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.
Hey guys!
It’s my turn on the Poolside Blog Tour today! Thank you Deb from Sprouting Jube Jube and Ula from lulu & celeste for letting me participate in an amazing tour. Did you visit my sewing bestie, Alisha, yet?
For my post I decided to feature the 5 out of 4 Patterns Journey Tank and 5 out of 4 Riptide Reversible Shorties. If you are wondering if you’ve seen me in this suit before, you definitely have! I tested the Journey a couple of months ago and shared it here!
Independence.
noun 1. Also, independency. the state or quality of being independent. 2. freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others. 3. Archaic. a competency.I’m so excited to be linking up with so many talented bloggers this week during the Sew Americana Blog Tour hosted by Wild and Wanderful! I love celebrating Independence Day with our family. We celebrate it small-town America style with parades, candy, and lots and lots of explosives. You will also see that Alisha and I share very similar tastes as we both used the same panel for our days on the tour. Make sure you check out Alisha’s darling boys from earlier in the week here. The 4th of July panels, cotton lycra solids, and firework print were all ordered from Peek-a-Boo Fabric Shop. My look was created with Riley Blake white and navy stripes purchased from the Fabric Fairy.
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).
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!
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.