Hey there, thanks for checking out one of my free patterns, the Monkey Bar Skirt! This post will show you how to put the skirt together, but if you still need the pattern, you can download it here.
The Monkey Bar Skirt has been updated to be more like the paid patterns in format, so you can get a little idea of what a Hey June pattern is like before you buy. The biggest difference on the paid patterns is that the instructions are fully digitally illustrated and much more comprehensive.
Your girls are going to be living in these fun, cute, easy-to-sew, playground-friendly skirts all summer, so let’s get sewing! I’m starting with View A, using contrast thread to help it stand out. View B has a couple extra steps, pictured at the end of the post.
STEP 1
Sew the shorts (piece 1) right sides together at the front and back crotch seam.
STEP 2
Align the inseam and sew right sides together.
STEP 3
Sew the waistband (piece 2) right sides together at the short edges, forming a loop. (Not pictured) Fold the waistband down on itself, wrong sides together, forming a yoga-style band.
STEP 4
Sew the side seams of the skirt (piece 3) right sides together.
STEP 5
Gather the top of the skirt using your longest stitch length. Sew a separate gathering seam for the front and back of the skirt, leaving long thread tails. After sewing, gently pull on the bobbin threads to gather the skirt.
STEP 6
Turn the skirt and shorts right sides out. Slip the skirt over the shorts. Align and pin them together at the waist, evenly distributing the gathers. Focus the gathers toward the center of the skirt front and back, leaving the skirt ungathered at the side seams. This will make the final skirt lay nicely.
STEP 7
Sew the skirt to the shorts at the waist using a sewing machine (not serger).
STEP 8
Pin the waistband to the skirt, right sides together. Align the two raw edges of the waistband with the waist of the skirt/shorts.
STEP 9
Sew the waistband to the skirt and flip it up. Press well.
STEP 10
Hem the skirt using a 1/2″ hem allowance. Use a twin needle, two rows of straight stitches, a zig zag stitch, or a coverhem.
STEP 11
Repeat step 10 to hem the shorts.If you’re making View A, you’re finished! View B has a couple more steps:
Sew the lower skirt (piece 5) in the same manner as the skirt in View A. Sew the upper skirt (pieces 4) right sides together at the short ends, forming a loop. Gather the lower skirt to match the width of the upper skirt, focusing the gathers toward the center back and front
Pin the upper skirt to the lower skirt at the waist, right sides together, aligning side seams
Flip the upper skirt up. Gather the upper skirt at the waist, once again focusing the gathers toward the center front and back of the skirt.
Continue following the directions from View A to attach the skirt to the shorts and finish sewing.
That’s it, your Monkey Bar skirt is finished! SO easy, right? If you cut and sew these assembly-line style you’ll have a whole wardrobe of play skirts in a couple hours!
Happy Sewing!
Love the monkey bar skirt but the updated pattern is missing the pattern pieces. Please do let me know when you fix that because I would love to download it. Thanks.
Yikes, thanks for letting me know! I uploaded the wrong version 🙂 It should be good now!
Still can not find the pattern pieces. Do I need to look somewhere else?
How many pages does yours have Carol? I wonder if somehow it’s being cached on your computer. I tried to download it just to make sure and it’s the correct version for me. It should be 15 pages.
Hi! I got the email that this pattern had been updated. I uploaded it from Craftsy; is that all I have to do? were the pattern pieces modified, because I printed out the other one when I first downloaded it.
thanks!!!
Hi Patty!
The pattern pieces are the same, the pattern was just updated to have more features and be more like my paid patterns.
Thanks for asking!
Adrianna
This is such a cute pattern. I just finished it for my granddaughter. She will be here tomorrow and I can’t wait to see it on her. Thank you!
is the pattern suitable for wovens??? want to make some uniform skirts.
You could probably make the skirt portion with woven, but the waistband and shorts need to be knit.
Thank you so much for the reply. Knit shorts is fine, may be I will tweak the waist band a little and put some elastic 🙂 Merry Christmas
Hello, and thank you for the cute pattern. I don’t know if I did something wrong, though I hope not, since I have been a professional dressmaker for the past 35 years, but… I made this skirt for my 7-year old granddaughter, who has the measurements of a size 6, but needs 2 inches of additional length . The fabric I used had the recommended 50% stretch crosswise, but when I tried the waistband (which was cut 1″ longer than her waist measurement) on her before attaching it to the skirt, ended up having to be taken in an additional 4″ after sewing the 1/2″ seam at the back. After attaching it, the weight of the skirt & shorts (using a lightweight interlock knit), ended up pulling the waist down 3″ below her belly button. Yikes! I opened up the back seam of the waistband and inserted some wide elastic from side seam to side seam across the back only. Now the skirt fits perfectly, and she’s worn it all afternoon. She loves the shorts underneath. I think next time I will just insert elastic around the entire waist. Other than that, it is an very cute, well thought-out pattern. I really appreciate the updated version, with the included sizing and yardage information.
