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Designer Pattern Swap

June 13, 2015

I hardly ever have time to sew up other designer’s patterns, but I’m always wishing I had more time to!

So, I loved the idea of this designer swap! I could sign up and have a deadline to “make” me finish 😉

Here is a link to the original announcement along with sales by the designers that participated (pssst Patterns for Pirates has a coupon code there! 😉 )

We are also doing a giveaway, rafflecopter posted at the bottom of the page!

I got assigned the California dress by EYMM, which happened to be one of my very favorite designs in Kymy’s collection! And she put it on sale- code: californiasummer will save 25% off the Women’s California or Girl’s California or the California Bundle good April 20 through 27 at 11:59pm PDT at www.eymm.com. It’s a simple dress you could do in a ton of different looks/fabrics and wear all spring, summer, and fall long! She always has a ton of options that wrap up in a quick easy sew!

I went with two fronts so I didn’t have to worry about bra straps 😉 These suckers aren’t staying up in a strapless anymore!

I really wanted to somehow squeeze out a maxi out of my 2 yds, although the pattern called for 3.5 yds. So I had to do some modifying! I spliced the pattern along the casing line and added a little to the front bodice only to make up for my chest size. Otherwise this style always ends up blousing in the back and not in the front on me! I’ve always thought it was one of the easiest styles to alter for a full bust!

I also cut the skirt pieces much less full to accommodate my tiny yardage! I knew it would be too tight to comfortably walk in, so I did slits up both side seams to the “above knee cut line” on the pattern. The lighting here shows off a little more then usually, lol… the fabric isn’t see through at all in person!

I love this style dress for the spring, summer and fall… so easy to throw on and look stylish! I can chase my little guy around in it without worrying about showing anything 🙂

I had a great time sewing this up and plan on wearing it lots!

Giveaway:

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/924f94de33

Boys can wear Pink Blog Tour with Handmade Boy

June 13, 2015

I <3 the Handmade Boy Blog! Kelly makes the CUTEST clothes for her son and daughters (and sometimes even herself when I can talk her into it 😉 ) She is the sweetest; always going above and beyond for me testing patterns and even trying to help me with photo tips! So when she told me she was doing her first series I could never turn her down!

Boys Can Wear Pink!

To be honest, I’ve never put my little guy in pink before… I’m not a huge pink lover…I tend to always go with greys and blues for myself, my husband and for little guy! Boring, I know… if you could see my fabric stash, it is pretty dull! I also tend to dress him like a little macho man in camo, dinosaur, anything you would label “very boyish”…So, this really pulled me out of my comfort zone to design and make something for him with pink!

I decided to go with a classic “pirate/sailor” look and theme to help me get inspired…since I love this look and theme! I went with a white and pink stripe I got from my local Hobby Lobby, in their spring collection. In person the pink is almost neon.

I knew I wanted the oh so classic “Mom” heart tattoo on it as well (just pink instead of red). I struggled on placement! But in the end I went with the shoulder, where a tattoo would be and I’m so happy with it!

I added an iron on transfer of a black anchor to the front right side to help fill and even it out overall.

I paired it with his Cpt. Comfort Jeans that are distressed and bribed him to wear the black tennis shoes (instead of his Woody boots that he wears EVERY DAY!!!) It took a piece of candy and going outside to play to get them on!

His hair… oh my… he woke up with the most wild hair ever that day… So I tried to put a little gel in it to calm it down and it didn’t help much! But it kind of fits the sailor look right? Wind blown? We’ll go with that 😉

In the end I love the bright colors on him… it fits his wild, rambunctious personality so much better then the greys I usually go for! (Although, I tend to be quiet and shy…so I’ll stick with my muted tones for myself 😉 ) I am going to try to add more bright colors into his wardrobe for sure! Thank you Kelly for having me in your series!! <3

Now you can participate too!

Here is a pinterest board with inspiration! https://www.pinterest.com/simonsphoto/boys-can-wear-pink/
Here is a great “Sew for Boys” Facebook Group you can join and use the hashtag #boyscanwearpink https://www.facebook.com/groups/sewforboys/
You can also enter the Rafflecopter here to win some awesome prizes! https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/23c963171/

Prizes:

One yard of http://www.mabelmadison.com/pit-stop-pink-stenzo-poplin.html Stop Poplin in pink http://www.mabelmadison.com/
$25 gift certificate, plus a surprise fat quarter from https://www.etsy.com/people/phatquarters?ref=pr_profile
One yard of solid cotton/lycra & one yard of coordinating fabric from https://www.facebook.com/pages/Purpleseamstress-Fabric/135198749843668
One pattern of choice from http://www.paisleyroots.com/
$20 store credit from http://peekaboopatternshop.com/
One pattern of choice from Patterns for Pirates http://www.craftsy.com/user/3301275/pattern-store
One pattern of choice from http://www.welcometothemousehouse.com/shop

Bottoms Up Pants Pattern from http://ifonlytheywouldnap.net/

One Pattern of choice from http://www.titchythreads.com/patterns

Patterns for Pirates and Girl Charlee

June 13, 2015

My love for drafting great modern pdf sewing patterns for women has found a great match…Girl Charlee Fabrics!

