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

July 11, 2022

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

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 7

March 29, 2022

Hello, friends! Thank you everyone who joined us last week for the Kelli and Charli sew along. I thoroughly enjoyed making the stretch velvet Kelli dress…plus , I am Christmas ready with month and months to spare. I know you are here to find out the winners so without further ado, here they are!

Congratulations, Stevie Puckett-Perez ! She is our first winner. Mel won a $20 gift card from Patterns for Pirates and a $25 gift card from Mily Mae Fabrics.

Congratulations go to Cathryn Larkin as well! Cathryn won a gift card from Made for Mermaids valued at $20.

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

I am passing the baton to the mermaids! I’m excited to see what’s next in the sew along group.

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 2 | shoulder seams and facing

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 3 | gather front and sew side seams

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 4 | add sleeves

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 5 | create skirt

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 6 | attach skirt and hem

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 6

March 26, 2022

Welcome to the final day of the Charli and Kelli sew along!

All we have left to do today is attach the skirt to the bodice and hem. If you have not basted the two front skirt pieces yesterday, I recommend you do so today. Find the center point of the skirt’s front and back ad well as bodice front. With the right sides together, match the side seams and center marks on the skirt and bodice. Pin in place.

Tip: If you are using a fabric with vertical stretch or on the heavier side, add clear elastic to the waist seam. This will prevent the bodice from stretching too much when worn.

Sew the skirt to the bodice using a stretch stitch. I love a triple stretch stitch for this step. Press the waistband to reduce any waviness from sewing. Remember that a lot of the fancier fabric require a pressing cloth to be used.

Final steps of this sew along are hemming the skirt and the sleeves. If you opted for the split skirt and cap or sleeveless you are done with your Kelli and Charli projects. Our P4P University hemming knits blog post gives you a few tips for an easy and successful process. I have “discovered” the overcasting stitch on my sewing machine and I found it to just perfect for hemming stretch velvet. Give it a try!

All done! I love the classic look of my glitter velvet Kelli, it will be just perfect for the holidays.

Here is the final construction and hemming video. Post your finished Charli and Kelli dresses in the comments of day 6 photo of the sew along album. I look forward to admiring your beautiful dresses!

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 2 | shoulder seams and facing

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 3 | gather front and sew side seams

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 4 | add sleeves

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 5 | create skirt

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 6 | attach skirt and hem

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 5

March 25, 2022

Welcome to day 4 of the Kelli and Charli sew along! Today we create the gorgeous skirt. I opted for the knee length with slit for my glitter velvet one. Both the adult and the youth patterns include various options and length so everyone can find a favorite.

The Charli skirts and the long overlay Kelli one are similar in construction. Start by hemming the oberlao piece. This step can be done on a sewing machine or a coverstitch. Once hemmed, gather the side seam to match the notched on the skirt side seam. Baste the overlay to the front skirt at the side seams and top. You will now treat this piece as one. All you have left to do is sew the back of the skirt, right sides together, at the side seams. We will hem tomorrow.

Press the side seams to reduce any waviness.

The construction of the split skirt, whether mini, knee or long is slightly different. The first step is to sew a few inches of the side seams at the bottom. We need tom hem this skirt prior to add continuing creating the skirt. I like to sew this step on a sewing machine so I can press the seams open. Hem the bottom of the skirt using a twin needle, coverstitch or zig zag stitch. You are now ready to gather the one side. Remember on day 2 when we gathered the top? We will do the exact same but on the skirt. Once you have matched the notches, pin the side seams of the skirt, right sides together.

TIP: double check to make sure the skirt in not twisted before you sew the side seams!

I like to baste the top of the two front pieces together so they stay in place when we add the skirt to the top. It’s optional, you can just pin them together.

In day 5 video below I show you how to create the slit skirt. Once you finish the steps, post a picture of your progress in the photo comments of day 5. That will be your check in for today. See you back here tomorrow for the final assembly!

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 2 | shoulder seams and facing

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 3 | gather front and sew side seams

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 4 | add sleeves

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 5 | create skirt

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 6 | attach skirt and hem

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 4

March 24, 2022

Good morning, friends! Today we add the sleeves. I love the options included in the Kelli and Charli dress patterns. The lined cap sleeve is adorable for warmer weather. I opted for the 3/4 sleeve for a more ” winter friendly” dress.

3/4 and long sleeve: This pattern features sleeves that are sewn in the round so you will start by sewing the seam right sides together. Don’t forget to press a memory hem. This will make hemming a lot easier after you add the sleeves.

cap sleeve: Start by sewing the hem part of the cap sleeves, main and lining, right sides together. Press and under stitch! Sew the side seam along the main and lining.

