Free sewing pattern: Baby's bucket hat

It is really hot these days, the sun keeps on burning the ground until late in the day, and I found out my skin got tanned even when I was careful enough to wear sun-proof clothing. This made me think of my little baby boy who is active under the sun lots of the time and I decided to make him something to protect his tender skin.

The first thing I made for my boy is a reversible bucket hat, and I think that it is quite nice, so I'd love to share it with loving mothers who are readers of this blog.

This 3-page pattern is a very easy one to cut and sew, and it takes just some small pieces of fabric. You can make it in just about 1 hour.

The brim of this hat can be modified if you want it larger or smaller. I want it large to cover my baby's head so the pattern has a wide brim of 10cm/4in. I also made another hat with a 7cm/2.75in brim.

The pattern is made for baby under 3 years old whose head circumference is under 52 centimeter/20 inches, so it is quite small. I think I will make a pattern for bigger children and grown-ups next time.

Because my baby is a boy, I do not make any decorations to the hat (maybe because I am too lazy, I was just making excuses). But if you have a girl, a bow or something girly would look beautiful on this hat.

The pattern consists of 3 pieces: the Crown, the Side and the Brim. Cut out 2 sets of these pieces using 2 different colors, and after sewing them together, you will have a reversible hat to mix with different outfits.

Here is the download link: Baby's bucket hat

Happy sewing,

Tien the Little Sewist

A little twist to the drop waist dress

Hi friends,

I got a bit carried away and played around with the pattern for the drop waist dress that I shared a few days ago. I changed the neckline to V shape, and made a tiered flounce. It turned out quite nice and I was so happy with it. I even spent some time to turn it into a printable PDF pattern!

This is how it looks from front and back. It's simple and has a flirty feel because of the layered hem, and I believe if you make it in soft, flowy fabric, you will have a nice dress for a day out.

And this is a 360 degree view. I made this GIF image but the quality is quite low :(

Do you feel that this is nice? Tell me how you think of it!

I am sharing the pattern here just in case you need it. You can easily modify the pattern for the drop waist that has been shared previously to get this pattern.

Again, this pattern is made in layered PDF, check how to print out your size in this instruction and remember to check for your size before printing.

This is how it looks when I printed just size L and taped all pages together:

Download link: the Sleeveless V-neck Tiered Drop Waist Dress (size XXS - XXL)

Happy sewing,

Tien the Little Sewist

Free PDF sewing pattern: Sleeveless drop waist dress

In this post I am sharing the pattern for the summery sleeveless drop waist dress that I have introduced in the previous post.

A week ago, I came across an article about creating and printing layered PDF files, and it comes to my mind that I can also create such files to make my patterns clearer and easier to use for my readers. And this is my first pattern created using layered PDF format.

Because I am using layered PDF format, I add a lot of details into the pattern, so if you open the file with all layers displayed, you will see very messy pages with a lot of lines and dots and colors. I bet you will be confused if you print all layers out. Don't worry, just follow the steps to print out a layered PDF, and you will thank technology for creating such wonderful and convenient file format.

There is also some small changes in the patterns. If you print out your size (for example, size M), you will see that there are both cutting lines and sewing lines. I have seen many newbies complaining that they do not know how to determine seam allowance in a pattern that only has cutting lines or sewing lines. In order to help, I am adding both sewing lines and cutting lines into the pattern, and if you print the pattern out, you will see them both. The inner lines are sewing lines, and the outer lines are cutting lines. If you want to sew exactly like how the pattern is created, just cut along the cutting lines. If you want to make some alterations to the pattern, use the sewing lines.

Normally, I create patterns for both regular and petite sizes, but this dress is quite simple and have no waistline defined, and you can wear it a bit long or short. So, there is only one pattern for the dress.

After printing and taping together all pages, you will get a pattern like this (I just print one size only):

OK, that's some improvements that I made to my patterns, and here is the link to download: the Sleeveless drop waist dress (size XXS - XXL).

Please check for your size in the size chart before printing. This pattern can be printed on both A4 and Letter sized paper.

Happy sewing!

Tien the Little Sewist

New pattern for hot summer: the sleeveless dropped waist dress

Well, it's hot now in the northern hemisphere. I have seen news about heat waves everywhere in many countries: Germany, France, India, and of course, my home country Vietnam. It is so terribly hot that I have to hide in the office most of the time during the day to protect my delicate skin from burning.

I am inspired to make a pattern for a dress meant for this kind of weather: the sleeveless dropped waist dress. It is a classic style, which carries the feeling of the 1920s. And the most important thing is that, it is  relaxed and comfortable for hot days.

The dropped waist dress typically fits loosely on the body, transitioning into a gathered or pleated skirt at the hip, rather than the natural waistline. This dress is suitable for many body shapes - either a slender woman or a plus size woman can look good in this dress. But it works best with specific body types (according to many articles that I have read):

- Slender women with smaller bust and hips: It helps to show off you legs, delicate collarbones and toned arms.

- Women with apple shape: The loose fit of the dropped waist dress helps to cover up the mid-section of your body.

- Plus sizes: many brands opt for dropped waist dresses for plus size women. If you are relatively straight up and down, or carry your weight around your mid section, you may find this dress suitable. Choose a more loosely fitting dress for a more flattering fit.

- Hourglass figure: Although a dropped waist dress is not the best choice for women with perfect hourglass body shape, it is still a nice choice for comfort. A woman with hourglass figure can find it less flattering than other fitted dress, but it is not a problem, you are still beautiful after all.

-  Pear shaped figure: Many recommend against choosing a dropped waist dress for a heavy bottomed woman, however, if you are pear shaped and in love with this style, choose a dress with strong detailing around the neckline to divert attention from your hips.

Now, let's see how the pattern looks like in 3D simulation that I have made:

The dress will be available tomorrow when I finish grading and converting it into printable PDF.

Love,

Tien the Little Sewist