Patterns for Pirates

P4P stylish, modern, wearable patterns

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P4P Cardi Week :: Winners!

January 30, 2017

Cardi Week was a blast, don’t you think?  Thank you so much to everyone who sewed along with us, and especially to those of you who shared all over the interwebs photos of your makes.  I looked through all of the #P4PCardiWeek tags and here are a few of my favorites.

Cardigan-Making Machine:
I throughly enjoyed whenever a new photo of Dolores popped up in my feed last week!  Most of her fabrics were super thrifty finds too!

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Favorite Nerdy Cardi:
Tamara knew the way directly to my heart was through Star Wars culture.  Isn’t this Cocoon Cardigan in Darth Vader fabric just the best in the galaxy?

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Cutest Cardi Family:
Callie and her adorable girls stole the show with these mostly handmade outfits for her and her girls.  Did you play iSpy with the two cardigans that made it into the picture?  The Carefree Cardigan with the lace details gives me all sorts of heart eyes.

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Favorite Original + Carbon Copy:
I’m sorry, but a Mommy & Me matching outfit is just too much for me to handle.  Aren’t Amanda and her little so sweet together?

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We had an amazing week of cardi celebrations!  Did you have as much fun as I did?

Big thanks to our fabulous blogging team for showing us how easy it is to take our patterns one step further!

cardi logoSaturday, January 21: #P4PCardiWeek Announcement
Sunday, January 22: Cocoon / Butterfly Ruffle   + Lace Hems
Monday, January 23: Ribbon Tie Closure Hack
Tuesday, January 24: Carefree Cardigan Fringe Hack
Wednesday, January 25: Duster-Length Adjustment
Thursday, January 26: Kimono Ruffle Sleeves + Hem
Friday, January 27: Varsity Sweater Style Hack
Saturday, January 28: Carefree Cardigan Flannel + Vest Hack
Monday, January 30: #P4PCardiWeek Winner Announcement

Filed Under: Uncategorized 1 Comment

P4P Cardi Week : Grandpa Cardi in Duster Length

January 25, 2017

After spending way too much time browsing for sewing inspiration online, one of the biggest trends I’ve notice is the amount of long cardigans, also known as the duster length. While the original duster length was worn by the adventurous horsemen of the Wild West, I’ve decided to put a Pirate’s twist on it by using the Grandpa Cardigan. And what’s not to love about the Grandpa Cardi? It’s cozy, the perfect layering accessory, and always stylish! With a few quick and easy mods to the pattern, you too will be ready to join in on one of the hottest trends!

Determining Length 
First you will need to determine how long you want your duster. For me, I chose to have it hit right around my mid-calf. I measured from my underarm to mid-calf, which was a distance of 40″ (I’m 5’7″ for reference).

Adding Length to Back and Bodice Pieces
To add my length, I traced the pattern as is, using the tunic cut length. I then placed my tape measure from the bottom of the armcyce to the edge of the tunic cut line on the front bodice piece. For an XS, this measurement was 23″, meaning that I needed to add an additional 17″ in length (you will want to measure this distance if you are using a different size). I then drew a line 17″ down from the tunic cut line, keeping these two lines parallel. Once the line was drawn, I connected the new duster length cut line  perpendicular to the original pattern. Repeat this step on the back piece.

duster cardi

Adding Length to Collar
The Grandpa Cardi is very easy adjust the length of the collar. The band is only stretched around the neckline, while there is a 1:1 ratio below the slight V. Since I added 17″ in length, I added this same amount at the end of each collar piece from the tunic cut line. This will not alter the part of the band that needs to be stretched, only add to the section that is 1:1.

 IMG_6577_edited-1

Finishing Duster Cardi
Once you have lengthened all pieces (and cut out your sleeves), assemble the pattern as per the tutorial.

