A blog of Sewing Sweetness. Pattern Reviews, Tutorials, and More.
I’m so excited to get to share my review of Winter Wear Designs Magnolia Fit and Flare Dress and Top. I was drawn to this pattern for two main reasons. First, it is LOADED with options. This pattern doesn’t just include top and dress options, …
Ah!!! I’m so excited about this little dolly creation! My very good bloggy buddy Becca of Sunflower Seams released her very first patterns with Simple Life Pattern Company this week! She designed patterns for several of the most popular girls dress designs so that we …
Do you remember my One Thimble Tour post about the Orbis Skinny Harems? Well the Orbis Harem pattern has now been release back to the designer and there is a little celebration to kick them off for a second time. I do love this pattern. It’s a fairly quick sew and my girls think they are super comfy. It’s a co-ed pattern, so if you sew for boys and girls this pattern will go far for you. We’ve had a hard go with weather being super cold this week, so please hang with us and don’t miss out on the great features of this pattern.
For this post I wanted to try a few things with my Orbis. The first thing that I did was to stitch my pocket on making the loopers from my coverstitch visible. This is such a fun look, and to be honest with you, it is a lot easier to sew the pocket on in this fashion. I love the character that this gives the pants.
The second thing I did was to change up the waistband. The waistband is a knit band with elastic casing. I thought I would switch things up a bit and eliminate the elastic and make a yoga waistband instead. My girls like a yoga band and I do too, so it was a good choice for us. To make the yoga waistband I simply doubled the height of the waistband piece and removed and inch from the width. It worked out great.
This pair is a perfect layer for heading to and from ballet class. I definitely need to put together something for a matching top. We loved this knit I snagged from JoAnn’s with the metallic stars. I sure hope it washes up well after a few rounds with the Gobin girls. They really do wear things down quickly these days.
Here is the Orbis Scoop
Unisex Skinny Harem
Size 1-14
3/4 or full length
Optional Pocket
Faux Fly
Home Printing and A0 File, Layered Printing
Dont miss out on all the other stops along the tour! There are some really great makes for you to see!
Monday – Sew A Piece of Joy, Droomstoffen
Tuesday – Colorita Design, Pattern Revolution, Adventures With Bubba and Bug
Wednesday – MoonStar – WonderMirakel (for the Sofilantjes blog), Ronda B. Handmade, Sew Cucio
Thursday – Annas HeirloomBoutique, TurtleBirdies, Inspinration
Friday – Tales of a Tester, Kreatita, Pear Berry Lane
And lastly, she thought this angle was important. Take it as you will. It’s a great hiney shot. 🙂
I’m finally back in the game doing some pattern testing for Striped Swallow Designs. This is one of my very favorite designers to work with (and now its two designers) working with the brand. You can see one of my other favorite SSD makes here. …
Recently I was approached by a local sewing shop about teaching some sewing classes on the things that I love to sew, children’s apparel. If you are interested in joining, register here. I thought it sounded like a fabulously fun project, so I got right …
I do have a little something to share. I got a new sewing machine! Woot Woot. Thanks to my husband for supporting my VERY expensive hobby. Bless his heart, as soon as I get a new machine, I put another on my wish list. I should be good to go for a while with the set up I have right now. That should help take the pressure off the man of the house… at least until my birthday in October.
Here is a close up of my new toy. I don’t have a fabulous set up, so you are going to have to be okay with this angle. You can read more about this machine here. Maybe my next wish list item should be a table area. I’m still working at a folding table with metal folding chair. But, one step at a time I suppose. I gotta pay my dues. Who knows, maybe a sewing machine table company will contact me to feature their furniture. How awesome would that be?!
So, what was my first project with my new baby? I knocked out a project on my unfinished project pile because getting a new machine meant reorganizing my space. I found all kinds of things that needed to be finished. Shhh, don’t tell. I’ve had this Bella cut since it arrived this summer and things just kept being pushed ahead of it. In truth, I actually had three cut out, so I still have two to go. This pattern is seriously fast, so I’m not sure how I haven’t squeezed them in. Life I suppose is the answer to that… and sleep… the need for sleep.
