A Playdress with Twirl

Jul 3, 2020 | Everyday Playdress, Lil' LDT, Skater Skirt | 4 comments

Our new ambassador Marta is here on the blog today to show how to amp up the twirl factor on the Everyday Playdress! She shows how to mash the free Skater Skirt pattern with the bodice of the Everyday Playdress for a truly spin-worthy dress your little one will love! She also shows how to add in pockets so your kid can store away all those goodies in their favorite dress. Be sure to grab your Everyday Playdress and the Lil’ LDT patterns for an extra great deal today for $5 Feature Friday or rather, “Two for $7 Friday!”

everyday playdress

Everyday Twirl: How to mash Everyday Playdress with Skater Skirt

A twirly circle skirt on the easy bodice of the Everyday Playdress, plus pockets from the Lil’ LDT? Could there be anything better for everyday wear for kids? My kid doesn’t think so!

Hi Everyone! I’m Marta from The Pickle & The Banana on Facebook and @the.pickle.and.the.banana on Instagram. Thanks for joining me today. I’m so excited that today’s sale has TWO amazing patterns. You can get the Everyday Playdress (aff link) or the Li’L LDT (aff link) for only 5 dollars each! OR grab them BOTH for only $7! Seven dollars for two patterns with tons of options is a steal and I know my kid gets a lot of use out of simple, twirl-worthy patterns like these!

ff sale

A Trip Down Memory Lane with Everyday Playdress

Before we begin, let me tell you a story. I learned to sew through Love Notions patterns. The first clothing item I ever made was the Everyday Playdress for my girl child (aff link) .

I used my 1990’s Kenmore sewing machine that I had inherited from my late mother-in-law, and some super thin knit from Hobby Lobby. It was a disaster! BUT…..it was wearable! And I was hooked.

The first thing I ever made for myself was the Tessa Sheath Dress (aff link). I remember how amazing I felt wearing it to work and being able to tell people “I made that!” when they asked about my dress.

So, to be here now, doing a blog post about the very first thing I ever sewed, well, it’s pretty amazing!

Ok, enough of my emotional reminiscing, let’s get to it.

The Patterns You Need

I’ll be using three patterns in this mash. The first is the Everyday Playdress (aff link). Then the (FREE!!) Skater Skirt. And the Li’l LDT (aff link).

Typically, the Everyday Playdress uses a gathered skirt that is oh so cute as well, but my kiddo prefers to twirl, and this hack is so easy that it’s a cinch to give her exactly what she loves! Another note is that the Everyday Playdress was JUST updated to include sizing from 12m-16, which is just amazing because the size range was previously just through 7/8. Make sure you get your copy for this new update ASAP.

A Few Adjustments

The first thing I’m going to do is mark my pocket placement on my skater skirt. When you combine twirl and pockets……MAGIC!

I’m using the pockets from the Li’l LDT (aff link) but you can easily create your own by tracing your child’s hand and creating a pocket shape out of it.

I am marking the top of the pocket at 2 inches below the waist. How you place them is up to you.

I am also going to add half an inch to the bodice of the Everyday Playdress. Make sure you do this to the front and back. I am using the simple bodice for this but you can do the same with the crossover version of the dress. I add the length because my girl is tall, and I like her dresses to last longer and turn into shirts as she grows. So this just gives it a little bit more wearing time.

I also like to lower the neckline a bit. This adjustment is just personal preference. Like me, she doesn’t enjoy things too close to her neck. There’s no great science here, I just eyeball it, draw the line in pencil, and cut.

Now your pieces are ready!

Time to Cut Fabric

What’s your favourite fabric marking tool? I’ve tried lots and finally found the tool of my dreams. A kids’ washable marker! They are easy to see on the fabric, come in a variety of colours, wash out well, and are strewn about every nook and cranny of my house so I know I can always find one!

Make sure to transfer your pocket and sleeve markings from your patterns.

Because I lowered the neckline I will have to make my own neckband. The one from the pattern won’t fit anymore. In order to do that I have to wait until I’ve sewn the back and front bodice pieces together so I can do some math (yech!). But, I really don’t like having to go back and cut pieces once I’m done. So, I like to cut a super long strip of fabric right now and then trim it once I’ve done my calculations.

Time to Sew

Once you have all of your fabric cut you can follow the instructions for the Everyday Playdress bodice.

Once you have your bodice put together you can measure your neckline to do your calculations.

Measure your neckline without stretching it like this.

You can see mine measures 9 inches. So I will multiply by 2 =18 then take 80-90 percent of that depending on how stretchy your fabric is. If you are using ribbing or something super stretchy you want 80%, if there’s not a lot of stretch you want 90%. For the black and white polka dot version that’s made out of Rayon Spandex I took 80%. This is cotton lycra (not custom) so I’m going to take 85% which is 15.3. Then you want to add your seam allowance, and you’re done!

Then just cut your piece down to size and you’re ready to attach it!

POCKETS!!!

Now it’s time to attach your pockets. Use the markings that you made and pin or clip the pockets right sides together to both pieces of the skater skirt.

After you attach the pockets you might want to understitch the seam allowance to the pocket. This will just help them stay in and not flip out.

Then you can continue on and attach your front and back skirt pieces together.

I like to hem my skirt before attaching it to the bodice. Ok, let’s not kid ourselves, I don’t like to hem at all…..but since I have to I like doing it now because then once I attach the bodice and the skirt I’m for real done. Not fake, I still need to hem done. It’s one of the many sewing mind games I play with myself.

All Done!

And that’s it! You’re all done! One of my favourite things about this pattern mash is that it’s simple but a big hit with the girl. She LOVES a twirly dress and pockets. I can also use up larger scraps. Both fabrics I used here are leftovers from dresses I made for myself.

The polka dot is Rayon Spandex from www.buttonsandbibs.com

https://buttonsandbibs.ca/product/rayon-jersey-polka-dot-black-with-white/

I cut the skirt on the shorter line for this one and omitted the pockets because I didn’t have as much left.

The white floral is from a local fabric store that I bought many years ago.

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today! I hope you enjoyed my little mash up tutorial. Don’t forget, the patterns are only on sale today, so make sure you grab them! The other exciting thing happening today is that my good friend Sneha is also on the blog showing how she completely reorganized her sewing space — you can find her post here and watch out because you might get inspired to have your own sewing space clean up as well. She sewed up her daughter’s Lil LDT with the fabric she found in the clean up!