Honeymoon Leopard Twill Pinafore

Over the last few months, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the fabric that lives in our stashes. A lot of the thoughts have become podcast episodes, including Fabric Goals for 2024, Seasonal Stash Organisation, and Sew the Precious with Stephanie Canada from Backroom Finds. I'm more convinced than ever that leaving our fabric sitting on a shelf or inside a tub or drawer, is an enormous waste. Participating in the Last Sewist Standing challenge led me to face some of my own long-term stash residents, and a clear out in advance of attending a fabric swap in London helped me address what I genuinely wanted, and what needed to be passed on to another sewer. 

Fabric:

I took my two oldest stash dwellers (and my pal Catherine!) to the London Fabric Destash Swap, and I have no regrets. The were both amazing quality, deadstock fabrics from Burberry that had been in my stash for about thirteen years. I'd used half of both of them and I just couldn't see myself using the rest. Well, with those lengths out of there, this length of leopard print twill took on the status of oldest stash dweller!

I bought about yard or so of this stretch twill from Mood Fabrics in New York during our honeymoon in 2012! I had a very Rockabilly-inspired look at the time, and I bought it with the intention of making a knee-length pencil skirt. However, soon after our return, I became pregnant, and that skirt never got made. I continued to enjoy the fabric, even as my personal style shifted away from Rockabilly, but the limited quantity made it tricky to find a use for it. 

(image source: L. F. Markey)

Pattern:

A couple of months ago, lightning eventually struck and the idea of a pinafore emerged! I'd recently had to declare my much-loved and often-worn black denim Cleo pinafore unwearable due to body changes, so I was missing a pinafore in my wardrobe. Then I saw an advert for the L. F. Markey dungarees pictured above, and found the shape of the bib really inspiring. So I unearthed my Tilly and the Buttons Cleo pattern pieces and drafted a new bib shape, and new pocket shape for it for good measure. 

The project: 

Cutting the pinafore from the limited fabric was a challenge. The leopard print fabric had two darker sections running parallel down the length of the fabric, and it required a bit of Tetris-ing to get the front pieces, back pieces, pockets and straps out of the fabric in a way that suited the darker and lighter parts of the design. The facings were cut from a remnant of dark blue stretch denim because there was no way to squeeze those out of the main fabric as well. 

I decided to alter how the garment was constructed. I wanted to future-proof this garment and make it as easy as possible to let it out if necessary as and when I change shape again. I learnt so much from making the two Sewing for Body Changes episodes (Part 1 and Part 2), and I've tried to apply those lessons where possible. During a mid-way fit session, it became clear that I had to take it in at the side seams a lot, so I now have very generous side seam allowances, which is great!

Thoughts:

I'm soooo happy that this pinafore now exists! I've worn it quite a bit since completion, and it's so nice to have the fabric on my body rather than in my stash. I figured out that that length of fabric has moved homes with us five times in those twelve years! I'm hoping it'll soften up a tiny bit through wear and washing, and I have no reason to suspect that it won't. 

Denim Pinafore Cuteness

I've made Dolores a few garments in recent months that have not been well received. So annoying! Despite me running the garment concept by her first, by which I mean showing her the intended fabric and pattern, and her making subsequent positive sounds, she's then either down-graded the finished item to sleepwear, or flat out told me I can take it to a charity shop! (This dress is the most recent garment that she declared could be given away, although I'm hanging on to it and waiting to see if she'll warm to it when she grows a bit and the bodice fits her more closely.) 

I'm not sure if it's because the garments didn't end up looking like she pictured in her head, or that she was just being positive to make me happy when I first pitched her my plans. I've been careful not to let my frustration show, for fear of making the whole me-sewing-for-her thing emotionally charged in any way. Anyways, when she recently requested that I make her a specific garment, a denim pinafore like my denim leftovers Cleo, I was thrilled. I hoped that, if I stuck closely to her brief, I would be able to put some of my sewing time and energy into making her something that would definitely get some wear.

