Welcome to the Simple Life Pattern Company Holiday Blog Tour! This is my third time on the tour and I feel so honoured to be asked each year. Stick around because we have giveaways all week long as well as a discount code to give you 40% off all SLPCo patterns!
When the invitation comes, I always seem to be on holidays #sorrynotsorry! We love travelling in our caravan. This year we were travelling 8,500km around central Australia to see Uluru which was amazing. The service out there was worse than I imagined which made choosing fabric & patterns difficult, so I had to wait until I got home to get started.
We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in Australia and Christmas is in the heat of our summer, so my pattern choices may be a little different to my Northern Hemmisphere friends. I think that adds to the fun and you get to see many interpretations of the holidays!
Christmas is very relaxed in Australia, so we dress for comfort. Being Summer, I chose Maggie’s High Waisted Shorts and the Autumn Knit Shift Top to wear underneath. Both patterns have many options included.
I chose the low waistband option on the shorts and left off the pockets as I thought the checked fabric I had chosen might get a little busy. I chose a simple hem, because I knew my girls would like that, but there is also an elastic bubble hem or cuffs.
I made the simple unlined Autumn top, which is a great staple t-shirt pattern. I made it using a rayon spandex which has great drape. As you can see though, the Autumn can go from simple to WOW with inserted ruffles and can also be made in a dress length, sleeveless and with long sleeves.
The only change I made to the pattern was to use 38mm (1.5 inch) elastic in the back waistband instead of narrow elastic, as I thought I would prefer that look.
We are counting down the weeks till Christmas here! It’s our favourite time of year. We spend a few weeks at the beach in our caravan and even wake up Christmas morning there.
The summer heat has come early and we are in the middle of a catastrophic bushfire event. Pics were tricky to get in this weather, so we had to settle for full sun (which I hate for taking pics). We were on our way to a party and the girls decided to keep their outfits on instead of getting changed which was cute!
I can see my girls wearing these outfits and both pieces seperately quite a few times over the next few months.
I made them a matching headband each because I love a put together outfit! They look sooo cute. Maybe in your part of the world you could make a long sleeved Autumn shirt and team your outfit with thick stockings and boots?
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.
I joined the Coffee & Thread Lana Pattern Tour! When I joined I was planning to make my girls some cute tops, as I haven’t been making myself much lately. I put on a stack of weight and really didn’t want to make myself anything, nor did I want to look at myself in pictures! I’ve turned that around over the past 3 weeks and rewarded myself with a gorgeous new top!
It’s amazing what a bit of self esteem, a cute pattern and some gorgeous fabric will do for you!
I hacked my pattern by making it a peplum. I basically cut the top length by about 9.5 inches (because I am high waisted) and added it back as a gathered skirt. I cut the width of the skirt about 1.5 times the width of the top, and the length about 9 inches long.
When attaching the peplum skirt I gathered it using a piece of elastic the exact width of the bodice. I overlapped the elastic and sewed it into a loop and stretched it to meet the quarter points of the peplum skirt, then attached the gathered skirt, matching the quarter points to the bodice.
I used a beautiful bamboo spandex from Orinoco Designs that I’ve been hoarding for myself. I was going to crack out my new coverstitch but this fabric actually sits really nicely without a hem. You might notice I’ve left both the hem and the sleeves raw! I’m quite comfortable doing that! Just note that if you’d like to hem yours, you might like to cut the skirt an inch longer!
I love the combination of the gathered sleeves and the gathered peplum! I was really tempted just to hem the extended shoulders without adding the sleeves, but I love this version. It’s definitely something I will try for next time though! There is also a dress version and long sleeves included in this pattern.
I love this organic grid design! The rough grid fabric print made it difficult to match up my stripes though, so I had to do my best and just give my stripe-matching OCD a rest.
In other news, I can fit my wedding rings back on again!! Yay!!
BUT jeez those elbows are ugly! Why are elbows so weird? I really need to learn to bend them for back shots… 😉 It might not look even in this shot because I am not straight on to the camera, but I dipped the back bodice lower than the front, for a bit of bottom coverage and I find it a flattering cut!
