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!

 

Pippa Pants (Rebecca Page Patterns)

I’m getting to that lovely stage of pregnancy where clothes stop fitting and I get the belly underdraft…so when Rebecca Page came out with the drawstring ruched Pippa Yoga Pants….I needed a comfy french terry pair.

I started with Charlotte’s, so I could test it out and get through mine faster. Hers are 3/4 length from some viscose jersey. I did a 3/4 width and size 6 length. For pants length, I would have needed to add a few inches to the pants line on the pattern. Apparently, she’s growing….these will be great as beachwear and swim coverup for our cruise and Florida vacations. Ah, warm weather. In small spurts.

For my own, I used LA Finch black french terry with a waistband in double brushed poly (it’s an in house print from So Sew English). They are so comfortable. I measured my inseam against the pattern and thought I was fine, but my thighs ate some length I think…I’ll add an inch or two to the next pair. And since they take 20 minutes to make, of course there’s a next pair.

The pattern also has a non-drawstring waist, but I like the added height and cinchability for pregnancy. These are just the regular version, I didn’t do any mods to make them maternity…so they should be great postpartum as well 🙂

Grab the ladies pattern here, or girl’s here….there’s a doll’s version also but don’t tell my daughter… bundle of all 3 patterns is here.

 

Affiliate Links help fund more fabric and patterns but opinions are always mine.

Summit Peak Hoodie

New Horizons never lets me down with their fun patterns, so the Summit Peak Hoodie had to happen. My oldest has been requesting a hoodie that covers his face and cinches in for over a year, but I didn’t have a pattern in mind…I had an image of Kenny from Southpark in mind, but no pattern…luckily Terra made EXACTLY what he asked for.  And it wasn’t as comical as I pictured. Of course, had to make a second for his sister also.

The pockets are in seam and the princess seams on the front make it fun for colorblocking also. It looks so sporty with those side panels. Plus raglan sleeves are always awesome for kids…way easier than set in ones to sew. Hers is scuba from So Sew English with LA Finch French terry for side panels, pockets, and inside the hood. I might be including much more mint/aqua in her capsule, apparently.

His has some amazing Majapuu French Terry from Jumping June Textiles, accented with yoga brushed poly scraps from Knitpop. I used tubular binding for both as I find it holds up best for knit cuffs.

I also really love the finishing on the hood so that there’s no seam visible. Yeah, I had to use a million pins…but worth it.

Pattern is available here and is on sale for a bit…I can’t wait until there’s an adult version 🙂

 

This post contains affiliate links but opinions are always mine.

Blythe Top (Sew a Little Seam)

I fell in love with the Blythe top from Sew a Little Seam from the first sneak peek and I knew I needed to make one (or a few….) for Charlotte.  So, first was a drop waist, tunic length, long sleeve, with faux layer option, and keyhole back with ribbon tie (can you tell the pattern has a TON of options?!?).

I used cotton lycra from Quilt Yarn Stitch with striped cotton lycra binding from Dress Fabrics, with ruffle out of lightweight viscose from Generaldiff (in Paris!). LOVE how it turned out…so sweet and girly!!

So of course I tackled another immediately, using striped french terry and chambray binding and ruffle (both from Dress Fabrics). This is the top length, also with keyhole back…but I did button closure and TRIED to do the shirt band…but attached it backwards…so let’s pretend that was a design element, shall we? I did the rolled 3/4 sleeve and love how preppy this top is. It’s tempting me to make her some white skinny jeans…

Oh, and right now there’s a discount code in the Sew a Little Seam Facebook group to get the pattern for $4.90!

I did whip up some skinny jeans out of black ponte from LA Finch to continue growing her capsule as well, they were much needed and shop options were all too wide or too short…I used the Peekaboo pattern shop Skinny Jeans with elastic for the waist.

She has quite the little handmade wardrobe so far!

 

Sewing for the Boy – P51

Yeah, I’ll admit it. I love sewing for my little girl. It’s easy, she enjoys it, and she absolutely loves that I custom make her clothes. She treats them like treasures. Her older brother?Destroys every piece of clothing. I still consider putting him in bibs to eat. I worry if he’s color blind when he gets dressed in the morning. When planning her capsule wardrobe, I started to plan his….then realized that would be ridiculous because I would cry when he destroyed it all.

