Kwik Sew Pattern K3955 – A Pinafore Dress With Deep Pockets

Coming fully into Autumn, I really wanted to make myself a new pinafore dress. I love the Cleo pattern from Tilly and the Buttons, but one of the main drawbacks for me is that the pockets aren’t big enough. It has to have big pockets! This pattern – Kwik Sew Pattern K3955 – has been on my radar for some time. So when I was kindly offered one during this years #patternswap on Instagram, I was delighted to finally have a go at making a pinafore dress with deep pockets.

Kwik Sew Pattern K3955 – A Pinafore Dress With Deep Pockets

this Idea!

The Kwik Sew Pattern K3955 is marketed as an very easy pattern that is suitable for those just starting out sewing. The pattern says that it has special easy to follow instructions. It is a sleeveless scoop neck pinafore, but is called a ‘jumper’ on the pattern.

It is a pull over the head style, with no zips, and the only option on the pattern is either to make it in a knee length or midi length.

Recommended fabrics for making this dress? It is designed for woven fabrics such as corduroy, lightweight denims and broadcloth.

I decided to make view B, which is a midi length pinafore. On the front of the pattern view A looked to fall above the knee, and I did not really want this. So I cut my cloth to view B knowing that I may need to take it up slightly.

I decided not to make a toile, as I thought that this pattern would be really easy. Plus the material I chose was a cheap mid weight denim. So even if it didn’t work out I would not be too fussed.

See here why I usually make a wearable toile, all patterns are different, and I’m not going to cut my best fabric until I know that the fit is spot on! 

I took my measurements, and found that according to the pattern I needed to make the XL. My 44 inch bust so falls right into the middle of this sizing on the pattern.

I decided to add a little bit of interest by choosing a fun fabric for my facings and pocket inners.

Check out some lovely cotton denim chambray fabric here – perfect for this dress.

Sewing Up The Pattern

The pattern went together very well. It is such a simple main body to the dress, and the instructions are easy to understand. It really only took me an hour to sew the main panels together.

But after I had sewn up the main part of the dress and tried it on, it was obviously far too big! The neckline was also too low and deep a scoop. And the dress was almost to the floor, more maxi length than midi.

So What Did I Do?

I decided this needed major remodelling. So I took each of the seams on the front and back of the dress in by 1cm. I didn’t alter the side seams, as I didn’t want to affect the pockets This effectively took the dress in by 8cm. Plus I took in the shoulder seams by a couple of cms each, to bring the neckline further up to a more modest level.

I cut over 8 inches off the length of the dress to get it to the length I wanted. Maybe I should have cut view A after all. I will know next time!

Finally, I did end up needing to take in the armholes at the front by my bustline. This is quite a common fix for my body shape. I also needed to do this on the Simple Sew Anneka Dress.

By changing the shape of the armhole, however, it completely throws out the shape of the facing. You could redraft a new facing shape, but I decided to do my fallback method of using bias binding instead of using facings. I don’t get on with facings anyway. (Am I the only one who finds them a pain to iron?)

So I made my own bias binding from some more of the fun cotton fabric, and used that to bind the neckline and armholes.

See here how you can make your own bias binding in any fabric you wish for!

And – after all that tweaking…

Here Is My Finished Garment

If I were to make it again (and I am sure I will) I would definitely make the smaller size, and cut view A.

I do love it though. It is very cute. It goes brilliantly over my Agnes top, and also over a shortened version of the Heather dress.

My Verdict

The Kwik Sew Pattern K3955 is a really easy pattern. Easy to make and in my case easy to adjust. I wasn’t happy  though that the pattern seemed to be so far out in sizing or length for me. For a newbie sewer this may have put me off.

I still don’t think that this pattern therefore is as easy as the Zoe Dress, or the Bettine, for the fact that those styles of dress seem much more forgiving to different body shapes as well as being SO easy to sew. Plus I still do think that the independent pattern makers are so much better with their instructions.

I cannot wait to wear my new pinafore, and know that I will get a load of wear out of it.

Fancy buying this pattern? You may find it hard to get hold of as it has now gone out of print. Try eBay. Or check out some of the other Kwik Sew patterns.

Also – check out my New Look K6575 pattern review

Why not pin this post for later?