If you’d like some help hacking your Lana Pattern or making adjustments, drop me a line! I am always happy to help ❤
Thanks for joining me on my stop today. Make sure to head over to Instagram to see all the other beautiful Lana’s. Use the hashtag #lanatopanddresstour to be blown away!
I am thrilled to be returning on the Simple Life Pattern Company Holidays Blog Tour! I love the challenge of creating something special, and this amazing group of makers always push me to challenge myself!
As with all the best blog tours, we have a discount code to give you 30% off all patterns, as well as a giveaway! Read through to the end to get all the important details!
Oh my stars, where do I start ? If you love to hack and mash patterns with a little bit of problem solving thrown in, you will love this project!
My personal challenge for this year’s post was to make something amazing enough to take its place in the SLPCo Holiday Tour, while at the same time making something really wearable for my girls.
That sounds pretty easy surely? You see most little girls love dresses and feeling like a princess! Not my girls… They like denim shorts and Mickey Mouse T-shirt’s! Oh and tie-dye, if it’s tie-dyed they will wear it! #eyeroll
I always get some input from my girls when I’m sewing for them, so I set out to lose myself on the Art Gallery Fabrics website to give them a few options to choose from! I love when AGF sponsors my blog posts with fabric, there are so many amazing collections to choose from!
I decided on a two fabric combination to make matching, but not quite matching dresses. I love a pop of contrast! I wanted to make a combination that looked bright and festive without pigeon holing it as a “Christmas dress”.
I gave the girls a few options and I’m so glad we all agreed on this combination as our favourite! It is from the Trinket Fusion Collection and the WHOLE collection really spoke to me! Those earthy autumnal colours are my happy place.
My eldest loved the “Flower Glory Trinkets”, she is a retro/vintage loving girl after my own heart! This print was originally designed by Bonnie Christine. My youngest chose the gorgeous red geometric print called “Wallpaper Trinkets”, originally designed by April Rhodes. Together they are a match made in heaven!
To create these dresses I used the bodice from the Simple Life Patterns Laguna Dress and teamed it with the skirt and pockets from the Newport Dress! Easy right? Then I decided to make things a little more complicated…
I decided to remove the partial placket opening from the back of the dress and add a full placket down the centre front! I wanted to use my contrasting fabrics and I thought this would be a great feature.
So step one was to calculate the centre of the back bodice and cut it as one piece on the fold. Then I cut the front bodice main & lining as 2 pieces each, instead of on the fold. I also added 1″ in length to all the bodice pieces, just because I felt like it would work…
I decided I wanted my finished placket to be 3cm wide, and then calculated the width of my placket pattern piece by doubling my 3cm and adding 2 seam allowances of 1cm each. So I cut my placket pieces 8cm wide and roughly estimated the length by adding the bodice and skirt heights together and leaving myself a few inches extra, just in case.
I had to recalculate shoulder strap position taking into account the changes I had made, and started construction by sewing up my bodice quite like the Laguna pattern instructions, leaving the centre front unsewn.
I then cut the skirt front piece down the centre and added the pockets as per the Newport pattern instructions. Then I sewed the side seams and gathered my skirt to fit the bodice using 2 rows of gathering stitches. Once the skirt was attached to the bodice I interfaced the centre 6cm width (and full length) of my placket pieces. I then folded and ironed 1cm seam allowances along both long edges and then pressed it in half lengthways, wrong sides together.
To attach the placket I lined up the long raw edge of the placket to the centre front of the dress, right side of placket laying on top of the wrong side of the dress, making sure to leave an inch or 2 overhang for both the top and bottom. I stitched in the first ironed fold (1cm from the edge). Then wrapped the placket around to the front, folding over the top and bottom and wrapping it inside the placket. The seam allowance stays folded under and you topstitch from the front to finish it. If you pin it carefully, those stitches on the back should stitch in the ditch and look pretty neat from the back as well as the front.
