swing dress Archives - Patterns for Pirates

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

I’m sure by now we’ve all been invited to a least one “Buy these clothes” Facebook party and we’ve been tempted to buy some outfits only to think “nah…I can make it myself”. Am I right? Well that was my thought when I saw one of this big online company’s newest relaxed fit dress that features a high low hem.

Today on the blog I wanted to show you my version of this popular dress and teach you how to use your favorite P4P patterns to make yourself one. First you will need the Free Spirit Tank (which just got updated to include the Layer Feature!) and the Boyfriend Vneck shirt patterns, a ruler, markers, paper, your fabric of choice, a measuring tape and a French curve ,if possible (A great investment if you don’t have one!). Start by printing the patterns according to the instructions and then cut your size and the high low option.

I used the sleeves and armcyce from the Boyfriend V neck shirt because it has a looser fit. If you are unsure how to mash the two patterns to add sleeves to the FST, use Judy’s Free Spirt Tank- Layer Me Up mash up tutorial. You would apply the same guidelines and tutorial. Even better, the Vneck Boyfriend tee includes a pocket piece too!

Now that we have the sleeves part covered, let’s move on the the high low hem. Grab your measuring tape because it’s time to take some additional measurement to create the above knee dress length. Measure the length from underarm to above knee, now measure the FST pattern piece from underarm to the hi low hem mark line. In doing so you’ll figure out how many inches you’ll be extending the side. In my case it was approximately 10 inches.

Attach some blank papers to the bottom of your pattern so you extend it. Using a straight ruler add the 10 inches side extension to both the front and back pattern pieces. Now we will create the front and back curved hems. The back curve will be a much more deep one than the front. Take the front piece and mark 12 inches down from the high low hem. Using a French curve draw a curve from the side point to the center seam. We will draft the back curved hem the same way only this time we’ll mark the extended center mark at 14 inches and carefully draw a curve between the side mark and the center.

That’s all! You’ve now drafted your own “Carly” inspired dress. Cut out the pieces and sew them according to the pattern instruction. The Boyfriend V neck shirt includes a pocket so I added it to the FST front too. Simply mark the pocket placement from the Boyfriend shirt on the FST pattern.

TIP: the bottom hem will have a pretty big back curved hem so don’t forget the tips I gave you in a earlier blog about hemming knits.

Let me know if you have any questions by posting them in the comments below. As always, don’t forget to show off your creations in the group. I can’t wait to see your versions of this dress.

Alex

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

Free Spirit Tank – mash up & high low hem

Featured Patterns