A blog of Sewing Sweetness. Pattern Reviews, Tutorials, and More.
I have some super exciting news! Next week I am hosting my very first blog tour with the help of the lovely Karly Nelson of Paisley Roots and Jeanine Thomlinson of The Crafting Fiend. This tour is about acknowledging how we would all prefer to …
One Thimble Issue 11 (*Affiliate Link) is out and I’m joining Pattern Revolution along with some awesome sewists to feature some of the goodies in this issue! Check out all the patterns included in this issue below! These patterns, along with with some nice and juicy articles …
Yay!! Spring break is here for me, and almost gone now. I’m so excited to be joining in on this HUGE blog tour. Bloggers and designers from all over the globe are joining in on this spring break pajama party. My kids and I plan to stay in our pj’s everyday of break as long as possible. This means everyone is going to need some new ones because I believe in making laundry, not washing it. Can I get an Amen?! Be sure to make it all the way to the bottom of this post, there are all kinds of giveaways for this tour! Don’t miss out.
This pajama party was about using sewing patterns from my digital stash rather than buying anything new. I do love the Alex and Anna pj’s from Peekaboo Pattern Shop, however I thought it would be more appropriate to use a patterns that I have never sewn up. I decided to go with Create Kids Couture Tansy’s Knit Pajamas because it has a lot of options and is a pajama pattern. This pattern includes bottoms at any length, shirts with multiple sleeve lengths, and gown options for both short and long versions. Basically, you could sew up all your pajamas year around with this pattern. I was slightly sad that there were no printing directions to help reduce the number of pages print, but I made it work. I do like that the sleeves all have cuff options. I’m all about using cuffs whenever possible! It saves time and always looks nicer on my projects. I NEED a cover stitch machine! I did size up on all the pajamas I made with this pattern so that my girls could wear them longer. If I make some more from this pattern, I will probably not do that. The fit was looser than I expected and I think they would have done fine without the sizing up.
Each of the twins selected their own style. As expected, one requested a gown while the other wanted pants and a shirt. I ordered fabric from Raspberry Creek Fabrics to use for these new pj’s, but I somehow forgot to submit the order and by time I discovered my error it was too late for it to arrive in time. I still plan on using my new fabric for pajamas, it will just be a bit before I get those all sewn up. I’ll have to share those in a new post. I did use some of the navy and white polka dots Club fabric I had on hand to give Raspberry Creek a little shout out.
For our spring break party we ate popcorn for dinner, watched a movie, and played on big sister’s bed while she was away on a sleep over. I think they enjoyed the fun. This is basically what happens when I try to take photos with both of the little girls together. Mix the twins in a photo that is inside and there is basically no hope for me to get a photo that is of semi-quality. I’m working on that.
We did have some good fun with our party. I wish we had another week off, I know I could use the sewing time. A week is just never enough.
What are some pajama patterns you haven’t seen on the #PJPartyTour that you love? I know I want to try out some more patterns and my fabric should be here any day now. Now, but sure to check out all the greatness from the tour sponsors below!
There are 24 shops sponsoring prizes for this tour!
//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js
Along with today’s daily giveaway (see below!) there is also larger giveaway and a link up happening. Go to today’s post over at Made By Jaime to get the full details on how to link up and to enter the giveaway!
We are also lucky to have four fabric shops offering readers discount codes:
Mabel Madison is offering 20% off with the code JAMMIES. Code expires March 31st!
PhatQuarters is offering 10% off OR FREE shipping to US addresses on orders over 40$ US (with an equivalent discount for international shoppers). Use the code PHAT10 for 10% off OR FREE40 for free shipping to US.
Raspberry Creek Fabrics is offering 15% off with the code PJPARTYTOUR. Good through March 26th!
Tangled Blossoms Designs is offering 10% off with the code PJPARTY. Code expires March 25th!
Today’s prize is sponsored by Paisley Roots. You could win both patterns: the All Spice dress and the Saffron Twirl dress! Visit Paisley Roots to see what they have to offer. The giveaway ends March 25th at 11:59pm EST. See the Rafflecopter on how to enter! You have up to 7 chances to win! The winner will be chosen March 26th and will have 48 hours to respond to the email before a new winner is chosen.
