Saturday, December 22, 2018

Framalo meet Eximia



Monday, I already told you, that I made three more Eximia's than that I showed in the release blog post. Today, I am showing you those Eximia's that I created from the fabric that was gifted to my by Framalo! To celebrate the Eximia release, Sofilantjes teamed up with several fabric stores and everyday day there are Eximia give away's. There is also a give away of one free copy, more about that at the end of this blog post.



I was allowed to pick fabric from the entire collection of Framalo, and that was a hard task. It is a pity that I do not live close, because I would love to see the actual Framalo store. Not just because besides fabric they also have different diy hobby material, but also because you can actually have a sewing weekend there (yes you can have a sleep over!) and Veerle from Famalo also organizes birthday parties. If you want to organize another type of get together with your sewing friends you can also invite Veerle to come to you with her fabric, because she does do home parties as well.



In the end, I chose for one of the new Chat Chocolat fabrics from the solid as a rock collection. The wine red is clearly my type of color, and the green and pink dots give a playful effect. The fabric is super soft on the inside. and perfect for winter outfits. The fabric stretches very well in one direction and a bit less in the other. The fabric is a joy to work with and also beginners should have no fear of this stretchy material. Besides this one, the collection contains five more prints.







Although the garments were all made with the same pattern and main fabric, I did not want them to be the same, so I decided to use three different contrast fabrics. I finished my sweater with the remnants of an old, already upcycled sweater. The color was a perfect match, and last time I had not used the neckline, nor the bottom of the sweater, that I now turned into the sleeve cuffs. For our eldest, I used a uni green fabric, and for our youngest, I went a bit wild and used a striped pink, that very well matches with the pink in the fabric.



The Eximia, both the girl and woman version are still available with a 25% discount in the Sofilantjes webshop, the sale is until December 24. To make the Eximia celebration extra festive, Framalo is giving away a copy of the pattern. Check out her Facebook page. 



Monday, December 17, 2018

Eximia release



The Eximia sweater is the newest pattern from Sofilantjes. With the pattern you can make a short sweater, which is perfect on summer dresses, a medium sweater or a long sweater, one that can be worn with leggings. The pattern contains both 3/4 sleeves and long sleeves. A versatile garment that sews up super quick and looks awesome in all kind of fabric, a typical Sofilantjes pattern.



In the pre-test phase I sewed two Eximia's one for myself and one for our eldest. The pattern changed a bit after this phase, but not so much, so my pictures give a pretty accurate picture of the pattern. I sewed up three other Eximia's but more about those next Saturday!



The Eximia is designed to be worn on sleeveless or short sleeved garments, and you get the best results in stable knits. The longer versions can also be worn without anything underneath (on top). The shorter version can of course also be worn without clothing underneath, but the belly button will be visible in that case.



The short length Eximia is the perfect layering garment to wear on your summer dresses. That Vallis that I sewed in the beginning of the summer I wore very often and with this Eximia I can wear it during the winter as well. I have never been a type to layer my clothes, I do not really own cardigans, but this short sweater is something that I do see myself wear very often.



For our eldest I sewed the longest version. This version looks great on jeans, we did not try it with a skirt yet, but I can imagine that it would give an extra interesting layering detail. My version is from Punte di Roma and the version for our eldest is made from a very soft knitted fabric, but I have no clue how to call it. It is super soft and she loves the feel of it on her skin. 



Sunday, December 16, 2018

Twirly Pearly add-on release



The Pearlie is an adorable pattern for a dress or peplum shirt designed by Peach patterns. It is part of One Thimble issue 16 and for over a year also available as a stand alone pattern on Peach Patterns own web shop. I really love the Pearlie, I made a few already, and today the pattern becomes even better with the Twirly Pearlie add-on. The Add-on contains long sleeves, a waistband and a circle skirt. Circle skirts are always a good idea and what I think of the long sleeves on a Pearlie you can already read in my first ever Pearlie post.



