The Sew and Tell Project

Eleri here today! I’m sharing my entry for the Sew Yourself Some Love 2016 link-up at Pattern Revolution.

Guess what? This is the first time I’m participating in a link-up! I still have so much to learn about blogging, but I am really enjoying sharing my creations with all of you and appreciate all the support and feedback!

I don’t sew a lot for myself… I mean with four growing kids, I can fill every minute at my sewing machine making stuff just for them. At 5’10”, I am tall, but it is also not impossible to find store bought clothes that fit me well…. or well-enough.

But as I’ve worked on taking better care of myself, I’ve found joy in making  my own clothing that fits just the way I want it, too.

To have a nice theme to this post…. and because my other shirts are in the laundry, I’m going to dedicate my Sew Yourself Some Love 2016 post to three me-made raglans in my wardrobe!

The first raglan I want to share is the Ranier Raglan and Hyde Park Hoodie mash-up I made last fall (Sh! 2015!). It took me a couple tries to get exactly the look I was going for, but this is one of my favorite pieces so I hope you don’t mind me sharing it with you today.

I made it out of the jade french terry from the PAB Fabric Shop. My measurements were spot on for the Large sizing in my bust and waist so I pieced with a slightly smaller seam allowance to accommodate for the thickness and lower stretch of the French terry.

I used the XXL Hood Piece of the Hyde Park Hoodie and extended the tails to make a crossover hood. It was cold, and I forgot to ask The Man to take pictures of the hood which I lined with stretch lace. It is also a little snug vertically since the neckline of the Hyde Park Hoodie is higher, so if I make it again I will add another inch of height to the hood. I also added a bottom band to make it look more like a sweatshirt.

The Show and Tell team and I have been lucky enough to kick off 2016 with testing several new releases. In between tests, I decided to really spoil myself. Last week, I decided to sew two raglans for myself using some of my favorite fabric in my stash.

::Raise your hand if you remember the release of the Riley Blake Idle Wild Collection!::

I was able to score 2 yards of the pink floral and 2 yards of the multi-color floral. I had initially planned to spoil my little girls with the beautiful Idle Wild florals and was saving them for summer outfits.

But I decided that I deserved some fabric love and made myself a Patterns for Pirates Slim Fit Raglan using the pink floral colorway and the dark coral cotton lycra from the PAB Shop.

I loved the fit of my Ranier Raglans that I made last fall, and I had also seen the original P4P Women’s Raglan and add-on pack. I loved the concept, but I did not care for the loose-fit of the original raglan for my body. I have a few kids, and I always feel looser fit shirts invite “Time for another one…?” comments. On the flip side, shirts that are too tight around my midsection also make it look like another one is already in the works… but I digress.

As soon as I saw the tester album of the P4P Slim Fit Raglan, I knew I had to give it a try even though I already had a tried and true raglan in my stash.

I am glad that I decided to give a new raglan a try! It has the perfect fit and several options to mix things up for me. I made the Large 3/4 length sleeves option with the tunic length. I did not add any additional length to the tunic. The result was fitted and body skimming where I wanted it, and forgiving where my body is still blooming from four beautiful children. I particularly like how the pattern is drafted between the arms and bust line.

Since I was so happy with the fit of this, I decided to use my beloved fantasy floral and “Have Courage and Be Kind” panel from the PAB Shop. I have never used an adult size panel before. The panel was not tall enough for me to do another tunic, so I added a little bit of length to the banded cut line on the P4P Slim Fit Raglan, and then added a band to get the length I wanted.

This has been my favorite fabric and it is still a limited quantity in stock if you want to get your hands on it here.   I have four more outfits to share with you (hopefully next week) that I made from this fabric and panels for the pint-size ladies in my life.

But sometimes, Mama just needs a raglan, so here’s to sewing more for us!

Now Sew Yourself Some Love!