And if you needed a little more inspiration, the Duster happens to pair amazingly well with the Boyfriend V-neck! You should probably just grab that one as well if you don’t already have it! Make sure to check out the bottom of the page to read about what the other ladies have in store for you during #P4PCardiWeek. ~ Erinn

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Take a look at our jam-packed schedule of cardigan love!

Saturday, January 21: #P4PCardiWeek Announcement

Sunday, January 22: Cocoon / Butterfly Ruffle + Lace Hems

Monday, January 23: Ribbon Tie Closure Hack

Tuesday, January 24: Carefree Cardigan Fringe Hack

Wednesday, January 25: Duster-Length Adjustment

Thursday, January 26: Kimono Ruffle Sleeves + Hem

Friday, January 27: Varsity Sweater Style Hack

Saturday, January 28: Carefree Cardigan Flannel + Vest Hack

Monday, January 30: #P4PCardiWeek Winner Announcement

You can follow along on the blog here, or in our Facebook group.  Search #P4PCardiWeek to be able to find our posts all over social media.  And please feel free to sew-along with us on one or all of the days.  The more the merrier!

But wait, there’s more!  We wanted to create a friendly pirate-y competition with our P4P Cardi Week!

Between tomorrow and Saturday, January 28, sew up a Patterns for Pirates cardigan using one of our hacks, or by keeping the pattern as-is.  Share your photo with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group and use the tag#P4PCardiWeek We will pick our favorite and the winner will win a free P4P pattern of choice AND be featured on this blog.  Fun right?

To make it even better we have put all the cardigan patterns in the shop on sale all week (no code needed)!

Now get out there and sew some cardigans, matey!

Filed Under: Contest/Giveaway, Pattern Hacks, Uncategorized 2 Comments

P4P Cardi Week :: Carefree Cardigan Fringe Hack

January 24, 2017

WEB COVER

So you’ve been perusing Pinterest and you see all of those must have, trendy fringe cardigans. Now you’re looking at your library of sewing patterns and wondering which one can you easily hack into one of those gorgeous cardigans for yourself? Well here is a tutorial to show you how to easily transform the Patterns for Pirates Carefree Cardigan into a DIY fringe cardigan! Follow along to find out how easy this look is to achieve. At the end I have added the option to attach a button closure too!

First things first, which fabric should you use? My favorite knit fabrics to use for this purpose are knit fleece, closed weave brushed hacci sweater knit or a light-medium weight poly rayon spandex french terry. That said, you could do this with pretty much any knit. Be careful of really loose weave sweater knits though (the ones you can see through). They may fall apart on you during the fringe creation.

 

MATERIALS

Step 1: Whatever you do, DON’T SKIP THIS. Before you make your fabric selection and begin cutting out your garment pieces, test out how the fabric is going to look once fringed. To do this make a few ½” wide by 6” deep cuts perpendicular to the selvedge edge. Tie a couple of these strips into a knot together just as it will be done on the finished cardigan. Some knits will stay structured; some will come close to falling apart. It is important to test the fabric to determine if your chosen fabric is going to give you a desired look.

IMAGE 1c

Step 2: Cut out all pieces of your Carefree Cardigan for a ‘neckband only’ version, except for the neckband. For the neckband you are going to cut out a band half the cut chart width plus a seam allowance of 1/2″ for hemming. 

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Step 3: Assemble your cardigan as directed by the Carefree Cardigan pattern tutorial with the exception of the neckband. You are attaching the neckband without folding it in half to form a closed band. You want an open raw edged band.

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Step 4: Using your sewing or coverstitch machine, you will then hem the long exposed edge of the neckband and along the bottom hem. Use a 1/2”” hem width here. You want it thin so that it doesn’t become bulky when you create the fringe. Lastly, hem the sleeves as directed by the pattern.

