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.

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 | 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.

RagDoll Raglan :: New Pattern Release!

November 30, 2017

We are so excited to bring you the latest pattern in the Patterns for Pirates family! Judy has a mad love for slouchy, loose and oversized looks and drafted up the RagDoll Raglan to fit that niche in her closet. Allow me to introduce you to the RagDoll Raglan!!

Why “RagDoll”? We thought that it was the perfect mash-up of a classic raglan style sleeve AND a dolman “batwing”. Rag(lan) + Dol(man) = RagDoll !

Just like the rest of our patterns, we’ve packed the RagDoll Raglan full of as many options as we could! It is drafted for women, sizes XXS – Plus 3X, with a super relaxed, straight fit throughout the body. The pattern features three sleeve lengths (half, 3/4, long), optional sleeve cuffs, four hem lengths (curved shirt, curved tunic, banded top, and dress) and two back options (full and cut-out).

The RagDoll was drafted with knit fabrics that have a good drape to them. Think: your favorite rayon blends, dbp, sweater knits, etc.

**Want to learn more about how to measure yourself for this pattern? We’ve got you covered with an in-depth blog HERE. 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! And, as with all of our current releases and updates, the pdfs now include our layers feature and can be found in Letter, A4 and A0 sizes.

Let’s see some options in action, shall we?

SLEEVE LENGTHS

HEM LENGTHS

CUT-OUT + FULL BACK

Go Grab your Copy of the RagDoll Raglan Now!

Need more convincing? Just take a look at this pattern on all of the beautiful shapes and sizes of our testers, and get a look at more examples of all the options in our albums in the P4P Facebook group! Find the album HERE.

The sale price will last through December 3 (11:59 PM US Central time zone) so grab it while you can at the introductory price!

And if that wasn’t enough options, be sure to check out our all of the amazing hacks that our team has come up with: RagDoll Raglan Easy Hacks

When It Goes Against the Grain

November 14, 2017

Woven Fabrics

We make woven fabrics on a loom. The weaver strings the lengthwise threads first, and we call them the “warp”. Then threads are woven through them creating the fabric. We call these horizontal threads the “weft” or the “woof”. We’ve named the edges of the fabric the “selvages” or “selvedges”, and we weave them more tightly to prevent fraying.

The warp creates the “straight grain” of the fabric, and the weft creates the “cross grain”.

Pattern pieces have grainlines printed on them. They are either arrows or fold lines.

Grainline

When we cut a pattern out, the best way is to fold the fabric carefully on the straight grain of the fabric, lining up the selvages . If you need to straighten the ends of your fabric, take a snip through the selvage near one end. Then pull a horizontal thread. The missing thread will create a straight line for you to cut along.

Fold Placement

Then place the pattern pieces down carefully with the grain lines on the pattern piece lined up with the straight grain of the fabric.

Finding the Straight Grain

An easy way to check if your pattern piece is “on-grain” is to measure from the line on the pattern piece to the selvages in a couple of places. The distance should be the same.

It’s important for long pattern pieces, especially something like a pant leg, to be grain perfect. If it’s not, the garment will twist, and once you cut it, there’s nothing you can do to fix it. You’ll also never be able to match stripes or plaids if you cut off-grain.

Smaller pieces like pockets, collars, cuffs, and yokes can be cut on the straight grain, the cross grain, or the bias no matter what the lines on the pattern say. The “bias” is the direction that’s 45 degrees from the straight grain. It has more drape than either the straight grain or the cross, and edges cut on the bias don’t fray.

When you cut major pieces on the bias, it’s important to cut them in opposite directions or your whole garment will twist. But it’s not important for small pieces like pockets.

How to Position Bias Cut Pieces

You can mark the bias on your pattern piece with a protractor or a quilting ruler.

Marking the Grainlines

Over time fabrics cut on the cross grain will droop more than then fabric cut on the straight. It’s not a problem for something like a skirt or pants made from a border print. The droop won’t be noticeable in the normal lifetime of the garment. You might see it in heavy curtains, though.