When Marina from Peach Patterns asked me if I wanted to test the add-on, I  did not have to think twice, even though it is totally December madness around here, you can never had too many Pearlie's. I sewed three, but if it would have been up to my girls, I would have sewed at least three more.



Winter truly arrived here, so it was a no-brainer that I would try out the official long sleeve option. It fits perfectly and it is such an easy sew. Our eldest so loves her dress that I immediatly sewed a second and third dress, a twinning set in a Nooteboom fabric (of which I bought 6 meters, so you will see more for sure), I did make the dresses with two different contrast fabrics to show off their individual personality a bit. I used good and stable ribbing for the nekline, pocket and the waistband to create a nice holistic view.



This digital horses fabric is probably the last of my digital animal buying spree from a  few years ago. My kids grew a lot since then, so it was not possible to cut the circle skirt from it, but it looks great in just the bodice. The skirt of this brownish dress is punte de roma and this makes a nice stable skirt. It has an awesome twirl. With Punte de Roma the pattern is also perfect Christmas dress material.




You can add the circle skirt directly to the original Pearlie bodice, but you can also use a waistband. If you directly at it to the bodice, the dress will of course be a bit shorter than if you make it with the waistband. As you know, I love hacking, and making the bodice a bit longer by just taping the waistband to the bodice is a super easy, but useful hack. I was testing the add-on so I did not do it, but I was tempted, very tempted. I did add a pair of inseam pockets though, because I felt that did not really change the pattern, and my girl always need pockets. On the horses dress I slightly changed the pocket finish, I used the neckband ribbing to finish the top and bring some unity.




The Twirly Pearly add-on is now available for 5.75 dollar.You can also buy the original pattern plus the add-on for 10.71 dollar.

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Project Run and Play Handmade Holiday Tour



I confess, dress sewing is one of my, not-so-secret addictions. Dresses, especially in knit just give me instant gratification. But when Audrey pitched the Handmade holiday tour for Project Run and Play, I immediately thought of our son. I do sew for him, but his fancy clothes I ususally buy. I am so happy that I decided to sew for him because, he looks stunning and stylish in his Loveralls and tie, he is a total hipster.



Let's start of with that tie by Shannon of Little Kids Grow . It must be the fastest fancy thing that I ever sewed. I assumed that I would be able to sew in in an hour, but it turned out to not be more than ten minutes and it looks perfect. I did omit the binding on the inside, with binding it takes a bit longer. The binding is not visible which is why I decided to leave it out. I know that many people get a kick out of a perfect  finish, but I am not one of them. I get a kick from quick projects, so this tie is perfect for both type of sewists. I sewed the tie with one Micheal Miller fat quarter and I still have a good amount of the quarter left. Treasured fat quarters and this tie pattern seem a match made in heaven.



Our son is wearing a hacked version of the Loveralls from Celina of Petit a Petit + Family. The pattern is designed for woven fabrics, but if you remember the first sentences of this post you will not be surprised that I used my knititfication skills and sewed it in a heavy weighted Punte di Roma. This gives him extra freedom of movement but still looks as stylish as woven.



Besides changing the fabric type, I hacked a bit more. Because the fabric is stretchy, I decided that he would not need any front or side closure, that he could just step into the Loveralls. I did not want the straps to be too stretchy, so I added elastic into them. I sewed the straps to the front with some extra length on the end (which is on the inside and therefore not vivible), so I can easily lengthen the straps if his torso grows quickly.  I also made an extra wide hem on the bottom to keep some extra length so that he can wear it longer. The snaps on the front are purely for decoration, they have no function.



I am already the seventh stop in the handmade holiday tour so that means that there are already six great creations to check out on the Project run and play site.  Also make sure that you check out the entire Project Run and Play Shop (which were all developed from pieces that were sewn for the Project Run and Play competition in the first place!), and see what you would have chosen for a Holiday look.