A blog of Sewing Sweetness. Pattern Reviews, Tutorials, and More.
I was definitely pumped to get the invite to join in on the most recent pattern test for Little Lizard King! I feel like there are small goals I’ve set for myself in my sewing adventures and testing for these ladies is definitely one of …
Legging cuteness ahead! What is better than a great fitting pair of leggings for your girls?! It is a free pattern for a great fitting pair of leggings for your girls. Marisa at Laela Jeyne Patterns is releasing this pattern for free. Laela Jeyne’s first …
Last weekend Made for Mermaids announced they were hosting a #toptester contest where the winners of the contest would be guaranteed spots in up and coming tests of new patterns. I’ve been a great stalker of the Made for Mermaids group, but don’t post things in there too often. I thought this contest would be a great way to jump in on some fun and be a little more active. *This post does contain affiliate links. If you decide you need to purchase from a link in this post you will be helping to support my fabric hoarding without any extra cost to yourself.
For the contest I chose to stitch up the Molly Pattern as a Tunic. Testers get bonus points for pairing bottoms from the designer’s patterns, so I also made the Evie pleated shorts to pair with the tunic. My goal for this style was something vintage length with the bottoms just peeking out below the tunic. For the contest I proof read a pattern given to the contestants to check our editing skills, then I shared fit pictures to demonstrate how a pattern would be looked at for fit during the testing process, and finally shared finished photos of the piece. I enjoy testing for a number of reasons. Here is my quick list: I get to learn new skills, I get to meet other sewists, I am motivated to finish projects because there is a deadline, I get to escape the daily struggles I face at work.
Girls 6 Months- 14 Years and Baby Sizes 0- 24 Months
Girls 1/2 – 14 years
I sewed these up because I hadn’t made either before. I’ve been doing some testing lately and sewing up a fresh pattern definitely helps keep the tester mindset. The construction method on the straps for Molly was somewhat different than others I have used. I think this method helped to prevent some of the troubles that arise when turning straps that have the extra bulk of a flutter. Great idea on this one! I do love how the flutters on this top still help to conceal some back skin and keep us looking classy and not trashy. This is a motto we use in our house when applying lip gloss. I think it applies well here too. 🙂
The Evie shorts came together perfectly. The waistband matched up amazingly even with the pleats! I guess that means I can follow directions. When putting these shorts together I kept thinking I’ve got to try these without elastic in the legs on the shorts. I think the could look very cute. I’m sure I’ll be making these again, especially in the fall for a great pant outfit. Here is a sneak of the shorts since they are mostly covered by the tunic, I thought you may need to see them.
Be sure to check out all the #toptester entries at the Made for Mermaids Pattern Group. There are some amazing creations and great photography too! It’s amazing how some of these women have developed their skills in so many areas, they rock.
The Women’s Version of the Desert Breeze is ready to go! It includes some new fun features that weren’t available for the girl’s version, so you are going to want to find out more about all the new goodies included in this new Striped Swallow …
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 …
The best part about being a kid is getting to believe in all the great magical creatures of our bedtime stories and childhood movies. I’m so excited to be taking the time to credit these great legends by joining in on this blog tour.
I have three daughters, so there isn’t a better legend or creature to celebrate than mermaids for this tour. One can not simply take a bath in my house, rather they must pretend they are mermaids swimming in the ocean. The tub is cluttered with diverse collection of mer-toys. Dora, Barbie, and Ariel are just a few who congregate in the tub for a daily (or almost daily) swim.
I grew up on a lake and as a child. I used to have some of the strangest dreams about creatures that lived in the lake. I currently live on a lake now, and sometimes those weird dreams try to escape even now as an adult. I’m not sure where these come from, but I wish that just for once I could have a peaceful dream where a mermaid lived in our lake rather than something similar to the Loch Ness Monster.
To celebrate our love of mermaids, I stitched up a few outfits for the Littles.Believe it or not, finding perfect mermaid match in fabric was harder than I thought. I used Riley Blake Saltwater Mermaids that I picked up at a local fabric shop in St. Louis last weekend while on a day out with my husband. Poor guy, he barely survived 15 minutes in the little shop before he was asking when we were leaving. Bless his heart.
I sewed up a dress for my prissy diva using the Lil Luxe Collection Lil Luxe Dress. I used a single circle skirt and none of the fancy extras that make the fancy version oh-sew-lovely. If you want to see a fancy one, check out this post. It was such a quick sew for a simple dress. I hemmed the skirt with some single fold bias tape. Ahh! I’ve got to do that more often. Add hemming with bias tape to my “Tried Something New in 2016” list because it is a keeper for the toolbox.
My sporty girl got a top and shorts for her outfit. I used the Lil Luxe Dress again, but this time I used the tutorial from the blog to create a top with a gathered skirt that buttons, or in my case snaps, down the back. If you read my last post about how to line up snaps, you may notice that I will be using them more frequently now. Who wouldn’t really? The top needed some fun bottoms, and there may not be a faster pair of shorts than Tadah’s Flexi Shorts. I used some denim I had purchased from Persnickety (back before they were “reorganizing” their fabric until the end of time). That pattern is so versatile, check it out if you haven’t.
