A couple of Heidi and Finn Tops and Dresses

I'm a huge fan of Heidi & Finn and have been for a while now, ever since I made the urban hoodie when S was so little.  I had the opportunity to test a couple of their new patterns, the Tulip Top/ Dress and the Pintuck Blouse/Dress. 

This is the Tulip Dress.  It has a curved yoke, dolman sleeves, and an A-line shape.  The fabric is a sweatshirt knit that I found at Girl Charlee.  It's a thinner fleece so it works wonderfully with this style. 

Next up is the Tulip Tunic.  This one I made using two different knits, a floral and a solid.  You can definitely see the yoke detailing here.

And here's B in her Pintuck Dress made from Heather Ross Jersey Knit that I found at Lima Sews Etsy Fabric Shop. This dress has a keyhole closure in the back with a bias tie, making it perfectly suitable for both knits and wovens.  I love the clean lines of this dress and the pintucks on the neckline adds just the right touch.

And finally, here's the blouse version, again in knit, this time an interlock remnant that I found at Jo-Ann's.

Both patterns were really easy and so quick to make.  And as always, Christine, the designer of Heidi & Finn, explains things beautifully and simply. 

On a side note, look how big B is getting.

The Birthday Dress: Violette Field Threads Maggie

 

 

Sometimes I apply for pattern testing calls not really thinking that I will be able to make the cut.  Especially when its a pattern maker like Violette Field Threads, who are extremely popular with a huge following.  So when I got the email right around Christmas, I was pleasantly surprised and even happier when I opened the file and found the dress that I was to make. 

 



This is the Maggie Dress.  It has a high-low hem, split sleeves, a contrast belt, and unique shoulder detailing.  It can be made in woven or knit; I chose to make it in this super-soft floral jersey from Girl Charlee. 

I love the flowy-ness of this dress and I think it works beautifully in knit.  As with all VFT patterns, the instructions are clear and concise, and they break it down for you so that even beginners can follow along easily.

And oh yeah, they have the women's version of the Maggie Dress too. 

Fairy Party and My first In-the-Hoop Project

Every year in February, I tell myself that I should keep things simple for S's birthday, but then every year I get carried away and end up driving myself crazy making party favors and decorations.  Well, this year is no exception.  Once again, I went way overboard, staying up till all hours of the night and subsisting on 4 hours of sleep for a week before the party.  But you know, it was worth it; the creating made me happy, and the party made my girl happy, and that's all that counts, right?

This year, we went with a fairy theme.  And since baking is beyond my skill set, we ordered all the food from Megan of Sweet 'n Sassy Custom Cakes, who came and set up the dessert table for the party, even brought the table, linens, plates, and decorations for the dessert table.  Check out the fairy house cake and the mushroom cupcakes. 

It's not a party without handmade party favors, right?  I made these dolls from a pattern by Dolls and Daydreams.  The most thrilling part of this is that the dolls were made "in the hoop," which means that all the seams and stitches were made using my embroidery machine.  These dolls came together so fast and easily.  I was thrilled with the result!

 I ordered the doll wings from Halo Heaven and attached them to the back with a safety pin.  The pattern also had little ballerina slippers for the dolls; I ran out of time so they are barefoot fairies.

 You can't really see it in the pictures but I also embroidered each child's name on the front of the doll.  All except for B's; hers was the first one I made and I hadn't quite figured out how to add the name as yet.

Here's a ridiculously cute close-up of the doll.  I love them so much.  I'm already planning my next dozen.

 I quickly pulled together the centerpieces and decorations for the party using what I had around the house and a few of the party favors that I had bought from Halo Heaven, which included the wings, fairy headbands, and butterfly hairclips, which I used as napkin decorations.

 

 

 

 

The kids made fairy houses using wooden birdhouses decorated with moss, feathers, broken seashells, silk flowers, and whatever else I could find at Joann's that seemed earthy and natural.

