Fitted Collared Pinafore with Flapped Pockets
A women's sleeveless pinafore dress to about knee length, with a collar and lapels, a five-button front, double-welt pockets with flaps and princess seams at the back. Neckline, front edges and armholes are finished with one combined facing.
When To Wear
- Over blouses, shirts and fine turtlenecks in autumn, winter and spring.
- For the office and day-to-day wear in wool suiting.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted through the bodice by front darts and back princess seams, widening gently towards the hem.
Length: About knee length.
Collar: Two-piece collar with lapels; the under collar is set into the neckline and the upper collar into the facings.
Sleeves: Sleeveless; armholes are faced and edgestitched.
Closure: Five buttons with buttonholes on the right front. Below the facings the fronts are joined by a centre front seam down to the hem.
Pockets: Double-welt pockets with flaps, set in the horizontal seam that joins the front to the lower front panel below the pocket; flaps edgestitched, pocket bags cut from lining.
Back: Centre back seam and princess seams from the armholes to the hem.
Finishing: Back facing and centre front facings joined into one piece that faces the neckline, front edges and armholes; side seams of the dress and facings sewn in one. Front edges, collar and armholes edgestitched; hem turned up and topstitched.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Double-welt pockets with flaps, a collar set between the dress and the facings, and an all-in-one facing for the neckline and armholes.
Fabric Recommendations
Wool or wool-blend suiting. If you use a check fabric, match the checks at the seams.
Additional Supplies
- Lining fabric (pocket bags)
- Fusible interfacing (centre front facings, upper collar, flaps, back facing, and strips about 4 cm wide for the pocket openings)
- 5 buttons, 20 mm diameter
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Center Back – 2 pieces
- Side Back – 2 pieces
- Front – 2 pieces
- Lower Front – 2 pieces
- Collar – 2 pieces
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Flap – 4 pieces
- Pocket Frame – 4 pieces
- Back Facing – 1 piece (on fold)
- From lining fabric:
- Upper Pocket Bag – 2 pieces
- Lower Pocket Bag – 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing:
- Collar – 1 piece
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Flap – 2 pieces
- Back Facing – 1 piece (on fold)
Note: If you are sewing the pinafore from plaid fabric, pin the pieces to the fabric, aligning the plaid pattern at the seams.
Sewing Instructions
- Interface the center front facings, upper collar, flaps and back facing (fuse the interfacing to the wrong side with a hot iron).
- On the fronts, stitch the darts and press them open; trim the seam allowances along the pocket openings on the front and lower front. Baste the pocket openings with cross stitches, precisely aligning the edges of the openings.
- Double-welt pockets with flaps: Stitch the flap pieces together along the side and lower edges, turn and edgestitch. On the wrong side of the front, press a strip of fusible interfacing approximately 4 cm wide over the pocket marking.
- Place two pocket frames (welts) on the front, right sides together, pin along the pocket opening marking and stitch, making sure the long edges of the pocket frames meet at the center line of the pocket marking.
- Cut along the opening between the stitching lines, clipping diagonally to the ends of the stitching. Be careful not to cut the pocket frames! Press the cut edges away from the openings.
- Turn the pocket frames through the opening to the wrong side to form a neat frame and baste, with the folded edges meeting in the middle of the opening. Stitch in the ditch of the attachment seams.
- Turn the small triangle at the end of the opening to the wrong side and stitch it to the pocket frames exactly from the end of the upper stitching to the end of the lower; stitch the pocket frames together at the side seam end. Insert the open edges of the flaps between the pocket frames and stitch in the ditch of the upper frame seam.
- From the inside, stitch the upper pocket bag to the flap seam allowances and the lower pocket bag to the seam allowances of the lower pocket frame. Trim the pocket bags even and stitch them together.
- Stitch the center back seam and the back princess seams; press the seam allowances open.
- Stitch the shoulder seams.
- Stitch the under collar into the neckline. Stitch the shoulder seams of the back facing and center front facings, and stitch the upper collar into the neckline of the facings. Press the seam allowances open and clip the curves.
- Place the upper collar with the attached facings on the dress, right sides together, and stitch the front edges, collar and armholes; turn right side out and press. Hand-stitch the neckline seam allowances of the upper collar to the neckline seam allowances.
- From the right side, roll the front edges, collar and armholes into position, baste and press. Edgestitch the front edges, collar and armholes.
- Stitch the center front seam from the lower end of the facing to the hem. Stitch the side seams of the dress and facings in one continuous seam.
- Turn up the hem allowance and topstitch the hem.
- Make buttonholes on the right front according to the marking and sew on buttons.
