Patterns for Pirates

P4P stylish, modern, wearable patterns

Go To Jacket – SAL day 2 (choose and cut fabric)

On day 2 we pick our favorite fabrics for the jacket. The pattern is drafted for medium stretch knit with at least 20% stretch like thicker performance knit, French Terry, fleece with stretch, sweatshirt knit, squish (aka cloud, cush, double brushed stretch minky), even thicker cotton spandex. For the pockets, chin guard, neckband and hood lining we recommend lighter fabric like cotton spandex. You will also need a separating zipper. The zipper length will depend on the size and style jacket you are making.

If you are unsure about which knit type will work best for your desired look, take a look over our P4P University Knit Types blog. Judy also included a cheat sheet that you can print. If you are like me and sometime are just keen on using a specific print for a specific pattern, read our Different fabric, different fit blog post before you cut your fabric.

For this SAL I am going to be sewing a youth Go To Jacket made with Vintage Lace French Terry and a Women’s GTJ with RockerbyeDestash Fabrics.

The Day 2 video is posted below. Check it out and once you are done cutting your fabric post a picture of it in the comments of the Day 2 photo of the Go To Jacket SAL album in the M4M & P4P Sew Along group.

Go To Jacket Sew Along

Day 1: Print + Cut Pattern

Day 2: Choose + Cut Fabric

Day 3: Sew Pockets

Day 4: Sew Shoulder Seams + Attach Sleeves

Day 5: Attach Neckband / Hood

Day 6: Add waistband + Finish Sleeves

Day 7: Add Zipper

Day 8: Recap + Catch Up

Day 9: Winners Announcement

Go To Jacket – SAL day 1 (print and cut pattern)

Welcome to our Go To Jacket Sew Along!

Day 1 is reserved to purchasing the pattern, printing and cutting the size(s) you need. If you plan on sewing for yourself you can get the Women Go To Jacket or Men Go To Jacket here, if you’re sewing for your little one, youth GTJ can be purchased here and if you’re sewing for the family, grab the bundle!

This Sew Along will be hosted in the new M4M & P4P Sew Along group so be sure to join the group not only for the exclusive discount code available for the Go To Jacket patterns, fabric code but also to post your progress this week. Don’t forget to check out the blog daily for videos and tips!

Now that you purchased the pattern(s), print the size needed. In order to do that it is very important that you take your most accurate measurements.

You will need your waist, hips and chest measurements in order to choose the correct Go To Jacket size. Patterns for Pirates has an great blog post that gives you tips for accurately taking your measurements. You can read all about it here. If your measurements put you in a different size for chest/waist/hips be sure to check out our P4P University blog and grade to achieve the perfect fit.

Check out the day 1 video below and then leave a comment on the Day 1 picture of the Go To Jacket SAL album in the M4M & P4P Sew Along Group. Tell us who will receive the Go To Jacket you’re sewing. We don’t allow pictures of the pattern posted so this will be your day 1 check in.

Go To Jacket Sew Along

Day 1: Print + Cut Pattern

Day 2: Choose + Cut Fabric

Day 3: Sew Pockets

Day 4: Sew Shoulder Seams + Attach Sleeves

Day 5: Attach Neckband / Hood

Day 6: Add waistband + Finish Sleeves

Day 7: Add Zipper

Day 8: Recap + Catch Up

Day 9: Winners Announcement

100k Sale-A-Bration FINAL DAY

I’m so very excited to announce our grand prize winner this morning! We’ve had so many entries, it has been a blast seeing them all roll in this past week 🙂

But without drawing it out too long…

Here is our random winner’s post!

Looks like it is from Angie Cormack!

And just out of sheer curiosity I went to see if she had more entries… Which she had many! On FB, Pinterest, and Instagram all 🙂

I hope you’re excited as we are to see this dream team sewing set up go to the lucky winner! And as a bonus enjoy any sewn up items you got finished from the motivation of the giveaway! ❤️

The site wide sale is still on through the end of today (September 20th).

Angie email me for your prize information!!

Tulip Tee Easy Hacks + 100k Sale-A-Bration Day 6!

The Tiny Tulip and the Tulip Tee are not only free but also packed with options. Well that didn’t stop the P4P blog contributors team to show you some easy hacks that will give you even more looks.

