Saturday, May 24, 2014

shwin designs spring patterns

It occurred to me that I never did post about the Shwin Designs' Spring Collection, some of which I tested.

The Georgia Twirl Tunic/Dress is one of my favorites in this collection.  The front is a simple sleeveless boatneck with a double circle skirt that can be made shorter for a tunic length or longer for a dress length.  I chose to make the tunic length to wear with leggings or skinny jeans. 

The back has a V-neck with button closures, the skirt can be left opened, which I opted for, or sewn together if you are making the dress version.  There is also an option for color-blocking the front.  It's a fun dress to play with mixing patterns and colors.

All the fabrics were bought from LimaSews Etsy Shop

 

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Shwin Designs' Anna Top and Lucy Tunic


Shauna of Shwin & Shwin just came out with 2 cute patterns in women's sizes.  This first one is the Anna Top/ Dress.  I made mine a top just because tops are way more practical and has the most chance of being worn.  I found this cute blue floral fabric in the red tag area of JoAnn's.  I think it's cotton lawn and there's probably a little bit of synthetic fibers in there.  It's soft and light and just lovely for a summer top.  The top portion is chiffon, leftover fabric from a dance costume.

The pattern calls for folding the bias tape to the inside so that it is hidden; I changed it up a little by letting it show.  I just love this top, it's cool and breezy for summer, and the shape is simple and classic.  I might have to make a million more.

This next one is the Lucy Top.  Another classic, but modern style, it can be made totally reversible.  The underside of this top is a lovely blue voile from free spirit.  I haven't worn the reverse side because it ended up looking too much like scrubs, haha.  But anyway, the fabric shown is birch organic quilting cotton from Lima Sews.  These pictures were taken after a full day of the top being worn.  I look like a rumpled mess.  I had a little trouble with the button-holes and they ended up being too big for the buttons.  Next time I will try adding a little bit of interfacing to the wrong side to make sure the fabric doesn't stretch.



Here I am with Queen Elsa!