Now is about the time you discover you have lost your snap pliers!! Oh my gosh I spent days looking and they have obviously gone on vacation somewhere! Then after you panic and search for a couple of days, you remember you actually have a big snap press you’ve never even tried! So I got that together and got both dresses done, but only one would snap up! I have no idea why!! They were both Kam branded snaps… but those tan/mossy ones were a complete failure! I then made such a mess removing the snaps in the press, I really just wanted my pliers 😦
In the end I didn’t have quite enough red ones to finish it off, but a couple of maroon ones on the back will never be seen! Shhhh!
After the snaps were complete I hemmed the dresses by folding under the overlocked edge and then doing a 3cm hem. I figured I had a little extra length after I lengthened the bodice, and I like a deep hem.
Photos were then put back day after day… The KAM snap stuff up… dance rehearsal day, a reunion catch up at the beach (but the beach had washed away so that didn’t work as a location either)… Early morning was super foggy before school… Stress levels were rising!
FINALLY! These smiling faces braved a swarm of mosquitoes which required a quick location change before we got the shots we needed. I told you this project really tested us!!!
They insisted props were necessary for a Christmas themed shoot! It was just the fun we needed to finish off ❤
If you’ve found some inspiration here, or from the other ladies on this tour, head over to Simple Life Pattern Co for their winter sale!! All patterns (minus the brand new Betty) are on sale for 30% using code FALLINTOSLPCO. Sale ends the 12th at midnight so get shopping!
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.
I’m so thrilled to be showcasing the latest fabric designs by Patty Young for Riley Blake Designs! This is Patty’s 20th fabric collection, so it feels a little extra special! The collection is called Flit & Bloom by Patty Young for Riley Blake Designs.
I made these two sweet Harper dresses by Modkid Designs. Modkid is Patty’s pattern design company, and I thought that was a nice fit!
We’ve just been travelling for 3 weeks in our caravan around some beautiful parts of Australia, which I will have to share some pictures of soon. I took my sewing machine with me to make these dresses! I had visions of beautiful scenic photos and I had them all finished apart from the buttons and button holes, but I decided to use snaps. I didn’t have snaps and pliers with me, so I had to wait till we got home to actually finish and photograph them.
Then of course when we got home it rained…. So those beautiful photos had to head undercover! I snapped a couple in the wind in between showers, but as you can see it was just too miserable, cold and blowy.
I love making matching dresses that don’t quite match. My littlest loves to twin with her big sister, but her big sister isn’t quite as keen on the idea. This is a happy medium for them, and I love to see them coordinate!
Make sure you head to the Modkid Blog Tour Post very quickly for your chance to win one of 3 half yard bundles from the Flit & Bloom range.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Thank you to Patty & to Riley Blake for supplying these gorgeously soft anf beautiful fabrics! My girls wore their dresses all day and they looked stunning. After a full days wear and driving in the car they were suprising not creased much at all!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Below are the other participants from the tour, so for more beautiful insiration head over to see their posts!
So the theme this month on the Sewing With Ti Blog Tour is “My Favourite Things”! This category is so hard for someone like me that just loves EVERYTHING! So I decided to make myself one of my favourite patterns and get my bum moving on my kids favourites, for their summer sewing too!
This is the Little Kiwis Closet Women’s Cuffed Dolman! It is a great relaxed dolman tee in a longer tunic length with a curved hem. It also comes in a dress length option which I chose to make here. I was sent this gorgeous Pink Aztec Rayon Spandex by Orinoco Designs to showcase for a current fabric pre-order and I knew it would be a perfect match!
The drape is perfect for this pattern and it is a great print for young and old. My girls loved it, but I had to (very unselfishly) show you all how great it was made up as a grown up piece!
I wasn’t a complete monster though… I saved the girls a few scraps and I used some straight away to run up this cute top! It’s the Little Kiwis Closet Choose Your Adventure Tee & Dress. I created this cute cap sleeve and pocket and added it to this royal blue cotton lycra I had in my stash. I think this is perfect for the theme – as one of my favourite things to do is mash and tweak patterns!
I used the flutter sleeve pattern piece from the Poppet Peplum pattern and added an inch or 2 to the centre so that it would fit the armscye perfectly. I lined the “flutter/cap” with some white cotton lycra to give it some body before attaching it. I absolutely love how this turned out and it just covers the shoulders nicely to protect them from our harsh summer sun!