Laura, I think the problem was that you cut the waistband too large. It should not be cut like elastic, but more like a neck or armhole binding, which is to cut it about 85% smaller than the measurement you want to fit it to (i.e., her waist). So if her waist is 25″ you would cut the WB at 21.25″ (plus seam allowance). Then when you sew the skirt to the WB, you should either use a serger or a zigzag stitch and stretch out the WB to fit the skirt. That way it will fit snug around her waist and hold the skirt/short combo up. That is what I have been doing and it works fine.
Are the shorts supposed to be hemmed, too? Did I miss that step?
Thanks for such a great pattern, my girl is going to love this! 🙂
I downloaded this pattern today and have no layers access. I also downloaded the maxi skirt, and layers are there. Any suggestions?
Follow-up. I deleted the pattern from my laptop and downloaded it again. It opened fine this time showing all layers. Just a glitch somewhere I suppose. Looking forward to making this for my grands!!
oh perfect! So glad it worked!
Hi Adrianna,
I love this pattern and just finished printing it out. It seems that I ended up with part of an extra skirt A pattern with a dark 3 on it. It has no page number or diamonds to match it up to another page. According to your taping guide there is no place for it. I have pages 9, 10 ,11 and 12 taped together for Skirt A. Is this correct or does this extra page go somewhere? Thank you.
Linda
Hi Linda,
I’m not totally sure. It could be an extra page 12, because that has pattern piece #3 on it, or maybe it’s page 13? Both of these have triangles on them for lining up though, so I’m not sure what page that would’ve been. You’ll only need pages 7 – 12.
So excited, I have been looking for a pattern like this for ages. I have had the fabric for 2mths just waiting for me to work the pattern out. Thankyou! Can’t wait to start sewing
Hei. Tusen takk for at du deler gratis mønster så jeg kan få se hvordan de fungerer. Nå skal jeg laste det ned å prøve dette. Gleder meg til å sy dette til mitt tantebarn som elsker både skjørt og shorts og begge deler står på hennes ønskeliste til ferietur i mai. Dette blir spennende. Tusen takk.
Thanks for the great pattern! Are the shorts supposed to be hemmed at all? That’s the only thing I couldn’t find in the pattern.
I serged my skort and had it together from cut to finish in less than an hour, except for the hemming. My daughter loves this style but runs about a size 3 in the waist and 8-10 in length, so I decided to make them myself this summer, as last summer I ended up tearing them all up for alterations in the waist and it took just as much time as it does to start from scratch. I sized down in the waistband for her but I’m adding in some 1 1/2 inch wide waistband elastic for her before attaching the waistband because she has no bum or hips to hold things up! This is how she’s built and why I sew for her, certainly not a flaw in the pattern. Thanks Again!
So glad they worked out for you! It is easier to sew for kiddos who are super tall and slender like that. The hemming instructions are in steps 10 & 11, but you can hem them however you prefer!
Thanks, now I see that!
Hi, I am making the skirt (version B) and I am confused about how and when to see the shorts on it says in step 7 tinder the shorts but there is no photo or explanation. Also, Soninkes the waistband on before the shorts are attached or after? Thanks!
Sorry for the typos. My keyboard is in German and i cannot edit my post.
Hi Roxanne,
Step 6 is where you pin the shorts inside the skirt, step 7 is sewing them together, and then step 8 is attaching the waistband to both. Hope that helps!
I love this pattern. So comfortable for my adventurous little grand-daughter. Now that it is getting cooler in Australia, I wondered if you had a leggings pattern that could be used in the same manner as the shorts? If not, any you would recommend, as I love the fit of your pattern. Thank you so much for having this free pattern available. Jane
I don’t have a leggings pattern for girls, but the Peony pattern from Sew Like My Mom is great!
Bonjour
quelle difference y a t il entre la version A et la versionB
Monique
This is the best and easiest pattern I have ever used !!! Thank you so much!! I need one in ladies and larger girls sizes please!
Please, how do I keep the hems from stretching as I sew them? I’m using a twin needle.
Thank you for an adorable pattern!
Deborah
Hi Deborah,
A walking foot helps a lot when sewing knits on a sewing machine. If you don’t have one yet, try hem tape to stabilize the hem as well. You may also need to loosen the tension on your machine and/or use a longer stitch length.
Hello,
I have a question about the cut. Is the seam allowance included in the pattern or do I have to add it? Thanks in advance
Bonjour, je ne trouve pas le fichier PDF, j’ai les instruction mais pas le patron?
Merci pour votre aide!
Hi June, I’ve now made up the first two and I’m very pleased with them. I did add elastic in the waistband, and made them a bit longer, but other than that I pretty much followed your instructions. (Woven skirts, by the way. You can see pictures here on my blog. https://newgrandmawantstosew.blogspot.com/2019/07/monkey-bar-skirtshorts-pattern-review.html
Hello! I just LOVE this pattern. I started sewing in April, and got a lesson from my 10 year old on how to use the machine. lol. I was kind of nervous about sewing this, but it was really easy and I’m going to make more. My youngest daughter just loves it. I wish there was a version for adults, because I wear skorts all the time. ;D