…..

Ruffle on girls tee

Adding a ruffle is so easy and gives such a cute look! The tulip is a long hemline to add one, so keep that in mind when picking how wide and gathered you’re making it.  I choose to make mine just one layer (not folded) with a raw edge so keep it from being heavier on her. I also wish I would’ve not gathered the under tulip section in hindsight! So, learn from me and do the top section that hides under not gathered 🙂 to keep it flatter underneath and lighter as well.

I quickly measured my hemline and doubled, plus a bit extra for wiggle room.  I cut a few strips to that length and the width I wanted. Another thing to think about is how wide the ruffle will be on the shoulder (you don’t want it wider than the shoulder piece once attached).  Mine is about 2″ finished.

Seam the strips together and gather using your favorite gathering method.  If you need more guidance in gathering here is our blog post with a few ways we like to gather: www.patternsforpirates.com/easy-gathering-methods .  I used my serger to gather this time.

With right sides together, pin the ruffle to the hemline of the shirt. This is where I would advice to pull the ruffle flat along the top edge of one tulip piece so that it is flat on the under layer instead of completely ruffled like mine.

Stitch on.  You can top-stitch if you prefer; I didn’t only to keep from adding anymore weight to the top since I was using a light weight rayon spandex.

Complete the shirt as the tutorial instructs.  Take some cute pictures!

…..

Banded tulip option

We know some of you are not be fans of hemming 😉 so I wanted to show you how easy it is to add a band to the Tulip Tee. Simply sew the side seams as instructed and then measure the bottom raw edge.

It is easier to fold the shirt along the back fold and measure as shown below then multiply by two.

You will cut the band 2″ by the length of the raw edge. For sizes 4T and smaller you may get away with only one band out of the width of fabric. For bigger sizes, including the women ones you will need to cut the 2-3 band pieces. You can either cut two pieces plus seam allowance and have a seam on the center back or you can cut 3 band pieces, 2″ by the length of the tulip raw edge and one 2″ the length of the back bottom raw edge.

Fold the band length wise, wrong sides together and press. Pin in place the band along the raw edge of the tulip and back bottom. Sew or serge in place with a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Optionally top stitch. Press and steam iron and continue sewing as per the tutorial.

All done! Super easy, right? Please note that this method will yield a shirt that is 1/2″ longer than the original length.

…..

Bands on short sleeves

Hate hemming?  Then this hack is for you!  Adding bands instead of hemming is a great alternative way to finish raw edges.  If you’ve sewn other shirts you’ve likely done this technique before; it’s very easy to calculate on your own.

 

You’re done!  No hemming needed. 🙂

…..

Faux cami layer

Love the look of wearing a camisole under your tulip tee but don’t want to wear and another layer? Adding a faux cami to the tulip back option is an easy hack that offers a little more coverage and takes only a few quick minutes.


For this easy hack you will need to cut both the two tulip back pieces and a plain back piece. Begin by taking the plain back piece and pressing raw edge of bottom hem 1/2” up to wrong side. Hem.

With right sides together, place one tulip bodice on the plain bodice. Pin or clip in place. Repeat with opposite side tulip bodice. Place the plain back piece right side down on top of the front/tulip pieces, matching side seams.

Pin or clip in place. Stitch side seams and then continue on finishing your top as instructed in the pattern tutorial. That’s the whole hack, simple as that!

…..

Tank

 

 

With a couple of small modifications, you can turn the Tulip Tee in to a Tank.

 

Using the tulip crossover piece as a guide for the shoulder width, mark and draw a vertical line to the bottom of the dolman sleeve opening and then draw a horizontal line from the bottom of the dolman sleeve opening to your previously drawn line (shown in red).  Next, using a french curve, draw the armscye from the shoulder seam to the bottom of the dolman sleeve, but stopping at the side seam to remove the “wing” of the dolman. (shown in blue).   Sew up your top as per the tutorial.  To finish the armholes, I chose to hem 1/2″.  This will give you a more open and lower armhole.  If you prefer to band them, use the same method Elisabeth did above, when adding bands to the short sleeve. (Armband = 2″ by .085 of the opening +1″ seam allowance).