I hope you have enjoyed checking out my creation in honor of the most popular legend among females everywhere. There is nothing better than dreaming of being a mermaid. Heaven knows that if I could see one, or even be one for a day, I would jump all over that! I love the world of legends and hope to keep it alive in my home as my children grow.
Be sure to check out all the stops on the tour and participate in the giveaway too! Good luck. There is also a link up at the bottom for you to share something you’ve made in the last three months that is related to a legend. Be sure to link up to be entered into a drawing to win the latest OneThimble magazine and be considered for the CraftingCon Event.
3/14
The Wholesome Mama•Skirt Fixation•Amazing Adventures Of Bubba and Bug•Bella Sunshine Designs•From-a-Box
3/15
Wild + Wanderful•The Fairy Dust Bin•GYCT Designs•The Kisses Co.•Call Ajaire
3/16
Handmade Boy•Mae & K•create3.5•Pear Berry Lane•Sewing Mama RaeAnna
3/17
The Inspired Wren•Rebel & Malice•Sew Starly•XO Jessica•Falafel and the Bee
3/18
PenSeb&Rox•Knot Sew Normal•Beatnik Kids•Lulu & Celeste•Swoodson Says•Friends Stitched Together
And be sure to check out our giveaway sponsors and enter below!
Prize Package 1:
Phat Quarters: $20 Gift Card
Momma Quail Patterns: 1 Pattern of Choice*
Bella Sunshine Designs: 1 Pattern of Choice*
Handmade Escapade: 3 Digital Downloads of Choice
Sewing Mamma RaeAnna: 1 Pattern of Choice*
XO Jessica: 1 Custom Shirt
Knot Sew Normal: 1 Pattern of choice*
Prize Package 2:
Phat Quarters: Legendary Pattern with 3 piece FQ Bundle
One Thimble: 1 Magazine Issue
Modern Yardage: Paul Bunyan FQ
Love Notions: 1 Pattern of Choice*
Beatnik Kids: 1 Pattern of Choice*
Swoodson Says: 1 Pattern of Choice*
GYCT: 1 Pattern of Choice*
Call Ajaire: 1 Pattern of choice*
Skirt Fixation: 2 Yards of Fabric
*Excludes bundles
We will draw a random link-up to win an issue of One Thimble Magazine!
Be sure to link up to have a chance to win the latest issue of One Thimble and be considered for the next CraftingCon Event as a participant.
Well, thanks to Kristi from George & Ginger patterns, I have been able to sew up some new shirts just for me. These aren’t just comfy lounge around raglans… They are truly sassy selfish pieces that I can, and need to, add to my oh-so-boring …
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 …
This week I cranked out the Blaverry Decklyn on a surprise snow day! (I feel like I’m living for snow days right now so I can get all my projects finished.) I have had everything all cut for a while, but I was basically terrified to get started and kept delaying it. Thank goodness for sew days and biting the bullet to complete projects! We are in love with this jacket. Peyton wore it to school today in fact, complete with rain boots too. 🙂 If you are afraid of jackets, zippers, or snaps… Fear no more!
So, why was I so scared of sewing this up? Zippers, of course. Decklyn not only has a front zipper, but also zippers at each arm cuff for some extra style. I’ve done several zippers, but they were in small pouches and in a few pants for decor at the ankle. Separating zippers that actually need to function in public were a bit scary to me. The directions were very clear and the way they are installed hides all the seams! I also used Wonder Tape to help me line everything up without using pins. I struggle with pins in zippers and the Wonder Tape kept everything in exactly the right place without any run away fabric. If you haven’t used this stuff… you are seriously missing out. It’s a total game changer for zippers, and many other things for that matter.
I also must admit, I’ve only been using KAM snaps for a short period of time. Another sewing accessory you have got to invest in if you haven’t yet! (This pattern doesn’t actually call for KAMS, but I used them instead of buttons at the collar. Per pattern directions, buttons are sewn at the collar without button holes.) The thing about snaps is that you put them in when everything is finished. I’m always afraid I’m going to mess up installing the snaps and then all the time and material invested will be lost. So far I haven’t had any issues with my KAMS, it’s those stupid metal prong snaps that I wish to cast into the the fiery pits of hell. Those things are worthless!
So, Decklyn is all finished. The jacket has a clean, high fashion finish. I should have taken some photos of the interior. It looks awesome! It is totally worth tackling and I’m so glad I did.
The only sad thing about this project is seeing how grown up my baby looks in it. Can you believe she is going to be 8 next November?! My baby isn’t a baby anymore. Here is a few more photos before you check out how you could get a Blaverry coupon code. (This never happens, so if you are interested, be sure to read below.)
Are you loving Blaverry so far? Check out my first Blaverry post here, Finn.
*This pattern was provided to me for the purposes of marketing. However, any opinions expressed are my own.
Blaverry now has a Facebook Group *When the group reaches 500 members there is going to be a coupon code for the first 500 people that join and share a photo of a patterns they have stitched up! Hurry before you miss the once in a lifetime Blaverry coupon!
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 …