Showing posts with label top. Show all posts
Showing posts with label top. Show all posts

Monday, August 6, 2018

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.



Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Arctic Racer release



I know, I know, it is still winter in the Netherlands, but I am dreaming of better weather. Two weeks ago, I already showed you this summer dress, today I am showing three more summer items. Yesterday, the Arctic Racer was released by Harristar designs, and today I am showing you the three versions I sewed up during testing.




I recently came across Harristar designs when I was searching for extra inspiration for clothes made out of jersey scraps. I have a lot of those, and although I have some awesome patterns for scraps (like this one), I can always use some more. I therefore bought the Dimo pack from Harristar, joined their Facebook group and saw the tester call they posted a few hours earlier.  If you are considering buying one of Harristars patterns (and you should), I advice you to first join the Facebook group though, the Harristar Gazer pattern is free for member of that group!



Harristar designs are packed with options and the new Arctic Racer totally fits the bunch. With the pattern you can make a tank (two types of bottom hems), a tunic, a normal dress (flared or more A line), a rushed dress and a maternity dress. The dress even comes with pockets, those were added later in game, after I sewed all my three versions, on my next one I will use them for sure. Amber, the designer was cool with us testers hacking a bit, so my first dress, was a one sided rushed version. I wrote a tutorial for you, if you would be interested in making something similar.



All options are sewn up very fast. All hems are just folded over and sewn down. I still do not own a coverstitch, but it worked fine with my general sewing machine as well. I actually hemmed with the inside of the garment on top, this way I always caught the fabric perfectly, and my bobbin stitch looks decent enough on the outside of fabric. I do advice to use a good quality knit for these projects. Making such an easy hem is perfect for good recovery knits, but flimsy ones easily overstretch. A flimsy fabric might also create some trouble if you make the dress. The weight of the dress might pull you shoulder straps down.



I made the top from the same fabric that I used for these trousers. The one sided rushed version's fabric is from Joyfits. The flower fabric has been in my stash for over two years. I bought it when a web shop went out of business and I could not bring myself to cut it. It is so beautiful, that it surely was going to me something for me. After making the rushed version and seeing other tester pictures, I knew this pattern would be a match made in heaven, and I was right.



Due to the release there is a 35% discount on your entire purchase for today with the code ArcticRacer35 (usable once per email address). You can find the Harristar web shop here.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Petite Stitchery & Co Tour



At the beginning of November a new designer company was born, Petite Stitchery and Co. The designer team consists of Gemia, Laura and Ashley. These three talented ladies created an entire collection of seven patterns (consisting of patterns for both woven and jersey fabric for babies and kids) perfect for Fall. They will do the same magic trick three months from now! Their vision is to jointly design a collection per season. I got the honor to pick whatever I wanted from their Fall collection and I chose to sew the Fawn Leggings and the Sparrow  Peplum Top.



I have a soft spot for jersey fabric, so I picked from that part of the collection. High low hems are my recent addiction, so when I saw the Sparrow, I knew that I was making that pattern for sure. I foresee many more of these in the future, I really love it. The sizing was just perfect, I based my cutting on the size table and I would not have changed a thing. The Fawn leggings sewed up quickly and fit great as well. The leggings have a fun tuxedo stripe option, but I went for simple, to be able to compare these leggings with many outfits.



Seeing that I was not testing, I permitted myself a little hacking. The first one, is a very minor one. I cut my skirt pieces such that I cut it in two pieces, which made it possible to avoid birds flying upside down. I did the same trick with the collar, I did not want drunk birds on the back. The second hack was omitting the back split. I used an interfacing for stretch fabrics on the collar,retaining the stretchiness of the neckline. I (correctly) assumed that I would not need a neck split in that case. To nicely finish the neckline I added a jersey bias on the outside of the neckline, which is totally covered by the collar.


My second choice from the fall collection, would actually have been a woven pattern. I am loving the the Ruby romper with bubble option. Dutch fall is just too cold for that unfortunately. Although it would look adorable over tights, I fear my just potty trained girl, would not hold her bladder long enough to take off a bubble romper and tight, but I would love to sew one come spring.


The ladies behind Petite Stitchery and Co have a great eye for color. I was almost drooling while looking through through their lookbook. It was immediately clear to me that the outfit that I would be making needed a true fall colors. Fall colors are actually my most favorite colors, so I had plenty to choose from in my closet. The mustard yellow that I used for the fawn legging is from Joyfits, last time I just bought the last 1.75 meter. Fortunately, she got new, this is one of my most favorite fabrics. The Megan Blue bird fabric was an extra inexpensive coupon. Originally, I was planning to only have the collar in red. I quickly realized that there was no way I would be able to cut the entire tunic from the fabric, so I solved it by going for a red bodice.



