Twenty-first Century Lady: Babies' Pleated Pinafore Pattern

Elaina's pinafore

This post is about the humble pinafore. A well made pinafore, in my opinion, is one of the most useful and versatile items of clothing a little girl could have.

It can be made from warm fabric and paired with a frilly blouse, stockings and a cardigan for winter. It can be made from the lightest of cotton fabrics and worn with nothing underneath for the warmest of summers. It can also cater for almost any season in between. It can be made stylish with pleats or straight as an A-line. It can have one, two or three pockets to embellish. It can fasten with buttons or it can fasten with snaps. It can be decorated with lace or rick rack or piping. It can be made plain and simple or very, very fancy. With so many options from one simple pattern, why not try it out!

My pinafore pattern was first designed as a gift for a sweet new baby. I made it up in a green plaid with a white lacy blouse to go underneath. You can read about it in this post: Elaina's Dress (baby blouse and pinafore).

My original pattern was drawn on a scrap piece of kitchen paper, so I decided to draw it properly and add some extra features to make it a little more special. I kept the main design the same; three large box pleats across the front and the back of the pinafore to give a fairly full skirt with two press stud fasteners at the shoulders. On my new design I added two cute pockets and a piped trim around the neckline and arm holes.

This pattern is very straight forward to sew. It has a front and back facing to finish the neck and armholes neatly. The only slightly tricky part is the piping. With some care and a zipper foot, piping is not as difficult as it might look!

It is sized for a baby aged 6-12 months. Size 0 in Australia. I know that babies in the age group can vary greatly in size, but another great thing about pinafores is that they are generally a little loose (so they can fit over shirts and undergarments). So if your baby is very large, the pattern will probably still fit and if your baby is very small, they will be able to grow into the pinafore for months to come (maybe even up to age 18 months for very small babies).

The finished measurements are: Chest - 58cm, Shoulder to hem length - 43cm

To make this pinafore, you will need:

- 1 metre of winter fabric (any width)

- 40cm of lining fabric

- 2 metres of piping

- 4 decorative snap fasteners

You can purchase the pattern and full instructions on my Etsy store by clicking on the link below.

Pleated Pinafore PDF Pattern