Then we of course had to have some pics together, because – matching!
It was so cold! You have to remember it’s winter here at the moment and it was 7:30am before school! We are so lucky to have such mild winters, but boy was it fresh and frosty this morning!
I have a few more scraps left, so I used a tiny bit to jazz up this plain tank as well, but I will not waste a bit – it’s too cute!
Next up I want to show you a sneak peek of the girls version of the Cuffed Dolman! It’s in testing right now and is looking just as awesome as the women’s version!!!
This one I upcycled from a women’s large tshirt we found (stripes are her favourite) and I made the regular cuffed sleeves.
There is a long sleeve version too that I’ll share with you soon and you can also opt to leave the cuffs off altogether and just hem!
You can see from my upcycle that the back of the shirt has a centre seam. I hope this means that the manufacturer is being frugal with fabric! I love to upcycle as a way to reduce landfill and to get awesome cheap fabric.
This length is perfect with tights and I will make her some dolman dresses for summer as well. I know I live in them, so I am betting my girls will too!
Here’s an essential shot of my stripe matching – I’m sorry but if you are sewing stripes, they just have to match 😉 ! It also shows the cool curved hem.
Next up are some more great basics! I love to make pretty dresses, but my girls just want to wear shorts and tees! So while I never thought I’d make basics when you can get them cheap from Kmart, I love that they get something amazing and unique from me, with great quality fabrics and no exploited labour. Except for me of course… They fully exploit me!
This is the Pearlie Peplum and Scuttle Shorts from One Thimble Issue 16! This issue has only recently released and I am sewing my way through it! These patterns will be on high rotation! I used another Orinoco Designs print from a previous round for the bodice and the front panel of a tshirt I upcycled did the peplum skirt front and back.
The Pearlie Dress & Peplum is by Peach Patterns and I have lengthened the bodice here by 2 inches to bring the peplum down closer to her natural waist. This is just a personal preference. When I made the dress previously I used the size 7 length skirt, but because I added length to the bodice here, I used the size 5 peplum skirt length.
I teamed it with the Scuttle Shorts by Ainslee Fox Boutique Patterns. I made the basic version here without any pockets or colour blocking and they were soooo fast! This girl looooves her knit shorts so I am going to make a full rainbow of these! This was a knit my Mum grabbed from Spotlight for me. As a bonus, they don’t take very much fabric at all!
Check ’em out – they’re adorable!
Ok so let’s recap a few of my favourite things…
The LKC Cuffed Dolman
Awesome custom print fabric
Pattern hacking
Matching my minis
Upcycling
Stripe matching
Little Kiwis Closet
One Thimble
Sewing things my kids will actually wear
Did I miss anything? I’m sure my girls have their own list to add!
If you’d like to see what everyone else on board has chosen to share this month, you can view their posts here! Each post will go live on it’s date in August.
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!
Magic Method 1
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.
Traditional Method 2
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!
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!
Hi everyone! Welcome to the first stop on the Sis Boom Patterns Angie Hack-A-Thon Tour! I am so excited to show you my version of the Angie, it’s definitely my new favourite dress.
You might remember in my recent post from the Just For Me January Tour that I am an Angie fan and that I planned to make one in knit fabric!
With most things in life, I like to do a bit of research and then just give it a go. Usually that works out fine… In this case I think I pretty much nailed it!
Let’s take a look at a picture from the original pattern to get a feel for the bones of the dress.
Sis Boom Patterns Angie Dress Pattern
Here’s where the “Hack” comes into it. I decided to make a knit version instead of woven for my hack, partly because I love the drape and most definitely for the comfort and fit. I also decided to reverse the height of the necklines and make the front a high neckline and the back low. I used a quarter circle skirt instead of a gathered one and I added cap sleeves!
I cut out all my pieces for the bodice and basted them together with my sleeves to make sure they worked and I was shocked, {cough!} I mean not suprised at all that they did! I unpicked the bodice and remade it with my serger/overlocker (because unpicking overlocking stitching is not fun, so we like to avoid that).