Pattern:

To fulfil the brief of child's denim pinafore, I bought the Freddie dungarees pattern by Two Stitches, which includes a pinafore version as well as the dungarees. I probably would have bought the Penny Pinny pattern by Made By Jack's Mum instead if I'd seen if before I'd bought the Freddie pattern, as it's closer in appearance to my Cleo. However, at least I now have the dungarees version of the Freddie pattern as well, that I could use for either of my kids in the future.  

(image source: Two Stitches Patterns)

The paper version of this pattern takes the form of a cute little booklet with stitched-in instruction pages, and a section where the folded pattern sheets can be tucked away. The booklet includes a page where you can add your own notes, which was useful because I found quite a few things whilst I used this pattern worthy of note. Generally speaking, this pattern was very pleasant to use, however I have one massive gripe which is the tiny seam allowance. I'd be cool with a 6mm seam allowance on a knit project, however on a woven garment like this that has lined section and parts that require turning through, it felt just too small. I wish I'd noticed this before I cut out my traced-off pieces, otherwise I would have added extra to make them 1cm or 1.5cm instead. 

I had a couple of other minor issues with this pattern that may or may not be worth mentioning: a flaw in the cutting guide/lay plan, plus no indication of how far from the edges to stitch the rows o topstitching. Previous experience of making adult-sized denim pinafores and dungarees lead me to make a couple of other additions/changes. I felt the addition of interfacing was necessary on the button plackets and on the inside of the front bib around the areas where the buttons would be applied. The jeans buttons that I intended to use get subjected to quite a bit of tugging, so I wanted those areas stabilised. I changed the method of construction for the straps, plus I made the straps narrower so they would fit the buckles without having to be scrunched up like the sample pictured on their website. I also added topstitching on the straps, and stitched through the elastic at the back to make gathering sit evenly. 

Fabric:

Aside from the additional dungarees view that's included, the other thing the Freddie pattern has over the Penny Pinny pattern is that it is comprised of lots of pieces and panels. On one hand, that made it more time consuming to trace and cut out, but on the other, it allowed me squeeze this pinafore from fabric harvested from a failed garment project. About four or five years ago, I got a length of bark weave stretch denim from Fabric Godmother that I attempted to make into some cigarette trousers using a pattern from the Gertie Sews Vintage Casual book. That project was a total bust. I lacked any knowledge of trouser fitting at that time, but even with both my mum and the Pants for Real People fitting book at my side for help and advice, we just could not work out how to improve the monstrosity that I was attempting to fit to my body. In the end, I just abandoned that project (and trouser making generally for a number of years). I'm so glad that I kept that fail though, as it was the perfect weight of denim for this project. The slight stretch content is going to make it extra comfy to move around in, plus I'm excited to see how the denim fades after a few washes. 

The fabric I used for the lining was also from my stash. This ditsy faux-liberty cotton lawn has been hanging out in there for years (I used some of it for this blouse, among other projects). After this pinafore project, I used the very last of it up by making a couple of hankies for a friend. 

Thoughts:

Aside choosing to make deviations on the fly here and there, this was a very satisfying project. You know me, I loves me some topstitching. I'm still questioning if another pattern would have given more a smoother ride and a better finished item, but generally I'm really happy with how it turned out. In addition to the points I made above, I'm not sure that I'd line all the pockets next time. You don't really get to enjoy the floral fabric when using the pockets, and I kind of dislike the flashes of contrast that you get round the edges of the pocket (despite me cutting the pocket linings slightly smaller that the outer pocket pieces to avoid that happening). I'm not entirely sure what the point of the elastic at the back is either, maybe it makes more sense for the dungarees version. If I use this pattern again, I probably won't bother with the elastic in the back, as I just don't feel the fabric really needs 'controlling' back there. Speaking of fabric, I am thrilled from both a financial AND a sustainability angle that I was able to stash-and-scrap bust this whole project. 

