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idle sunshine

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Chalk & Notch

Orinoco Designs Australian Bushfire Fundraiser

I spend my sewing time very wisely these days! I don’t say yes to just anyone… Unless your name is Nadia and you design awesome prints for Orinoco Designs! This round is very special! At least 50% of all profits will  be going to help people affected by the Bush fires in the 2019/2020 bushfire season.

What could be better than fabric for a fundraiser! Creating with a conscience! It’s our duty to go mad and buy it ALL! ❤

I was so blessed to be sent 5m of stunning Aussie prints to showcase! I called in some help from our Swozzie (Swiss/Aussie) cousins to show you some great combinations! My girls had already chosen a tank and tee with shorts, so all I asked was wombat or echidna and skirt or cropped joggers?

Miss 12 chose the Clay Echidnas and Pink & Rust Hash. She wanted a cropped dolman tee, so I used the Peach Patterns Pearlie dress, which was created for One Thimble Issue 16. I extended the bodice to get the look she wanted and made her some Striped Swallow Designs Run in the Sun Shorts. She is up in the top end of sizes in both these patterns! I added a little extra length to the shorts for her long legs, I swear I didn’t leave one pattern alone when I created this collection!

Miss 9 chose the Pink Wombats and Pink & Rust Hash for some Made by Jacks Mum Hang Ten Shorts and a Wicked Patterns Wren Tank. I cut the shorts to the length she wanted and added extra seam allowance to the armscye and neckline of the tank, so that I could just turn and hem instead of using bands.

Miss 10 chose a tank and joggers combo. I used the Rust Waratah fabric and the Sofilantjes Solis Dress Bodice for the tank and extended by an inch and just hemmed to finish. Her joggers are the Juniper Joggers by Striped Swallow Designs. I shortened the legs to a cropped length (using my Miss 9 as a guide for her height), then measured my Miss 9’s calf circumference to make cuffs. I spliced in a cute patchy section down one leg to bring together all the prints.

Miss 7 chose a skirt and tank combo. A skirt bless her! Nobody has requested a skirt around here for so long lol!!! Her tank is also the Rust Waratah fabric and the Sofilantjes Solis Dress Bodice hack like her big sisters. Her skirt is based on the free Gracie Skirt by Simple Life Pattern Co. It is made for woven with a knit waistband. I used the waistband, pocket and side panel dimensions, but drastically reduced the width of the skirt front and back panels. I didn’t want a super pouffy skirt that was so gathered that the print was obscured.

I made sure not to use all the Rust Waratah fabric on the kids! I had some minty green cotton lycra and navy ribbing in my stash so I squeezed myself out a tee! I am on the hunt for the perfect relaxed tee pattern, so you will see a few more versions and trials of this popping up! I used the Wardrobe by me Daisy Drop Shoulder Tee. I raised the neckline and drafted my own neckband and wide cuffs. Pretty happy with it I must say…

I’ve saved possibly the best for last! Navy Australian Flora is such a stunning print! I made myself a Chalk & Notch Waterfall Raglan with an extended hem instead of a ruffle. I have a few of these and I love wearing them so much in winter! Sadly my stash is completely lacking in solids and coordinating prints right now! I have been staying home as much as possible and didnt have time to order something in, so I used this great looking striped double knit. Not the best idea… It doesn’t have nearly as much stretch as the gorgeous cotton lycra, but hey, it looks good right?

So have I totally overwhelmed you? You really need to check out the whole collection to appreciate all of it! It is for a good cause and its completely stunning! You really should buy the lot lol!! All prints are available in Cotton Lycra, French Terry, Bamboo Lycra and woven cotton. I think I need a Mustard Wombat Sweater, but what else have you picked as your favourite print in the collection?

Happy Sewing

Brooke x

Chalk & Notch – Waterfall Raglan

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

Emi – Just Add Fabric | Melissa – Rebel & Malice | Brooke – Idle Sunshine | Nicky – Mix it Make it | Nelleke – gaafmachine | Sylvia – Lily & Woody | Sophie – Moineau & Petit Pois | Monica – Ma, me, mi… mo | Cassy – Pear Berry Lane | Thao – Little Cumquat | Toya – Made by Toya | Tami – Sew Sophie Lynn | Maria – Fairies, Bubbles & Co. | Indu – Kaleidothought | Julia – trendedero | Eveline – frölein till | Catherine – Mespetitstissus

Now for the fun part – Competition time!

Would you like to win:

A copy of all 4 Chalk and Notch Patterns

+ a $50 voucher to Raspberry Creek Fabrics

+ a $25 voucher to UpCraft Club?

Leave me a comment on this post and enter via the Rafflecopter link below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chalk & Notch – Cascade Maxi Dress

Today is a good day! We get to take a look at the brand new Cascade Maxi dress by Chalk & Notch Patterns AND I have so generously been given a copy to give away to one of my readers! My very first giveaway!

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Wow! I could pretty much leave it at that, add a few pictures and this blog post is done right? This pattern is so gorgeous, that I don’t really have to say much at all!

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I was thrilled to be able to test this pattern. Gabriela’s sneak peek had me obsessed with this dress! Despite its ridiculous good looks, it is quite a simple sewing project that is suitable for advanced beginners. It is cut on the bias, has a simple elastic back and a gorgeous high-low maxi length hem (which is my favourite feature).

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The picture above is my absolute favourite! I tested View B, which has a feature border hem, and I absolutely love how this dress turned out with the contrasting blue I chose! If you are not so confident, or are after a super fast project, then View A creates a dress with the same finished length without the border hem.

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This dress is best made with a light weight woven fabric or one with good drape, such as this amazing printed voile I had picked up a little while ago from Spotlight. It is an absolute stunner! The border is also a voile, and I had the full rainbow of solids to choose from in my stash, but this blue is definitely my colour.

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There is a sweet pleat in the centre front which helps give the dress a great fit and style. If you look closely, you might notice that I exercised a little OCD and added my straps so that the yellow met the pink on the dress & the pink met the yellow. Anyone else do crazy little things like that, or do you just wing it?

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One of the other clever testers made an all white version which looked so beautiful. I can imagine it as a flower girl or special occasion dress! My little Miss has already decided it is SO special, it must be worn for her next birthday (which is not until January)!! I love when my kids love what I make for them.

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I love the cross over back and that the hem just skims the ground, its so elegant and grown up. The volume of fabric is such a gorgeous feature and my little Miss enjoyed swishing about in the afternoon breeze!

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So you should definitely go grab a copy of the pattern while it is on sale (until Sunday 25/9), BUT I bet you would really like to win a copy!

All you have to do is leave me a blog comment and I will use random.org to select a winner.

Of course I would also love it if you would follow me on Instagram and Facebook too! Leave me your instagram handle in your comment so I can follow you back! ❤

Competition closes Sunday 10pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, which is Sunday 5am in California for those of you on the other side of the world!

You can see some of the other talented testers’ Cascade Maxis here in the links below AND the great news is that some of these posts may also contain a pattern giveaway! So please make a cup of tea and enjoy…

Gabriela – Pattern Designer – Chalk & Notch

Natasha from Ellie’s Handmade

Anita from My Own Aria

Indu from Kaleidothought

Emi from Just Add Fabric

Nelleke from Gaafmachine

Leslie from Threadbear Garments

Mieke from Mie Made Memories

Thao from Little Cumquat

Good Luck and warmest wishes,

Brooke x

Idlesunshine

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