Tawsha Dress (New Horizons)

So many amazing patterns have been coming out lately that I want to tackle….then I remember that I’m not quite the right shape for most patterns…luckily, Charlotte can still wear them 😉

Terra from New Horizons just released the Tawsha Dress and from the first preview photo I knew I NEEDED it. It’s like all of my Pinterest dreams in one. There’s two main views, split or solid back, and ruffle bottom, solid band bottom, or no contrast….and then the shoulder accent. Ah, the shoulders. Love it.

 

Of course, I made two. First up, the split back with ruffle bottom. The buttons down the back are from my grandmother’s collection (all collected off of clothing from who knows how long ago…she’s 97 now) and the fabric is So Sew English. That plaid double brushed poly is an absolute favorite of mine.

Next, I did a solid back version with solid band and shoulder accents. I used a panel and coordinates from Rachel’s own collection at Jumping June Textiles. It reminds me of Charlotte somehow….can’t quite pinpoint why….

The faux leather on the shoulder and bottom band is from a shop in the Paris textile district. It was both overwhelmingly terrifying and amazing to shop there.

The pattern also comes in adult sizes but alas, I’m not quite ready for it yet. Plus, it’s on sale for another day over at New Horizons (you can purchase girls, womens, or bundle of both).

Husbands Love Homemade, Too

It’s no secret, I make a lot of things for the kids and myself…and not so much for the husband. But occasionally I do break down and think of him. Christmas present time!

He is always cold here in Ireland and needed some new cozy sweaters, so I let him search through the cuddly french terry I had and pick his favorite so I could make him an Elevation Hoodie from New Horizons. I showed him the pattern I was making, too, and he said, “Great! Now just do one less stripe maybe…and instead of a hood, like a sweater collar?” Like that’s just no problem, right? Sigh. I set to work figuring out how to modify it since he really wanted it to wear in his cold office at work….and hoodie for work just didn’t fit.

Taking a colorblocked section away is easy, just overlap the pattern pieces by the seam allowance when you go to cut them out. The collar, however, took me far more time.

I have a shawl collar pattern for kids from the Bimaa Sweater and I used that for inspiration. Obviously it wouldn’t work as is on a men’s XL hoodie, but the basic shape and idea was a good launching point. I also went ahead and cut the collar into a V to match the V on the colorblocked portion.

After a few attempts, I got the shape I was looking for and sewed it together. He loves it, especially how soft the french terry is (the charcoal is a rayon blend from LA Finch that I am now officially out of and already miss….navy was from a destash group). He’s a huge fan of the kangaroo pocket as well…and has already worn it to work and made everyone jealous.

Happy Christmas Sewing!