But my thoughts on this garment don't really matter, do they? What DOES matter, is that Dolores seems to have embraced this pinafore (phew)! She wore it shortly after its completion when we went to visit some friends in London, and she looked so cute in her mini-me look. The weather has got super hot lately, so I don't expect to see her in it again for a while, but I hope she embraces it again, and can be encouraged to wear it with long-sleeved t-shirts and knitwear underneath when the weather cools back down. 

Denim Leftovers Cleo

Here's a cute little pinafore that was not my intention to make. However, I have made it, and I'm very pleased that it exists. And even though I've already worn it several times, ridiculously, I feel weird about wearing it during Me-Made-May (and thus taking a photo of it), without having properly 'introduced it' here on my blog. Is that odd?! So, Ta da! Here it is and I now can go back to wearing it. 

When planning my broken twill denim Lander pants, I was a good girl and diligently bought the full quantity of fabric recommended (2.5m, FYI). However, after cutting them out, I found that if I were careful, I had enough fabric leftover to make another, adult-sized garment. My first thought was to make another Helen's Closet York pinafore (which I've made before), however I felt that this denim would be a bit thick for that one, so turned to the Tilly and the Buttons Cleo pattern for a classic denim pinafore style. 

You may or may not recall that I've used the Cleo pattern previously, with self-drafted pockets in a hefty black denim. I really love that pinafore and wear it a lot, but I took some lessons away from it and made some tweaks this time round. Firstly, I decided to make the shape slightly A-line from the hips downwards, and secondly I chose a length somewhere in between the options Tilly includes in her pattern. I think the length of my black version looks great, but I wouldn't feel comfortable in it without tights, and I predicted that it'd be more suitable for performing child-wrangling tasks with a slightly longer length hem. 

The last change I made was to draft a new pocket shape: partly because I had an itch to scratch in the form of a neatly topstitched, round-cornered patch pocket, and partly because I wanted to make mine a little different from the legion of Cleo pinafores out there in the world. 

Thoughts:

As I thoroughly stated in my denim Lander pants post, I REALLLLYYYYY love this broken twill denim. I'm thrilled that I could squeeze two garments out of the amount that I bought; this pinafore kind of feels like a freebie! However, I can't remember if I monkeyed with the side seams beyond making the shape more A-line, but this version feels looser than my black one. I'm not sure if I should summon the patience to unpick the facings around the side seams and bring it in a whisker, or if I should leave it 'future-proofed' against a little potential weight gain. I'm also not entirely sold on the length. Yes, it's more practical, but I do feel it looks more frumpy than the black version, and I'm 70% sure I should raise the length a little. What are your thoughts? But those are just some tweaks I need to consider, generally speaking I believe that this is a great garment, and, like with my Landers, I can't wait to see how the denim fades over time with wear and washing. 

The York Pinafore

I know that it's common to find the statement 'This new thing I made is all I want to wear right now' on sewing blogs and Instagram posts, but I can't help that. This pinafore IS my favourite thing to wear right now. The pattern appeared, as if by magic, in my inbox, sent by its designer Helen from Helen's Closet as a freebie shortly after she released it. I was under no obligation to sew it up, but as soon as I saw a few modelled versions pop up on the interwebs, I knew I had to make it when the right fabric came my way.... 

Pattern:

The York pinafore is a clever little pattern. Despite the number of pinafore and dungaree type patterns out there these days, I think it's unique. Part of its brilliance, IMO, it how simple it is: consisting of just a front and a back piece, and a couple of pockets. The neck and armholes are bound so there's not even facings to deal with. Once you've printed it out and stuck it together, there are three choices you need to make: which neckline (I went with the higher, but I adore the lower option too), pocket style (I love these big, scoopy ones, but there's also a cute hoodie-style, kangaroo version) and hem length (I picked the longer length so it'd be more suitable for chasing and wrestling with small children). 