Knit Fabrics

Technically, knit fabrics don’t have a grain, but the direction you cut your pieces out matters just as much. Big machines make knit fabric, but they work the same way we knit with yarn and needles. Some machines knit back and forth and some knit in the round. One results in a fabric with selvage-like edges and other in a tube of fabric.

Close up of a Knit Fabric

No matter what yarn is used to create the knit fabric, the single knit process will result in a horizontal stretch in the fabric we call the “mechanical stretch”. Fabrics that only have horizontal stretch are usually called “two-way stretch”. The addition of elastane (Spandex, Lycra, etc.) to the yarns can create a fabric with both horizontal and vertical stretch, and it is usually described as “four-way stretch”. Whether the fabric is two-way or four-way, the horizontal stretch should be the circumference of your garment.

Horizontal Stretch Line

While the amount of elastane in the yarns might make the fabric stretchy enough for the garment to fit you cut with the vertical stretch used as the circumference, you shouldn’t cut it that way. If the mechanical stretch in the fabric hangs vertically, you’ll get elephant knees, saggy elbows, and baggy crotches. You can use the same method for making sure your pattern is lined up so the grainlines on your pattern are parallel to the edges of your fabric that we use for wovens. Knit patterns often have the horizontal stretch line marked, too.

There’s a saying in sewing- The fabric always wins. There is probably nowhere in sewing where fighting the fabric is more futile than not paying attention to the grain.

Roberta

Wiggle Dress :: New Pattern Release!

October 25, 2017

Brace yourselves for the sexiest pattern we’ve ever put out into the world! Allow me to introduce you to the Wiggle Dress.

The Wiggle Dress is the classic tight fit-pencil skirt dress that has been in style for ages! It is drafted for women, sizes XXS – Plus 3X. And features SO MANY options. Two necklines (boatneck and off-the-shoulder), two back necklines (high back and low back), four sleeve lengths (short, 3/4, half, and long), four dress lengths (above knee, below knee, midi, and full), two top lengths (crop and shirt), and an optional zipper, as well as a kick pleat for some of the lengths.

The back has a center back seam to fit along your curves nicely. And the Wiggle Dress is drafted for a more stable knit, like ponte roma, liverpool, stretch lace, stretch velvet, etc. BUT, you can also make it more casual with a double brushed polyester, rayon spandex, french terry, or even some thicker sweater knits!

Let’s talk options!

NECKLINES

DRESS LENGTHS

TOP LENGTHS

SLEEVE LENGTHS

OPTIONAL ZIPPER + KICK PLEAT

Go Grab your Copy of the Wiggle Dress Now!

The sale price will last through November 1st (11:59 PM US Central time zone) so grab it while you can at the introductory price!

And if that wasn’t enough options, be sure to check out our all of the amazing hacks that our team has come up with: Wiggle Dress Easy Hacks.

Choker Neckline Hack

August 21, 2017

Choker necklines are all the rage right now, so we thought we’d give you the “how-to” so you can add it to your most loved top. I used the Favorite Tee since it already has a V-neck option but you can really use any of our t-shirt patterns and add a lower scoop neck or v-neck to it.

Once you have decided your pattern and cut your pieces, do not assemble your shirt! We need to finish the V-neckline first and is easier to do prior to construction. I chose to bind the V-neck, but you could also use a traditional neckband if you wish. (Need more help with knit binding? Check out our tips HERE)

: Snip a small “v” 3/8″ inward, on either side of the center of the v-neckline.

: Cut a binding strip 1.5″ x 90% of the neckline.

: With right side of the binding to the wrong side of the neckline, pin in place.

: Stitch with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Note: the binding will need to stretch slightly to fit the neckline.

: Press seam allowance up and fold raw edge to meet center. Press.

: Fold over again, covering seam allowance and press.

: Top-stitch.

: Fold V-neck in half width-wise and stitch down the center of the V.

Next, construct and finish your shirt as indicated in the tutorial, but do not use the existing neckband instructions. We will now finish the choker portion of the neckline.