 

…..

Tulip Cowl 

We all love a cozy sweater and I couldn’t resist replicating this boutique style top that has been circulating the sewing groups lately. Our Tulip Tee and Tiny Tee were the perfect base. For the Cowl piece I used our Raglan Add-On Cowl and Jolly Roger Add-On Cowl pieces.  I did not make any changes here for the size Large or Size 4 youth, but just throwing caution in the wind, check your pieces so that the neckline of the Tulip body and the cowl equal one another before cutting in to your beloved sweater knits.  I did not check each size to confirm they all fit exactly.

Sew up both the tulip top and Cowl pieces as instructed in their respective tutorials.

Women’s Tab Piece: 11″ x 3″

Youth Tab Piece: 7″ x 3″ (Note: I made a size 4, so you may need to adjust the length of the tab. Subtract 1″ from the height of the cowl pattern piece to determine the length.  You can adjust it longer or shorter depending how tight you want the tab around the cowl)

Tadah!

 

If you love our Tulip Hacks as much as we do, be sure to hop on over to our Facebook Group and share with us!

 

 

FREE Tulip Tee Pattern + 100k Sale-A-Bration Day 5!

Welcome back to our fourth day of the 100K Sale-A-Bration, pirates!

In case you missed the announcement or the freebies that have been released so far, here they are!
100K Sale-A-Bration + Grand Prize Giveaway | Free Convertible Cover Pattern | Free Mom/Girl Power Cut Files | Free Tiny Tulip Tee Pattern

Did you really think we’d make an adorable tee pattern for the girls and not one for women too?  Obviously the ladies needed a Tulip Tee too and today’s free pattern is just that!  Whoop whoop!

The Tulip Tee is a beginner knit pattern in a simple dolman style.  The tulip front and back options are so fun and on trend and it can be a perfect staple for anyone’s wardrobe!   It includes four bodice styles (tulip front, tulip back, tshirt hem and banded hem), 3 sleeve lengths (short, 3/4 and long), and covers womens sizes XXS – Plus 3X!  This top is a looser fitting tee.  The tulip options will give it a little more swing and feel looser than the plain option.  A fabric with good drape is recommended, for the tulip options especially, so the curves drape down to the body rather than tenting outwards.  (Favorite fabric picks would be rayon / modal / bamboo spandex blends, triblends, ITY, sweater knits, and rayon blend french terry.)  The top is a shirt length that hits toward the lower part of the booty in the back, and mid rise on the front.  It’s the perfect length for shorts, or to lengthen around an inch if you plan on pairing it with leggings.  The tulip curves hit right at the waistband of a high-rise bottom (jeans or leggings), but is easy to lengthen to your preference!

It’s also a perfect top for nursing mommas….which is why we also included a nursing under layer that gives coverage for nursing mamas while still looking stylish and feeling comfortable.

**Want to learn more about how to measure yourself / your little one 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 take a quick peek at the options!

TULIP FRONT

TULIP BACK

TSHIRT HEM

BANDED HEM

NURSING UNDER LAYER

If that’s not enough, we have a Facebook album full of tester images for more inspiration!  (And if you wait a couple of days, we have a post coming out that is full of pattern hacks to help take this freebie even further!)

Go grab your copy of the Women’s Tulip Tee now!

Also be sure to head over the Patterns for Pirates Facebook Group and enter yourself into today’s daily drawing for the 100K Sale-A-Bration

Happy Sewing, Pirates!

FREE Tiny Tulip Tee Pattern + 100k Sale-A-Bration Day 4!

Welcome back to our fourth day of the 100K Sale-A-Bration, pirates!

In case you missed the announcement or the freebies that have been released so far, here they are!
100K Sale-A-Bration + Grand Prize Giveaway | Free Convertible Cover Pattern | Free Mom/Girl Power Cut Files 

Today is another fun one because we are giving you a FREE (!!) girl’s tee sewing pattern!  Let’s welcome the Tiny Tulip pattern to our P4P family!

