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I’m so excited to share the latest release from Peony Patterns – the Apple Berry Skirt and Apple Berry Tee – both of which happen to be completely FREE!! Minerva in the UK sent me this super fun Australian flag canvas fabric, so I decided it would be perfect for my girls’ skirts. And of course, I couldn’t let my son miss out, so I made him some shorts too!
Apple Berry Tee is a cute, easy to sew casual knit top with puff sleeves, finished with a neckband. I used a tshirt knit for mine that I picked up from the $3 p/yard remnant room at G-Street Fabrics in Rockville, MD. You will need a sewing machine for this pattern, as the sleeves need to be gathered, but most of the construction can be done on a serger/overlocker if you prefer. I should point out too, that the version I made was an earlier tester version — if you notice any pulls at the neckline/underarm, those were fixed in the final iteration. You may be amazed to know that this pattern was in testing for a very long time until it was perfect – and from the outset, it was intended as a free pattern as well!
Apple Berry Skirt is also easy to sew, designed for woven fabrics, with a flat front and elasticized back waistband. With just three pattern pieces, you’re bound to have this whipped up very quickly!
Sizes for both patterns run from Childrens 1 – 14. Both patterns are available as FREE downloadable digital PDF patterns, all with layers for easily printing just the sizes you need.
It’s always important to go by your child’s measurements rather than their age when it comes to picking sizes. My 10 year old is wearing a size 12 length, 9 hip, 9 back waistband, 6 front waistband, and 6 elastic. (Since her waist is a 6 but I still needed the skirt waistband to pull up over her hips, I kept the front waistband as a 6 (as it’s a flat front), then used the 9 at the back (since it’s gathered), and 6 elastic (so it would stay up!). My 6 year old is wearing 3 waist, 4 hip, 5.5 height.
You might have noticed my son in the pictures too!! Peony doesn’t yet have patterns for him, so I used Jalie Victor Board Shorts (yep! this pattern works as a normal pair of shorts too!), and Jalie Ben Tank Top.
Victor has the most ingenious pocket construction! The pockets have facings around the openings which you make with your main fabric, then the rest of the pocket is made from lining fabric. This is great for boardshorts where you want a mesh lining but don’t want to SEE the mesh – but it’s also perfect for shorts from heavy weight fabrics, since you don’t want to see a lining poking out of those either! This pattern is available in kids and adult sizes — all in the one pattern sheet — so you can get great mileage from it!
Jalie Ben was a super easy sew as well. I did mess it up a little bit though, and you’ll see some gaping at the underarm because of that. You see…. I was sewing both the Apple Berry tees and Ben at the same time. Being super organized with a production line, I decided I’d sew all the sleeves on first. So, I attached Apple Berry sleeves onto Ben and then thought, hmm…. what is wrong with this? Sigh…. I had a pretty good date with my seam ripper that night!
And last but not least, check out the little resident beaver we met on our photoshoot! I had been hoping to see him, as I’d heard rumors of him hanging out along the sidewalk of our pond – when we arrived, the kids saw him swimming in the pond, and as we were leaving, he was out next to the sidewalk rummaging around in the grass!
Thanks for reading along today! Be sure to join the Facebook groups for each of these pattern companies for more inspo and advice! Peony Patterns Sewing Group, Jalie Sewing Group
auschick sews 