I still haven’t caught up with blogging about all the Christmas sewing projects I made. So here is the next one! I sewed up the Keeley Cardigan for my cousin, Heather. Each year for Christmas my dad’s side of the family does a family gift exchange. We draw names around Halloween and then spend a few months finding a great gift. Around that time, I had just tested the Keeley Cardigan and I loved it. I knew my cousin Heather would also.
I ordered this pretty mint green and gray sweater knit fabric from Ksews AKA The Material Girls on Facebook. I knew that Heather would love the pale green color and the softness of this fabric. If I am being honest I had to force myself not to keep it for myself and green isn’t even “my” color. It was just lovely.
I decided to make hers a midi length which is half way between both the included pattern lengths. She frequently wears her clothes in layers so it really was an easy choice. To get this length, I just printed the full length pattern and added 10 inches to the shorter length. Cut your pattern (and fabric) at this length. You will also adjust your front band length the same way. Patterns are really very easy to customize. Just think about what you want it to look like in the end, and go for it. Sometimes you will mess up, but
just move on. Why didn’t it work? How can you save it? Don’t quit!
This pattern comes together very quickly when sewn in a more basic version. I decided
to not add front pockets since this sweater knit is a lighter weight. If you are using a lighter weight knit, you could always interface at the corners of the pockets to give more support to your stitches. This pattern has an option to add buttons to the front as well.
I took a few pictures of this pattern on a mannequin before the wrapping it, and a few quick pics after gifting. I think she liked it and hope she has enjoyed wearing in all winter long!
Hi Friends!! Here is a warning, You are going to be overloaded with blog posts from me this weekend! I have been sewing up some AMAZINGLY AWESOME things and I need to share! Plus there are some sales and I don’t want you to miss out! First up, I am guest blogging for Love Notions today for the Featured Friday pattern!
The Forte Top/Dress pattern is on sale for only $5 FOR TODAY ONLY! I sewed up the Forte with 4 different fabric based and explained a bit about them. You are NOT going to want to miss out. Also this is my first blog post for Love Notions so come by and show me some love!! Here is the link, just click my photo below.
Fabric Sponsored by Stitchin’ Pretties and Surge Fabric Shop.
Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you are having a good week so far, getting some sewing time in and most importantly, I hope you are healthy! Welcome to my stop on the Spring Fling Blog Tour! The theme of this blog tour is my favorite spring or summer sewing patterns. We could pick anything we wanted to share. I decided I wanted to make a dress from this adorable light plum and white mini dot printed double brushed poly fabric. I picked it up from Surge Fabrics a few weeks ago, but now it has sold out. Don’t worry, there are still tons of fabric options over at Surge!
Without much thought, I knew I was going to make the Willow Wrap Dress from Love Notions. I loved it when I first noticed it and was thrilled it was being offered in LN’s new expanded size chart. I decided to choose the bodice view with more front coverage. A lot of times, cross front bodices expose a bit more of the girls than I wish to share with everyone, so I was happy to see this one offered options for more or less coverage. I used the full bust pattern pieces. I used the gathered side option, elbow length sleeves and the longer skirt. I didn’t not adjust the skirt length for my height as I wanted my skirt to hit just below my knees.
This wasn’t a super quick sew, but it went together nicely and fit well! This pattern has 9 pieces and a mile of hemming, but it is worth it. This dress is pretty, easy to wear, and will have you feeling just a bit dressy for any party! You can sew it with or without the flutter at the cross front or choose one of the shorter length options.
This dress will be perfect for a spring afternoon, Easter Sunday, or dinner with friends, but we are under lock down here in Ohio. So for the foreseeable future, you will be treated to photos taken without my photographer. 😦 Whomp. Whomp. Anyhow, I figured out how to use the timer on my camera and brought all of you into my sewing space! My happy place! Welcome. This next photo looks like I am dancing!
So I have some exciting news!! Love Notions has generously offered to donate a pattern to one lucky reader who leaves a comment below! Please leave me a message to be entered to win a free pattern! I will leave comments open until Saturday early morning and then pick a winner through a random number generator! Good Luck!
I am back with another Love Notions Vivace and this time it is for Momma Mia. She liked mine and I wanted her to have her own. Who doesn’t love comfy clothing? It is lovely enough to wear out, but comfy enough to lounge around in. I used my left over fabric from my hacked Calypso. It was still laying on my cutting table and it matched the white and gold stripes I used for my Vivace. Win-Win! Two scraps off my table! You can pick up the Hailey DBP I used from Stitchin’ Pretties with this link!
I am obviously blogging this dress without having pictures of Momma Mia wearing it. We are all aware of the global pandemic happening now… COVID-19 and she is staying in and healthy. I don’t blame her, everyone should be doing their part during this time. Today is the last day of the new release sale, so I wanted to remind you how awesome this pattern is!
