York Pinafore Pattern Review

I have never blogged a garment this quickly before - its a miracle! Considering how unsure I was this morning that I could even make it fit me the way I wanted, its crazy thats its on the blog already. But moving on from that - lets talk York!

The York Pinafore was released last week from Helen's Closet. It has two different necklines: crew or scoop, and two different lengths: mid thigh or knee. It has two pocket options, a kangaroo pocket or large curved patch pockets.

I made a size large with the crew neck and knee length. Then I drafted my own angled pockets to use instead. (I chose that shape because I think angles break up curves nicely. The curved pocket accentuates the curve of the hips and the angles and straight lines mitigate that.) I used a medium weight bleached chambray from Raspberry Creek Fabrics that is amazing and sadly, sold out. There are lots of other wovens there that would work great, though, especially the linens.

This style was a risk for me, and I don't take many style risks when it comes to sewing. I have a pretty rigid set of parameters for what I like but lately I was wanting to try something that is just *barely* outside my comfort zone and that could potentially work for me with a few tweaks, and that I might just end up loving. I think I was just feeling pretty blah about my wardrobe even though its really practical for my life. I was just wanting something different. So I got the York pattern three days ago and sewed it up the same day. 

I was most hesitant about the cocoon shape, and I was right. I wasn't a big fan if that shape as it accentuate hips. I've already got plenty of hips going on and don't need any accentuating of them. So I took some of the width out at the curviest part off the side seam, kind of straightening it out a bit. It helped. It wasn't perfect yet but certainly better. I was still struggling with loving it because I didn't really have anything to wear with it. I am not huge into knit tees and you definitely need to wear something fitted under this.

So today I whipped up this sized down Union St Tee from Hey June in plain white cotton lycra from Raspberry Creek Fabrics. I sized down one size in the bust and 2 sizes in the waist and hips to get a nice fitted tee, perfect for layering. I also think the Durango Tank (free) or Nikko Top would look great.

I then drafted my own little shoulder ruffles. Since this pattern draws attention to hips, I wanted to broaden out my shoulders to make me look more proportionate. The shoulder ruffles are cut on the fold so you don't end up with an unsightly raw floppy edge or a hem. Its also means the ruffles are two layers thick, which makes them nice and stiff and crisp, which I love. It was exactly what I needed to start really loving this pinafore. I did go back in one more time and remove some more width at the hips, straightening up that side seam.

All I can say now is - I love it! These photos were taken tonight after a full day at the children's museum and a picnic of fried chicken while playing at the park with my two littles. This park includes a river, crazy steep hills, a kids water feature, lots of bark and even more stairs so thats saying something! (And also probably says a lot about these shoes haha)

I think all I would do differently on the next one is make my pockets wider because once I removed all the width from the side seam I lost some space in my pockets. 

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Result: Seriously great pattern that feels so summery and chic yet its fast and easy to sew and so functional even to a mom of a young kids. Love it!