IMAGE 5c

Step 5: Lay your cardigan out on your cutting mat, lining up the unfinished edge along a straight measurement line on your mat. Decide how wide you would like your fringe to be. Take your scissors and cut strips about 6” deep along the entire length of your cardigan front, every ½-1”. I chose to cut ½” strips. Go back and seam rip the hems on the bottom and top strips that you have now cut into fringe strips. You may want to add some reinforcement stiching to the hem stitches at the beginning and end just before it turns into fringe.

image 6c

Step 6: The last step is to finish the fringe edge. This is done by tying the base of the strips into knots all down the front. Decide how many strips you would like to be knotted together to create some separation. I chose to knot 2 strips together down the entire length of my cardigan.

If you choose not to add a button closure you are now all finished!

IMAGE 7B


OPTIONAL  Button Closure

IMAGE 12B

Step 7: Following Judy’s lead in her Carefree Cardigan Button blog tutorial, I chose to add a button to mine to finish off the look. To do this I put on my cardigan and played with different variations of button placement; to decide how I wanted the cardigan to be styled. I settled on adding a 1” shoulder button.

image 8b

[center button placement]

image 8c

[shoulder button placement]

Step 8: Once you have decided on placement, mark it. A lot of the time I like to use dry erase crayons to mark placement. The mark is easily visible on any fabric and it stays put until you throw your garment in the wash. Mark the button location both on the overlapping bodice front and the under lapping bodice front.

image 9c

[dry erase crayon]

image 10c

Step 9: Use your sewing machine to create a buttonhole on the overlapping bodice front in the top corner. If you are using an oversized button or do not have an automatic buttonhole presser foot for your machine see Judy Hale’s post HERE. Carefully cut open the buttonhole with your seam ripper.

IMAGE 10B

[automatic buttonhole presser foot]

Step 10: Now attach your button with your sewing machine or by hand on the under lapping bodice shoulder where you have placed a marking. Try it on and adjust button placement if necessary.

IMAGE 11c

All done!

IMAGE 12c

Keep your eyes peeled for some other fun tutorials the ladies at Patterns for Pirates have prepared for you this week! Be sure to read all the way through the end of this post to find out about the contest we have running this week!

-Kelly Bailey

P4P Blog Contributor

Take a look at our jam-packed schedule of cardigan love!

Saturday, January 21: #P4PCardiWeek Announcement

Sunday, January 22: Cocoon Lace Hems and Butterfly Ruffle

Monday, January 23: Ribbon Tie Closure Hack

Tuesday, January 24: Carefree Cardigan Fringe Hack

Wednesday, January 25: Duster-Length Adjustment

Thursday, January 26: Kimono Ruffle Sleeves + Hem

Friday, January 27: Varsity Sweater Style Hack

Saturday, January 28: Carefree Cardigan Flannel + Vest Hack

Monday, January 30: #P4PCardiWeek Winner Announcement

You can follow along on the blog here, or in our Facebook group.  Search #P4PCardiWeek to be able to find our posts all over social media.  And please feel free to sew-along with us on one or all of the days.  The more the merrier!

But wait, there’s more!  We wanted to create a friendly pirate-y competition with our P4P Cardi Week!

Between tomorrow and Saturday, January 28, sew up a Patterns for Pirates cardigan using one of our hacks, or by keeping the pattern as-is.  Share your photo with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group and use the tag #P4PCardiWeek. We will pick our favorite and the winner will win a free P4P pattern of choice AND be featured on this blog.  Fun right?

To make it even better we have put all the cardigan patterns in the shop on sale all week (no code needed)!

Now get out there and sew some cardigans, matey!

Filed Under: Contest/Giveaway, Pattern Hacks 1 Comment

P4P Cardi Week :: Grandpa + Cpt. Mack Ribbon Tie Closure

January 23, 2017

 

Cpt Mack Ribbon Tie Closure Primary

 

Today I have for you a simple hack that can be applied to either the Patterns for Pirates women’s Grandpa Cardi or the youth version, the Cpt. Mack’s Cardigan. This mod is simple but it adds so much to the overall look! There are a few different ways that you could approach this; but grab your pattern and follow along the tutorial below to find out how I like to add a ribbon tie closure to the Cpt. Mack and Grandpa Cardigans.