I bought him clothes at Penney’s*  for as cheaply as possible, making sure it was all the darkest colors I could get.

But occasionally, he does want something just for him. I let him search through patterns and he asked, maybe begged, for a P51 Flyer Jacket from New Horizons. I tried to talk him into something simpler but he thought it looked really hip and cozy. I gave in, let him search my fabric, and got to work.

I went with a coated denim for the main fabric because it’s waterproof, and I thought it would be easier than pleather for my first try at the pattern. To line it, I used super soft acrylic plaid from Joanns.  It feels like really silky flannel.

My only complaint? He looks a little too grown up strutting around in it. Like way too old. When did he grow up?!? It does a great job keeping him warm though and also survived the rain test a few times so far.

I love all the little details on it. It’s not a beginner pattern for sure, but well worth the effort put in to make a quality one-of-a-kind piece. He wore it around Paris, during Paris Fashion Week. I think he felt pretty fancy.

AND it’s still in one piece and not stained. Bonus.

*Penney’s is a discount chain here….I think it’s called Primark in the UK? Not to be confused with JC Penney’s…

 

Any affiliate links are to help fund further fabric and patterns so that I can keep on creating, but all opinions are always my own.

Capsule Progress for the Girl

I added a few more pieces to Charlotte’s Red/Black/Gold capsule and even if they aren’t her favorites, they are mine…so she can get over it 😉

The top is an Avenue top from Sew Straight and Gather. It is the top pattern I have that absolutely fits her perfectly (and such a well drafted pattern). I left off the other 2 back bands because she already has a couple other shirts with the same pattern and I didn’t want it to become her uniform. I added vinyl to it, her choice of design. It doesn’t stand out drastically but I think I’m okay with that. I really need to do more HTV on shirts.

The skirt is an Arabella skirt from Rebecca Page. I added a tulle overlay to convince her to love it, despite how much I hate gathering, especially gathering tulle. I cut it to the width of the tulle so it was a little wider than the skirt pieces and would poof more, and cut it to same length as skirt unhemmed so that it would be slightly longer. Aside from all the cursing I did while gathering and pinning it was a quick sew.

The leggings. Oh the leggings. She won’t wear them. I bribed her to put them on for pics, and love them, but she hates them and told me there’s nothing I can do to change her mind. I used stretch lace at the bottom instead of a hem, but that didn’t help either. The top band is some scrap cotton lycra for comfort (the outside of the gold is a little scratchy and I didn’t want it against her skin, the inside is not at all but she doesn’t agree. Despite one of her favorite dresses ever being made from the same exact stuff, and it was scratchy side against her skin…diva…)

I still have a couple more pieces to make her, but she is being resistant so we will have to reach some compromises first. Not resistant to wearing homemade, but very particular about styling choices. I might need to stop letting her watch Project Runway with me….

 

This post contains affiliate links to help fund more fabric, but opinions are always my own.

Finishing up my Maternity Capsule….for now

I used a capsule planner from Harper&Lu to decide how many pieces to make…and decided to stick with it and finish it out! So I already had the 9 new pieces from my P4P/M4M contest entry, plus the 3 more pieces I added afterwards (Mama Isabel, Brassie Joggers, and a Sweet Tee with drawstrings), but according to the plan I still needed to make one flowy woven Emma top from Rebecca Page, one pair of white skinny jeans because I’m horribly impractical sometimes, and a cute cactus print tee from some LA Finch fabric…might as well finish, right?

I have to say, the cactus tee is my favorite shirt ever right now. I used the Favorite Tee pattern (appropriately) from Patterns for Pirates and lengthened it (front and back) by about 8″, then added dark olive drawstrings to cinch it up. It is so comfortable, and I love how the drawstring ruching turned out. Second time around it was so much easier than the first and I was able to fix things I wish I had done on the test version.