I shared a few snapshots of this make on Instagram (Follow me!) and in the SLPco group. I got lots of positive response, which makes me even more sad that I took so long to finish it. We also grabbed a few photos today outside in the 40 degree weather. I want you to know that Porter asked if she could put on this dress and go out and take some pictures. I said okay because a blogger mom should never turn down a model offering to work for free. I did try to get her to put on a nice sweater, but that was not going to happen. So please enjoy my very freezing cold, just delightfully happy daughter in her lovely pink dress.
I just love this sequin lace I added here. It was a simple addition but definitely goes great with the Sarah Jane Magic Parade from Michael Miller. I love so many things about Sarah Jane designs. They are youthful and magical all at the same time. You can’t go wrong with that when thinking about little girls.
And just for fun, here are a few of the shots where she is admitting she is slightly cold. But really, she did a great job for a self-volunteering, middle of the driveway shoot.
Alrighty!! One down and eight more to go on my #2017makenine adventure. For more detail on that, read my post here. Nine projects seems like a lot, but when you just decide to sit down and tackle one you may get the impression that it …
This week I decided I was going to be joining in on some maker fun with the fabulous people participating in #2017makenine. Basically, you select nine projects that you want to complete for 2017. You can find more information about the leader of this fun …
It is finally my day to share a creation on the Itch to Stitch Holiday Blog Tour! I was excited to get the invite to join in. Itch to Stitch (and awesome helpers) along with Stylemaker Fabrics have helped to put together a great tour. This post does contain affliate links, but as always my opinions are my own.
So far we have seen an array of different looks on the tour. Some are classy and elegant while others are comfortable yet stylish. I stitched up the Idyllwild Top and Dress which I love. You can see a short sleeved version I did here on the Itch to Stitch Blog. Idyllwild is a t-shirt pattern that includes so many fun extras. There are 2 necklines, 7 sleeve options, and 3 length options. That is a total of 42 different combinations. I’m a math teacher, so I can confirm that 42 is a correct number and Kennis did a good job on her math when she wrote the listing. 🙂 I used some fabulous French Terry supplied by StyleMakers Fabric. I love how warm and cozy this dress was in French Terry. It has a 4 way stretch too! You can find the fabric HERE. I really hadn’t gotten into the French Terry craze that has hit all the sewing groups I belong to. I had bought some, but used it for items for my kids so I hadn’t really figured out what the craze is all about. I get it now.
The only adjustment I did to this dress was to shorten the length. I did this using the shorten and lengthen lines provided within the pattern. I don’t know about you but I’m short, so basically all my dresses have to be adjusted for a flattering length. Due to the heavier nature of this fabric I probably could have shortened a tad more, but since it cool here in Indiana I kept it as is.
I’ve been wanting a tee-shirt dress for a while. I’ve been talking about it with teacher friends about how comfy they would be for our long days at school, so this was easy to pick for the tour. I added a scarf for styling for a touch of holiday spirit. You may also see a belt in a few photos. I’ve recently discovered that belting your scarf give a fun look that is slightly out of the norm of what we usually see with scarves. Belting it makes me feel like there is a part of me that is fashion forward.
When I chose this neckline for this dress I opted for the larger neckline. I’ve made both necklines with this pattern now and think they are great. Sometimes I like a higher neckline for comfort and easy of dealing with children without fear of flashing my goods. I think the larger neckline works pretty well for this too. It is still modest, but does allow for you to wear pop on a necklace and look great.
I’ve sewn up several Itch to Stitch patterns and I must say they are top notch. I love the clear concise illustrations and how there are detailed measurement charts to help you select exactly what size you need for your perfect fit. Some patterns even include cup size options so you don’t have to do bust adjustments. That is huge!
Well that raps up my feature for the Itch to Stitch Holiday Tour. I hope you liked my make and take the time to look over all the patterns offered at Itch to Stitch. There is a special discount code during the tour. Use code holiday16 for 16% off your entire cart. StyleMakers fabric is offering a great deal too! $5 shipping on all fabric from Style Makers, no code needed. There’s a discount for international shipping as well!
Don’t forget to pop in on the other posts! There are so many lovely creations featuring StyleMakers Fabrics and Itch to Stitch Patterns.
I’m posting over at Simple Life Pattern Co today!! Don’t miss my holiday Helena’s dress and all its cuteness! There is a giveaway too over in the facebook group! Check out my post and enter the giveaway! Do you love this fabric? Find …