We’re both all about modern, trendy looks! And like Girl Charlee I mostly design for knit fabrics 🙂

Here is the first Girl Charlee sponsored pattern of mine: the Everyday Elegance Top

This top is perfect for everyday wear with a great put together look! The loose flowy fit is so comfortable and flattering for women of all ages and shapes! Speaking of shapes, this pattern is from XXS-XXXL… if you’d like to see it in all sizes head over to my group where you can find every size modeled and what fabric they used! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1489835597930083/

I’m wearing Girl Charlee peach skin on the cover photo, this is a soft woven fabric with a lovely drape. It is one of the easiest drapey wovens I’ve ever worked with, because it’s not slippery! Plus! 🙂

Here I am in another Girl Charlee fabric- their chiffon.

Now SOME chiffons can be more difficult to work with, but this navy and white dot wasn’t! Although it is still chiffon, so it doesn’t like to hold a press well, it wasn’t super slippery while sewing. I LOVE this one! The super soft drape is a perfect match for this loose top!

This top can also be made is a knit fabric, which Girl Charlee is best known for! Here is my LOVELY sister in an all knit Everyday Elegance Top:

Isn’t she beautiful? Made in a soft knit, you can’t beat the comfort level of this shirt! And yet, you still look dressed nice, trendy, and even professional enough to go to work, church or out for some fun!

Some of the details on the shirt are the V front and rounded collar here:

That’s right ladies, no tricky placket or buttons for you to get frustrated with! All the techniques on this top are easy and quick!

The sleeves have a small gather at the shoulder seam:

That means all your ease is in that gather–no tricky easing in the set in sleeves! YAY! Again, easy techniques!

The button tabs add such a cute and trendy look to the 3/4 sleeve, so you can wear this top year round!

And the longer tunic length with curved hem is perfect for pairing with leggings, skinny jeans or even your favorite work slacks! No more worrying about anything hanging out when you bend over 😉

And last the back yoke is perfect to play with fabric combos, and the back pleat gives it the extra flowy looseness you need in the back 😉

Not so into loose blouses? That’s okay! This pattern also comes with a quick and easy belt you can tie around at empire, waist or hips-whichever is most flattering for your figure!

Oh… look at that baby bump looking oh so adorable in this non-modified knit Everyday Elegance Top!

So… since Patterns for Pirates and Girl Charlee make such a great pair we decided not only to work together with pattern sponsorship, but Girl Charlee will also be the first and only other place besides Craftsy and Etsy where you can buy a Patterns for Pirates pattern! To kick off our partnership we’re running a CONTEST AND GIVEAWAY!

Come join my facebook group to enter your change to win 3 Patterns for Pirates patterns of your choice AND a $25 gift card to Girl Charlee!

To enter you can share any items made from a Patterns for Pirates pattern WITH Girl Charlee fabrics in the designated contest album! It can be an item you’ve sewn previously or you can order now and make one to enter with! Don’t worry, you have 4 weeks to order, create, and share to win!

Winner will be chosen by all of us here at Mother Sews Best for our pick of the best pairing of fabric to pattern! There will also be one random winner for 2nd place for 1 Patterns for Pirates Pattern of choice.

Boys Bundle Up

June 13, 2015

Is everyone getting excited about the next Bundle Up? I know I have been excited about it since I heard plans of it ages ago!!

Link: www.bundleupsale.com

I have the Lumberjack pattern in the bundle up: It is a traditional button up shirt with collar, but also has a few more options like hood and full lining. My Little One will be wearing these all fall and winter!

But here are some other Bundle Up patterns I had the time to whip up!

First up is the Aviator Pants by Winter Wear. They are a knit pant with optional triangle accent pieces on the bottom leg, front slit pockets, back welt pocket, and a shorts cut line. They were so quick to make and knit, which of course I LOVE!