I made the same size I made last time as the knit was fairly stable and not super stretchy. I used the full width of the front darts, but not the back as that made the front & back width match, which made matching the skirt easier.
Here’s how I reversed the necklines. Cutting out my front piece above, will you just look at those fancy schmancy pattern weights! I laid the back piece on top, matching the shoulders, just to use the neckline. I folded the rest of the pattern out of the way. I did the same process for the back bodice piece, but next time I may make it even more of a dramatic plunge!
I bound the neckline by using a strip of the knit about 2cm wide or 3/4″ and applied it like bias tape. I sewed it on the outside of the neckline right sides together, flipped it up and over to the inside of the garment so that could not be seen and sewed it down. I stretched the binding like you do when you are doing neck bands etc on knit, but I think next time I might not stretch it much at all.
For the sleeve I used a cap sleeve pattern I had from a t-shirt dress I had made recently. I hemmed them before attaching. The head of the sleeve ended up a little big but with a little pleat at the top, it fit perfectly.
To match my sleeves and side seams nicely, I always tack them together first using the sewing machine and check they line up perfectly before I overlock all the way from the sleeve hem to the bottom of the bodice (see below).
I cut out a quarter circle skirt from a woven dress pattern I had made before and sewed up the side seams. Then I just trimmed a few cm from the top of the skirt until the circumference of the skirt matched the circumference of the bodice. I added the elastic to the back waist per the pattern which gives it these sweet gathers and a slimmer silhouette overall. I didn’t hem the dress as the knit does not fray. If you cut it nice and straight it’s absolutely not necessary (yay)!!
This was quite a fast project! The next time around will be even faster now that I have tested it all. I’d love if you’d leave me a comment and let me know what you think or what you would do to “Hack” your Angie!
Play along all week with my sewing friends and be prepared to be inspired by their incredible ideas! You wont believe how different each dress looks all made from the one base pattern. Keep up to date by following the Sis Boom Patterns Blog!
I have another beautiful Chalk & Notch pattern to share with you today! The Waterfall Raglan is now available for purchase through the Upcraft Club and the Chalk & Notch Webstore! Make sure you stick around as there is a great prize giveaway in the rafflecopter link at the end!
I have a serious love of raglans! I have made so many in the past few weeks. They come together so fast and easily and they look so cool! I especially love contrasting sleeves and bands, they give the look a little more edge, which really suits my grown up girl’s style!
I chose to make a dress for my tester version as I wanted a complete outfit from this funky fabric. There are 3 sleeve lengths and I chose to make it short sleeved for our current spring weather! I don’t have as much time for sewing these days now that I am back studying at Uni, but I couldn’t say no to another Chalk & Notch pattern! You might remember my recent post for their last release – The Cascade Maxi.
Chalk & Notch are actually today celebrating the 1 year anniversary of their first pattern release – The Fishtail Kimono. What a cool way to celebrate with another release and an awesome prize pack! I am yet to make a Fishtail for my girls but I have recently downloaded it ready to go! It is perfect for Spring and Autumn weather and is super cute.
I made this dress for Miss 8 who is not a pink kind of girl. So I used this awesome green print fabric I got as a ladies maxi dress from an op shop (thrift store). It probably cost me $3 and I used some plain black cotton lycra as the sleeves, neckband, pocket and hem ruffle. I love that hem ruffle! It looks amazing on the top version too, I will definitely be making some of them.
She loved it, but in the end I gave up trying to coordinate her busy school and dance schedule with the poor weather we had that week! So Miss 8 was dumped and Miss 5 stepped in to model instead! Miss 8 certainly doesn’t think it’s so great, but it’s lucky for me they are the same size!
This little ratbag is off to big school next year! Soon we won’t be able to drop the big kids off, go to the park for some photos and then head to a cafe for morning tea! This kid is obsessed with caramel tarts, so that will be pretty disappointing!
Miss 5 is also definitely not a pink kind of girl. She is a rough and tumble, wild and crazy kid, with a devilish laugh!
