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Category: girls
Hello lovely readers!
I am absolutely pumped to be on my first tour for Riley Blake Designs today! If you’ve read several of my past posts, you know that I am a big fan of Riley Blake cotton spandex knits. The quality is absolutely amazing and my children love the Riley Blake lines just as much as I do. If you would like your own chance to win a mini-stash of Riley Blake Acorn Valley flannel make sure you read all the way through the end to enter the giveaway!
I don’t know about YOUR facebook feed, but lately my Facebook newsfeed has been full of selfies of enthusiastic fans of a new line of bold and colorful clothing. First there were rumblings over buttery soft leggings, then loud cheers for the fun and colorful designs. Well, leggings are one thing, but then – there was great applause for cute and comfy dresses and skirts. Gorgeous, practical, COMFY skirts. Sound familiar? Now, what woman doesn’t love a pulled together look that is just as easy and as comfy to wear as leggings… or even yoga pants. What is even better, if you love to sew like us, is making your own comfy and cute skirts. You pick the fabric, sew a few seams…. and a cute new piece is ready to wear a few hours later. NOW, what is EVEN better than sewing your own gorgeously comfy skirt, is a FREE PATTERN for one!! Introducing: the Chloe Skirt from Made for Mermaids – available in sizes for both girls and women!
Today I am delighted to share with you my contribution to the Swimsuit Sewing Challenge 2016! I was hesitant at first, having never worked with swimsuit fabric, but I studied Eleri’s tips for sewing swimsuits and I’m SO glad I jumped in and gave it a try – I just found my new favorite thing to sew! Finding swimsuits that fit my daughter and suit her style is difficult – but now we can work together to create comfortable, well-fitting swimsuits that work well for her active lifestyle. No more trying to pick favorites from the catalogs, guessing at sizes, and hoping everything fits when the package arrives! Fabric shopping is much more fun, right?
When I was approached by my dear friend and godmother to my middle little, T, to make a First Holy Communion dress for her daughter, B, I was excited and honored. And then, when I realized it would be made from her wedding gown, I was very, very nervous.
B and her family chose the pattern (Vogue 7681), and we made a shopping trip to pick up some basics that I’d need to construct the dress. When I noticed how similar the pattern B chose was to her mother’s wedding gown, a few ideas started percolating.
This week, I’ve been a busy bee with pattern testing and I’m really excited to share my first with you!
This was my first test for Sofilantjes, and I want to take a moment to say how easy Anne was to test for. This pattern was well designed and well written, and she was very responsive to any input, problems, or questions we had as testers.
But now on to the good stuff!
The Litore Tunic and Dress is a classic looking sundress from the front, with a really fun criss cross strap detail in the back. It is available as a tunic, dress, or maxi with three different hem types; a-line, high/low circle, and handkerchief. The circle and handkerchief options also include pockets, which are so necessary for little girls and their treasures. All three skirts are interchangeable with the Solis Tunic and Dress, too, providing endless summer options! The pattern contains sizes 12 months through 14 years (undeveloped, although alterations aren’t too hard if your girl is within the size ranges), is written in English and Dutch, includes instructions with both pictures and graphics (the pattern is so easy to follow), and trimless pattern pieces in A4 and letter size. It’s on sale for two days only for 5.50 Euros (the exchange rate shows it at $6.12 USD, but that will be subject to change).
Good morning, sewing friends!
What are you working on in your corner of the world? My sewing time has been rather limited lately but I carved out some precious summer time to test the new Jane Dress and Romper pattern from Simple Life Pattern Co. Jane is one of the newest SLPco releases so make sure you check it out!
Gemia is the newest designer at Simple Life Pattern Co. and I am so impressed with her design, her drafting, and her response to tester feedback on this pattern. Whenever I test the first time for a designer I hold my breath a little until the final fitting. I tend to stick to a few favorite designers since I know how their patterns fit my kids, and Gemia has made that short list with just one pattern!
I love trying new things, don’t you? Today I am going to share a new-to-me pattern company, Blaverry. Christie Archer has excellent designs that appeal particularly to the fashion needs of tweens and their moms who want to sew for them. I recommend getting to know more about Christie, the force behind Blaverry, here.
The Ollie top and Nina skirt are Blaverry patterns that have been reformatted and updated. The patterns come in a wide size range (2T-16y) which is nice since my older daughters are approaching sizing out some of my other go-to companies that end at 10 or 12. The patterns feature layers which make it very easy for me to print only the sizes I need to save me precious ink, and keep me from going cross-eyed while blending. Blaverry patterns also feature some neat little upgrades such as a cute printable measurement chart to keep track of my growing girls, and detailed instructions for blending. As with many PDF pattern designers, excellent customer service support is available via e-mail and in the Blaverry Facebook Group.
I have been trying in vain to take a short break from testing so we can enjoy the glorious June weather that is to be had in the Upper Midwest. However, when I saw the Felicity from PAB I had to put a stop to those plans because I knew it would be perfect for my baby’s 2nd birthday outfit! And the only way to get my hands on a copy of it in time would be to test it!
The Felicity Dress is a sleeveless, button (or snap) front collared dress featuring woven fabrics. It can be made with a fully-covered back, or with the cute shirred, halter collar option. I did not test the shirred back version so my thoughts and review are based entirely on the full back version.
Thanks for stopping by Sew and Tell Project today for our first ever blog tour post! We are proudly participating in the Make Laundry, Don’t Do Laundry Tour featuring fabric generously provided for us by The Fabric Fairy and their Fairy Care services.
The Fabric Fairy carries an extensive line of Riley Blake knits as well as other trendy knits, organic fabrics, and performance knits and notions. I selected to use two colorways from some of her newest Riley Blake arrivals : The Desert Bloom Collection. I chose the blue floral for my main print, and the blue stripe for the coordinate. As in my previous Fabric Fairy experiences, shipping was prompt and well-packaged with a friendly customer service experience. Thank you, Meg!
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!