layer me up Archives - Patterns for Pirates

Sunshine Dress- A Mash made in heaven

July 28, 2016

Some patterns are a mash made in heaven 😉

Here are some of our favorite mashes with the new Sunshine Dress pattern!

Adding sleeves is an easy hack! You will need your Sunshine Dress bodice pieces and a bodice and sleeve from another pattern you like. Here I used the Layer Me Up Shirt, because I thought the tight fit sleeve would look great with this bodice.

You will trace the shoulder and armsyce of the sleeved shirt (Layer Me Up here) onto the bodice of the Sunshine Dress. Aline your shoulders and trace your new armsyce (in yellow).

Cut out the sleeves from the Layer Me Up Pattern in whatever length you’d like and attach in the flat after attaching neckband on Sunshine.

Sew down side seams and along sleeves layering the Sunshine the same as the original tutorial.

Now you just need to finish your sleeves. You can hem or band according to the Layer Me Up tutorial.

Wah-lah… now you can take your Sunshine Dress into the colder seasons easily!

Here is a super simple mash! Nothing but taking the skirt of the Sweetheart Dress and attaching it to the Sunshine bodice! Easy, peasy, lemon squeezey!

Did you see the SUNSHINE dress that just released? The dress not only featured 3 bodices but the skirt is perfect for a mash up with other P4P patterns. In the blog today I’ll show you how I made myself a Boundless dress with a Sunshine skirt.

Start by printing and cutting the Boundless top according to your measurements. Use the waist cut line and not the empire one. If you use the empire cut line your sunshine skirt pockets will be too high on your torso. If you like the sleeveless look be sure to add lining too. For my dress I preferred to add short sleeves and not line the bodice. My dress is 100% cotton lycra (95%/5%) so it’s pretty thick. Plus this 100 degrees weather we’ve been having would not work well with a lined top. Am I right? ☺

For the Sunshine skirt I used the above knee cut chart. The length is very similar to the Boundless knee length so the look would not change. I don’t know about you but I am a big fan of pockets…inseam pockets, outside pockets, welt pockets….you name it…I love it! So when it came time to make the Sunshine skirt the choice was obvious, I cut my pockets with a coordinating fabric so they pop.

Sew your bodice according to the pattern and your choice of style (sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve etc). Since I did not line my bodice I just hemmed my neckline with ½ inch fold. Remember the tips I gave you in my last blog? Pin,pin, pin and iron your fabric and you will have a perfectly looking neckline for your unlined bodice.

When making your Sunshine skirt, be sure to follow the instruction in the Sunshine pattern. I like to use the elastic gathering method shown in the Boundless pattern but if you add pockets to the Sunshine skirt then that would not work well. You want to avoid gathering your pockets so just use gathering stitches.

If you did not add pockets to the skirt then the elastic gathering method will work great for this skirt too. Once you gathered the skirt to fit the width of your bodice you can go ahead and attached the two.

Tadah! You now have your very own Boundless/Sunshine dress perfect for year round wear. I hope to many, many Sunshine dresses and Sunshine mash-up dresses in the group (insert link) so be sure to show them off. Sew like a Pirate!

FST/LMU Mash Nursing Hack

November 25, 2015

I love the FST and LMU mash for after baby. It makes me feel stylish, put together and comfortable! The loose aline look hides any left over baby belly and the tighter top doesn’t feel you leaving frumpy.

For this hack I essentially did a double layer body. I can lift up the top layer and have the bottom layer covering my back/belly during nursing. And it looks like a perfectly “normal” everyday shirt! 🙂

I made mine completely doubled because we are going into winter here and I didn’t mind the added warmth. If I was making this for spring or summer months I would probably tinker with a faux double layer for the back piece.

I cut 2 front and back pieces.

Then took 1 front piece to modify for the under layer. I measured on myself from the neckline to under my bust (I did happen to have on the same shirt, so I didn’t even need to guess where the neckline hit ;)). Then I transferred that measurement to the front center and curved up to the armpit.

Since the FST flares out under the bust it was a little loose there. So I added a thin elastic to the raw edge. I just held the elastic taute (not tight) on my body from seam to seam (again, I happen to be wearing this shirt, so there was no guessing!). This way the two layers would have the same finish length–without the elastic holding up the center it would droop lower then the top layer. As well as not worry about holding it up while nursing–bonus :).

I choose to put my elastic on the right side of my under layer, because I didn’t want to feel it against my skin. But you can put it on the wrong side so that it is hidden when you nurse– whatever you prefer! You will need to stretch the elastic to fit the curve. I serged mine on, but any stretch stitch will work! It will line up right at the armpit.

I sewed the shoulder seams and sleeves on like normal. Then when going down the side seams I kept the main body layers seperate (so you can lift the top layer freely). It is a bit tricky right at the armpit, but just go slowly and remember you wont be showing anyone the inside of your armpit seam! 😉

Now for hemming, I choose to hem the top layer completely normal with a 1″ allowance.

For the under layer I choose to add a pretty lace trim to stick out longer then the top layer. I wanted the seam hidden, so I trimmed off 1″ from the bottom.

I serged my lace on right sides together trimming off about 1/2″ of both shirt and lace (the top of the lace that was blank).

Then flipped up and top-stitched (I didn’t want that seam flipping and showing through the dainty lace trim!). So, I trimmed 1″ and took off another 1/2″. This means my seam on the under layer should be 1/2″ above the hemmed edge of my top layer and the lace will peek out below.

I attached the neckband normally catching both layers on the back piece and top layer of the front piece.

Tada! I love my new warm winter nursing friendly shirt! It screams fashionable and not I’m nursing! 🙂 When you’re done nursing you can still wear it as is… or cut out the under layer!

Layer Me Up Nursing Hack

November 23, 2015

I love wearing my Layer Me Up tanks under cardigans during the fall and long sleeve option during the winter. I can pull down the neckline to nurse, but I love to have something up and down for nursing in public. So, this hack was born!

It is quick and easy too, which is a plus if you’re nursing and taking care of baby!

I cut out one layer me up exactly as the pattern calls for. I added one piece using the front piece. I measured from my armpit to below my bust and transferred that to the pattern piece. This will become my lift up piece hidden under my normal pieces.

Since the layer me up is a tight fit shirt that requires a 50% stretch spandex blend fabric, you don’t necessarily need to add any elastic to keep it from stretching out with wear/pulling throughout the day. But, you might want to add it to the bottom raw edge of the hidden lift up piece just to add a little weight and to keep it from shifting around at all during wear. I serged it on, then hemmed under.

I wanted the under piece hidden, so I trimmed about 1/2″ from the neckline. You could hem it under if you wanted it to be pretty :).

Pin your under layer to the wrong side of the front piece and sew up your shirt normal–the only other modification is at the neckline. You will attach the neckband only to the main shirt and leave your hidden piece loose. This way it is free to come up when nursing.

Now you have a shirt that looks perfectly “normal” and can pull down the neckline and hidden piece up to nurse! You can wear it after just as is, or cut out your hidden piece and wear :).

I grabbed a lovely colored ribbed knit without thinking (remember I have a tiny newborn 😉 ) and it had HORRIBLE recovery. No spandex— it grew and grew and grew! So, I will be trying this hack again in the correct material!

And of course, one with Little Guy photobombing 🙂

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