I can’t say anything about their lack of ‘girly-ness’ though… You wouldn’t have caught me dead in pink at their age either lol! I was an outside kid, always on my bike and rollerskates, on the trampoline, riding a horse or climbing a tree. I hated dolls and dresses and my bedroom was blue. Most things were blue – just anything except pink please!
I love recycling clothes as fabric! Knit fabric is pretty expensive in Australia and hard to source the kinds of prints we like, so I love picking up clothes on sales racks and in op shops. I just check the fabric for quality and condition and check how many seams are in it to see if I will be able to get enough usable fabric. I also don’t throw out clothes of my own that can be used for fabric. It’s a really inexpensive way to sew and it makes me feel better knowing that so many clothes I have repurposed could just have easily ended up as landfill!
You will love all the versions the other testers have made, so check out the tester round up post at Chalk and Notch here and see all the testers blog links below!
Sew Boxes Seasons subscribers around Australia and new Zealand have recently received their Spring Subscription Boxes! That means we can now reveal the top secret contents – or “What’s in the Box”?
But first let’s meet the Style Contributors! These ladies have spent a lot of time with Sew Boxes Owner and Creator Leesa, coming up with ideas for the Seasons subscription! I have loved meeting them all and creating new long distance friendships! We help search for the ideal patterns to fit the design brief and the season, we help each other with fit and to make and adjust toiles, make decisions on colour and prints, learn and share new sewing techniques and we’ve had a lot of fun along the way!
So here is the first reveal of the contributors Spring outfits!
So let me tell you about the Spring Box contents! Like the first Winter Seasons Box subscription, there are 3 PDF sewing patterns included to make the perfect outfit. There is also a collection of cool sewing gadgets, haby and notions to help you with this project and many more projects to come! I love the surprises when the box arrives!
The first pattern is the Marbella Dress by Itch to Stitch. We searched for a dress pattern suitable for spring, that could be dressed up for a day at the races or for a simple lunch with friends or family. It had to have options to fit and flatter many shapes and sizes, which was no mean feat! We all loved the Marbella, but knew with a second skirt option, it would knock the brief out of the park! So Leesa contacted Kennis from Itch to Stitch and she was excited to draft and add a second option to her pattern.
The original skirt is a tulip style skirt, but I chose the new half circle skirt for my outfit. I love this dress! It is definitely one I can dress up or down and will get lots of wear out of! I used a textured woven fabric I found at Lincraft one day wandering around in a 40% off sale. I love the yellow and I am proud of making myself something in a plain, rather than a print for once! I am a print addict, but I am trying to put together a handmade wardrobe with more versatile pieces.
I loooove that it has pockets, I am absolutely adding pockets to anything I make myself from here on in! I lined my dress bodice and left the skirt unlined. After talking to the other girls that made more than one dress, they said that the lined method was definitely the easiest, so that was a lucky guess (and a free tip for you)! I just folded my bodice lining under and attached it to the shell by stitching in the ditch of the waistline seam. It was a great pattern to make and fit. The bodice includes cup sizes A-D so no modification or fitting was needed for me other than to remove a small wedge at the top of the back bodice either side of the zipper.
Next up is the Lotus Blossom Shrug by Rabbit Rabbit Creations. I made the plain bound version of this, but you can also finish it with a ruffle around the neckline. I used a blue and white stripe ponte knit which could either have come from spotlight or lincraft… Don’t make me swear either way! It is super comfortable and such a fast sew! The ponte makes it quite warm and I have been wearing this cardi with many other outfits.
The third pattern is the brand new Roll With it Tote and was made on request by Lisa from Two Pretty Poppets! I have never made a handbag so I can’t tell you how proud I am of this project! I absolutely love this bag and the pattern is impeccable! If you are not a bag maker and are keen to give it a try, I can highly recommend Two Pretty Poppets! I made the smaller of the 2 sizes included in the pattern and used a poly/cotton print I bought from Lincraft. I also purchased pre made bias and made my piping to match.
Overall I was thrilled with how my outfit came together and am excited for the weather to warm up so I can wear it over and over again!
idle sunshine 