Sew Family Jammies 2020 Blog Tour

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We made it guys! School is out for Summer! We are officially on holidays and heading to the beach for a few weeks. These Un-Christmas jammies will be perfect for waking up Christmas morning at the beach, but also perfect at any time of year!

As part of our Sew Jammies 2020 Blog Tour – Get your free ticket here (so you can get discount codes and be eligible for prizes)! Read all about Sew Family Jammies with Sew Altered Style (Mac and Katie) and Maker Mountain Fabrics (Grace) and Blog Tour Coordinator Extraordinaire (Teri aka FaSewLa) here.

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I am only sewing what my kids request these days. I am short on time and hate to waste it sewing something that sits in the closet unloved. They all love simple summer jammies. Boxer shirts and tanks and tees are perfect for our summer Christmas.

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I actually thought they’d all request a tank, so luckily I asked before I got too far into the project. I used the Ainslee Fox Triton Tank to make the tank and the Jalie Mimosa for the tees and just straightened the hem.

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I didn’t have any red knit fabric so I bought some large tees and upcycled them (which was actually much cheaper lol). I was able to keep the necklines on all the tops from the original shirts!

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I tried to convince them to let me applique a star or something on each top to match the shorts, but I got a hard and fast NO. #boring

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I used the Made by Jacks Mum Hang Ten shorts for all the boxers. It’s a great pattern, I’ve used it a hundred times. I just made them the length they all like ( the girls like theirs a little shorter than my son).

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The only thing I did differently was use 2.5cm elastic in the waist instead of 3cm (as that’s what I had on hand), and I also attached the elastic to the fabric instead of making a casing. Who likes their elastic flipping in their waistband? Not me…

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As you can see they’re a hit! I bought the shorts fabric from an opshop, but it’s currently in store at Spotlight. I got a few metres of it, so Mum & Dad will have shorts to match too when we get home from holidays! It’s really light weight and they love how it feels like their are wearing “air” haha!

As you can see the “Silly Season” is in full swing here! We wish you and all your families a wonderful Christmas, or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate!

If you would like to see more Christmas Jammies from around the worl, stop by these blogs to check them out!

December 2 Teri // Fa Sew La
December 4 Sierra // Seams Like Sierra
December 6 Emily // Replicate then Deviate
December 10 Heidi // Handmade Frenzy
December 11 Sharon // Sweet Mama Life
December 12 Carrie // Beri Bee Designs
December 13 Katie // KatieKortman.com
December 16 Melissa // A HAPPY STITCH
December 17 Taish // Blooming Skies
December 18 Leanne // Thready For It
December 19 Laurie // Make It Sew with The Bear And Pea Atelier
December 20 Brooke // Idle Sunshine
December 21 Marissa // Sew Help Me
December 23 Lara // Handmade by Lara Liz
December 24 Kelly // Petite Stitchery
December 25 Jess // Broad In The Seams
December 26 Victoria // Victoria Beppler
December 27 Heather // Heather Handmade
December 28 Sylvia // The Ravel Out
December 30 Victoria // Victoria Lucille Anne
December 31 Teronia // Sew Haute Blog

Much love and sunshine!
Brooke x

Idlesunshine

December 20, 2019 0

One Thimble 21 Tour Wrap Up

We made it! Who knew you could put together an amazing blog tour in less than a week! When we heard One Thimble was back, we had to try! It’s clearly a testament to the love we have for the OT E-zine that we would drop everything to make it happen in such a short amount of time.

I hoped to squeeze in a couple more makes this week from Issue 21, but other commitments got in the way. I did manage to run up the Thread Faction #131 Dropt Crotch Track pants and cut out an Ainslee Fox Archie Shirt, so you will have to wait for that one!

I’ve teamed the Thread Faction #131 Drop Crotch Track pants with a free sweater pattern from the Emma & Mona blog, the Emma Trui. I’d been wanting to try it for a while. It is cute, but doesn’t come with hem band, cuffs & neck band, so you need to calculate those yourself. The cute scandi dogs fabric is a pre-order from Utopian Threads Fabrics Australia, (teamed with a striped ponte, black ribbing and black sports tracksuit material from Spotlight).

I sized up, because we have hit spring and it was so hot this week – yay! I want these babies to last as long as possible and my girl absolutely loves them.

We had some amazing bloggers join in to share their makes this week. I cannot thank them all enough for saying yes and knocking their makes out of the park on such short notice! Let me show you how amazing they are and be sure to catch their blog posts for all the details!

