Riley Blake Knit Love Blog Tour | Lucky Girl Sweatshirt Hack

First off I’d like to say Hi to any new readers stopping by as part of the Riley Blake Knit Love Blog Tour! I love love love Riley Blake’s fabric and this is just the perfect time of year to rock comfy clothes in stretchy knits. For my stop on the tour I did something that people have been begging me to do ever since my Lucky Girl Dress first came out. I made a sweatshirt! If you already have the dress pattern you can alter it to make something else for the little ladies in your life and now, the little dudes too! Perfect!

For this one I used a lovely floral print from the Roots & Wings collection from Deena Rutter off set with Riley Blake’s bright Solid Lime. I’m in absolute ♥ with this fabric! It’s got an adorable pattern first of all, and as is always the case with Riley Blake the weight is perfect, the stretch, recovery, drape, all those wonderful things you look for in a knit are there.

If you don’t already have the Lucky Girl Dress pattern you can purchase that here. Once you have it, follow the simple instructions below or, if you’re like me and prefer a print out to a computer screen, you can download a PDF version of the instructions.

So let’s jump right in and hack ourselves out a sweatshirt and when you’re done share your pieces on Instagram with the tag #LuckyGirlDress! Enjoy and don’t forget to scroll all the way down after the instructions to see the other awesome stops on the blog tour.

 Lucky Girl Dress Sweatshirt Hack

1. Trace the original front and back bodice pieces onto new paper. Alter the pattern pieces according to the illustration and chart below.

2. Use the same sleeves, hood, and wrist cuffs from the original pattern along with the newly altered front and back bodice pieces. Do not cut the skirt! Instead of the skirt cut a waist cuff according to the size chart.

3. Skip steps #1 and #2 from the original pattern.

4. Steps #3 to #17 are the same as the original pattern.

5. Instead of step #18, do the following:

A. Pin the short ends of the hip cuff together, right sides facing, and stitch with a 3/8″ seam. Press the seam flat and fold the cuff down, wrong sides together, just as with the wrist cuffs in step #12 from the original pattern.

B. Find the quarters of the cuff and place pins. Repeat with the bodice.

C. Pin the raw edges of the cuff to the bottom raw edge of the bodice where the skirt should go. Align the cuff seam with one of the bodice side seams and then match up the quarter marks on the cuff with the quarter marks on the bodice the rest of the way around.

6. Move on to steps #19 and #20 of the original pattern but instead of a skirt a waist cuff is being used. Also, remember the waist cuff is suppose to be smaller than the bodice so stretch the cuff as its being sewn just as with the wrist cuffs in step #14 of the original pattern.

Now go and check out all the other stops on the tour!