Here's a super-easy pattern hack tutorial that was previously published over at The Village Haberdashery's Daily Stitch blog back in September. Thanks to them for allowing me to repost it over here. It features the second of my creations for the summer instalment of Kid's Clothes Week, donchaknow.
If your interested in sewing clothing for little girls and haven’t come across the Oliver + S Hopscotch pattern, then allow me to introduce you! The skirt, in particular, is a wonderful, timeless garment that has perfect proportions and great details. However, it only really works in solid fabrics or prints with a small-scale design. The skirt’s button placket and clever pleated pockets would most likely chew up a larger design of print. But wait! I have the answer: an incredibly simple pattern hack that turns the Hopscotch skirt pattern into the ideal canvas for fabric with a bold print. We’re going to ignore the pockets and omit the button stand.
In fact, I may be cheeky even alluding to this as a pattern hack. Because we’re not actually going to alter the pattern pieces at all: we’re just going to use them slightly differently and alter the construction method a tad. Aside from being able to now use this pattern for a wider range of fabric designs, it also pretty much halves the construction time. Which may appeal to you, whether you’re creating wardrobe staples for your little girl, or whipping up a cute gift for someone else’s!
You will need:
- Oliver + S Hopscotch sewing pattern
- Fabric (I used about 50cm to make size 3T, more may be required for larger sizes, narrower fabric or larger repeat designs)
- Thread
- 3/4" or 20mm wide elastic
When positioning the pieces on your fabric, ignore the ‘cut 2’ direction on the front skirt piece and front waistband piece. Instead, position these two pieces on a fold (like the back skirt piece) as pictured above. You’ll need to trust me on this: the dimensions of these pattern pieces mean that, even though you are using them on the fold and omitting the button stand, the measurements of the finished skirt will remain the same as if you made the regular version of this skirt pattern.
Once you have cut out the pieces, snip a tiny notch at the centre fold on the bottom edge of the front waistband piece, and another tiny notch at the centre front fold at the top edge of the front skirt piece. These notches will be matched up during construction.
The main difference in the construction of this hacked version is that you will now be making one front skirt panel (see above), rather than two. Gather the top edge of the front skirt piece and apply it to the front waistband piece, and continue the construction as per the rest of the instructions.
Congratulations! You have made the ideal gathered skirt, AND saved yourself some precious sewing time. Now, stop being so selfless and get back to making something for you!
