Today is my stop on the Patti Pocket Skirt Blog Tour. The Patti Pocket skirt by Amy Nicole is designed for petite women. So, you might be wondering why I’m decided to take it on. Well, Amy sent me a really nice email and asked if I would show how the pattern can be used even if you’re not petite. (I’m 5’11” so definitely not in the petite range at all.) The thing I love most about sewing is that it can be adapted for all body types. As an advocate (is that the right word?) for the #sewingtall community, I’m really happy to see that there are also people promoting sewing for petites.
This pattern features pleats in front and back, a side zip and big front pockets that slightly stand away from the skirt. It has two views, a short and a midi length. I decided to print out the short version and added 5 inches to make it knee length. I cut a size 8 which was a little optimistic as my waist is 28” only some days of the month. In retrospect, I probably should have cut between an 8 and a 10. When I first tried on the skirt quite late at night, it was definitely not fitting but luckily when I tried it on again in the morning it did fit. Phew!
It’s fairly easy to add length to a skirt like this, especially when lengthen/shorten lines are already included, which this pattern has. Today I’ll quickly show you how I added length to the pattern. I’m thinking about doing a more in detailed post about adding length. Let me know in the comments if that’s something you’d be interested in. :)
You might be tempted to just add length to the bottom which works on some styles but because this pattern has a hem facing, you'll need to add the length to the middle of the pattern pieces. To start, I sliced the pattern pieces along the lengthen/shorten line. Not all pattern pieces will need to be lengthened so just look for the lengthen/shorten line. Next, I slid a piece of tracing paper underneath and taped the top pattern piece in place. I then took my ruler and lined it up with the grainline and marked 5 inches from the lengthen/shorten line. The grainline and the lengthen/shorten line should be perpendicular. (I found that the side front pattern piece had these lines a little off so I redrew them with the grainline parallel to the center front. I did let Amy Nicole know that I ran into this problem so she’ll be double checking that it wasn’t just me being confused.)
Next, I took the bottom half of the skirt and placed it on the new line, making sure to keep the grainline straight. Finally, tape down the bottom pattern piece and smooth out the side seam. Repeat for all the pattern pieces. Sometimes if there are only a couple of pattern pieces, I will skip the tissue paper and taping and just write on the pattern piece how much I want to lengthen it.
I really love the design of the instruction booklet for the pattern. It’s a beautiful booklet and uses color to in a nice way that enhances the design and helps guide the reader. I especially like how color is used in the illustrations to show the right and wrong side of the fabric and the stitches.
The instructions of Amy Nicole’s patterns are written a little differently than most patterns. The order of instructions is given to maximize efficiency. As you go through the steps, you sew everything you can in one sitting, then press and repeat. I often sew this way, jumping through the instructions to find the steps for different parts of the garment. The instructions and illustrations are excellent and I didn’t have any problems with the construction. I didn’t even have to pull out my seam ripper until I started sewing the zipper and accidentally sewed over the zipper teeth.
The pleats on the back of the skirt are so perfect. Nuff said.
The fabric is a yarn dyed cotton that’s really soft and a nice medium weight. I cannot remember where I bought this fabric. I think it was likely in downtown LA. It’s been sitting in my stash for a while and I’m glad that I was able to use it for this perfect, spring skirt. Cotton is always so easy to sew with. Plus it's easy to wash and comfortable to wear.
This was a really fun skirt to sew and I especially enjoyed the pocket construction. I think it will be great for wearing in the summer months and those pockets are going to be so handy for storing, well, everything. I highly recommend this pattern. The design is really cute and classic and the instructions are excellent. You can pick up your own copy of the pattern here. I'm really looking forward to see what designs Amy Nicole will release next.
Disclosure: I received this pdf sewing pattern in exchange for this post. However, all opinions are my own.
