Nancy Raglan

The Nancy Raglan from 5oo4 isn’t a new pattern, but it is a great one. I made Momma Mia one for the #Breakallthedamnrules tour, but didn’t get it worked into the month that was jam packed with great makes! The readers of my blog know that Momma Mia doesn’t mix prints and Momma Mia doesn’t do wild color or prints. (Insert Side Eye) Well Momma Mia, You shouldn’t have neon blue tights in your dresser drawer. (Insert Evil Eye)

This is the first Raglan I have made for Momma Mia, it may actually be the only one in her closet. I can say she loved it! I made her an A-Line Dress with elbow length sleeves. Elbow sleeves aren’t an actual option with this pattern so I just shortened the ¾ sleeves a few inches to get to her favorite length. That is the beauty of sewing. You make the pattern fit your needs! I also made this pattern with a cowl neck.

Cowl necks are made to snuggle into.

My favorite things about 5 out of 4 patterns are all the options. Here is a run down of all the great things that you can choose from on the Nancy Raglan.

• 5 bodice styles: Shirt, Tunic, A-line Dress, Swing Dress, Layered Dress (A-line with a loose fit overlay)
• 4 sleeve lengths: Short, 3/4, Long, Extra Long
• 4 neckline options: Crew, V-neck, Hood, Cowl
• 3 sleeve finishes: Hemmed, Cuffs, Thumbhole Cuffs
• Nursing access via invisible zippers and including a modesty panel.  The nursing access is available on all styles except the layered dress.
• Maternity with ruched sides.  The maternity option is included with all styles except the layered dress.
• Other options include: side vents on the tunic, pockets on the swing dress, and a banded bottom for the shirt and tunic.

Since these was made during #Breakallthedamnrules let’s talk about why it works!

Ummm Because I said so! LOL I like the bright pop of blue and how it plays with the bright pink and golds in the dress. I had her load up on the fun bracelets, to match the gold flowers in her dress. In a last minute executive designs, we realized my backpack was a perfect match for the pinks and blues! The geometric print of the bag is a nice match with the floral.

This is an XL graded to a XXL. I used the included FBA pattern piece for extra comfort. This floral print fabric is from Stitchin’ Pretties. It is called Millie, it is double brushed poly and I love it. That is why I have ordered it 3 times now! Millie is sold out, but there are dozens of other gorgeous fabrics at Stitchin’ Pretties! They also have a 1 day shipping turn around during the week. 🙂 I also used it to make this cardigan.

You can pick up this pattern along with anything from 5 out of 4 Patterns using this link.

Copy Cat: 12 Months, 1 Pattern, No Repeats

I am copying the heck out of my Sew Sista, Stephanie! Stephanie AKA The Sarcastic Sewist, is doing an exciting, year long blog series using the Diane Joggers from 5outof4 Patterns. She will be using the pattern options as well as hacking the original design to make 12 different pants to cover every possible need you have in your wardrobe. You can read her original post here. 

Her look was created with French Terry for the bottoms and DBP for the top. So I knew I wanted to do the same. I also knew that since I have never sewn this pattern before, I would want to make a muslin. A muslin (or a toile) is basically a mock up of a pattern made with the purpose of testing fit, determining personal adjustments, or even practicing unfamiliar techniques. You don’t use your high dollar fabrics or fabrics you need to make look good for a promo (my situation). At times, pants can be a bit tricky to get right even if an amazing designer has drafted them. My issue is that I have a large belly, no hips and no booty. When I take my hip measurement into account, I am put solidly into a size 5x with these pants. I am also lucky enough to know that The Diane Joggers, The Zen Pants, and The Molly PJ’s all have the same rise. This means that when measuring from the front waist band, between my legs, over my booty and up to the back waist band, all three of the patterns were created equal. Since I tested the Molly PJ set, I knew that making a 5X would have me swimming in fabric. With Molly, I tried making a 4x and grading my legs to a 3x. This worked well for me. My Molly fabric was DBP, so it has more stretch than French Terry. Because of this, I didn’t want to grade down to the 3x for my legs. I needed these pants to have their intended look, which is fitted, but not skin tight and I needed them to look good in public.

These Diane Joggers are a straight 4x. I only adjusted for height. These are my mock up pair and I only removed 3 inches from the length. When I tried them on it was clear that I needed to remove about another 2 inches so you can see the cuffs I worked so hard to put on. 🙂

I choose to add the pockets since this is a copy cat and Stephanie made pockets. I used a decorative stitch on my regular sewing machine to decorate the pockets. I used the wonder tape which was suggested in the pattern and in Stephanie’s blog post. It honestly did make this so easy. Here is photo of my decorative stitching. I like the loop to loop design with the polka dot print. You can also see that I topstitched along the top of the pocket and made the drawstring casing for the waistband.