I gave Momma Mia the same length option as I made for myself. She does prefer a longer sleeve, so I may hack her some sleeves at a later date! I have said so many times, the best thing about sewing clothing, is you can make exactly what you want!
XS-5X
Knit and woven versions
Full Bust pattern pieces if needed
Dolman style sleeve
Three lengths- shirt, tunic & dress
Trimless pattern format
Layers
Print at home
In addition to the print-at-home
file is a large format file for copy shop printing is included for both standard and full busts. These files will print on six A0 (33″ x 46″) size sheets. Be sure to instruct your printer to print actual size in black and white on their cheapest paper. We recommend PDFPlotting for printing the large format files.
A projector file is also included for those using projector technology
As always this blog contains affiliate links, which is a small commission I earn when you make a purchase from my blog links. Thank you for helping to support my sewing.
Vivace is about to be your most comfortable everyday garment. As a shirt, tunic, or a dress, you can’t beat it! This is a super fast sew, but the extra wide neck band and the front pleat makes it a little fancy! Don’t worry, the wide V neck collar isn’t too tricky. The designer, Tami, even made a little video to show you how to do it.
So first up, fabric choices. I used a beautiful floral double brushed poly that I picked up from Ksews AKA The Material Girls on Facebook. I had 3 yards of this beautiful fabric. It sewed up so neatly. I adored the bright cheery colors of this one and then I added the striped contrasting fabric for the neck and sleeve bands for even more color. This stripes are cut on grain which is the opposite of the directions tell you to do, but I wanted my strips to be short instead of long. This pattern requires a knit fabric with 40% stretch and DBP has the required stretch in both directions, so it worked out fine! You could also make your top out of a woven fabric as that pattern is included as well.
Now let’s talk about options.
XS-5X
Knit and woven versions
Full Bust pattern pieces if needed
Dolman style sleeve
Three lengths- shirt, tunic & dress
Trimless pattern format
Layers
Print at home
In addition to the print-at-home
file is a large format file for copy shop printing is included for both standard and full busts. These files will print on six A0 (33″ x 46″) size sheets. Be sure to instruct your printer to print actual size in black and white on their cheapest paper. We recommend PDFPlotting for printing the large format files.
A projector file is also included for those using projector technology
I sewed up the 4x FBA graded to a 5x. I used the 5x sleeves so I wouldn’t need to do a bicep adjustment and my sleeves would still fit. These sleeves are a roomier fit which is nice. My original plan was to make the tunic length, but I had enough fabric for the dress length, so I went for it. I am happy I did, I could easily tie a knot at one side and wear this as a tunic! Double-Duty without the work! I could absolutely see sewing a few of these up, just to wear around the house as a house dress. Ultra comfy, super cozy. Totally a win-win
This dress sewed together very quickly as most Dolamn style garments, but it will take a few minutes to interface the neckband pieces..Don’t skip this step. It will make a difference in how neatly your neckband lays.
I think this dress will make the perfect summer dress. A little fancier than the basic tshirt dress, but just and easy to make and wear. I have one cut out for Momma Mia already. Give my blog a follow and stop back in a few days to see it!
As always this blog contains affiliate links, which is a small commission I earn when you make a purchase from my blog links. Thank you for helping to support my sewing.
I am back with another Love Notions Dress and a mash up to boot! So I sewed up Momma Mia’s first Tessa dress a month or so ago and she loved it! Actually I loved it too, but sadly it hasn’t been on the Love Notions size upgrade list yet so I will keep sewing them for Momma Mia. Last time, my promo fabric from Stitchin’ Pretties came with a note saying it would love to become a beautiful dress. So I made the fabric’s dreams come true and it became a Tessa Sheath Dress! This time I received this pretty red floral double brushed poly fabric without a note, but it was screaming at me to make it a dress.
I have a confession to make, when I order fabric, I usually don’t have a plan in mind. My second confession, I told Laura at Stitchin’ Pretties to “just send me something.” I trust her and her product. She doesn’t let me down! When this fabric arrived on my door step, I knew that it would be a dress. I typically feel that fabric with larger open spaces of background does well as dresses. Compared to a tank top, there wouldn’t be as much room to show off a great print! I love print, busy prints! Momma Mia isn’t quiet as flashy as I am in the print department. I knew I was making her a dress with this fabric! I decided on another Tessa, but with a twist. In case you do not know, you can mash the Tessa Bodice with all the skirts from Sybil. I used the Aline skirt from Sybil. This will give her dress a little bit of flirty flare, but not full on twirl factor! Also I only had 2 yards of fabric to work with. Speaking on the 2 yards, since the back bodice is “Cut as mirror image” you can use less fabric than if you had to “Cut on the Fold.”
*You can use this tip for any top pattern. If you don’t have enough fabric to cut a front and back bodice on the fold, you may be able to use the mirror image cutting technique. Just remember to add seam allowances if you adjust from cut on the fold to mirror image or your neckband won’t fit properly.
Tessa #2 with the Sybil skirt portion.
