York Pinafore Sew Date

Today I have two; yep you read it right, two lovely new DIYs to share with you. Every year my best friend (Jenell) and I have an end of the year sew date, and we sit down and make one something using the same pattern. Last month we got together to sew Helen's Closet York Pinafore. I made one as designed, and she did one of the many York Pinafore hacks.

We both used denim for our project, and it was all purchased at JoAnn. Initially, I went with the size 10. I did do a muslin before cutting my fashion fabric. Denim is not cheap, and the design is so simple that I didn't mind making a muslin first. After making fit adjustments on my muslin, I cut the size 8 for the back and cut between the 8 and 10 for the front. The longest part of this process for me was cutting and sewing the pockets because I wanted the stripes to match. It was well worth the effort because the pockets are my favorite feature.

Jenell cut the size 30 and added a quarter-inch to the shoulder seams. She had to remove about a 1/4 inch from the side seam after trying it on. She cut her skirt in a hi-low fashion because she knew her derriere would make the skirt rise in the back. But when it is on her, it looks even all the way around. The upper bodice is stretch denim, and the gathered skirt is lightweight nonstretch denim.

So there you have it. I styled my pinafore with a stone grey Henley and combat boots from Target. Jenell styled her dress with a black shirt and her dolce vita loafers from DSW. I think we can call this annual sew date a success, and we're aiming to have more than one this year, which means double the sewing goodness for you!