 



 

And then it was time to eat their fairy treats.  They drank sparkly juice from champagne glasses that I had left over from a new year's get together. 

 

 

And one last look at our six year old.

Another catch up post

I'm going to keep this post brief.  These are all tester pics spanning from fall to just before Christmas.  Above is  Peekaboo's Classic Jumper.  I loved this pattern but really should have made a size bigger.  S outgrew it within the month. 

This is B in Heidi & Finn's Slouchy Cardigan, size 3t.   The best cardi pattern there is, in my opinion.  Of course I had to make a matching one for S.

Here is Kikoi's Peter Pan Collar blouse.  I'm a big fan of their patterns.  Great fit, simple and classic styling.

This is Schwin Designs' Jude Jacket.  The wing embroidery is from Urban Threads.

The Desmond Jacket, also from Schwin.  I really do love the cut of this jacket.  The instructions for welt pockets are the best I've seen.

Ellie Inspired Urban Girl.  A classic, knit layered dress with lots of options.

 Here's another Kikoi Pattern, the Lily Ruffle Blouse.  I've had that fabric in my stash for maybe 10 years!

 And here's another reversible pinny by little kiwis closet and another chance to use my embroidery machine.

The Tilly Dress, also by Little Kiwi's Closet.  She grew out of this one fast!  Now it's in B's closet.

Goto Patterns' latest: the Belinda Dress, another fabulous pattern by the talented Andrea.

 

And one of my all time favorite patterns: the Gatsby Dress by Heidi & Finn.

 

Whew!  I think I might have missed a couple, but it's been a fun retrospective of the fall season and makes me realize how much I've accomplished! And a huge thank you to the talented designers for letting me test their wonderful patterns.

 

Some selfish sewing coming up, I promise!

 

 





Lovely RIta's and Endless Dress

 

 

Remember my last post in which I was debating between leggings and Peekaboo's Skinny Jeans?  Well, I decided to go somewhere in between in terms of complexity.  These are the Lovely Rita's by Shwin Designs

 

 

 

They were super duper easy though and took a couple of hours at most.  I love that they have just enough details to make them look polished and unique and still be an easy sew.

 



On reflection though, I probably should have done the topstitching in a contrasting color.  The pockets got a little lost in the print.

One more project to share: this is the Endless Dress by Jocole.  This is a pattern test for a new-to- me designer.  The pattern includes a bunch of options but you can also purchase an add-on that includes a pattern piece for a placket as well as instructions for a pieced chevron bodice, applique embellishment, and freezer paper stencil.  Seriously, the options are "endless."

Poor S had to model outside in almost blizzard conditions that day, thus the expression on her face.  I have some selfish sewing projects to share in a future post, but did you know it is almost time for another KCW? 

sewing with kids

I made this top, See Kate Sew's Pippa Peplum Top in under 2 hours from start to finish.  There's an adult version too, and she's having a sew-along on her blog.  But honestly, it's such a simple and straightforward pattern that I  hardly even needed to read the directions. 

Oh, and look!  S got a sewing machine for Christmas.  This is the one she got.  Its a Janome 3/4 size Hello Kitty sewing machine.  I admit, I am a sucker for hello kitty and that color.  We started lessons the day after she opened the box, then her friend (her birthday twin) joined us for a 3 day sewing camp.

 

I used a couple of blogs to help with lesson plans.  Ikat bag was helpful with the types of projects that 5 year-olds can handle.  I referred a lot to this post.   Welcome to the Mouse House has an ongoing series on teaching kids to sew with a lot of good info and tips. 



 

 

The girls completed one project per session, which lasted about 2 hours each.  They were super-motivated and such great listeners.

 



 On the last day of our sewing camp, both girls completed this skirt.  It's a very simple reversible skirt with an eyelet trim and elastic waistband. 

Of course, they both needed a lot of help and are not totally independent, but I'm pretty impressed with the progress they've made.