Find the notches that correspond to the front and back of each sleeves. Pin the sleeves to the arm opening matching the shoulder notch and side seams. Using a 1/2″ seam allowance and a stretch stitch, sew the sleeves to the bodice.

TIP: when sewing smaller sizes, especially little kids’ ones, I like to place the presser foot inside the opening. It make stitching a lot easier.

In today’s video, you can see how I add the set in sleeves to the Kelli dress. Once you complete the steps post a photo of your progress in the comments of day 4 photo of this sew along album. See you back here tomorrow to start working on the skirt!

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 2 | shoulder seams and facing

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 3 | gather front and sew side seams

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 4 | add sleeves

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 5 | create skirt

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 6 | attach skirt and hem

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 3

March 23, 2022

Welcome to the third day of the Kelli and Charli sew along. Today we work on the front gathers and the side seams.

FRONT GATHER

Let’s start by setting the sewing machine to a gathering stitch. I like mine set to the longest length stitch (five) and lowest tension (zero). Find what works best for you and your machine. Run two gathering stitches (without backstitching) at approximately 3/8″ and 5/8″ from the raw edge on the front piece that has a longer side seam. In doing so, one of the gathering stitches will be in the seam allowance, one will be out of it. Pull the two threads (bobbin thread is easier to pull) so that the notches on the side seams match the on the front and back.

If you are doing the facing style, you will not add gathering stitches to the facing, only the main fabric. Once you gather the side to match the notch on the back side seam, tie knots at the start and the end of the basting stitches to keep them in place. I also encourage you to baste the facing to the gathered front side seam, wrong sides together to keep it in place.

SIDE SEAMS

I like to baste the two front pieces at the side seam first. Make sure that the gathered one goes on top. Now you will treat the two front pieces as one. Pin the front and back bodices at the side seam and stitch with a stretch stitch or serger. The sleeves will be added in the round later on.

You can see in today’s video how I work on the bodice. Once you finish the steps, check in with a photo of your progress in the comments of day 3 photo of the Kelli/Charli sew along.

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 2 | shoulder seams and facing

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 3 | gather front and sew side seams

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 4 | add sleeves

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 5 | create skirt

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 6 | attach skirt and hem

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Grace Dress- Easy Hacks

March 22, 2022

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.

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 2

March 22, 2022

Ahoy, pirates! It’s time to start sewing our beautiful Kelli and Charli dresses. Today we work on the bodice. Start by sewing the back pieces, right sides together. Kelli has a seam down the back so the it fits those beautiful hourglass shapes perfectly.

TIP: sew this project on the sewing machine if you are going for a very elegant, luxurious look. Press all your seams open as you go.

Sew the shoulder seams right sides together. You can add clear elastic in the seam allowance for a very good hold. I encourage you to do that if the fabric you are using is on the heavier side or you are making the floor length dress. If you opted for the facing style, repeat the steps with the facing pieces.

As you saw in yesterday’s video, I am sewing the elastic neckline finish for my Kelli dress but I know some of you prefer the facing style. In the bonus video below I show you how to create the facing sleeveless tank using the “burrito roll” method.

If you opted for the elastic neckline, start by “exercising” your 1/4″elastic. You will now stitch the elastic to the wrong side of the neckline, at the raw edge. I like to do this step using a ride zig zag stitch. Fold the elastic over towards the wrong side and sew down with either a zig zag stitch, an overcasting stitch or a coverstitch.

In day 2 video I show you these steps using exclusively my sewing machine. Once you complete the steps, post a picture of your progress in the comments of day 2 photo of the Kelli and Charli sew along album. See you back here tomorrow for day 3!

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 2 | shoulder seams and facing

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 3 | gather front and sew side seams

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 4 | add sleeves

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 5 | create skirt

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 6 | attach skirt and hem

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 1

March 21, 2022

Welcome to the Kelli and Charli sew along!

Remember the sew along poll we did in the Patterns for Pirates facebook group back in early January? You all made your voices heard. The Lumberjack vs Kelli/Charli sew along preference was such a close poll that I knew we had to have a dress sew long after the button up shirt. If you missed the Lumberjack Sew along definitely check it out.

If you have not purchased the Kelli and/or Charli patterns, join the M4M & P4P sew along group! Not only for the daily sew along check in and prizes but also to grab the exclusive coupon code we have for the patterns.