Tessa #1 with Tessa skirt portion.
You may have noticed that I colorblocked this Tessa with the fantastic Royal Blue. I have a bunch of smaller usable scraps from a few months ago, plus still some yardage tucked away. I have SO MUCH LOVE for this color! So at first glance, I was torn as to whether this royal blue was too bold for the red print. Typically, I encourage folks to “mind the tones” of your colors. For example, the royal blue is a jewel tone and the red isn’t. I posted a side by side picture in the group and asked if it works, yea or no. I got both responses, so that wasn’t at all helpful. In the end, my mind was made up and I made the first cut. Speed work for about an hour and TA-DA! Momma has a new dress. I put the finished dress on the dress form which has basically taken up residence in my living room window. I LOVED it! Like really loved it. I left it there for 3 days! When I delivered it, Momma Mia loved it too. She just happened to have perfectly matching shoes and a purse to add to her photo session! She is too much some days! Side note, I delivered this dress Monday evening. When I saw her on Tuesday, she was wearing it. She had been grocery shopping in it! 🙂 You go Momma! I am glad she is always willing to wear the clothes I make her. She makes this daughter proud!
This red floral print is called Felicia and I knew Momma Mia was going to LOVE it! This fabric was easy to sew and it drapes nicely. I did notice a little bit of wrinkling after I had thrown it in a bag to take it to Momma Mia, but a quick tumble in the dryer fixed it right up! This fabric has a nice weight to it also. As usual, Laura ships within a day and runs great sales and has really awesome fabric. Honestly, if you don’t know about Stitchin‘ Pretties, you are missing out.
I used the same boat neck line as the first Tessa, color blocked at the yoke and 3/4 sleeves. The above photo really shows the width difference in the skirt compared to the Sheath Style of the original Tessa. I love the that all 7 of the Sybil skirts fit with the Tessa. Maybe Momma Mia will end up with the entire collection. 🙂 I don’t think she would mind.
**The dress features a bateau or scoop neckline, optional yoke detail and five sleeve lengths: sleeveless, short, elbow, 3/4 and long. Two hem lengths are also included- above knee and shin. Bonus- the bodice part of the pattern can also be easily mashed with the Sybil Skirt Collection.
**Meant for knit fabrics, the Sybil comes with seven variations: pencil, a-line, swing, drop yoke with swing, gored, asymmetrical wrap and pleated. All versions, with the exception of the drop yoke, also have knee and midi length options as well as inseam pockets. All skirt waistbands can include the optional hidden control panel or a yoga-style waistband, no closures needed.
Before you leave my blog, did you check out The Fitting Experiment from 2 days ago? Did you leave a comment for a chance to win a pretty Love Notions Sabrina Slims pattern?
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As always this blog contains affiliate links, which is a small commission I earn when you make a purchase from my blog links. Thank you for helping to support my sewing.
The latest pattern from 5oo4 is making me swoon. I sewed this one up thinking 100% of Valentine’s Day. Not only does it include this pretty sweetheart neckline, but there are also pleated and bell sleeves! I am feeling super girlie in this top. Too bad it was like 20 degrees and snow flurries kept popping up while taking pics! I may retake them on a sunshiny day to better reflect how I am feeling about this top.
The Pamela Top, Tunic, and Dress pattern includes the following:
3 Bodice Options: regular, FBA, and maternity
4 Bodice Lengths: crop, top, tunic and dress (short and long)
2 Sleeve Options: pleat or bell/bishop
4 Sleeve Lengths: sleeveless, short, 3/4 or long
3 Neckline Options: scoop, square or sweetheart
Sizes XXS – 5X (see the last images for yardage and size chart)
I ordered this fabric from Sew Blessed. It is brushed poly and such a pretty shade of pink. I adore the colorful poppies. I adore all poppies. Poppies remind me of my granny. She shared her poppy seeds with me when I moved into my first place as an adult. I planted the poppies around my porch. I lived there for years enjoying the beautiful poppies. My granny passed and a year later, I bought her house. The backyard, just under the windows, is a bed of poppies…my granny’s poppies. I enjoy them every spring.
I made the 4x with the included FBA graded to a 5x. This is drafted as a slimmer fitting pattern, but I didn’t find it clingy. I choose to make the 3/4 quarter length pleated sleeves. I immediately said a prayer when I opted to make the Sweetheart neckline. Actually, I cut it first because I knew I wasn’t willing to throw this fabric out and quit on the neckline. I can actually say sewing it wasn’t totally dreadful, but it took a bit of time. You should 100% baste the neckband in place first! My sewing machine eats DBP like it is the best snack ever… yes even with a new needle. I ended up sewing with tissue paper between my needle plate and fabric. It really did help! I had read about that technique before, but hadn’t tried it. So here is proof that it works!
As always this blog contains affiliate links, which is a small commission I earn when you make a purchase from my blog links. Thank you for helping to support my sewing.
SequoiaLynn Sews 