Inspinration: Back to school with Bella Sunshine

Two more weeks and then the summer holiday is already over for our kids, then it is back to school. Although many other kids have more weeks of holiday in front of them, in a month from now all kids will be back in school. Kids often seem to grow a few inches over the summer and the moment that school starts is the moment that we as parents realize that our kids seem to have outgrown most of their clothes. That is why Bella Sunshine comes with a back to school tour now that there is still plenty of time to think about a new wardrobe.

I already sewed many Bella Sunshine patterns in the past and because I wanted to show you a new angle, I went for an all knit mini capsule. In contrast to my usual deadline behavior, I actually finished this capsule a month ago! I did so because we went on a cruise and we wanted to pack light, a mini capsule is perfect for that. The entire thing turned out to be such a success that of course the rest now want their own capsules.

Our capsule consists of eight pieces, four tops and four bottoms that all can be combined. I picked a color scheme that I know our middle daughter loves and tried to use several uni colored fabrics to facilitate all mix and match options without being boring. I did a few hacks and used six patterns, of which one of them is the free Reagan raglan.

Let's start with that Reagan raglan. I had not sewed the kid version* yet but I have worn my own dress versions a lot. To show of the raglan lines I used two different blues and to decorate the shirt we ironed on a Rhinestone beaver. Beavers are her favorite animals and when I bought my first Rhinestones a few weeks ago, she immediately asked me to create a beaver pattern and she placed all the stones herself. The shirt can of course be combined with any of the bottoms, but when it is combined with the circle skirt, the one that I hacked from the Sahara the outfit looks like a dress.

A few months ago, during a Bella sunshine Sunday sale, I pronounced my love for the Amelia*, so it had to be part of the capsule. I really like the way that the band can be used to create an interesting contrast. I made a tunic length in uni colored mint jersey and made the garment spicy by adding a striped band.

During another Sunshine sale I made the Josephine* and I just love cap sleeves. So, I made a reversible shirt Josephine. Pink on one side and yellow stripes on the other. A truly versatile piece in a capsule. It was a rather easy hack, I simply used the Reagan raglan to determine the length of the shirt. The Josephine has a wide boat neck that is pretty similar on the front and the back (when you ignore that the back has seam allowance to accommodate a zipper) so I cut the front twice actually four times if you count the lining). The shirt is therefore also reversible in the way that the front and back are the same.

A Sahara* top could neither not miss from our Bella sunshine mini capsule. I have made several already and they are all worn with much joy. The first Sahara that I made had a different fabric for the bodice than the skirt because I sewed it from two small fabric remnants. I still am so satisfied with that contrast that I again went for a different printed skirt. I made a pair of bow tie leggings in the same color as the top such that it looks like a jumpsuit when the leggings and top are combined. You can create the same look by cutting off a pair of Eden leggings* (which is free if you are a Facebook member of the Bella Sunshine group).

The last pattern that I used, is the Tess Tulip shorts*, which was the only pattern that I had not sewn yet. The pattern is intended for wovens, but I made it in knits and it worked perfectly. I cut is one size smaller and put elastic through the entire waistband, not just the back. The Tess comes in two lengths and the light blue version that I made is the shorter length. The green shorts are the longer length and another small hack, I simply left off the front "petals" from the tulip. Neither of the shorts are lined. Because jersey is a bit thicker than cotton, I did not dare to put pockets on the full petal version, but I did put them in the greenish one.

Besides showing you all the pattern inspiration Bella Sunshine *is also having a lovely back to school sale. The sale just started and ends on Sunday at midnight EST. All girls patterns are now $6, all ladies patterns are $7, and all bundles are $12. No coupon code is needed. Feel free to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than English, German, Dutch or Hungarian). If you buy anything through my affiliate links (*), I get a small commission (the price stays the same for you), I am very grateful for everything that feeds my fabric addiction.