Lady Skater Pattern Tour

Have you all met Amanda of Kitschy Coo yet? If not, today is your lucky day! Amanda is the maker behind some pretty fantastic kiddos patterns, like this Revesible Zippy Hoodie and the ever adorable Little Girl's Skater Dress. I'm of the opinion that kids get the most adorable and awesome sewing patterns made for them. No one ever makes the adult versions of them...until now! When Amanda let on that she was making the Lady Skater Dress I begged her to be part of it. Folks, Kitschy Coo does not disappoint!


I'll start by disclosing that I altered the Lady Skater Dress pattern in to a tunic, as you can see. I did make it as a dress first, but then decided I'd rather have a new top since most of my shirts don't fit right now that I have more proportionate boobs. The pattern can also be altered into a peplum top. Amanda has posted instructions to make a Lady Skater peplum top. I was tempted to make one, but figured a peplum would only accentuate my hips and I'm curvy enough on my own.


To make your Lady Skater Dress pattern into a tunic, measure the distance from your natural waist (the narrowest point around your middle) up to your underbust (rib cage measurement directly below your bust.) Take this measurement and remove that amount from the bottom of the front and back bodice pattern pieces. Next you need to remove some of the fullness from the dress skirt. Mark a point one and a half (1.5) inches in along the bottom corner of the angled side (the one not on the fold.) Use a ruler to draw a straight line from that point up to the top corner of the angled side of the pattern piece. Otherwise, assemble as instructed.


Amanda has also been so awesome as to include two different sets of instructions with her Lady Skater Dress pattern. One set holds your hand, step by step wit loads of pictures, so you don't have to be wary of using knits or if you are new to sewing. The other set is a crib sheet for "bad*sses" that helps you zip through if you know what you're doing. I totally appreciated the crib sheet, but admit to peeking at the hand holding instructions when sewing in clear elastic tape. (Note: I didn't have clear elastic tape and used flat 1/4" elastic instead with no ill effects.) Amanda makes sewing with knits a breeze. No tears. No fabric throwing. I promise!


This pattern is super versatile. Another maker likened it to The Girl Next Door. It fits well, it has so many easy alterations from top to tunic to dress to maxi, and who doesn't love a comfortable jersey dress? I have some thermal waffle knit that I think will be my next Lady Skater for this fall. Want to peruse the other maker's Lady Skater versions? Click the tour button below. The Lady Skater Dress pattern has a wide range of fashions for most everyone's life. It's going into my Must Have Sewing Patterns list.