The Tiny Tulip tee is a beginner knit pattern in a simple dolman style.  The tulip front and back options are so fun and on trend and it can be a perfect staple for anyone’s wardrobe!   It includes four bodice styles (tulip front, tulip back, tshirt hem and banded hem), 3 sleeve lengths (short, 3/4 and long), and covers sizes 3M – 14!  This top is a looser fitting tee.  The tulip options will give it a little more swing and feel looser than the plain option.  A fabric with good drape is recommended, for the tulip options especially, so the curves drape down to the body rather than tenting outwards.  (Favorite fabric picks would be rayon / modal / bamboo spandex blends, triblends, ITY, sweater knits, and rayon blend french terry.)  The top is a shirt length that hits toward the lower part of the booty in the back, and mid rise on the front.  It’s the perfect length for shorts, or to lengthen around an inch if you plan on pairing it with leggings.  The tulip curves hit right at the waistband of a high-rise bottom (jeans or leggings), but is easy to lengthen to your preference!

**Want to learn more about how to measure yourself / your little one 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 take a quick peek at the options!

TULIP FRONT

TULIP BACK

TSHIRT HEM

BANDED HEM

If that’s not enough, we have a Facebook album full of tester images for more inspiration!  (And if you wait a couple of days, we have a post coming out that is full of pattern hacks to help take this freebie even further!)

Go grab your copy of the Tiny Tulip Tee now!

Also be sure to head over the Patterns for Pirates Facebook Group and enter yourself into today’s daily drawing for the 100K Sale-A-Bration

Happy Sewing, Pirates!

FREE Mom/Girl Power Cut Files + 100k Sale-A-Bration Day 3!

Who is ready for the third day of celebrating?!  Welcome back to another round of our 100K Sale-A-Bration, pirates!

In case you missed the first day (which has an INSANE giveaway attached to it) or our second day (which includes a FREE sewing pattern), here are the links:
100K Sale-A-Bration + Grand Prize Giveaway | Free Convertible Cover Pattern

Today is another round of freebies, this time in the form of some digital cut files!

We really wanted to focus on one of our favorite topics: Strong Women.  But since we are lightly theming this week of celebrations around moms, we thought it might be fun to make the designs all about strong mommas and their little girls.  (Don’t worry, we have plans for designs geared toward boys / men at a later date!)

The designs are all packaged together with four different file types: SVG, PNG, DXF, and PDF.  They should work with most digital die cutting machines.

Don’t own a machine like a Silhouette or Cricut?  No sweat!  We have included extra file types that will allow you to work with the designs however you’d like.

— Go old school and use an iron on transfer paper and your at-home printer.
— Use Heat Transfer Vinyl and your die cutter.
— Try your hand at Freezer Paper Stenciling.

Or, head right over to our First Mate Katy’s store (she’s the designer of these and most of our cut files), and have her cut the design for you and send it your way!  You can find all of our pirate designs available in here store HERE.

Wait no longer!

Go grab your copy of the FREE Mom/Girl Power Cut Files now!

Also be sure to head over the Patterns for Pirates Facebook Group and enter yourself into today’s daily drawing for the 100K Sale-A-Bration

Happy Sewing, Pirates!

FREE Convertible Cover Pattern + 100k Sale-A-Bration Day 2!

EEP!  Are you guys ready for the second day of our 100K Sale-A-Bration?!?!

If you missed what the party is all about, go read all about the giveaway, sale, and the pure appreciation/joy/excitement surrounding this big milestone HERE.

As we all know, the owner, designer and fearless leader behind Patterns for Pirates is Judy Hale.  P4P is such a big part of her life, and you can tell that she brings a lot of personal experiences and interests into her designs.  When we celebrated our 75K Milestone (which feels just like yesterday), our freebies were themed around the wee baby that was still growing inside of her belly.  Judy’s nesting for her third child ended with her designing and sharing the Wee Lap Tee, Petite Pegs, Teeny Beanie and Burp Cloth.

This time around, the baby boy is here and our freebies are a little more focused on the daily needs of the Momma!  It’s time to introduce you to the Convertible Cover Pattern!

The Convertible Cover is multifunctional, 4-in-1 cover that is so easy to make, and even easier to fit into your daily routine!  You can use it as a cover for infant car seats, nursing, high chairs, and shopping carts.