(image source: Helen's Closet)

Going into this project, I remembered the realisation I came to during my Gemma tank escapades, that simple garments need to fit really well to look fantastic. I made a toile of this pinafore in some stable cotton to try and figure out if some pattern alterations would need to be made. I have to say at this point that the York pinafore pattern instructions may be the best pattern instructions I have ever encountered. This is in part because they include is a sizeable section on what to look for when fitting this garment, which is incredibly useful and makes this a wonderful pattern for helping beginner sewers to level up. I toiled the size M, and although the general size was fine, I found that the hip area sat too low on my body. This was unsurprising because I'm both short-waisted and an inch shorter than the height the pattern was designed for. I pinched out 3cm total (split into two places, as per the lengthen/shorten lines on the pattern) from the bodice are on both the front and back pieces. Plus, although I don't think it applies to me, I really liked how Helen explained an easy method for adjusting the pattern for larger bust sizes.  

The only other modification I made was related to the bias binding. I bought ready made bias (the instructions include how to make your own if you wish), but I picked a narrower width than suggested and applied it using the Grainline Scout tee method because I find it gives a nicer finish  around curved areas. But in short: the whole construction was super simple, and took very little time. 

Fabric:

I knew that I had nothing suitable in my stash for this pattern, so the next time I visited Fabric Godmother, I was in the look out. I didn't have a clear vision of what I was aiming for, other than I wanted a solid. With some guidance, I landed on this linen twill. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this may be the best fabric/pattern match I've EVER made! I've never worked with or worn linen before, let alone a linen with a twill weave, but it feels soooo nice on, kind of slinky but stable, I really love it. I'm struggling with the urge to go back and buy up the rest of the roll like some hoardy fabric-Gollum. 

Top:

With the pinafore complete, I couldn't ignore the desire for a new, super plain top to go with it. I already had this white cotton/spandex jersey in my stash that I'd procured from Girl Charlie UK for a different project that I later changed my mind about. I reached for my well-used copy of TATB's Agnes top pattern, and the perfect plain white knit top was born, that can also be paired with heaps of my other garments. 

Thoughts:

As you can probably tell, I adore this pinafore, and the outfit generally. Style wise, I'm not sure how you'd describe this whole vibe; the linen and the silhouette of the pinafore makes me think of art teachers, which is a direction Mr SoZo would probably argue I've been heading in for a while. I now own TWO floaty scarves which I wear quite a lot, and I've decided to allow my hair to go grey without dyeing it. Anyways, I don't think you could describe this pinafore as sexy, it gives my bum a kind of teletubby look (see below), but thankfully that's not an adjective I often aspire to. I wish I'd had this pinafore in my wardrobe when I was breastfeeding. I think it would give you sufficient boob access without too much outfit rearrangement required. I got so fed up of the limited collection of separates I wore for over a year, and it would have been great to have a dress option in the mix. 

I'm very happy with the tweaks I made to the fit, and the finish I achieved during construction. The only criticism I have for this garment, and it's a very mild one, is that I often find it shifts backwards a little, and I have to rearrange it slightly so the shoulder seams sit back on top of my shoulders where they belong. Anyone have any idea why that might be happening, or what I can do about it? I'd really love to make another of these early next year, probably with the lower scooped neckline and perhaps in a soft denim. I saw a version on Instagram made by @twodogs_and_a_sewingmachine where she had added centre front and back seams and went to town with topstitching, which looked really amazing. Helen has shared some great blog posts with other pattern hack ideas for the York pattern, as well as releasing an expansion pack to turn it into an apron. What fabric would you make this pattern in and what tweaks would you suggest? 

Alice Pinafore

I don't feel entirely pleased with myself for having made this project, because Dolores really doesn't need any more clothes at this point. Making excess stuff just because I fancy it really doesn't square well with my attempts to sew more sustainably. But let's gloss over that for the time being, shall we?! 