For this tutorial I am using some simple satin and mesh ribbon to coordinate with my rayon spandex lined loose weave sweater knit Cpt. Mack.

MATERIALS

Step 1: Sew up your cardigan, stopping just before attachment of the collar.

IMAGE 0

Step 2: Iron on some interfacing along the inside of the collar where the buttonholes will be stitched. This will provide some stability to your knit and to prevent the holes from being stretched out with use. I know my kids aren’t gentle with their clothes!

IMAGE 1

Step 3: Now sew your collar onto the cardigan as directed by the pattern tutorial.

IMAGE 2

Step 4: Mark on the overlapping band (with pins) where you would like your bows to be located. I used two bows for my daughters size 2T tunic length cardigan. The width of the chosen ribbon should be considered when deciding how many bows to use as well. Now mark the corresponding location on the under lapping band.

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Step 5: Use your machine to create buttonholes on the overlapping band locations. For this I used my automatic buttonhole presser foot. If you haven’t yet used your buttonhole foot I highly suggest reading your manual or searching YouTube for a quick video. These make it super simple! If you do not have a buttonhole setting and foot option on your machine you can certainly use a zigzag stitch to create one yourself. Follow along Judy’s Carefree Cardigan Button blog post to see how she likes to create a buttonhole in that circumstance. Once the buttonhole is stitched, it’s time to very carefully cut them open with your seam ripper.

IMAGE 5

Step 6: Next, use your ribbon to tie a bow to the size of your liking. Trim the ribbon tails a little longer than desired to allow for some wiggle room as we construct this. Untie your bow and cut an additional piece equal in length for as many bows as you would like to attach.

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Step 7: Find the center of each piece of ribbon and secure it to the under lapping band at the pin locations. Sew a straight stitch vertically down the centerline of the ribbon to attach it to the cardigan. I stitched mine on along the left side of the band. This allows the overlapping band to fully cross over once tied.

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IMAGE 8B

Step 8: Pull one end of each ribbon through its corresponding buttonhole and tie into bows once again, closing the cardigan front. Once all of your bows are tied you can trim the tails to the desired lengths. If you prefer these to be permanent bows you can certainly hand stitch them so that they may not come untied.

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Step 9: If you have used a ribbon that frays easily, use a lighter to gently melt each ribbon end or some Fray Check to seal the weave. Be careful to use the heat from the flame and not the flame itself. If you mess up, no worries! Simply trim off the tip of the ribbon tail and try again.

There you have it. All done!

IMAGE 11B

Keep your eyes peeled for some other fun tutorials the ladies at Patterns for Pirates have prepared for you this week! Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post to find out how to participate in this week’s sewing contest!

-Kelly Bailey

P4P Blog Contributor

 

Take a look at our jam-packed schedule of cardigan love!

Saturday, January 21: #P4PCardiWeek Announcement

Sunday, January 22: Cocoon Lace Hems and Butterfly Ruffle

Monday, January 23: Ribbon Tie Closure Hack

Tuesday, January 24: Carefree Cardigan Fringe Hack

Wednesday, January 25: Duster-Length Adjustment

Thursday, January 26: Kimono Ruffle Sleeves + Hem

Friday, January 27: Varsity Sweater Style Hack

Saturday, January 28: Carefree Cardigan Flannel + Vest Hack

Monday, January 30: #P4PCardiWeek Winner Announcement

You can follow along on the blog here, or in our Facebook group.  Search #P4PCardiWeek to be able to find our posts all over social media.  And please feel free to sew-along with us on one or all of the days.  The more the merrier!

But wait, there’s more!  We wanted to create a friendly pirate-y competition with our P4P Cardi Week!

