Puzzle Patterns - Merry Go Round & Flying Fox

As you may know, Puzzle Patterns are designed to be interchangeable - like puzzles. At the end of each pattern is a few pages of instructions that walk you through the steps to mash up patterns to make new designs. This is a fun way to be the designer yourself - BUT I thought it would be more exciting if I walked you through it in blog posts with lots of visuals and more detailed instructions. So here you have it, our first Puzzle Patterns series and in our debut we will be mashing up the Flying Fox dungaree pattern with the Merry Go Round dress pattern to make a fun and versatile pinafore. A few months ago I released our Love Bug Bib add-on pattern, that was a cute alternative top piece that you could piece together with any of the bottoms in the Playtime Collection. To make this look more cohesive I added a bonus 'Puzzle Piece' pattern piece into the Merry Go Round (and the Jumping Jack). We'll be using that new piece to create the adorable pinafore you see here. If you purchased the Merry Go Round before the Love Bug was released just simply log back into your account and re-download the pattern and your new downloaded version will include the puzzle piece. If you have any questions along the way feel free to join our Facebook group HERE for answers and inspiration.

Okay, without further adieu . . .

Let's do this! 

You're going to need the following pieces from each pattern

 1. Assemble the bib and straps according to the instructions on page 11 of the Flying Fox pattern.

For the skirt, use the instructions on page 11 of the Merry Go Round pattern and omit the placket. To do this you simply skip ahead to steps 7 through 9 ...

2, Sew the front puzzle piece waistband together with the back puzzle piece waistband on the short sides, with right sides together. Repeat with lining pieces. Press the seam allowance open and press the main waistband piece up 1 cm/3/8” at the bottom ...

 3. Sandwich the bib and the straps in between the lining ‘puzzle piece’ waistband and the front ‘puzzle piece’ waistband - with the waistbands being right sides together. Do this by matching up the middle of the bib notch with the middle of the front waistband and space the straps out so they are the distance apart of either sides of the bib, sandwiched in the back waistband. Stitch around bottom of the waistline ...

4. Gather the front of the skirt to the width of the front ‘puzzle piece’ waistband. Match up the skirt with the lining ‘puzzle piece’ waistband and sew the wrong side of the skirt to the right side of the lining ‘puzzle piece’ waistband ...

5. Flip the ‘puzzle piece’ lining so the waistbands are wrong sides together and, making sure the front ‘puzzle piece’ waistband is still tucked under 1 cm / 3/8” pin the main ‘puzzle piece’ back waistband to the back ‘puzzle piece’ lining, making sure the skirt is tucked neatly and evenly in between. Edge stitch along the bottom of the back waistband from side seam to side seam leaving the front piece open.

6. Attach a piece of 2.5 cm/1” elastic the half the length of your little ones waist to a safety pin and thread through the back channel you have just made. Stitch in the ditch along the side seams back and forth a few times to keep elastic in place ... 

7. Pin front ‘puzzle piece’ waistband to the front ‘puzzle piece’ lining - again making sure skirt is tucked neatly and evenly inside and edge stitch down ...

 8. Add buttons (I recommend trying it on your little one at this point and fitting it on so you get the perfect button placement for them) and woo hoo! You’re done! 

 We'd love to see your version of this pattern mash up or any of our Puzzle Patterns. Use #puzzlepatterns to spread the creative love! 

Happy Sewing xo