A blog of Sewing Sweetness. Pattern Reviews, Tutorials, and More.
Hey everyone! I’ve been slightly silent for the last few weeks. Mostly, I’m still getting back into the swing of things now that Christmas break is over. I do have a little something to share. I got a new sewing machine! Woot Woot. Thanks to …
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 …
How about this dress?! I happened to come across Simple Life Pattern Co. needing a few more testers for a dress a few weeks back. I was pretty swamped, but I just wanted to make this dress. I cranked it pretty quickly and hopped over to a location I’ve been wanting to use forever. The dress turned out great and I am pretty pleased with my photos too. **This post does contain affiliate links which allows me to earn a small amount of spending $$ when you purchase from a link in my post.
The Helena’s Button Top and Dress pattern actually includes a blouse and a dress! Often times patterns that include both tops and dress options are really just the skirt portion of the dress shortened for a tunic length. This is not the case for the Helena’s top. The top and the dress to look quite different when finished.
Helena’s Button Back Top and Dress
Price: $10, but on sale for $7.50 through Sunday 10/9.
Sewing Level: Beginner (Use Snaps if you are anti-button) I used snaps just because I had some that matched.
Size Range: 2 – 12
Features: Dress/Top Options, Button down back (or front), Scoop and Modest Neck Options, Pintuck Placket, Flutter Sleeve/Sleeveless Option, plus three additional sleeve lengths, hemmed sleeve or elastic sleeve.
Layered Printing
No Trim Pages
For my version, I stitched up the dress with the scooped back and 3/4 length elasticized sleeves with the flutter option. Every time I look at my button down back I can’t help but sing… Miss Mary Mac, Mac, Mac… All dressed in black, black, black… It makes me want to do an inspired dress with features of the song appliquéd all around it.
The dress construction overall was definitely beginner level. The only things that could bump it to intermediate are the button holes. If you haven’t done any button holes, this is me encouraging you to give it a go. The doors of creation will open wide with this little skill. If you need help, leave me a comment and we will get you some. If that isn’t enough support, grab your snap pliers and go to work. I used snaps on my version and love how it turned out.
Even though I haven’t stitched up the top version, it is a great pattern to have in your pattern collection. I think it is going to be awesome for leggings and skinny pants. The sleeve options add even more to this. Be sure to check out the top versions in the listing!
My favorite part about testing this pattern is that my version can now be purchased in a Get The Look Kit. You can get the pattern and the fabric to create the same look I created for this post. How exciting is that?! This get this look kit is 25% off through Sunday, so don’t miss out if you are in love with this make.
Overall I’m super happy with this make. It even became a birthday dress last weekend. For a fun little sister photo, I’ll leave you with this little image. Sisters are special, but twins have an extra little connection that is so interesting to watch.
How about this dress?! I happened to come across Simple Life Pattern Co. needing a few more testers for a dress a few weeks back. I was pretty swamped, but I just wanted to make this dress. I cranked it pretty quickly and hopped over …
The back to school parties are continuing on today at Pear Berry Lane, and actually, they will be continuing into next week as well. Today I’m partying with Simple Life Pattern Co. and am so excited to be joining in! Over the summer I started …
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 be sewing up new projects than washing our laundry. Bloggers on the tour were challenged to sew up something that they (or their little person) could walk out the door wearing during the amount of time it would take to wash a load of laundry. Have you ever done this?!
One of the most exciting things about the tour is that we have a lot of sponsors helping to make this a fun event for everyone. Throughout the tour we would love to have our readers link up something they have created that would meet the challenge. You will definitely want to link up because three people are going to win some really great prize packages from the sponsors! Look at all the great designers and fabric shops joining in on the fun!
To help motivate you to find a project to sew and link up, Karly, Jeanine, and I are going to be featuring some of the designer sponsors throughout this week. It’s a great way to say thanks to the designers for joining in too!
To get things started I sewed up several VERY QUICK items for my girls. Now, I have to admit that if I was only sewing one set I would be twice as fast, but alas I have twins and so everything comes in twos. It is not two for the price of one, but two for the price of two! (Big sister is not currently interested in modeling, she is taking a sabbatical so to speak.)
I stitched up the Cami’s Tank Top and Barbs Headband, both FREE pattern from Simple Life Pattern Company when you get the coupon code from the facebook group. I made several of these last week too, and they were so fast and perfect for the girls to be running around in this summer I knew I needed to make them some more. The tank, (if I was doing one from cut to finish) could easily be done in under 30 minutes. It is a simple sew and has turn out great on the ones that I have made so far. The headband is so simple too! I cut these out in the morning, but my construction occurred later in the evening. Timing myself on the construction time, I finished in 10 minutes and 7 seconds. #Sewalltheheadbands because that is soooo amazing! You should probably know I’m a very slow sewist so ya, this is a personal record. Here is a little detail shot of the binding. I used a twin needle on mine. I also kept my thread the same for both of these tanks. I figured I could call it an accent detail, but basically I thought it would be quicker to keep the thread the same color. #lazy #tryingtohurry
Next I stitched up a pair of the Trailblazing socks from The Wolf and the Tree. I don’t know about you, but I would rather throw away that gigantic basket of unmatched socks than actually try to match them up. Is there anything better than being able to make your own socks? It’s like I could put off sock matching for the rest of my life! The trailblazing socks were definitely an easy sew. I stitched up the knee length with the cuff for Presley and I have to say she rocked them. These were even faster than the knit headband! We cranked these out in just under 10 minutes including cut time!
I hope this gives you some ideas about linking up with the tour next week. For even more ideas, check out Karly’s Pre-Tour Post for today here, and Jeanine’s Pre-Tour post here. See a little sneak below for their posts. This is going to be fun!
What do you think about these patterns? Will you give them a try? Be on the lookout because there will be more from these two designers on the tour that begins June 6th.
Laela Jeyne Patterns is also a sponsor for the tour and will be featured later this week. The shorts in these photos are made from the Deluxe Charlotte Legging that just released this past week and I am basically using that pattern everyday right now. Read all about this pattern here. Check it out *here. (*Affiliate link) Laela Jeyne Patterns is currently having a site wide sale with everything 35% off ending 5/31.
Alright, that’s all for today. Tune in for another fun preview show tomorrow!