Okay, so my little one has mama’s backside 😉 He measured much larger for his hip/booty measurement then all the rest… SO I went to work doing a full butt adjustment…for my not quite 2 year old! WHAT! But I’m glad I did because they fit great… look at that little round tushy! 🙂 I took a few pictures and I will get another post on how to do that!

Suzanne over at Winter Wear did a great job keeping her pattern easy to use with all the cutting info on the pattern pieces (love that!). If I’m honest I put them together without reading her instructions, but I’m sure they are fab! I love knit patterns for boys…for our photo-shoot, I took him to be in his element… OUTSIDE!

And in these knit pants and shirt he could run (away from me!) and play freely and comfortably…and still look adorable!

The knit shirt is my Deep Sea V-neck… I did a contrast camo sleeve and free-hand deer applique. My husband LOVED this outfit! Little One LOVED sticks… ha ha ha!

He could climb, jump, bend over, and I didn’t have to worry about a stiff waistband being uncomfortable for him. I know lots of beginner seamstress have a little fear of working with knits, but I jumped RIGHT into knits when I got serious sewing! I knew I wanted my little one to be COMFORTABLE! Make the jump ladies! You’ll never look back!!! 🙂

Okay, now I really tortured my son, but I made him model this, oh so cute and trendy, long sleeve pull over in the 100 degree weather… But look how cute he looks in it! This is Greenstyle’s Shawl Collar Pull-Over in the Bundle Up.

Again, it is knit… super quick sew and soft and cuddly! I used a super soft sweater knit and some ribbed knit.

I made him a size up, because it wont be cool here until Oct/Nov, but he will be ready! I really love the no trim pages for Greenstyle’s new patterns! Since I’ve started doing mine like that, I’ve gotten pretty spoiled to it! I printed out my V-neck to assemble and HAD TO CUT THEM! Ha ha ha, which reminds me I need to go back and update those patterns with no trim pages! 😉

I used a toggle button on the lower part of the collar… I think it gives it a great touch since I used a solid muted sweater knit. I really loved how it turned out…and so did my mom! Which is always a plus to hear compliments on something you made!

Okay…I HAVE to share… I snapped “a few” pictures of my adorable dad with my little one… he came with us to model, because he’s the sweetest dad/pops ever! It’s SO much easier for me to get some shots of him when somewhere else is there! I mean… aren’t they CUTE?!?!?!!

My son ADORES my dad! I had a hard time not making every. single .picture. black and white because I just thought they were so sweet! <3

He was having so much fun with his Pops throwing rocks into the creek!

I think the adoration is mutual too 🙂

Thank you for coming with us Dad!

Here is the link to go get your BOYS BUNDLE UP! 🙂 I’ve made 3 so far, but I have the Sleepy Bear PJS by Ellie Inspired already printed, taped, and cut! I just <3 sewing for my Little Guy! Don’t leave the boys out!!!

www.bundleupsale.com

Bundle Up

June 13, 2015

Have you seen all the fabulous women’s patterns in the new Pattern Revolution Bundle Up deal?? There are so many great patterns to sew up for yourself! I don’t sew for myself as often as I’d like…. but my sister Judy sews almost her whole wardrobe… NO joke! It’s awesome! She actually sews for me too, even more awesome! She’s so sweet making me things when I don’t have time, so I thought I would return the favor and sew her up the Four Seasons Cardigan & Duster pattern for Everything Your Mama Made (EYMM).

Judy was making herself the Greenstyle Taylor shorts, so I decided to make the sleeveless option for her to pair with the shorts. There are LOADS of options in this pattern, cardigan length, duster length, hood, no hood, no sleeves, short sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, long sleeves PLUS it includes 10 sizes, XS – 5X plus! I mean it really is for all four seasons 😉

To say this sleeveless option is a quick sew is an understatement! FOUR seams ladies, FOUR seams and you’re done! I cut out and whipped this up in less than 15 minutes. Now I did not hem the bottom, Judy is 5’9 and I forgot to add length…oops, but it looks great unhemmed!! Plus bonus that it was quicker. I used my serger to construct the entire thing… well my 4 seams I used the serger 😉

If you have never made a EYMM pattern, the ‘no trim’ pattern piece pages are AMAZING! I actually started using this method on my own patterns I love it so much. In a women’s pattern where you are printing several pages, this really really saves time! Here are some photos of Judy looking adorable… It actually started raining on us, oh no! But we always have fun, so OH WELL!

I can’t wait to make some of these up for myself. I love wearing cardigans and these will be very flattering while I’m getting my pre baby body back 🙂

Judy is going to tell you about her cute Taylor shorts now!!