Pattern:

As I've mentioned previously, back in 2013, when I was pregnant with Dolores, I received a year's subscription to Ottobre Design magazine from my mum. I know that kids clothes aren't subject to quite the rapid turnover of trends that women's wear is, but I think it goes to show how well designed Ottobre kid's patterns are in that somehow they manage to look neither dated nor 'traditional'. This little pinafore pattern came from the Autumn 4/2014 edition. 

The sizing for this pattern runs from 86cm to 122cm. For Dolores, I traced the 104cm width and 116cm (ish) length to make this dress last a couple of years. I also added a sizeable hem allowance so it could be let down if necessary, although that may have been overkill. I love the gentle gathers into the front and back yokes. As you can see, I omitted the unnecessary magpie applique (!), but it'd probably look sweet with some patch pockets. The only criticism I have of the pattern is that the straps are crazy-long. However, if I keep repositioning the buttons down the straps as she grows, she may still be able to wear this when she's ten!

Fabric:

This ditsy floral needlecord was another score from my friend Kerrie's recent de-stash (as mentioned in this post). Weirdly enough, I'm finding it easier to work through Kerrie's stash than my own! There was just enough to squeeze out this pinafore, and it's lined in some fuchsia poly-taffeta from my stash. In hindsight, I'm not sure it was an ideal lining choice, as I'm pretty sure the skirt part looks a slightly different shade from the yokes, which I self-faced. But I'm probably being over-picky. 

Thoughts:

I'm calling this the Alice dress, as Dolores has decided this is her 'Alice in Wonderland look'. I hope you'll agree that it looks nice with this little knitted top, which I must admit I bought new. From a shop. It was in the sale and it's possibly the only garment I've bought for her new (apart from tights) in her whole life. Anyways. This pinafore has not yet been adopted as a favourite as I would have hoped, but as we've established, there's plenty of time...

Vintage Cord Bunny Applique Dress

Well, its quality rather quantity that you're seeing right now! I was super excited to be taking part in the KCW sewalong/challenge last week, but a couple of days in and I was struck down with the lurgy, so I only got to complete one garment. Sad times. Anyways, let me tell you about what I was able to achieve...

Fabric:

As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to take the opportunity to make something slightly more time consuming than the quick scrap-busters I've recently been knocking out. I've got some lovely pieces of fabric that have been patiently waiting in my stash for years that aren't ear marked for any specific usage. I thought last week would be a great chance to explore the potential in a few of them. 

I'm guessing that this piece of floral printed corduroy is vintage, it really reminds me of pinafores and dungarees from the late 70's. At one point I had vague plans to make some shorts for my tiny friend Kirstin (there wasn't much of this fabric!) after she mentioned that it reminded her of her childhood, but I think I used something else in the end. It's quite thick and pretty stiff, so a pinafore dress was probably always going to be the best use for it anyhow. 

I considered making patch pockets from the leather to bring a slightly contemporary vibe to this garment, possibly using the original pattern's pocket piece as a guide. However, I know that Dolores will engage far more with a garment if it features an animal, character or shape that she recognises, so the leather pockets became leather bunny appliques. I had a lot of fun with my walking foot stitching down these bunnies, which I first secured with some blobs of copydex. I really like how the bunnies are now sitting in a field of flowers. 

Pattern:

I almost used the same pattern as the fawn pinafore dress, but I then unearthed this vintage pattern that's been in my stash for years. I bought it pretty cheaply from Snoopers Paradise in Brighton about four or five years ago, and it was originally published in 1978. I cut the size 3, and because I find some little girl dress patterns from the 50's, 60's and 70's disturbingly short, I added about 10cm to the length. Dolores is coming up to 2 and a half, and I think this dress may fit her this time next year, and maybe will continue to do so until she's nearly five! 

It was a super simple make. Aside from the length, the only other change I made was the addition of a centre back seam to make it fit on the limited quantity of fabric. The one element I'm not wild about is that I think, in hindsight, that the buttonholes on the shoulders don't sit close enough to the edge, which is making the overlaps stick out a little bit. 