Between tomorrow and Saturday, January 28, sew up a Patterns for Pirates cardigan using one of our hacks, or by keeping the pattern as-is.  Share your photo with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group and use the tag #P4PCardiWeek. We will pick our favorite and the winner will win a free P4P pattern of choice AND be featured on this blog.  Fun right?

To make it even better we have put all the cardigan patterns in the shop on sale all week (no code needed)!

Now get out there and sew some cardigans, matey!

Filed Under: Contest/Giveaway, Pattern Hacks, Uncategorized 2 Comments

P4P Cardi Week:: Butterfly Ruffle

January 22, 2017

butterfly-ruffle-main

Last week we released the Butterfly Cardigan, the mini version of the Cocoon Cardigan and is so cute on the younger girls.  In case you missed the round up post, check it out HERE.  To add some extra girly details to the Butterfly, we thought why not add a ruffle? We’ve had a similar cardigan pinned as inspiration for awhile so here’s our take on it.

The construction of the main cardigan (body, lower sleeve and cuffs (if chosen) remains the same, however, you will need to cut longer neckbands. You will then ruffle the band and attach in the same manner as you do for the original cardigan.  Depending on the thickness of the fabric you are using, you will want to adjust the amount you multiply the band measurements by.  I used a thinner rayon French Terry spandex so went with 2.5 times the band measurements listed in the cut chart of the tutorial.  Use 2.5 to 3 times the width for thinner fabrics (rayon spandex, cotton lycra, etc) and 2 to 2.5 times the width for thicker fabrics (sweater knits and French Terry).

  • My original width measurements for a size 2 are as follows:  Cropped front band: 31.5″  /  Cropped back band: 13″  – Multiply by 2.5
  • My ruffle width measurements are as follows: Cropped front band: 78.75″  /  Cropped back band: 32.5″.  Since most knits are only 58″-60″ wide I will need to piece my front band so I chose to divide in half so will have equal pieces.   I will now cut 2 front bands 39.5″ (I rounded up for the simplicity of cutting).  Use the same length as indicated in the pattern.  ( I added 1/2″ to mine but in hindsight should have kept it to the original 4″ for her size.  The top neck tends to flop backwards too much with the weight of the extra height and ruffle.)

CREATING THE RUFFLE

1.  Stitch short ends of front and back bands, creating a circle.
butterfly-ruffle1a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Fold in half lengthwise, wrong sides together and press. Mark the midpoint of front and back bands.  This will make it easier to match and attach your ruffle to the cardigan.

 

butterfly-ruffle4a

3. Stitch a gathering/basting stitch (set your stitch length to the longest possible on your machine) at 3/8″ and 5/8″ from raw edge.  Do not skip out on the second row of stitches.  I promise, that extra step is worth it!  You will have more even gathers and if one line of stitching breaks you have a backup without having to redo them.  I also like to gather in shorter sections so will stop and start at each seam of the band.  Be sure to leave a thread tail for easy pulling later.

butterfly-ruffle1

4. Match raw edges and align the side seams of the cardigan to the seam of the band.  Pin/Clip in place.  Match raw edges and align the seam of the front neckband to center back neckline.  Pin/Clip in place.

butterfly-ruffle3

5.  Pull gathering/basting stitch (top threads) to gather band to match the length of the cardigan.  *Tip: once your gather reaches desired length, tie off your thread tails.  It will help keep the gather in tact while you even them out. Continue gathering each section until your band is completely gathered.  Pin/Clip in place.

butterfly-ruffle2butterfly-ruffle5

6. Stitch your band to your cardigan body.  Flip down, press and top-stitch (if desired).

butterfly-ruffle6

 

If the Butterfly Cardigan wasn’t already cute enough as it is, this surely made it!  Now add it to your cart and make your very own Butterfly Cardigan for your little! 😉

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IMG_8692 IMG_8687

Take a look at our jam-packed schedule of cardigan love!