Megan

I was so excited to see the GreenStyle Taylor shorts design! Angela always has such great designs that are perfect for a comfortable, stylish look…just my thing! I love sewing for myself! I’m much taller then average, so I find it very hard to find clothes that fit at all, let alone fit well and are stylish!

So I started with my hip/booty measurement which put me at a medium… But I have a much smaller waist and legs then that measurement. So I like to size down and do a full butt adjustment for a better fit! Here is a quick shot of how I to the adjustment:

I love that she has no trim pages for her pattern like mine! I mean who doesn’t want to skip that tedious step? Especially in an adult pattern! I used a very light weight denim with a sweet little print on it, because I’m in love with the floral trend!

I did my construction a tad different only because I wasn’t patient enough to wait to sew them up before I had time to go buy a great zipper! So I constructed the whole shorts besides the zipper and waistband– I’m always so anxious to get started and whip through something I know I will love!! Since I used a denim I added a few modifications that are only popular with jeans, like lots of topstitching and a metal zipper 🙂 I also love to use topstitching thread when I with with denim! The thicker thread really looks so much better, it really is worth changing it out for every time you topstitch!

I really liked that she had instructions to double stitch the crotch for durability! That area sees a lot of stress… Especially those of us who needs full butt adjustments 😉 I also adding a couple rows of topstitching to the inside inseam for the same reason!

I always like when patterns have hem gauges for a cleaner hem line! I like to iron up my hem in the flat… Sew per instructions, then when it is time to hem it folds so nicely into place… It’s the best of both worlds hemming in the flat vs round BC you have the ease of folding/pressing in the first, but have the nicer, cleaner finish off hemming in the round! I went in between the hem lines for a 3″ inseam… I love SHORT shorts, but since I’m tall short inseams tend to look extra short on me, plus as much as I HATE to admit it I’m starting to get older and need that extra inch!

I also did french seams on my pockets… I didn’t want the serging to be touching my hands in the pockets or my thighs… so I just sewed the pockets wrong sides together, then flipped them right sides together and stitched around the seam.

Inside of the pocket:

I love them! They fit so much nicer then any RTW shorts since I’m tall and need that full booty adjustment! I can’t wait to make up since more!

June 20

Max California, Gloria June, Mother Sews Best

June 21

Feather’s Flights, Gloria June, Becca Duval Photography,

June 22

The Mother Huddle, Gloria June

June 23

Mother Sews Best, Idle Fancy, Swoodson Says

June 24

Shaffer Sisters, That’s What She Crafted

June 25

Friends Stitched Together, Handmade Dress Haven, Sprouting Jube Jube

June 26

Modern Handmade, Rebel and Malice, Lulu and Celeste

June 27

Sew McCool, Pienkel, Gloria June, Sew Maris

Dive Into Swimsuit with Coles Creations

June 13, 2015

It’s my turn on the “Dive into Swimsuits” blog tour hosted by Coles Creations! You can find all the blog posts and enter to win prizes over at Cole’s page!

I love making my little guy swim trunks, they’re quick and easy and so much more comfortable then the store bought with those itchy netting panties (WHO thought those were the answer???)

These are my pattern, the Swashbuckler Swim Trunks and my FAVORITE feature is the boxer brief style lining pieces…SO much better then those netting panties! I would always cut them out of his before he was potty trained. Then once he was potty trained I thought he needed some lining and support under there, but no way were those netting panties the answer!

I have a great picture of the boxer brief lining piece, BUT for some reason my wordpress wont upload it today!!!! 🙁

I use either swim lining or a swimsuit fabric (nylon spandex). I love to coordinate the lining piece to a matching rash guard! Of course I don’t have any finished modeled pictures of that (and no one else will likely see the lining piece) but I love it!

I get asked a lot where to find the fabric for swim trunks. You can grab a remnant or scrap piece of swim fabric or lining for the boxer brief lining again, you’ll want a nylon spandex 4 way stretch swim knit. For the main shorts you can use “boardshort fabric” as some shop labels it (top skull print was labeled this from Funkaliicious Fabrics), “woven supplex” is a thinner version (great for super hot climates- the tricolor here is woven supplex from Chez Ami, who have since gone out of business.) I also know the Fabric Fairy usually has some in stock as well as Rockywoods Outdoor Fabric also carries it.

And of course sewing always provides you with the ability to give your little one the perfect fit if they need a different width to height ratio and don’t fit into the “average” sizes.

I hope you dive in this summer and make some swimsuits! Have fun!

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