I used this Gray French Terry fabric as my muslin. I picked this up months ago from Rosa at Sew Blessed. As always, her prices are low and her inventory changes almost weekly. I knew I wanted a solid top to wear with these pants so I wore my Paris top that I recently made to wear with my Arabella Skirt. The Coral solid looks lovely with the darker gray in my pants. I was lucky enough to have these flip flops which are nearly a perfect color match!

Since overall, I was happy with the fit of these pants, the only change I made was removing 2 more inches from the length. I am only 5’1. This will most likely always need to be done when I make pants.

These are my second pair of Dianes. I am obsessed with this fabric. It is French Terry from Stitchin’ Pretties. The print is called Hallie and here is the direct link to it. I love how it looks a little bit vintage and a whole lot of pretty.  My shirt here is Molly. Yes, Molly is a PJ top, but it is also a neatly fitting basic T-shirt which comes with a Full Bust Adjustment. I added several inches to my sleeves (remember Stephanie shortened hers) and did a Full Bicep Adjustment. I also added 3 inches to the shirt length so the world wouldn’t see my belly. My fabric is this Dark Hunter Green from Stitchin’ Pretties. My boots are covering my cuffs here, but I did shorten my length and they no longer pool around my ankles. I wanted to be able to wear this outfit to work, so I dressed it up a bit with boots and added some pretty jewelry my friend, Tonya, gave me.

These pants have a drawstring waist. I used a long narrow piece of my French Terry to make the tube. If you make tubes, Tube Turners will save you so much time and frustration. I was able to turn this narrow piece in about 30 seconds. I used an elastic bodkin to pull it through the waistband and that took about another 30 seconds. I double knotted the ends of my so they wouldn’t easily pull through my waistband. I am very happy to report that these pants stayed up all day! I was worried that they would slip down and fall down as the day drug on. NOPE, didn’t budge!! I am such a happy girl!

Let’s get you some pattern links. All of these patterns are sized up to 5x.

Diane Joggers

Molly Top and PJ Pants

Paris Party Top and Dress

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This blog post contains Affiliate Links. This means that when you make a purchase from one of my blog links, I receive a small commission. This doesn’t change the price for you, but is a little Thank You to me! It also helps me to buy more fabric to show you new and upcoming patterns. So thank you!!

Jenny Cross Front Tunic

When the tester call came out for a cross front tunic, I was skeptical. I have made several wrap tops, most weren’t wearable. I prefer a little more coverage than most wrap tops provide. So like any good tester, I signed up. 🙂 I believe my response was something like, “I will trust 5oo4. Rachelle won’t let me down.” She didn’t! I love this top. I want to make more!

The banded cross front panel has clear elastic sewn in the band to keep it in place and held snug. This keeps the band snug against my body. In addition to the banded cross over, the shirt also creates a tulip front bottom hem. Another nice feature is the dolman sleeve in two lengths. I choose to make the curved back hem, but the pattern includes a straight hem options as well.

Along with this cross front top, this pattern includes a slim fit tank top with two different necklines. I sewed the lower neckline option and it still provides enough coverage to keep my shirt plenty modest. The 5oo4 website describes Jenny with these bullets.

• Semi-fitted dolman style sleeves WITHOUT the big batwing!  This drop shoulder style is comfortable and stylish!
• Both regular and full bust adjustment (FBA) pattern piece included
• Short sleeves or long sleeves
• Back hem can be curved or straight
• Modesty tank with two necklines included

Since we are still celebrating #Breakallthedamnrules around here, I threw on my plaid jacket in perfect complimenting colors! Color and pattern scale make this look work here. I choose matching boots and earrings as well. Tonight is the last night to sign up for the week 3 drawing for a $20 shop credit to Bella Sunshine Designs! Did you sign up yet? What are you waiting for? Here is the link to the give away.

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

This fun print is from Sly Fox Fabrics. It is a double brushed poly called Saucy. Here is the link. It is currently on sale for 20% off, but only until midnight tonight EST! Also don’t forget Sly Fox Fabrics has flat rate shipping for $6.99 on any order in the US.

Sly Fox Fabric is sponsoring the next week here at my blog and Trust me, you don’t want to miss a minute of the fun!

Pick up the Jenny Crop Front Tunic with included Modesty Tank pattern here.

It is currently on sale for $6.95 for the Women’s Version. Size range from XXS-5X.

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This blog post contains Affiliate Links. This means that when you make a purchase from one of my blog links, I receive a small commission. This doesn’t change the price for you, but is a little Thank You to me! It also helps me to buy more fabric to show you new and upcoming patterns. So thank you!!