Saturday, January 21: #P4PCardiWeek Announcement

Sunday, January 22: Cocoon Lace Hems and Butterfly Ruffle

Monday, January 23: Ribbon Tie Closure Hack

Tuesday, January 24: Carefree Cardigan Fringe Hack

Wednesday, January 25: Duster-Length Adjustment

Thursday, January 26: Kimono Ruffle Sleeves + Hem

Friday, January 27: Varsity Sweater Style Hack

Saturday, January 28: Carefree Cardigan Flannel + Vest Hack

Monday, January 30: #P4PCardiWeek Winner Announcement

You can follow along on the blog here, or in our Facebook group.  Search #P4PCardiWeek to be able to find our posts all over social media.  And please feel free to sew-along with us on one or all of the days.  The more the merrier!

But wait, there’s more!  We wanted to create a friendly pirate-y competition with our P4P Cardi Week!

Between tomorrow and Saturday, January 28, sew up a Patterns for Pirates cardigan using one of our hacks, or by keeping the pattern as-is.  Share your photo with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group and use the tag#P4PCardiWeek We will pick our favorite and the winner will win a free P4P pattern of choice AND be featured on this blog.  Fun right?

To make it even better we have put all the cardigan patterns in the shop on sale all week (no code needed)!

Now get out there and sew some cardigans, matey!

Filed Under: Contest/Giveaway, Pattern Hacks, Uncategorized 3 Comments

P4P Cardi Week is here!

January 22, 2017

We had so much fun when we ran #P4PRaglanWeek that we decided to do it again.  But this time, we are focusing on our favorite layering pieces: Cardigans!  That’s right, Pirates!  We are asking you to dig out your Grandpa/Cpt Mack, Carefree, and Cocoon/Butterfly Cardigan patterns…and the Kimono pattern too!  Let’s get busy sewing!

cardi logo

We are giving you a full week of cardigan sewing, with hacks and add-ons and easy tutorials.  This is going to be so much fun!

Take a look at our jam-packed schedule of cardigan love!

Saturday, January 21: #P4PCardiWeek Announcement

Sunday, January 22: Cocoon / Butterfly Ruffle + Lace Hems

Monday, January 23: Ribbon Tie Closure Hack

Tuesday, January 24: Carefree Cardigan Fringe Hack

Wednesday, January 25: Duster-Length Adjustment

Thursday, January 26: Kimono Ruffle Sleeves

Friday, January 27: Varsity Sweater Style Hack

Saturday, January 28: Carefree Cardigan Flannel + Vest Hack

Monday, January 30: #P4PCardiWeek Winner Announcement

You can follow along on the blog here, or in our Facebook group.  Search #P4PCardiWeek to be able to find our posts all over social media.  And please feel free to sew-along with us on one or all of the days.  The more the merrier!


To sweeten the deal, we’ve gone through and updated the older patterns to include the layers feature, as well as the international and copy shop files.  How do you get the updated copies from previous purchases?  That’s easy!

  • If you purchased from PatternsforPirates.com or Craftsy, log into your accounts and download the updated file.  It’s already in there, waiting for you!
  • If you purchased from Etsy, email a copy of your receipt to help@patternsforpirates.com and the Pirate crew will email you with your updated files.

But wait, there’s more!  We wanted to create a friendly pirate-y competition with our P4P Cardi Week!

Between tomorrow and Saturday, January 28, sew up a Patterns for Pirates cardigan using one of our hacks, or by keeping the pattern as-is.  Share your photo with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group and use the tag#P4PCardiWeek We will pick our favorite and the winner will win a free P4P pattern of choice AND be featured on this blog.  Fun right?

To make it even better we have put all the cardigan patterns in the shop on sale all week (no code needed)!

Grandpa Cardigan | Cpt. Mack Cardigan | Carefree Cardigan | Cocoon Cardigan
Butterfly Cardigan | Summer Kimono

Now get out there and sew some cardigans, matey!

Filed Under: Announcement 8 Comments

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