Thoughts:

The combination of vintage pattern and (probably) vintage fabric along with a dash of leather detailing is making me pretty happy here. Dolores seems to love it too, but whether she still feels that way about it in a year's time remains to be seen!

Cost:

Fabric: £0 (I'm pretty sure I was given this fabric)
Lining fabric: £0 (left overs from some sampling work I did last year)
Pattern: £1.50 (I may use it once again)
Leather: £0 (from a number of little samples given to me by Claire)
Butons: £0 (from my stash but were donated to me)
Total: £1.50

I'm pleased with that. Now I just need to make sure I don't forget about it so it actually sees lots of wear to make its creation worth while. How about you? If you participated in KCW, how did you get on? I hope the lurgy didn't get you too!

Fawn Pinafore Dress

Alrighty! The last garment I made for last week's Kid's Clothes Week. Taking the 'Wild Things' theme in a slightly calmer direction than the two leopard print garments, here's a little denim pinafore dress with leather fawn appliqué and galloping horses on the facings. 

Pattern:

Remember the pile of awesome children's sewing patterns I was given last year? This pinafore pattern (Newlook 6578, pictured below) was amongst them, given to me by lovely Adey from The Sew Convert. This pattern has been playing on my mind since I received it, it looks like such a useful (as well as quick!) potential project that could work in many different fabrics. 

So having actually used it, I can definitely confirm that it is both a quick and a simple make. In fact, the pattern includes some appliqué shapes and a stupid head-triangle in an attempt to make it look a bit trickier! My copy of the pattern was still factory folded when I opened it up, so all sizes were in tact. I traced the size 2. I'm sure you'll be bored of me saying this by now but I have to: this garment came out a bit big for Dolores to wear right now, but that was my aim as I want her to get full use from it. The only thing the pattern didn't call for which I probably would do next time is to stitch a row of topstitching/edge-stitching all around the top and along the straps. Not that there's anything stopping me from adding it to this version, aside from my own laziness! 

Fabric:

I think I may have made a bit of a mistake here. I used some more of the slightly stretchy denim that I'd also made my denim sweet shorts fail from. I thought the stretch in the denim might make it more comfortable to wear, but I fear the fabric is a bit too thick. The shape sticks out a bit like a lampshade, but I'm hoping that will be less apparent when she is a bit bigger and fills it out more. 

The appliqué, however, I am super pleased with. I have a small stash of leather samples that were given to me by Claire from Sew Incidentally (how generous is the sewing community?!). I believe she rescued them from a bin at work! I've had this fawn outline print out since I worked at Traid where I used to do appliquéing from time to time, but hadn't used this particular design before. I think this appliqué works perfectly for children's wear: it's a cute addition, but not too girly when cut out of leather. I used a fancy new foot on my sewing machine to make sewing leather easier, but I'll write about that in more detail when I review some sewing machine feet in a post that will publish in June. 

I'm also very happy with the choice of fabric for the facings. This light-weight horse print cotton used to be part of a dress that was donated to me by my friend Umi. There was a massive rip under one arm that would have been extremely difficult to mend so it got assigned to the cutting up pile instead. Umi's dress was really tiny and the style was comprised of panels so it was tricky to harvest much fabric from it, so children's wear it was destined to be! I think these facings look great in this print. 

Thoughts:

I'm really glad to have found such a great pinafore pattern and I intend to make a stack of these over the next few years (the pattern goes up to size 4). They will be great for layering with vests, t-shirts, tights and cardigans. Plus the basic shape is a fabulous canvas for all sorts of creative use of appliqués or applied pockets, or for playing with details like a scalloped hem. Do you have any ideas how this pinafore pattern could be jazzed up? 

My poor choice of fabric is a bit annoying though. It made for easy appliquéing but the sticky-outiness of the overall shape looks a bit silly. I'm still going to put her in it though, and I'm hoping that it'll soften after several wears and washes with fabric conditioner.