As a kid growing up in the 80s/90s, I was dressed in overalls and pinafores. Always with some bright skivvy and a scrunchy to accessorise. If you know first hand those times you might shutter. There's nothing unique about the good olde pinafore, there's no denying its a classic staple and this is my take with one of my favourite yarns.
The need to reinvent this came from a need to put something easy over the top of leggings and jersey cotton tops. Easy to throw on and washable.
It's a breeze to make, made with only a few connections and minimal sewing.
The skirt is crocheted in the round on the right side only, from the waist down. The chest front and back braces are crocheted in rows on the right and wrong
sides, from the skirt top up.
The pattern can be purchased on in the pattern store, HERE.
I've used Manos del Uruguay Maxima in the pattern, its a worsted weight yarn made from 100% extra fine merino wool. This is a fair trade yarn, each skein of yarn comes with its own tag with the name of the artisan who made it and the coops location. As they say on their site 'Its a way to connect the knitter and the artisan that created the yarn' I love the authenticity and the way this connects our world wide community of fibre artists together. Makes the experience even sweeter.
If you haven't visited their web page or felt their yarn I highly recommend it. Not only for their mission statement and purpose but for the feel and vibrant colours.
For the love of yarn give it a whirl!
What you'll need:
5.5mm Hook
Yarn
Stitch markers (handy but not necessary)
Yarn needles
Scissors
Two 200mm buttons (optional)
I'm using a different yarn than mentioned above and in the pattern for this tutorial. With the weather pretty hot here in Oz, I've chosen to recreate another one in cotton. This is a similar weight to the Maxima so it's worked the same. If swapping your yarn, just check the gauge and change your hook if required.
You can colour match however you like. Keep to one shade or pick a couple. The pattern outlines the colour switch for the two yellow shades in the photo above.
Lets get started:
SKIRT:
The Skirt must be made first. It's crocheted from the waist down. This was designed with minimal elasticity in the waist section. My toddler likes to pull at everything. Also the wool will relax with blocking and wear.
Foundation Round
Start off with the chains mentioned in the pattern. I haven't listed markers in the notions section but when i'm chaining more than 50 I stick in a marker to save time counting back.
Sl st into the first ch.
Ch 3 (to the height of the tr), tr into each ch bump
For the foundation round each treble is worked into the back bump. If you need a quick refresher I've tagged the Front post treble (fptr) Blog post. In the post I've worked through the anatomy of a chain loop.
The purpose of this is to give a nice finish on the top of the skirt. Working the bump can be a little tedious, if it's not for you work each ch st as you like.
Sl st into the first st to end the round and ch for the next round.
Round 1: the next round is worked by alternating backloop trebles and standard tr sts.
The back loop of the tr st is the top loop that furthests away from you.
For all rows of he skirt, keeping with this pattern. For all increases, keep in pattern. This means two back loop tr sts into one st.
FRONT
The front section is crocheted at the centre front, with the skirt “seam” being at the back. If you are a stitch or two off, it doesn’t matter to much.
In the pattern I've listed the number of stitches from the join. This where the stitch markers come in handy. If you're happy to count and start stitching that works too.
You can see in the photo below the back is on top at the centre. The front will be crocheted between the back two stitch markers.
The front piece is now crocheted on the right and wrong sides. To start I haven't counted the first 3 chains as a stitch, don't miss the stitch and crochet your first treble into the same stitch.
Continue in pattern of alternating front loop and back loop trebles.
BRACES
Once the waist is finished, on the right side find the centre join. A little hard to see in this photo but it marked by the tip of the hook. Count from the centre join to the left and right as mentioned in the pattern.
The left side brace is crocheted from the marker on the right side.
The right side brace is started from the wrong side.
These are crocheted as standard trebles, through both loops.
FINISH:
Overlap the braces onto the front of the chest piece by 2/ 3 rows. Whatever looks good with buttons you've chosen.
Sew the brace and chest piece together if no buttons are used. If you are using buttons,
the, chest and braces are sewn together. Position one in the
centre of each brace overlap.
Sew and trim all remaining ends, then its ready for a wash and blocking.
I gave the braces a stretch during blocking, to reduce any gradual sag during wear.
I hope you enjoy it.