I did not want the choker neckband piece to be too high on my neck, so used the Women’s Henley as a guide for placement. You can make your own adjustments if you prefer to have it higher or lower. Place a pin or mark on the neckline where you wish to have the choker band.

We are going to use the same binding method as we did the v-neck to finish the choker band. My binding strip is 2.5″ and finishes about 1″. Again, this is customizable and if you wish to have a thicker or thinner choker piece, adjust the height of your band accordingly. (just be sure to add 1/2″ to the height as we will be folding and enclosing the raw edges).

: Lay your shirt flat and measure the distance between either side of the neckline where you wish the choker band to attach at the neckline. This is measurement “A”.

: Measure the neckline from your marked point to center back. This is measurement “B”.

To determine the width of your choker binding: A + ((B x 2) x 90%)). For example, my measurement A is 8″. Measurement B is 8″. So my choker band is 8″ + 14.4 (or 8 x 2 then x 90%) = 22.4″ . To make it a nice even number I just rounded it out to 22.5″.

: Fold binding in half width-wise and stitch short ends together, creating a circle.

: Mark 1/2″ of measurement “A” from the fold.

: With right side of binding to wrong side of shirt, match center back and two front points of neckline and choker binding.

: Stitch using a 1/4″ seam allowance.

: Press seam allowance up.

: Fold binding raw edge down 1/4″ towards center. Press.

: Fold and press the bottom raw edge 1/4″ between your V-neck.

: Fold in half again, just covering your previously stitched line.

: Continue folding and pressing the binding all the way around neckline.

: Top-stitch near the bottom fold.

Voila! You’re all finished. 🙂

Favorite Tee | New Pattern Release!

April 11, 2017

After Judy teased you about a million times on Instagram with her pre-test versions of the Favorite Tee, we are finally going to give the people what they want.
No more teasers, it can be yours for keeps! And guess what? We made it in youth sizes too. Wahoo!

Here they are, your next most-sewn item: Favorite Tee (women’s) and Fav Tee (youth)

Both tees come packed full of options. The women’s Favorite Tee is drafted for sizes XXS – Plus 3X. There are a whopping FIVE hem options (shirt with side vent, tunic with side vent, banded knot tie hem, curved tunic length and curved dress length). There are THREE sleeve lengths included (short, 3/4 and long) and even TWO options for neck finishes (scoop or vneck).

**Want to learn more about how to measure yourself for this pattern? We’ve got you covered with an in-depth blog HERE.

The youth Fav Tee is drafted for sizes 3 months – 14 Youth. It features nearly all of the same options as the women’s version with FOUR hem options (shirt with side vent, tunic with side vent, banded knot tie hem, and curved dress length), THREE sleeve lengths (short, 3/4 and long) and TWO neckline options (scoop and vneck).

Ready to see what those options look like? Let’s do it!

THREE SLEEVE OPTIONS

SIDE VENT HEM

BANDED KNOT TIE HEM

CURVED TUNIC

CURVED DRESS

SCOOP NECK

VNECK

Ready to grab the patterns for yourself and start sewing?

Favorite Tee (women) | Fav Tee (youth) | Favorite Bundle (women + youth)

Need a little more inspiration? Head over to our Facebook Group and check out the tester albums. They are packed full of fabulous tester photos!
You can find the Favorite Tee album HERE, and the Fav Tee album HERE.

Happy Sewing!

Sleeves and Their Wrinkles

March 28, 2017

I’ve scrolled past the question or remark about wrinkling around armpits a ton in sewing groups. I’m here to talk about the #1 cause of armpit wrinkle on the sleeves.

It’s easier to understand why we have wrinkles around the armpit when we know how the sleeve was drafted. Different sleeve types are drafted differently.

Dolman sleeves are also drafted so that there are no wrinkles when we have our arms lifted horiztonally.

Raglan sleeves are drafted so that there are little to no wrinkles when your arms are lifted.

Set in sleeves on knit tees are drafted so that there are no wrinkles when our arms are at a diagonal.

Okay, so what does that mean? When your arms are in other positions than the ones the sleeves are drafted for there will always be wrinkles/extra fabric/pulling. Lets see a few real life picture examples!

