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12.17.2013

The Penny Pinafore - a New Pattern from Kitschy Coo

When it rains it pours and December seems to be the month of me pimping new patterns that I like.  Wait, maybe I do that all the time. It's my evil side plot to make you all pattern junkies like me. Muhaaaa!

Today I'm pretty excited to show you the new Penny Pinafore from Kitschy Coo.  I practically lived in the Lady Skater pattern this summer and the thought of having another easy dress pattern made me dance with joy. Ahhh knit dresses, you are my favorite quick fix project.

The penny pinafore has princess line seams so you can do fun color/print blocking like this.
Houndstooth and snow boots, what all the cool kids are wearing.  
 Or you can do a bright solid with contrast trim for a vaguely Star Trek feel.
Where's my gold rick rack?
Pattern
Penny Pinafore from Kitschy Coo.  A princess line tunic/dress with 3 lengths tunic, mini dress, and knee length.  Also comes with 3 sleeve lengths just like the lady skater.

Fabrics used
Version one full length - Rayon ponte in black and hounds tooth.
Version two mini length - Wool jersey in magenta and pleather collar/cuffs.
All from stash.....can I get an Amen?

Pattern changes/alterations
You might need to make a few tweaks to get the princess lines to fit your individual frame.  Personally I only had to make one!
1. I started with a blended size 5/6 and ended up taking about an 1" out of the princess line seam at the upper back. Because the pattern has plenty of flare around the hips I might downsize the back to just a size 5 next time.

Confessions/Advice
Let's just talk about sewing pleather in a knit situation shall we.
1. Don't try to sew it right side up on your serger.  Your seger will tell you, "I'm not on board with your whole faux rocker aesthetic. You can shove your pleather were the sun don't shine."  You can serge it with the flannely wrong side up but the tension is gonna be a little wonky.

2. I did most of the pleather insertion on my regular machine using the zig-zag stitch.  To counter act the drag of the pleather I put tissue pattern on top and ripped it off after the seam was done.  My main problem here was that the ball point needle was skipping stitches so I switched to a denim needle.  This did cut some holes in my wool jersey, ugh, so knit seam tape was fused to the SA to try and stabilize the fabric.

3. My ball point needle worked fine edgestitching the neckline with a straight stitch.  Here I taped some tissue paper to the bed of my sewing machine to help ease the pleather along.

4.  I was able to get the mini length version out of a 60" 2 yard cut of fabric.  While I made both of my versions from stable knits, the testing group made several out of drapy knits.  All of them looked great.

Husband Comment
My husband only saw the muslin version which was 3 mismatch knit prints, however he LOVED IT.  He mentioned the princess line seams at least 3 times. He thinks they show off my girlie curves.

My Final Thoughts
As far as I'm concerned this is another hit from Kitshy Coo. Once you've got your fitting tweaks finalized, the dress will sew up in about 2 hours. I want MOAR and new tights to go with them.  Maybe some boots too.  Santa, bring me a 5 lb box of money....think of all the fabric I haven't bought.

20 comments:

  1. already bought the pattern and fabric for one, but I have another piece of fabric in my stash to make another.

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  2. I love the black and white one! Tres chic

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  3. That last picture made my morning! So festive. I especially like the black and white version!

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  4. First. Thought you had dyed your hair red in the first photo. then I realized you were just wearing my hat.
    Second, Do you want an "ahem" an "amen" or a kick in the pants for letting such lovelies sit in your stash? They are gorgeous fabrics and great job for getting them out to play!
    Third. Lovely dresses. I really like the black and white one. One of the favorite paneled versions I've seen.
    Fourth. Way to make me feel guilty for everything I haven't gotten sewn up...

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  5. Very pretty! I like the colour blocked version and how you used checked fabric.

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  6. love both of these! i'm digging the colorblock possibilities. nice job!

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  7. It IS vaguely Star Trek - you totally need some gold rick rack now, hehe. Love the bright magenta. Both dresses are great!


    I used to use the tissue paper over the pleather trick all the time. Then I finally bought a Teflon presser foot for my machine. Get one - it's SO worth it not to have to pick paper from your stitching ever again! (Mine was only $10! Why did I wait so long??)

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  8. I'm so far behind in my blog reading I just did a complete run through from your pattern addiction through your gorgeous Spearmint coat to this post. I was having Heather withdrawal! Oh, and I may have just bought this pattern. I love the houndstooth colorblock and the pink mini is just fun! You are the pattern testing queen lately!

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  9. These are so fun! I am really tempted to get this pattern. I wonder how long it will be till I cave.

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  10. I think this pattern is gonna look really cute on your Melanie. Bonus, it won't take that long to sew up.

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  11. Thanks Hot Mess. Thought I'd never find a use for that hounds tooth ponte. Excellent. /\

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  12. Haa haa! I'm glad you liked my hamming it up picture Morgan. :)

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  13. Darn, I thought you wouldn't notice that I stole your hat. I'm love it so. Thanks for letting me know about my, ahem, spelling spills. Darn brain sees what it wants when I'm proof reading,

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  14. Thanks Catja. That stuff has been marinating in the stash forever.

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  15. Thanks Lisa, the possibilities are so much fun. I can't stop thinking of new ones to make.

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  16. I didn't realize the Star Trek thing until I put it on. LOL, oops. So I have a teflon presser foot and it wasn't having any of the pleather either. Should I give it a good talking to?

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  17. Oh no Heather withdraw! It's not pretty ;) Shar, I can picture you in this pattern and its fab. Can't wait to see it in real life.

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  18. Christmas present to yourself? Or is that is a naughty thing that I do? Santa so isn't gonna bring me that box of money.

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  19. The latest bag here 1
    http://michaelkors.shoplal.com/

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  20. Nice pattern! And love the colour blocking! Only thing missing from your cool kids outfit are legwarmers, I wear those in my rubber boots and I think I am a cool kid ;-)

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