You must use a breathable, lightweight fabric with a high stretch.  The fabric content is vital.  Natural fabrics that breathe are needed to keep baby safe and at a safe temperature while in use (ie: rayon spandex, modal, bamboo spandex and lightweight cotton spandex.)

**We care about the safety of your child!  Always remove cover from your child’s infant car seat before placing it into a vehicle and never leave your child covered while unattended. It is important to monitor your baby to ensure they do not overheat in warm climates or during the hot summer months. Keep the cover away from any heat source.   Please use recommended breathable fabrics, and always remove cover before placing baby into vehicle. If gifting the cover please give safety guidelines to the recipient.

Let’s take a peek at all of the ways it can be used, shall we?

INFANT CAR SEAT COVER

NURSING COVER

HIGH CHAIR COVER

SHOPPING CART COVER

What are you waiting for?

Go grab your copy of the Convertible Cover now!

Also be sure to head over the Patterns for Pirates Facebook Group and enter yourself into today’s daily drawing for the 100K Sale-A-Bration

Happy Sewing, Pirates!

100k Sale-A-Bration

Wow! I can’t believe I’m writing this post! I’m so honored and humbled to believe that we have so many ladies and gentlemen who want to be in our Facebook Group! <3 100,000 milestone has come and I’m blown away!

 

Myself and a lovely group of admins work hard keeping the group an on topic, friendly space to share your P4P sews, answer both P4P and general sewing questions everyday!  I absolutely LOVE seeing posts about conquering “firsts”- first P4P pattern, first time sewing a knit fabric, first time doing a neckband, first blouse with a dart, etc.  It makes heart so happy to share sewing with others who enjoy it like me and to help make it more enjoyable by sharing any sewing knowledge and experiences I have with others.  Below is a collage of all the lovely ladies that help me admin in the top row and the P4P worker bees with me on the bottom row!  I absolutely couldn’t do the things we do without this team of magnificent ladies supporting me!<3

We have such an amazing group of sewers who aren’t part of our admin team, but take it upon themselves to help out by sharing knowledge and experiences with others daily! I’m so grateful for everyone willing to answer a questions, give a suggestion, or even just compliment someone’s share that they like!

Facebook groups now have insight/statistic information for the administrators to track.  Part of that information includes a “Top Contributors” section, which tells us who in the group is commenting and posting the most each month.  To say THANK YOU to a few of you that go above and beyond helping out other P4P members, we are giving the top 5 “contributors” a $100 gift card to their favorite fabric shop! <3 It’s ladies like you that really keep the P4P Facebook group a friendly, helpful place for new sewers to go with their questions! (Ladies- email me at patternsforpirates@gmail.com with your favorite fabric shop- that carries gift card option!)

Our group has grown so much, we want to thank more than just the top five contributors… we want to thank EVERYONE! I am always overcome with emotion when we hit these big milestones. After all, I’m just someone who loves to sew and wanted to share that love with others just like me.

 

For those that are new and don’t know P4P’s story… I have a degree in elementary education and minor in art. I taught kindergarten and loved it, but when my son was born I couldn’t bear to leave him in a daycare and risked everything to start at home business with my other skill and passion- sewing.  I actually started off with an Etsy shop called “Sewn for Sailors”, specializing in clothing for little boys.  My sisters eventually convinced me to make the jump to PDF Sewing Patterns and I started over again as “Patterns for Pirates”- still focusing on little boys clothing.  As I continued, I went into women’s clothing more and more because I’m tall and can’t buy hardly anything from the store that actually fits my tall, curvy frame! During my journey, I found that there were so many women just like me, struggling to find clothing in stores that fit their bodies.  I have always really loved sewing for myself and I really love to see other women enjoying sewing clothing that fit and make them feel beautiful!!! <3  I’m truly thankful EVERY DAY for every single pattern bought that allows me to continue to do what I love and stay home with my now three babies.

 

SO… whew… wipes tears… We’re going to do a little thank you each day this week! Today we are announcing our BIG GRAND PRIZE and how everyone can enter to win! But, come back each day to find more thank you’s!  (Because each day is just as amazing as the last!)