Before you start waving your wallet, I advice you to join the Petite Stitchery and Co facebook group. Seeing as Thanksgiving, and with Black Friday is coming near, there is a sales code there! Today, I am the first one on a small tour. Check out the line up for the coming days! For now, I advice you to participate in the Rafflecopter, you might win one of the patterns!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

More Amare, toddler outfit

Last week Sofilantjes released the Amare pattern and in my previous post I showed you a dress and a top which I made with the pattern. I managed to create two different bows, so when Anne asked if somebody from the testers wanted to write a guest post on bow construction, I (digitally) waved energetically with both hands. You can find the bow tutorial that I wrote here.



Because I was sewing for the tutorial I decided to make a full top for my middle daughter who had remained loveless (amare means love). People that read my blog know that I am trying to reduce my fabric stash, and this fabric had been in my stash from the beginning of my sewing passion. When I bought it, I thought it was so special and pretty that I didn't dare to cut it (this was in the period that I only had seen fabric on a local market and this was my first internet buy). Then the world of fabrics really opened up to me, and this relatively thin cotton was moved to the back of my closet.



I bought one meter from this fabric and I felt that I therefore had to use the fabric for a dress. Cutting a piece from it for something smaller feels like a waste, it might happen that I will not have enough for a full dress next time. In my active tackling of fabrics I just decided to cut the top from it and worry later. I like a challenge any way.


The bow and ties are made from Soft Cactus fabric, I also used it for the lining. I still have to practice my bow tying skills. This time I closed the top with transparent snaps.


To finish the outfit I sewed a pair of leggings. I used a pattern from Ottobre 1/2014, which has a nice extra effect on the lower part of the legs. My girl apparently has thicker legs than her waist and hip suggest, so the leggings are a bit tight. I am planning many more leggings (to accompany all those non-dresses that I will be sewing), so this was a great test.



The fabric is from Hilco, the fabric wasn't long enough to cut the leggings from vertically, so I actually cut them horizontally. The stretch is four way, so cutting "incorrectly" was a good solution. I do feel that if I would have been able to cut the correct way, the leggings would have been slightly more stretchy though. I made a yoga waist instead of one with an elastic. The color isn't exactly the same as the bow, but it the closest that I could find in my fabric closet and better than any of the legging my daughter owns.


I love to hear what you think of my creations. 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). 

Friday, May 15, 2015

Janet blouses, my two test versions

A while ago I saw a great Mondriaan design dress on Facebook. I loved the idea and put it on my Pinterest board for future inspiration. Two weeks later I saw a testers call from the same designer. I only knew it was going to be a blouse, there were no pictures, but the promise of a bunch of collar and sleeve options sounded great. I applied and was lucky to be among the testers. The pattern is as nice as I expected. The pattern is a flowy blouse with 5 collar options (of which one is without collar) and 5 sleeve options (of which one is without sleeves).



For the first version I made, I used silk which I bought at Suzdesigner stoffen (who seem to have closed) on sale last year. I had planned it for myself, but now I thought it would be the perfect fabric for this pattern. The woven fabric is from one of my old blouses, the blouse had some nice small pleats and I cut the yokes from this nice detail. I chose to make the converter collar and flutters sleeves. I thought it was a great combination between super sweet and cool.



The instructions of the pattern are great and because the seam allowance is 1.5cm I did my first french seams. It turned out this was easier than I expected. Silk is hard to work with and the evening I sewed it I coincidentally saw some tricks (of which the source now escapes me). I learned from that post that delicate fabrics like silk have the tendency to be pulled in your machine. The best remedy is a straight stitch plate and straight stitch feet. This way there is only a very small hole in your machine. My machine has a 9mm hole and 9mm hole in the feet so this explained why my fabric was indeed not feeding through my machine as I would have liked.




My fabric is not as drapy as I would have expected. The blouse therefore seems a bit wide under her arms. I read that silk is drapy, so I used silk without really evaluating my fabric. My fabric was that delicate and light that it more floats than hangs, does that make sense? So I made another. This time I used a very drapy knit, knit is not one of the adviced fabrics but it worked out great. This time my fabric really draped. I had chosen the fast version without collar and without sleeves. The greenish knit is a woman's knit from Lillestoff. I once bought 4 meter and I used it here and here as well. The woven part is a fat quarter from Robert Kaufman I bought in a fat quarter bundle at modes4u.com.



I ran out of my last purple flower snaps, so I made a combination betweenn flowers and round snaps. I also ran out of my favorite round bronze snaps and added one star at the top.



I love both blouses although they look very different, for the first time I really styled my daughter differently in the same shoot, so on the playground she changed shorts shoes and hair. Funny how a sewing blog can inspire someone to become a better photographer and get a better sense of style.



The blouse is releasing today and through the weekend there is a 35% discount in Popolok's Etsy store with the code "Janet" making the price less than 5 dollar. The 35% sale is store wide on all Popoloks pattern, check it out.

I love to hear what you think of my creations. 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).