Kelli and Charli Bundle

Kelli dress

Charli dress

As always, day 1 is reserved to cutting the fabric and gathering any additional supplies. So let’s talk FABRIC! Both the Kelli and the Charli dresses are drafted for light to medium knit fabric that has 40% – 50% horizontal stretch. Some vertical stretch is recommended too, not lot but some, to make the dress more comfortable when worn. Examples of fabric bases that would work nicely with this patterns are:

* stretch velvet

* stretch lace

* the ohh so popular DBP (double brushed poly)

*cotton spandex

*some athletic knits

*sweater knits

*ribbed knits

*waffle knits

* some poly blend knits

For the Kelli dress that you will see me sew throughout the week, I will be using a gorgeous burgundy glitter velvet from Mily Mae Fabrics. MMF is also this sew along’s sponsor so our lucky winner will receive a $25 gift card to shop their website. Mily Mae Fabric stocks some of to most beautiful non inspired fabrics in a huge variety of bases. You can definitely find some for the whole family.

Now that you have your fabric picked, it’s time to select the size(s). Make sure that you get an accurate measurement for the bust, waist and hips. Here is a very help blog post about measuring yourself. The Kelli dress is fitted so you do not want to skip blending sizes if you need too. Take a look over our Grading blog post to get an idea of how best tom blend the pattern sizes.

Both the Kelli and the Charli dresses are packed with options. From sleeve length to skirt styles, there is something for every occasion. If you are not yet convinced of the style you’re making for the sew along, a great place to start is the Round Up release blog where you can get a breakdown of all options as well as some tester inspiration.

In day 1 video, I show you how to cut the Kelli dress using a projector. If you are new to Projector for sewing, check out our informative blog. Once you complete today’s steps, post a picture of your cut fabric in the comments of Day 1 photo of the Kelli/Charli SAL album. You can find the album in the M4M & P4P sew along group on Facebook. See you back here tomorrow!

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 2 | shoulder seams and facing

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 3 | gather front and sew side seams

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 4 | add sleeves

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 5 | create skirt

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 6 | attach skirt and hem

Kelli and Charli sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Kelli Dress Hacks

January 8, 2022

Straight Cut Skirt

I absolutely had to make this dress as soon as I saw Judy’s first sketches for the pattern. I love the cinched in waist and wrap over top and skirt, it’s just my kind of look. Sometimes it’s nice to have a little more coverage on a skirt, though, and I knew I wanted to try a really simple little hack to straighten the bottom edge of the underskirt piece, for a faux wrapover look.

The option is included for the full length skirt pieces, so it was the easiest hack to do and got me just the look I wanted for me.

The rest of the pattern is cut out as normal, the only piece we will be adjusting is the underskirt piece (the un-ruched skirt piece).

I was making the knee length, so I simply measured from the top of the skirt down to the knee length cut line on the right of the skirt pattern piece. Then I took that measurement (for me making the plus 2X size it was 25 3/4″), and used it to measure down the same length on the left side, using the full length skirt piece as a guide.

I am projecting onto tracing paper here to make it easier for you to see, as my fabric was a bit busy!

Then just draw a straight line across the bottom of the pattern piece to create your new straight hem skirt piece.

If you are using a projector, like me, you can also bring up the handy measurement grid included with the file for calibration, and use that as a guide for drawing a nice straight line across the pattern piece.

As I said, this is the only pattern piece that needs adjusting. Then just sew up your dress as per the tutorial for the pattern, until you get to the instructions for the skirt pieces.

Follow the instructions for the floor length skirt pieces and hem the bottom of the ruched skirt piece, then gather the side as per the tutorial. Next construct the back skirt and then hem both the back and un-ruched skirt pieces (the piece we adjusted) separately.

Finally, lay the un-ruched skirt piece facing up. Then lay the ruched skirt piece facing up on top of it. Baste them together along the top and sides, making sure the hems line up nicely with one another. Here is a picture of the ruched skirt piece laying on top of the un-ruched skirt piece prior to basting.

Lastly, you will want to lay your back skirt piece, right side facing down on top of the two front skirt pieces. Here pictured below with the bottom corner flipped up so you can more easily see the layers.

Sew the side seams, taking care to make sure the hems all line up together nicely. Basting the first inch of each side seam at the hemline can help with that.

Flip the skirt through right sides out, and finish the construction of the waist seam as the tutorial instructs and you’re done!

Nice and quick and easy. I hope you love your new straight hem skirt as much as I do mine (which is quite a lot!)

Happy Sewing!

Dana xxx

Side Seam Splits for Floor Length with No Slit

If you feel like you need a little more stride/walking room in the floor length with no split you can easily add a side split (or apply this same method to the back seam for a back slit).

Simply stop stitching the side seams of the skirt where you would like the slits to go to. Press remaining 1/2″ seam allowance not sewn to wrong side and hem.