The skinny jeans are from some LA Finch jegging fabric and have a maternity over belly band (I used SOS pants and the peg leg maternity add on again). I upcycled a nude undershirt for the band. I do wish I had sized up a tiny bit, and will probably add a charcoal faux leather tuxedo stripe to make them a little less snug…they work and I wore them for date night…but would be more practical with some more give. What do you think?

 

The Emma top is out of some lightweight drapey woven from LA Finch. I fell in love with the colors because it seems to include all the colors in my current capsule, as well as my spring capsule (blush and olive, fyi) so I’m hopeful it will pair with every accessory I own. BONUS, this top is being released in paper format (as opposed to PDF) soon! Awesome to save on printing 🙂

 

So a full maternity wardrobe, done before I hit pregnancy halfway point. Not so shabby! Notice anything I might be missing?

 

This post contains some affiliate links to help fund my sewing obsession….all opinions are always my own.

Movie Night Pajamas!

Sew a Little Seam has had the cutest kids pajamas available for awhile now (FREE with code in their facebook group) and it has now expanded to include women’s sizes as well as some new fun details. I had to make some for us all!!

I used some Girl Charlee buffalo plaid jersey. It’s a little thin and scratchy but I like that it is lightweight for pajamas and it will soften up I’m sure. For my own, I did a maternity mod on the top to help them fit through winter. I just lengthened the front bodice by 8″ by marking my pattern at a point right below the bust (ignore those boxes on the right, that was my lame attempt at pattern matching), sliding the pattern down, then continue to cut. I didn’t grade out or add belly space for front but that’s an option if you need the space 🙂

Next, I cut 1/4″ elastic at 7″, tacked it down at the top pin, stretched it at around 80%, and tacked it at the end. I used a zigzag stitch and sewed it right on the edge, that way when I went to serge up the sides the elastic was completely contained in the stitching and doesn’t itch sensitive baby belly.

 I also chose the front placket scoop neck option to make them nursing friendly post baby. Mine have some metal snaps because the accent fabric I used (thick ribbing) was not cooperating with my automatic button hole. I absolutely love the fit of these. 

The pants are simply amazing; tight, but not too tight, and a yoga waist so belly friendly. I did not modify the pants at all.

For the littlest guy, I did the front placket and yoga waistband as well. Dex got short sleeve shirt without a placket (he never wears shirts to bed anyway….so I made it, but it may never be worn…) and yoga waist pants.

Then I ran out of fabric so Char had to get a nightgown instead of pants and a top. There’s no nightgown option for the pattern right now, but I just added some length starting at waist, grading out for hips, and adding a curved hem. I measured from her shoulder to where I wanted it to hit, added hem length, and cut the pattern to that length. 

I did the front placket for her also and gathered sleeves.

The placket fabric I used was pretty thick and my buttonholer didn’t appreciate that, so I used metal hammer in snaps for mine and plastic kam snaps on the kids. I did hammer the fabric before adding snaps to reduce the bulk and help the snaps be a bit more secure.

We of course watched a movie in them together right away 🙂 Now to figure out how to get more fabric and make Doug a pair, too….

Cerena Romper (Rebecca Page Patterns)

More sewing for little girl, to complete her red/black themed capsule (with white and some metallics mixed in)…a Cerena Romper! This was actually the fabric that kicked off the whole capsule, because she asked demanded that I make her something from this floral.

This pattern is absolutely gorgeous. It sewed up so quickly with no fit modifications!! It can also be made as just a top, and has the option to use woven or knit fabrics (there’s some great shaping darts in the pants, and the woven version has an invisible zip…plus all options have a super sweet back button up version). I went with double brushed poly knit.

Better yet–picky little girl loves it as well!! Win.

I went with the pants option (There’s a shorts cut line also, and knee length) and did elastic gathering at the ankles.

I, of course, had to make her doll, Aubrey a matching one (out of tiny scrap pieces that usually would get tossed–much better use!) and she loves that she matches.

Happy little girl!! grab this pattern while it’s on sale here.

It comes in women’s sizes too!!
**This post contains affiliate links but all opinions are always my own