The Wrap Up!

August 30

Idle Sunshine

Rebel & Malice

Marvelous Auntie M

August 31

Sprouting JubeJube

{Spools+Oodles} of Fun

September 1

Needles to Say

September 2

Max California

Lily Shine Creates

September 3

Stitched by Jennie

September 4

GAAFMachine

Candice Ayala

September 5

Beri Bee Designs

Idle Sunshine Tour Wrap Up!

You still have a chance to win a copy of the new One Thimble Issue 21 – Spring 2019, the winner will be announced tomorrow! Enter the rafflecopter prize draw here – Open until 12am Friday September 6th AEST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

September 5, 2019 2

One Thimble Is Back!

Issue 21 – Spring 2019

Our favourite sewing e-zine is back from a little hiatus! The buzz has been so positive and it’s been lovely to see everyone was as excited as I was about its return. I am thrilled to have brought together some of my blogging friends to share their favourite patterns from the new Issue! It’s the first time I have coordinated the One Thimble Blog Tour and we are excited to share everything we have made.

One Thimble is back with a new format and a broader appeal. A new more affordable version with so many great features. The new patterns list has changed from 10 for a sale price of $25, to 4 new patterns & 4 hacks for the new low price of $12. It’s great value and also gives confidence to sewists out there that are not quite sure about tweaking the fabulous patterns they already own.

New patterns included in Issue 21

#131 Drop Crotch Trackpants by Thread Faction (2-14)

Cinnamon Tote by Salt & Pepper Patterns

Camden Dress by Jilly Atlanta (2-14)

Elliot Romper by Tadah Patterns (0000-4)

Pattern Hacks based on existing

One Thimble patterns

Miss Olivia Dress Dolman sleeve and knee length hem hack

Piccolo beach mat with new carrier added

Archie shirt pocket hack

Monster Mash Pinny hacked to childs apron

I was excited to be asked to be a stylist for this issue, showing my take on some of the patterns and talking about how I approach sewing as a busy Mum. I made my girls the new Camden dress by Jilly Atlanta, myself the Miss Olivia by 1 Puddle Lane and the new Cinnamon Tote by Peppa n Salt Patterns!

The Miss Olivia was originally in Issue 16 of One Thimble, but it features in the current issue as a dolman sleeve and knee-length hem hack. I love a good pattern hack and am a big fan of flying by the seat of my pants (let’s call it a mix of experience, mathematics and no fear), but it was nice to follow instructions to get the perfect result.

So next on my list I think I will make the #131 Drop Crotch Trackpants by Thread Faction and the Archie Shirt by Ainslee Fox with the pocket hack… What’s on your list?

For your chance to win a copy of the new One Thimble Issue 21 – Spring 2019 please enter the rafflecopter prize draw here – Open until 12am Friday September 6th AEST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We have some amazing bloggers joining in to share their makes this week. We were excited to celebrate the release and relaunch of One Thimble. Be sure to check each one out on the tour and show them some love.

August 30

August 31

{Spools+Oodles} of Fun

September 1

September 2

September 3

September 4

September 5

Beri Bee Designs

Idle Sunshine Tour Wrap Up!

August 30, 2019 9

One Thimble Issue 17 – HOLA!

“Hola!” and welcome to my stop in the One Thimble Issue 17 Blog Tour! One Thimble Issue 17 (Summer 2017) is available now and I can’t wait to show you what you’ll find inside!

One Thimble is a Digital Sewing Magazine produced in Australia. Each One Thimble E-zine features 10+ patterns, applique/embroidery files and sewing/creative articles from contributors from all over the globe. The theme for issue 17 is, “Hola!” and it happens to celebrate One Thimble’s 4th Birthday!

Here’s a list of the patterns included in the latest edition:

Big Day Out Denim Jacket– Ainslee Fox – size 3-12
Give Piece a Chance – crop top and skirt set – Duchess & Hare – size 2-12
Nori Dress – Paisley Roots – size 2-12
Port Street Shorts – Ainslee Fox – size 3-12
Embroidery – Molly & Mama – hand stitched
Taco Time Applique – One Thimble – interactive applique
Sol Dress – Tadah – XS (8) – XL (16)
Festival Clutch – Little Moo Designs – two sizes
Posse Cadet Cap and Visor – Apple + Fig – baby to adult
Overall Winner- Katy’s Lotus pincushion
Winner of People’s Choice- Sarah’s Fabric Wrap Bracelet
Winner of the Scrap buster Category- Kellie’s Teacher gift pack
Winner of Something Special- Kira’s Miss Blossom Bunny clutch
Winner of the Quick Sew Category- Megan’s fruit bags

I happened to test and promote 2 patterns already in the lead up to the Issue 17’s release, so I’ll show you some pictures of those in a minute, but the feature of today’s post is the Nori Dress by Paisley Roots.

