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idle sunshine

Enjoying life as a series of beautiful moments

Month

May 2017

Simple Life Pattern Co – Sew Caroline Collaboration

SLPCoTour

Sew Caroline and Simple Life Pattern Company are thrilled to be announcing an amazing new collaboration of Mommy and Me sewing patterns!
They teamed up to bring you six awesome new patterns! SLPCo took the Sugar Pop Top, Magnolia Shorts and Waterfall Tank and downsized them to fit the little girls in your life. In return, Sew Caroline took the Ayda Top + Dress, Molly Top, Dress + Maxi and Tammy’s Tulip Shorts and upsized them to fit women. It’s a match made in heaven!

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I’ve always loved the simple design of the girls Ayda so I jumped at the chance to try out the women’s version! I love an interesting back design, it is my favourite feature.

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I decided to make the sleeveless version from this awesome green floral rayon woven. I bought a truck load of it because I just loved it! It is super slippery and floaty and and amazing! You can also make a cap sleeve or flutter sleeve version.

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You can see this fabric drapes a little in the back (especially with my posture in this shot) because of the nature of the rayon and it being cut on the bias. It was quite a cowl when I first pinned it, so instead of sewing the back pieces dead flat across the bottom, I angled the corners downward slightly to flatten the fit of the back V before attaching it to the skirt.

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I took a tiny bit of length off the bodice which is an adjustment I always make for my super high waist (but it didn’t need much at all) and otherwise I made up the size M without any changes.

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I made the circle skirt  rather than the gathered skirt because

a) I had plenty of fabric

b) I love the twirl and silouette AND…

c) I really dislike gathering skirts to attach to bodices haha!

What sewing technique is your least favourite? I love the look of gathers, but I put them in the same category as button holes… Not my favourite things to do, probably because they take time and patience – 2 things I am kinda short on 😉

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I hemmed the skirt with yellow bias tape which you can see peeking out here. It is my favourite way to hem a circle skirt and it gave me a little extra length because I raised the waist and I am fairly tall. The fabric width wouldnt allow me to make it any longer than the exact pattern piece and the fabric is directional.

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There are so many other awesome bloggers on tour this week highlighting these great new patterns so go and visit them all!

May 15
May 16
May 17
May 18

 

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we believe will add value to our readers.

One Thimble Issue 15

OT15 stand alone patterns

It’s One Thimble time! Issue 15 has just released and it’s another favourite with so many patterns I want to make right now!!!

Patterns included in this One Thimble Issue: 

+ Pom Pom Beret from Thread Faction

+ Metro Blazer from Winter Wear Designs

+ Dax Trousers from Gracious Threads

+ Phillipa Blouse from Bobkin Designs

+ V-neck Cardigan from Thread Faction

+ Josephine Dress from Bella Sunshine Designs

+ Hipster Teddy from Swoodson Says

+ Military Messenger Bag from FABulous Home Sewn

+Miriam Skirt from Once Upon A Sewing Machine

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I am lucky not just to be on the One Thimble release  blog tour, but also to have contributed an article to this issue! It was super scary but I’m so glad I made the leap! It’s an article on storing your digital patterns, so I hope the information helps some people! It certainly helped me while I was researching it. I must apologise for my writing style though… If you’ve ever watched Gilmore Girls, you’ll be comfortable ;-). So many words, so little time!

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I chose to make the Thread Faction #115 Pom Pom Beret & #116 V-neck Cardigan patterns from this issue. I knew they’d work beautifully together.

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We started with the Cardigan because piggy buns didn’t work too well with the beret haha! It is a unisex pattern in sizes 2-10. I made it in a mix of ponte knits, using a different colour or stripe for every panel! I do love colour and print clashing! We left off the buttons and snaps and left it open.

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Ah there it is! This beret is super cute! I made a giant pom pom for the top and my Miss refused to let me trim it down, so we are owning that! This #115 Beret is made with sweet teal corduroy with a GIANT mustard pom pom. I love that it can be made in sizes NB to Adult!!

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As a bonus if you purchase OT15 this weekend you can enjoy the early bird special of these adorable printable photo props! My girl had a lot of fun with these!

OT15 bonus cover and instructions

Waaay too much fun!

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I don’t think we will be able to shoot again without them now!

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She is loving this new outfit and we both love the whole hipster theme to this issue! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many patterns in one edition that I want to make right away! Pretty much all of them actually! There are so many that work for both boys and girls too which is excellent.

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It’s not all about the patterns either, don’t forget to check out the articles! Jen has done an amazing job coordinating so many creative people and giving us so many great tutorials to enjoy.

You have to check out everyone else’s makes on tour this week and grab your copy now!

 

Winterwear Designs Amuse

I am so happy to be featuring the Winterwear Designs Amuse Boho top & Dress Pattern on the blog today! I have made and tested quite a few Winterwear Designs Patterns in the past and I am a big fan! The Amuse was designed for my favourite sewing E-zine One Thimble, and featured in Issue 14. I have had that issue since release, but it has taken me til now to get around to sewing for me from it! The pattern is now available back in the Winterwear Designs Catalogue, and to celebrate, we are sharing our Amuse tops and dresses and offering a great prize pack to one winner!!!

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So we set off early this morning for pics before school and work, and my 9 year old photographer daughter did the best job ever! She nailed it in just a few minutes! I should have known something would bite me when it all went so smoothly…

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We got home and I loaded the pics and every single one was blurry! Seriously blurry!! Apparently I’d left the camera on manual focus from the last shoot I’d done when I handed it to her (forehead slap)!!

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I was so disappointed, but I did my best to resurrect what I could. Luckily this top (made in knit) still looked just as good at the end of the day as it did at the beginning! So we grabbed a few shots in the afternoon as well 😉

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I was so happy with this new location as well! We’ll have to get back to it another time soon….

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I made my Amuse in the tunic length with 3/4 sleeves. There is also a short sleeved option and many different hems. I made it from knit instead of woven and it is so comfortable. As you can see here, no ironing necessary and no creases at the end of the day!

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I only used one front yoke piece because I wasn’t concerned with enclosing raw woven seams and I used a binding method a lot like using bias binding to finish the neck line. I cut a length of knit about an inch wide and sewed all around the neckline with the binding right sides together with the neckline overlapping a little at the end. I flipped it over to the inside and top stitched all the way round. Easy as that!

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I also didn’t hem the top! I love that about knits! No fraying and no hemming! So sneaky and so fast…

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I teamed my Amuse with some ponte tights, boots and my favourite crocheted scarf ❤

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BUT FIRST!! I know you love a competition…

PRIZE:  3 WWD Patterns of Choice and 4 yards of fabric from The Fab Clique Fabric Shop.

How to enter:
-Sew up and share an Amuse by Friday May 26.
-Use #Amuseme when sharing in the WWDF group so that Suzanne can find your entry.
– Already sewed up an Amuse???  Make a new post and share away with the #amuseme

It’s that easy!!!!
You can make a top, tunic, or dress.  You can hack it, make it in knit, smock it, whatever makes you smile.  I can’t wait to see what you all make ;o)

Don’t Forget:
-Save 20% on the Amuse through Sunday May 14th with code: AMUSEME
– Grab the discounted Amuse bundle of 4 yards of fabric for just $24 from The Fab Clique Fabric Shop.

Check out all the stops on the tour:
Marta Glogger (guest blogger at Winter Wear Designs)

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