Monday, March 21st
Sew Far North | The Wholesome Mama | From-a-Box | Pattern Revolution | Inspinration | Paisley Roots
Tuesday, March 22nd
Sprouting JubeJube | 5 Out Of 4 | Sew Happily Ever After | Beri Bee Designs | Phat Quarters | Connected by A Thread
Wednesday, March 23rd
Create 3.5 | Handmade Boy | HattieLu Handmade | Made by Melli | The Crafting Fiend | Sweeter Than Cupcakes
Thursday, March 24th
Lulu & Celeste | Sew Starly | Phat Quarters | Pear Berry Lane | Rebel & Malice | Creative Counselor
Friday, March 25th
Made By Jaime | Mae & K | Mabel Madison | SewSophieLynn | Amazing Adventures of Bubba & Bug | MahlicaDesigns
Today I’m helping celebrate the first birthday of Bella Sunshine Designs. And since I would rather be sewing than baking, I sewed up a fun version, or two, of the Adaline Dress (You can get it for $5.97 during the birthday sale). Be sure to …
Welcome to the beginning of the Love Notions: For the love of Dresses and Tunics Tour. On this tour we are going to be sharing our Valentine plans and what Love Notion Pattern went perfectly with our plans. Enjoy checking out the projects! What is …
It is Christmas time all around. You can see it in stores, up and down the streets, and on the Hallmark channel. (That is my favorite Christmas past time.) In the sewing world that means pattern sales, fabric deals, and Christmas sewing! Sewists are making gifts for others, stitching up goodies for their work at home business, making fancy attire for Christmas Sunday, or testing out new patterns that will be the last to release for designers for the 2015 year. I saw the Merry Modkid Blog Tour as a great way to set aside all the busy “must do” sewing of Christmas and just do a little something simple.
I was able to select the Modkid Melanie dress to stitch up for this tour. The Melanie dress was my first choice for a fun sew because I wanted to put something together that would be everyday wear for Peyton, yet still have a bit of a Christmas feel.
From the time I selected this pattern, I knew I wanted to push the limits a bit with this pattern and incorporate some plaid flannel into my Melanie. The design of the pattern seems to be a great match for trying to mix some woven fabrics. If you don’t know it, plaid is IN STYLE this year. However, I had a hard time really finding the plaid I envisioned in my mind. Even with JoAnn Fabric’s flannel sale, I couldn’t find my perfect Merry match. I settled for a green plaid flannel that still has a holiday vibe. The knit is a gray cotton lycra blend, which I’m almost embarrassed to admit I bought at my local Walmart. But….it is so buttery soft. Honestly, I can’t believe I just said that about knit from Wal-mart, but it’s true. I am not a Wal-mart affliate. 🙂
Modkid Melanie Dress
I modified by using flannel front and omitting side pockets. In truth, I selected this dress because I loved the pockets. The problem is that I cut my flannel front and realized that there would be no possible way for me to successfully match up the plaid. I’m not as OCD as my husband, but I just can’t have plaids that don’t match. (As an aside, when I stitch this up for the littles, I’m going to cut the flannel on the bias. I think the pattern will be more pleasing to the eye.) I also added a neck binding rather than folding down and hemming. Both options are included in the pattern. I cut the neck band 80% of the neck hole length as recommended as a second option in the pattern. However, I attached it using a different method than suggested because bound neck holes and me only get along 50% of the time and I didn’t have enough time to scrap this project if I lost the battle with my binding. Peyton didn’t have trouble getting this on over her head, but I would not recommend trying to make both the front and the back pieces from a woven. The neck hole would be a major issue if you didn’t have some stretch. Next time I may size down and make her a size four. Peyton is such a skinny-minnie and I never know how things are going to play out. I really should look at measurement charts more often, but I would rather sew than read numbers.
I love how this dress turned out for a quick, easy, comfy-cozy product. It is festive, yet wearable. We have a fancy dress for Christmas Sunday, but this is prefect for gathering with friends and having some playtime too. What do you think? Too casual or just right?
I also stitched this one up quickly in about an hour. I included the pockets and hemmed the neckline per pattern directions, without a binding. It is an ivory and white double sided knit from JoAnns. I know the reviews are mixed on how this fabric holds up, but the it is too Christmas not to give it a try. By the way, I had a life changing knit experience with these two dresses! Are you using wooly nylon in your bobbin with your twin needle? Total game changer. Use a coupon and get a spool if you are a cheapie like me. It is totally worth it even without a coupon. You can feel the difference in the stretch immediately. No popped seems here!
This is the end for me. The Merry Modkid Tour is wrapping up with just one more day to go. Be sure to check out all the other creations from the tour! There is a Rafflecopter give away, so be sure to scroll to the very bottom to enter! Hop over to another post and check out the rest of the tour. Then, go scope out the patterns you might need to try. The code below expires soon!
Discount Code: The coupon code MERRYMODKID25 gets 25% off an entire order on the Modkid Etsy store, valid Monday 11/30 through Friday 12/04 at midnight EST. Link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/modkid
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Yay! This is my first official blog tour! Thanks to Momma Quail Patterns to letting me join in on the fun. Let’s get to it. For the tour we were given the opportunity to select a Momma Quail Pattern and …