do today is press! Don’t skip pressing your neckline, it will make a world of difference! 

You can see in the video below how I create the V neckline and the lined hood for my kid’s GT Jerseys. Once you finish today’s steps, post a photo of your progress in the comments of day 2 photo of this SAL album. You can find it in our Sew Along group. 

Go Team SAL – day 1 | cut fabric

Go Team SAL – day 2 | shoulder seams & neckline

Go Team SAL – day 3 | yokes

Go Team SAL – day 4 | sleeves

Go Team SAL – day 5 | side seams & hem bottom

Go Team SAL – day 6 | hem sleeves or add cuffs

Go Team SAL – day 7 | winners announcement

Go Team SAL – day 1

 

Welcome to the 🏈 Go Team 🏀 SEW ALONG! 

On day 1 we print the pattern and cut the fabric. But first, if you have not purchased the Go Team pattern(s) you can grab them here:

Go Team Jersey Youth

Go Team Jersey Adult

Go Team Dress Youth

Go Team Dress Adult

And of course, our bundle for the whole family

Before you select which style you are sewing along, browse over the Round Up Blog where we show you all options available.

Now that you have the patterns it’s time to select which file format you would like to use. Both the Youth and the Adult come in A4 and Letter format to print at home, A0 format to print with a plotter or at a copy shop AND a projector file. If you use the projector file you will not have to print anything!! That’s definitely my favorite way! You can see in today’s video how I use the file to cut the fabric. 

Let’s start by taking the measurements needed for the best fit. P4P has an amazing blog that gives you tips 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. 

Let’s talk a little about the fabric! This is a great pattern for your coveted cotton spandex or any of your favorite t-shirt knits like tri-blend, interlock or poly blends. For my kiddo’s shirts I am using custom cotton spandex from Purple Dragon Fabrics. If you know me, you know we are big Disney fans around here so what better Go Team shirt than a parks one? 😉

 Purple Dragon Fabrics is also the sponsor for this sew along so our two lucky winners will receive gift cards to their shop. So fun! 

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.

Tip: if you have some stretch heat transfer vinyl (HTV) you can cut it using the pattern and use it for the sleeves accent instead of fabric. Just make sure you only cut the inner part of the strip, you won’t need the hem. 

Day 1 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 1 photo of the Go Team SAL album  in the M4M & P4P Sew Along group. If you sew more than one,  post each one in a separate pic!

Go Team SAL – day 1 | cut fabric

Go Team SAL – day 2 | shoulder seams & neckline

Go Team SAL – day 3 | yokes

Go Team SAL – day 4 | sleeves

Go Team SAL – day 5 | side seams & hem bottom

Go Team SAL – day 6 | hem sleeves or add cuffs

Go Team SAL – day 7 | winners announcement

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