HOC Week 5 – Red Apple Sewing and DIBY Club

I can’t believe we are at Week 5 of #Breakallthedamnrules already. January is zooming past and we are closing in on February. Another morning of snow falling here in Ohio. It looks nice, but we already have way too much. School was closed everyday last week and the weather channel says record breaking lows this week so at least we have that to look forward too!

This week our give away sponsors have both offered up a free pattern of your choice so let’s talk about them for just a minute!

Red Apple Sewing is a new design company just starting to get their feet wet. I have made 4 of her patterns already and have loved each one. She even drafted one on the fly for me because I wasn’t able to find what I needed. RAS patterns are drafted specifically to your needed size. No more making bicep and bust adjustments. No more grading. No more guessing on length. Jessica does all the work for you. You choose printer set up, stretch percentage, fabric type and sleeve lengths and also give her a list of your measurements and she will draft it for you. It really is a sweet deal! Give her patterns a look and let me know what you think!

DIBY.Club is a wide range, meet all your needs kinda place! They offer both men’s and women’s patterns in trendy stylish designs. She has a nice selection of free patterns and the largest size range of the companies I sew for going up to sewing size 36. I have sewn many DIBY patterns as a tester and on my own. I enjoy the well written patterns and the videos when I need help. In addition to offering a free pattern for the giveaway, DIBY was kind enough to offer a special discount to all my readers. 25% off one pattern of your choice if you use the code HOC19 at checkout! It is like creating your own sale!

Please support both of the businesses and show them some love!!

Don’t forget to visit the Raffle link at the bottom of this post to sign up to WIN 2 amazing patterns!!

We already know I recently did a #breakallthedamnrules post with this plaid RAS vest! You can read it here. I still love it!! The pattern is still in the works as Jessica got a new grandbabe this week. 🙂

Here are two examples of my adding an ‘almost solid’ contrasting color to a busy floral print while wearing DIBY patterns. You can read my post about The Mae Poncho here and The Adrianne here.

But my wildest print matching was the Anna skirt is a wild floral matched with subtle pink and white stripes. I planned to link you to it but apparently my post has gone MIA. My photos are in my gallery, but no post to be found. So today, I will blog about Anna. 🙂 ETA: Lucky for me with some additional digging, I found the blog post I had written, discovered it was done during a blogging time out I took and just missed posting it. So here we go…

Picture this….In a time, long ago….before there was 20 inches of snow in my front yard….the sun was shining….the birds were chirping…and I was rocking this A-line skirt with sandals! That is when I wrote this post Mid October…

……So you may have noticed I took a little mini break from the blogging and sewing world, sometimes it is necessary. I needed a few days away to do some non-stressful sewing. I finished some blocks for a quilt block swap and am about 95% done with a T-shirt quilt. I have a few tests in the works, but I have several things I haven’t shared with you yet.

Today, I am sharing the Anna Skirt from the DIBY.club. I have seen literally dozens of people asking for a denim button down skirt in sewing groups and I think this one will fit the bill. 

 

I didn’t use denim, but my fabric is a woven. It is heavier than quilting cotton, but not quite home dec weight. If you have seen some of the other testers, this also looks amazing in a stretch corduroy. I bought some recently, but have my heart set of making pants with it.  

 

I sewed up the size 28 and made zero adjustments. I love when that happens. I do, however, have a confession to make. I sewed this entire skirt with the wrong seam allowance. There is a ton of top stitching in this pattern. In the end my skirt was something like 5 inches longer than my waist band. Trust me, you can’t ‘ease in’ 5 inches on a woven skirt. Out came the seam ripper and I set to work, kicking myself the entire time. Double checking the seam allowances and getting back to stitching. This time went more quickly as I knew what to do. 

 

 

• Print-at-home PDF pattern files in both women’s misses and plus sizes (sizes 00-36) 

• US Letter, A4 and A0 Copy Shop formats 

• No trim pages 

• Size layers so you can print only the sizes you need 

• Complete sewing instruction ebook with our Perfect Fit custom fit adjustment tutorials 

After purchase, your PDF pattern and instructions will be available immediately in your DIBY Club account. 

This is why I can’t wear skirts in public. 🙂

 

PATTERN OPTIONS 

• Lengths: Mini // Knee // Midi // Maxi 

• Rise: High Rise // Midrise 

• Options: Patch Pockets // Belt Loops 

SUITABLE FOR 

• Experienced beginner sewists and beyond 

• Bottomweight wovens with no stretch or stretch fabrics with strong recovery 

Here is the link to pick up your copy of Anna.

Don’t forget to use the exclusive HOC19 code to save 25% on any pattern you choose.

Here is this weeks Raffle Link.

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

 

HOC Virginia Tank

So this is my second show and share from Sly Fox Fabrics week! I purposely ordered 2 different 1 yard cuts with the plan to make some great tank tops! I love wearing tank tops around the house, under shirts when it is freezing cold out, and of course, when I am mixing up my prints! I spent some time recently perusing Pinterest to come up with some trendy fashion ideas for my plus size self. If I am super honest with all of you, I spend a lot of time perusing Pinterest for sewing ideas. I have been making an effort to pin more and screenshot less. Do you follow me on Pinterest? Here is my link. While there, I discovered I really needed a black and white horizontal striped shirt. I wear stripes…a lot of stripes, but I didn’t have one single shirt that was all stripes. I ordered this amazing black and white double brushed poly print from Sly Fox Fabrics. I  knew it would be perfect for my plan!

I paired my Black and White tank with the super sassy, super girly, super shortie short skirt. I have had this skirt in my drawer for no less than five years. I picked it up at the Goodwill because I loved the print. I have not worn it one time. Not one single time. As a matter of fact, I had to cut that plastic pricing marker off to take pics. Someday, I hope to wear super pretty skirts for more than photos but the truth is, I don’t know how to sit like a lady. 🙂 I also wore this black belt that I have had for years and black suede boots with this outfit.

Puppy Playtime!

Why it works: Black and White small scale stripes with the graphic print of the skirt which also contains black and white. I love how the black boots and belt don’t compete with the fabrics instead they compliment.

I used the Virginia pattern from 5 out of 4. I have also made myself and Momma Mia matching Virginia maxis from this pattern. She also has a few knee length tank dresses in her stash from this pattern. You can see those dresses here. It is a great pattern to meet some needs in the ‘basics’ sections of my closet.

All the options for Virginia 🙂

• Tank top with optional built-in bra
• Separate full bust adjustment (FBA) pattern pieces for the tank and bra
• Knee length or Maxi length skirt
• Skirt can be made from woven or knit fabric
• Tank top has two neckline options in the front and two neckline options in the back
• Dress can be made with knit waistband or elastic casing
• Maternity option
• Pockets!
• Sizes XXS-5XL
• Matching girls’ option! Check out the Girls’ Virginia Tank & Maxi and get 10% off when you buy both patterns at once!

Pattern Links

Here is the link to the Women’s pattern.

Here is the link to the Girl’s pattern.

So since this is a House of Curve #Breakallthedamnrules post I must remind you to hurry and sign up to win a $25 shop credit to Sly Fox Fabrics! You too can wear these amazingly versatile stripes!! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram and Facebook!! Use the code #Breakallthedamnrules

Here is the post where you will find the raffle link! 

 

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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!!