For our 100k Sale-a-bration giveaway…

 

A full team of machines! Basically what I have in my office 🙂 Although, I do not have this ADORABLE new pink sewing machine…I WANT it! I do have the serger, cover-stitch, silhouette and heat press exactly and I love my set up! I’m so lucky to be able to have all of these and I am so excited to share it with someone else who loves to sew! Lets talk about each one just a little (and so you know, if you click on these links and purchase we will get a little $- they are affiliate links :)) :


–EverSewn Sewing Machine: model.  So, I do not own this guy… but boy do I want him!! I love pink… my office is full of pink! My mom actually bought herself one for her birthday this summer and I’ve been jealous ever since 😉 He’ll be mine one day lol! I love that it has an automatic thread snip! It is something that my machine has that I love and would dearly miss if I didn’t have it on my next machine.

 

–Brother Serger Machine: 1034 model.  I have a bit older model, but I’ve had two of these entry level sergers and have always been happy with it.  It is so great for a beginner, because you can find A LOT of helpful videos and blog posts about using it!  The price makes it one of the most popular sergers, so it’s very easy to find help with it.

 


–Brother Coverstitch Machine: model.  I have this model as well! It is also popular and easy to find tutorials and videos for help if you need.  Since I have all Brothers, I didn’t have a learning curve with this machine at all other than the quick trick of finishing the end stitch.  I love having a coverstitch machine! It’s so nice to be able to hem something without having to change your sewing machine needs, worry about tension as much, and my stitches can naturally stretch so much more with it.  I waited a long time before saving up and buying one though since it’s more of a want than a need 😉

 

–Silhouette Cameo: 3 model. I have this machine and use it quite a lot! It’s a pretty quick way to add some embellishment to your garments.  I did save and save for an embroidery machine years ago… finally purchased it and thought I would use it ALL THE TIME… but never did… I just couldn’t find the time it took to embroider even with the machine! So, I was nervous investing in a cutting machine as well thinking I might not ever touch it either.  BUT… I find it so much quicker and easier than the embroidery machine to design, cut and press something onto a garment for a little personal touch.  I love my Silhouette and the design program it comes with.  I’m not a tech savvy person and usually struggle learning new computer programs! But, I find the silhouette (I do believe I have the designer addition of the program) to be very user friendly.  You can find lots of helpful videos on their site for learning how to use it as well.

 

–PowerPress Heat Press: model. I have this model and I’ve never looked back!!! I had a hard time using my heat transfer vinyls or even pre-bought transfers because I couldn’t get enough pressure with an iron (I used to beg my husband to press them for me!).  I purchased the heat press and haven’t had trouble since! It heats up quickly, presses nice and evenly with whatever temperature and timing you set for each fabric/type of vinyl, and makes adding a little embellishment that much easier and quicker! Now, this sucker is big and heavy! I had to shop around for a piece of furniture that was deep enough to hold him up (I love vintage furniture, so usually not something you pick to hold up something big and heavy 😉 ), but I love having it! I can even grab a plain tee at the store for a super last minute need and add something in half an hour designing, cutting and pressing! Can’t beat that for a special one of a kind shirt…and not having to stay up half the night before to do it 😉

****Note**** With a prize this large, P4P will need a W9 filled out by winner prior to prizes being sent. Winner must claim prize on taxes per US law.  International winner will have to remit up to a 30% tax withholding of prize winnings and subject to US tax/treaty agreements.

Okay… so now we know what the Grand Prize is… HOW CAN YOU ENTER??

Easy right?

A few rules to highlight:

The item sewn up and shared must be a P4P pattern.

You need to sew it up as is, with only fit changes (so no hacks or mods ladies).  Nursing and maternity hacks on the P4P blog are okay as well. Adding embellishments is great, just no major changes.

Your garment and picture must be done during the contest time frame- between today 9-10-18 and the end of 9-19-18.

Share your pictures on one or all of the social media networks for more chances to win with hashtag #P4P100k — hashtag must be EXACT to come up in our search for the winner!

Let us know what P4P pattern you sewed up and what you’re most looking forward to winning!

You can share as many sews as you can for more chances to win–but ALL items/images shared must be sewn AFTER the giveaway starts 9-10-2018! Any older sews will be disqualified from winning the grand prize. Last entries accepted will be Wednesday 9-19-2018 at 11:59PM US Central Time.

