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Building a FREE pattern girls spring wardrobe part 2

Part 2 of the Build a free pattern girl's spring wardrobe Skirts: There are basically 3 types of skirts. Circle Skirts(full, 1/2, 1...

Part 2 of the Build a free pattern girl's spring wardrobe


Skirts:
There are basically 3 types of skirts. Circle Skirts(full, 1/2, 1/4), A-line skirts, gathered skirts. All other skirts are variations of these styles.
Circle Skirts:
The Bonny Leggings by Made For Mermaids (don't forget the code in the facebook group) includes a circle skirt pattern piece. Use it with the leggings or separate to make knit circle skirts.

 For a woven circle skirt, use the template on this page. It includes templates for 10" to 44" waist circumference. That should cover nearly every size you need (including many adults).

 Gathered Skirts:
Gathered skirts are available for free EVERYWHERE. While you can see many "tutorials" for these, my favorite style is super simple. You can see the tutorial here at Dana Made It. My skirt pictured here took me all of 30 minutes of actual sewing time. Would have been even faster if my fabric had already been ironed. (That 30 minutes INCLUDES my applique).

 And if you like tiered skirts, Grammies Dolls has a FREE pettiskirt pattern in their group.

 Also, it's really easy to find tutorials on how to make this style either reversible or have a flat front and elastic back. So I reiterate, DON'T buy this pattern!
Fancy it up with some ribbon trim OR a super fancy applique. My applique was done on my brand new Silhouette Cameo. (expect to see a lot more of that here on the blog!).

 And if you need something more, do a quick pinterest search for a pocket pattern piece to add to a side seam or as a patch pocket. Or quickly draft your own from a fun shape.

Dresses:
Dresses are where you get a LOT of variety, but much of what we need can be made from a few variations. So we need a empire, natural and drop waist dress. We need to have the variation of skirts from above to go with these 3 lengths of skirts. True story, I'm overwhelmed with the shear number of dresses available. Of course there's the peasant dress and the pillowcase dress which is pretty common to get for free, but that's not all! Please note I'm not including a link to a peasant or pillowcase dress. They're too easy to find for free, but if you insist, check out the CKC free pattern pinterest board.

 Knits: The fastest way to make a knit dress is to take a t-shirt pattern (see part 1) and add a gathered skirt. Whether you cut from the empire, natural waist or drop waist, putting a gathered skirt on this is EASY. Take the total width of the t-shirt (front+back) and multiply by 1.5 or 2). Measure from where on the body you stopped the pattern (empire, natural waist or drop waist) and add the length of the skirt plus a hem and seam allowance. Done! You don't need to pay for this if you already have a pattern you love.

 And if you don't want to do all the math, Jodi of Jocole has done much of it for you! Using her chart, you can cut the skirt width/length you need based on an empire length top. You can use these same width measurements with different length skirts too! And of course feel free to use either wovens or knits for the skirt portion on the bottom.

 AND if you're really really busy (or lazy) Nap Time Creations has their T-shirt Dress Pattern that includes a circle or gathered skirt!
Hey June has this super cute racerback dress. You'd have to layer it over something to get you from winter to summer, but that's the best way to get the most mileage out of your work anyway.

 There's also this "Good Deeds" dress by Elysium Patterns.

 And Peek a Boo Pattern Shop has the Janey Jump Around Dress.

Woven dresses are a little harder to find, but there's a lot of these available too! So here's a few options, but I'd love to see you all leave links for more free woven dresses, because i know they're out there.

-Mummykins and Me offers a coupon code in their facebook group to get the Pretty Party Dress for FREE. Sizes 0-3 months through 12!
-The Cottage Mama offers a free party dress pattern too in her facebook group

Layers:
Everyone knows that fly away cardigans are THE style right now. The FREE Swoon Scarf Neck Cardigan is perfect in sizes 3-10

And if you want to get blown away, check out George and Ginger. They have 2 kids layer patterns.
1- All wrapped up sweater
2- Effortless Cowl Poncho

Super cute AND AND AND they come in women's sizes too. ALL FOR FREE. I might need this in my life. :D You can access their drop box from the "free patterns" link on their webpage or here.

Part 3 will include the little extras that make an outfit (headbands, purses, appliques, ribbon and RUFFLES) and the how to begin planning your wardrobe. And NO, we aren't starting sewing just yet. So follow along so that you too can have a free pattern wardrobe completed in time for spring!

Hi, I'm Ti and I'm so happy you're here. I'm a self taught seamstress that loves to focus on good fit, well drafted patterns and of course, FABRIC! As a self proclaimed fabric-aholic, it only made sense to open a fabric store, thus, Simply by Ti was born. Here on my blog, you'll mainly find work that I've done for myself and my family. I am always looking to expand my sewing abilities and spend a lot of time learning new fitting and sewing techniques. I aim to provide objective, honest, creative content that will keep you actively engaged and wanting to read more.

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