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MadeByAlisha
Welcome back to the Sew and Tell Project! As you’ve probably noticed, my life is full of boys! I don’t get a chance to sew girly dresses very often but I have a sweet goddaughter who I love to spoil with new pretty things every so often. When I’m looking for a gorgeous girly pattern, my first stop is Simple Life Pattern Company. I love the frills and ruffles! Right now Simple Life is having a back to school sale so it’s the perfect time to hop over and try their patterns (or add to your collection). Run, don’t walk! The end of sale date hasn’t been announced and I don’t want you to miss it!
Welcome to my stop on the Poolside Blog Tour! Make sure to hop over and check out the other stops today and come back here on Saturday to see Eleri’s post! Also, read all the way to the bottom, there’s some great coupon codes, and a Rafflecopter giveaway for fun prizes!
Here at Sew and Tell Project, we have challenged each other to a swimsuit sewing challenge this year. Eleri has written a great post with some beginner swimsuit sewing tips to get you started if you want to join us! I was nervous about sewing swimwear because it sounds so hard, but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and fun it was.
Summer is finally here in the Upper Midwest! Here in the area where I live, the highlight of summer is the 4th of July rodeos and huge parade that the next town over throws. My boys love a good parade, and when I saw Katy’s call for an Americana blog tour, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to whip up some matching outfits for my boys! I’m taking advantage of the fact that they love to match for as long as I can. My oldest is almost 9 so I know my days are limited 🙂 Make sure you come back on Friday to see Eleri’s awesome post featuring some outfits for the girls!
Welcome back to the Make Laundry, Don’t Do Laundry Blog Tour! When I heard about a blog tour all about making clothes faster than you can do a load of laundry, I jumped at the chance to join! If you know me in real life, I hate to fold clothes. Once I finally fold them, I then hate putting them away. Why do my kids wear so many clothes? I feel like the laundry multiplies in the clothes basket and in the washer and dryer! So what’s better than folding clothes? Sewing them! Feel free to sew your own laundry this week so you can link up for a chance to win a great prize package.
Welcome back to the Sew and Tell Project! We’ve been so busy testing and getting ready for our first blog tour that we have been quiet over here on the blog. Make sure you check out Eleri’s post today and Alisha’s tomorrow as part of the Make Laundry, Don’t Do Laundry blog tour!
Patterns for Pirates has been one of my favorite pattern companies for almost as long as I’ve been using PDF patterns. When Judy was looking for testers for her new Essential Tank, I was super excited because this style of tank is what I live in during the summer! Eleri, Genie, and I were all chosen to test this new release. Are you ready for all the versions we made?
I’m sure where most of you live, it is starting to feel like summer. Here in the upper Midwest, our days are getting longer, school is almost out, and it’s getting hot! This week I had the joy of testing for a new-to-me designer, Bella Sunshine Designs. You may remember Emily’s gorgeous Vintage Grace Flutter Dress from a few weeks ago. That was my first introduction to Bella Sunshine Designs, and I fell in love with their beautiful girly style. When the designers put up a testing call for the Felicity Top and Dress, I jumped at the chance to test the dress for my goddaughter who just turned one. Having 4 boys myself, it’s fun to sew something with ruffles and gathers once in a while!
I love mix and match patterns. When Amy over at Peek a Boo Pattern Shop put up a testing call for another new swimsuit top called the Blouson to add to her Bahama Mama line, I jumped at the chance to test it. I had never sewn a swimsuit or athletic material before, but I wanted to challenge my sewing skills. Plus us ladies here at Sew and Tell Project have challenged each other to a swimsuit sewing challenge this summer.
Hello! Welcome to part 1 of my {How to Jazz up Your Kid’s Wardrobe} series! I’ll be posting periodically this summer and sharing some fun ways I’ve found to add some excitement to my boys’ clothes. My boys love characters from Star Wars to Ninja Turtles to Paw Patrol, but as you may know, finding character knit is expensive! Frankly, it’s out of my budget. Character woven is much more affordable; however, instead of just using it to make shirts like the Classic Oxford from Peekaboo Pattern Shop, I needed to think of ways to add it to the knit shirts my boys love. I love sewing with the solid cotton/lycra knits from Peekaboo Pattern Shop, but my kids get tired of just plain solid shirts. I’ve had to get creative!
While looking through my spring and summer wardrobe, I realized one piece I was missing was a lovely sweater to layer over my tops and tanks for those cool spring and summer mornings and evenings. To my delight, Itch to Stitch, a designer I recently discovered, released a testing call for the Lisbon Cardigan right after I noticed this gap in my wardrobe!
The Lisbon Cardigan is available in a full or cropped length as well as with full or 3/4 length sleeves. As testers we were allowed to select which options we wanted to try. After great deliberation, I chose the cropped length and 3/4 length sleeves. I found a beautiful lightweight gray cotton lycra in my stash to use for a nice, neutral layering piece.
If you’ve been following me here at the Sew and Tell Project, you might have noticed that raglans are my favorite style of shirt. What’s not to love about sleeves that are sewn as a straight line? I don’t mind a traditional set in sleeve, but raglans are a quick and easy sew for me. When I saw the testing call for the Riviera Raglan from New Horizons Designs pop up in my Facebook news feed, I signed up right away. I have my measurements (plus the measurements of my kids) stored in my phone so they’re always handy! I’m so glad Terra chose me for this awesome pattern. Let me tell you why you need the Riviera Raglan in your life