It is getting rarer and rarer to catch my girls wearing a dress (other than for special occasions when I put my foot down lol), but this was an absolute hit!

Obviously if you have a fussy customer like me, then fabric is going to be the toughest choice. All the other hard work is done. Your girls will love this trendy look, with side cut outs, halter neck and swingy circle skirt!

I adjusted ours to tie in a bow at the back rather than slider rings at the neck. I am making an effort to sew from my stash and if I’d driven the 40 minutes to spotlight just for sliders it would have cost me a hundred or so $$$ in fabric that I would have “needed” while I was there. I just cannot be trusted 😉

I have had all of these fabrics in my stash for a couple of years. I have used them all before for different projects, but never together. Planning fabric combinations is my favourite part of the process, laying out options and switching coordinating fabrics led me to this combo that I knew my girl would love.

We spent this morning at a local event at a park to welcome Santa to the shopping centre. We met some friends and the kids enjoyed the dancing, singing and rides on show! We got a bit more sun, than I was planning on, then we went for lunch with friends afterwards. It was one of those beautiful unplanned days that totally go off the schedule you had in your head. I was starting to worry, but I still managed to get the dress made and photographed well before the sun went down that evening, so it is pretty quick. I used snaps instead of buttons and button holes which saved me a good amount of time too.

My favourite way to hem a circle skirt is to use bias tape. I didn’t have enough mustard yellow in my stash, so I had to be happy with over locking and turning it up this time. If I’m being completely honest I will probably go back and do it with bias when I get some, because I am a details person and it hurts my eyes!

Here’s a pic of what your dress could look like if you follow the instructions with the sliders on the straps, just for comparison. It looks so fabulous in stripes!

I’ll leave you with some pics of the Ainslee Fox Port Street Shorts and the One Thimble Taco Time Interactive Applique I made in testing before the Issue was released. My boy loves when I sew for him and he seriously loves this outfit!

I used a spider web printed canvas for the shorts with a black drill waistband. Then I finally did some form of applique like I have been promising (still havent attempted FMA haha)!

I had fun putting together all the colours for this project and even dyed some calico with tumeric to get closer to the colour I wanted for the taco shell. I love to dye with natural colours like tumeric, tea and coffee. It’s another way to avoid going shopping too (when you can’t be trusted like me)!

I have so many more items on my to sew list! I can’t wait to make some fruit bags and some visors for starters. Now I know I have some hand sewing projects for Christmas holidays sorted when we are camping with the hand stitched embroidery project and the lotus pin cushion! Not to mention the Jacket, clutch, ahhh everything!!! It is another amazing issue.

Now if you are a One Thimble fan or have been enjoying my One Thimble posts, you will want to check out the OT Sewing Enthusiasts Facebook Group, as the 4th Birthday Celebration prize is ALL 17 ISSUES!!!! I kid you not…

For all the stops on the One Thimble Issue 17 Blog Tour Celebration, be sure to click the links below!

Warmest Wishes,

Brooke x

11/9/2017

Pattern Revolution

max california

Once Upon a Sewing Machine

11/10/2017

11/11/2017

11/12/2017

11/13/2017

11/14/2017

11/15/2017

Kathys Kwilts and More

November 13, 2017 9

One Thimble Issue 16 – Under The Sea

Oh my gosh! Where do I even start? One thimble Issue 16 is here and it is bigger, brighter and more beautiful than ever!

Included in this issue are 11 awesome PDF patterns for the ridiculous price of AUS$25:

High Tide Trousers (NB-12)

Triton Tank (1-12)

Scuttle Shorts (3-12)

Hally Dress (1-12)

Miss Olivia Dress (Ladies AU 6-20)

Pearlie Dress (1-12)

Makana Mermaid Skirt (2-4, 5-7, 8-10)

Melody Mermaid Tail (3-8)

Mermaid Pocket Doll & Shell (handsewn)

Murray is a Merman (Free Motion Applique)

Meg is a Mermaid (Free Motion Applique)

What a steal! It’s a gorgeous collection that will fill your wardrobes full of practical warmer weather staples! The Under The Sea theme is designed with comfort and fun in mind for our upcoming Australian Spring. Don’t think that if you are headed into Fall that this magazine is not for you though, One Thimble is very versatile and has something for everyone.

