When I saw the teaser photos for the Steele Pinafore by Elbe Textiles, I wanted it to be released so badly! After it had passed through testing and made its way into the world, I snapped it up and sewed it right away. This is my first version, and I didn’t do any testing for fit before I cut into my linen. After sewing it this first time, I have some thoughts that I want to share with you!
I want to talk about things I really like about my pinafore. I like the design a lot. I love the curve of the front bib edges and the curves of the back. I love the two buttons on each side. I like the way the pocket curve continues from the seams of the bodice bib. I love the gathers of the skirt. I like the width of the straps. But I think what this make is mainly suffering from is Choosing the Wrong Fabric. I chose this lovely soft washed linen from Patch and the instructions do include “washed linen” as one of the recommended fabrics, but I think this one is TOO “washed”. I prewashed it before sewing with it, and I think the main issue is that the weave is quite loose. For something like this that has a lot of curved edges, it made it quite fussy. Even with stabilizing all of my edges as instructed by the pattern, my Steele pinafore has a bit of puckering on the edges of the front and I think that my fabric choice is to blame. It just wants to grow and grow and grow!
I sewed a size D with a B cup, which is definitely the right size for me (~37.5″/31.5″/39.5″ last time I checked). Looking at these photos, I think I could let the straps down a little bit by changing where I tied it in the back. That way it would sit a little lower on my chest. I found it hard to get the tie placement correct when trying it on for the first time. I couldn’t reach the bow in the back while wearing it, so I had to keep taking it off and changing it and then putting it back on to check. This is really only an issue when you first make it or after you wash it, because you can just leave the bow tied and easily slip it off with everything still in place (at least in this size and on my body you can). I think once I get it in the right place for me (which I think is not the length of straps pictured in this blog post!) I will hand sew a couple little stitches on each strap at the point where I want them to emerge from the slits on the back so that I can nail the position every time I retie the straps. Speaking of the slits, don’t look at my buttonhole sewing too much on the back! My sewing machine’s buttonhole foot wouldn’t extend long enough to make the required 2.5″ long “buttonholes” and I couldn’t find a 4 step buttonhole stitch on my machine so I had to wing it with bar tacks annnnd I really didn’t make the slits narrow enough to look neat after they got cut open. Oooops.
I feel torn about the bow on the back. Aesthetically, I really love it and think it’s adorable. Functionally, I am trying to sew more garments that can look cute and stylish but also be layered to wear to work in fall and winter, and the bow makes it really lumpy in the back if you put a cardigan over it. For that reason, I think I need to experiment with sewing some longer sleeved tops to wear underneath that might be less likely to require a cardigan on top. I also might experiment with attaching the straps permanently into the back bib and eliminating the bow (GASP!) so that it can be more versatile in terms of what I wear under it during colder seasons. I also want to sew some more poofy sleeve tops to wear under this in warmer seasons. I tried my Sagebrush top under it and the sleeves looked really cute but the colour and the front ruffle didn’t really jive with this pinafore on top. I’m thinking I might try to make an Adrienne Blouse to see how that looks with it. Open to other suggestions though! I want drama!
So, the moral of this story is that I definitely want to give this pattern another go, but I think the main takeaway from this first experience is that it’s a great pattern and great design, but I need to use a different fabric next time! Looking forward to attempt number two, although it might not be for a while – I have holiday sewing and knitting to do, and I’m not feeling in the mood to sew the same pattern multiple times at the moment! Has anyone else sewed this pattern? Tell me about your pinafores!