Dolman: Shown here: The Sweet Tee Others we have in the shop are: The Pumpkin Spice Dolman and CoCoon Cardigan

Arms up (almost horizontal– I don’t stand with my arms straight out too much for pictures ;)): very little wrinkling or extra fabric and if my arm was up slightly more horizontal it would go away completely.

Arms Down: All the extra fabric is now “bunched”up under my arm when I put them down.

Arms Up:

Arms Down: in this more stable cotton spandex you can really see the difference!

Raglan: Shown here in the pink and grey: Slim Fit Raglan , Shown here in the black and leopard: Relaxed Raglan , and Shown here in youth: Jolly Roger Raglan

Arm Up: (almost horizontal).

Arms Down:

Arms Up: (again it was near impossible to find one all the way up/out but this is close!)

Arms Down:

Arms Raised: higher than horizontal. You can see the wrinkling move from under the arm to on top, it is being pulled since it is higher than the raglan sleeve is drafted at.

And another raglan set courtesy of my Little Guy 🙂

Arms Up: although it’s a close up, you can see his hands are on his hips-so not fully horizontal, but close!

Arms Down: (that look guys! He’s a sassy one for sure…that doesn’t enjoy modeling for mama 😉 )

Set in Sleeves: Shown here: Sweetheart Dress , Shown here in youth: Henley , Shown here: fit picture from testing the upcoming youth tee 🙂 , and also in the shop we have Grandpa Cardigan , Wingman Shirt , Boundless Knit Dress , Buried Treasure Tunic , High Low Tide Top

Arms Diagonal:

One Arm Down and One Arm Extended Up: see the wrinkles are in different spots. My arm that is down creates wrinkle under the armpit area. My arm that is extended all the way up creates them on top of the shoulder. (Also super crazy face I’m making because it was super windy 😉 ).

Arms Diagonal: the only wrinkling going on here is because I’m pulling my arm to the back (pointing my elbow backwards) unnaturally to try to show off the top.

Arms Down:

Here is a few youth examples of set in sleeves as well!

Arms Diagonal:

Arms Down:

Arms Diagonal:

Arms Down:

Arms Diagonal: (no wrinkling)

Arms Down: (wrinkling at under arm)

Arms Extended Up: (wrinkling above arm/shoulder)

If you’re realizing you have wrinkles at the bust, not sleeve we’ve also blogged about those here!

I hope this helps all you wonderful seamstresses out there creating knit garments and trying to make sure you’re getting the fit right 🙂

Cross My Heart + Heart Breaker Camis :: Pattern Releases!

March 14, 2017

February was a quiet month for us, but don’t think we weren’t working our tails off behind-the-scenes! The Pirate Crew is always brewing up some sort of new pattern, but you should know that by now! We’ve got a few patterns up our sleeves for March and April…and the first one we’re bringing you doesn’t even have sleeves. Ha!

Allow me to introduce you to the newest Pirate patterns: the Cross My Heart Cami (women’s) and Heart Breaker Cami (girl’s).

These camisole tanks are the perfect layering piece but can also be worn alone. They can even be flipped around and be worn “backwards” with the v in front, and scoop in back. And hey, if you’re feeling extra wild: make two backs or two fronts and wear it that way!

The women’s pattern is drafted for women of all sizes, ranging from XXS to Plus 3X. They come in three lengths (cropped / shirt / tunic) and have multiple finishing options! We’ve got t-straps, x-straps, a scoop-neck front and a v-neck back. The cropped length features cup sizes 1″-7″ cutlines (approximately A cup-G cup). While the cropped version is a “bralette” style top, it’s not meant for supportive use. **Want to learn more about how to measure yourself for this pattern? We’ve got you covered with an in-depth blog HERE.

The girl’s pattern is drafted for sizes 3M – 14. Just like the women’s version, there are three lengths (cropped / shirt / tunic) but it’s made even sweeter with some additional flutter trim/sleeves, as well as the x-strapped back option.

Let’s take a peek at the variety of options, shall we?

Three Lengths