I have absolutely jumped on the One Thimble Fan-wagon this year and with each Issue I have sewn more and more! So far in testing this issue I have made 2 Triton tanks, 2 pairs of Scuttle shorts, 2 Hally dresses, a Pearlie dress and 2 Makana Mermaid skirts! I am proud to say that I have contributed another article to this issue as well, looking at mashing sizes in PDF patterns for the right fit! So grab your coffee and vanilla slice, we could be here for a while with all the pics I have taken!

First let’s take a look at the Hally Casual Dress! These dresses were such a fun project! They were designed by Jen of Ainslee Fox Boutique Patterns in sizes 1-12, who also happens to be the Editor and Creator of One Thimble.

I love the loose comfortable fit and the combinations are endless with fabric mixing here!

I made one using the magical first binding method and then we also decided to try a traditional bias method, so you can see both versions here.

It has a simple elastic back with no buttons and zips!

If I’d had enough 1 inch gingham, that would have been my pick for this dress, so don’t be suprised if you see that version pop up soon!

I’m putting a little grid of pics in here, because you’ll be scrolling for days if I add all our pictures individually 😉

Next up is the Pearlie Dress & Peplum in sizes 1-12 by Peach Patterns.

It is a dolman style tshirt dress with a gathered skirt. There are 2 fit options to choose from and we chose the slim fit. It includes 3 pocket styles, but we chose to leave the pocket off for this version.

It is a super comfortable dress and a nice fast sew. This is my girls’ favourite style, they are into simple design and it lets you mix fabrics to change up the look. I can see a million combinations for this dress.

I love the high-low hem which curves up to the side seams. I also love her styling, and she loves her new tie dye socks with a cause from Help Astrid!

Every outfit needs matching bows, so I fussy cut these from the same gorgeous pastel rainbow leopard cotton lycra I used for the bodice!

Next up is the Triton Tank! It’s a casual knit pattern also by Ainslee Fox Boutique Patterns. It works best with fabrics that have a fluid drape (which you can actually read all about in the article on page 64)!

It can be made in sizes 1-12 and I love the roomy fit. This outfit made my kids so happy, they are all about the t-shirts and shorts! It doesn’t matter how many pretty dresses I make, they will always go straight for the basics! Can you blame them – look how comfortable they look!

That is definitely my new mission… Sew all the basics!

The Scuttle Shorts are also by Ainslee Fox Boutique Patterns and team perfectly with the tank. They can be made in sizes 3-12 in knit fabric. As you can see here, they are a unisex pattern in 2 lengths (Shorty & Jamaica lengths). I made both of mine with the panels and pockets, because they are so cute for colour blocking, but there is a simple plain option too, that would be a super fast sew.

My guy loves both this tank and shorts, I had to keep hiding them until we got a chance to take photos or he would have worn them out!

I’m sure you can spot sand and bark all over them from their little adventures this afternoon! This spot on the bay is just gorgeous and full of old trees to climb on.

We happened to hit this spot right on low tide on the most beautiful winters day! It was 4:30pm and it was so warm (25C)!

If you happen to visit us in the near future, you may find us back at that spot, with some deck chairs and drinks next time I think!

I have to show you our Makana Mermaid Skirts from testing too! They totally deserved their own blog post, because I took so many cute pics of them in testing! This particular weekend we happened to experience some horrendous weather associated with an event known as an East Coast Low. Think Winter on steroids – RAIN, WIND, COLD! I also happened to be sick as a dog to match the weather! I dragged myself out to get the pics and we jagged a tiny bit of sunshine! My husband couldn’t believe we were going to the beach, but I knew we would sneak them in.

Now I know you’ve seen a lot, but every Issue I have said that Free Motion Applique is on my to-do list, so if we roll around to the Issue 17 tour and it hasn’t happened, give me a virtual tap on the shoulder and maybe a bit of a glare or something… I’m saying it – I will be FMA-ing that damn gorgeous Meg the Mermaid come hell or high water! So keep me honest and make sure it happens!

We are very lucky (and SUPER EXCITED as you can see below…) to be giving away a copy of Issue 16! So click the Raffle copter link below for your chance to win!