Since you might need to grab a new pattern to get motivated we have a SITE WIDE SALE through the end of the giveaway! This will be the last site wide sale this year, so grab them up while you can ;)!! Sale ends Thursday 20-2018 at 11:59PM US Central Time.  The coupon code will pop up automatically at checkout, so no need to worry about jotting the code down.

The winner will be randomly chosen lottery winner! So everyone has a chance from a beginner who might be sewing their first P4P pattern to a seasoned apparel seamstress! I can’t wait to see everyone’s entries!

Don’t forget to come back and see us each day this week!

P4P Maternity Wear :: Hack & Tips

Today I’ll be talking about P4P patterns and maternity!  We got lots of questions in the Facebook group about what kinds of patterns can be used for maternity as-is and what kind of modifications or hacks can be done in order to make patterns maternity friendly.  I’ll go over a categorization for P4P patterns and which ones can be worn both pre, during, and post maternity and how to do a simple hack to make most other knit top/dress/swim patterns accommodate a bump.

For links to all patterns, check out the women’s section of the shop.

Pattern Breakdown

No Modifications Needed

These patterns should work for most women for a majority of pregnancy, if not the whole way.  Some women may prefer more ease than others.

  • Cocoon Cardigan
  • Free Spirit Tank
  • Grandpa Cardi
  • Pumpkin Spice Dolman
  • Relaxed Raglan
  • Summer Kimono
  • Carefree Cardigan
  • Boho Babydoll
  • RagDoll Raglan
  • Boundless Knit Dress
  • Peg Legs with Maternity Add-On
  • Siren Swim Top
  • Favorite Tee (earlier pregnancy)
  • Everyday Elegance Top (earlier pregnancy)
  • Go To Jacket (earlier pregnancy)
  • Pirate Pencil Skirt (earlier pregnancy)

Here’s examples of how these some of these patterns fit with no mods on a 22 week bump!

Simple Hack Suggested

For most women, a simple hack I’ll show you below should make these patterns pregnancy-friendly.  Disclaimer: Some women have had success wearing some of these patterns without any mods during pregnancy, or towards the beginning of pregnancy.  Personal body shape, fabric choice and fit preference will play a large role in this.  I would suggest using the hack in general because they will likely fit better this way.

  • Essential Tank
  • Slim Fit Raglan
  • Sweet Tee
  • Layer Me Up Shirt
  • Favorite Tee
  • Wiggle Dress
  • Cross My Heart Cami
  • Women’s Henley
  • Boyfriend V-Neck

Not Suggested for Maternity Wear

  • Timeless Tunic
  • Brunch Blouse
  • Sweetheart Dress
  • Sunshine Dress
    • Could possibly work very early pregnancy.
  • Hello Sailor Swim Bottoms

Simple Maternity Hack

Before you cut into your fabric, you will want to double check your measurements because they will definitely be in flux during pregnancy.  To ensure the best fit, choose the size that you currently measure, not just your pre-pregnancy size.

Here’s what you will need:

  • Desired pattern to hack
  • Any required notions for pattern chosen
  • Layer Me Up Maternity Add-On
  • 1/4″ elastic

For this tutorial, I chose to show how to use the Layer Me Up Maternity Add-On with the Essential Tank.

After you’re done making the changes to your pattern, add the elastic as shown in the Layer Me Up Add-On instructions.  Then, finish sewing up your desired pattern as per those instructions.  That’s it!  Use these same guidelines to combine the add-on with any of the patterns shown on the Simple Hack Suggested list above.

As a bonus, I’ll also point out that knit pants with an elastic waist can be easily adjusted for under-belly maternity wear by slightly decreasing the rise.  (See this post for more info on adjusting the rise.)  I lowered the rise about 1.5″ on the front of the Mama Bear Joggers to make these shorts maternity-friendly.

Feel free to try this out with any knit P4P shorts or pants.  You could try it with woven pants as well, if you are more adventurous as this may require more adjusting.  Don’t forget the Peg Legs have the Maternity Add-On as well, which works perfectly!

With just a little hacking, a lot of patterns can easily be made maternity friendly.  Happy sewing!

 

Newest Patterns