Muscle Madness with Justin and Justine

Summer, summer, summer time!  Okay, so maybe it's not summer yet, but the weather here in Oklahoma sure is getting warm!  AND that means off with the coats and turtlenecks and on with the tanks and shorts!!  I just tested the Justin and Justine Muscle Tank for Snuggle My Baby patterns, and all the kids in my life love it!   I made this top for my kids, my nephew, and my niece.  My niece even wanted to wear it under her school uniform.  I'm going to call that a major win!

Alright, so here we go with some basics about the pattern:

-  Sizes range from 2T-16 so a huge range of sizes (which is good for me because all of these kiddos grow very fast and this will last a while!
-   Your choice of thicker or thinner neck and arm bindings so you can accommodate different preferences easily
-  Super fast construction.  I made 4 of these in a day, and it took me longer to glue the pattern than it did to sew!
- Photos for every step of the process if you are like me and work better with a visual aid
-  And, as always, the directions are very clear and concise

When I first made this for my son, my daughter asked for one too because "girls have muscles, too, Mom!"  I made hers and my niece's tops out of a wondermous, drapey knit so it can easily be worn with slacks or a skirt for Sunday morning church or a daddy daughter date! I got it from Hancock's so I am so sad they are closing.

This pattern does require that you use a knit with at least 50% stretch so be sure to check your fabric before you buy or cut into your hoarded treasured fabric.  I learned my lesson with an earlier top I made that did not have enough stretch, and it was a bear to get that over my daughter's head.

I opted for the wider bands for the boys and the thinner bands for the girls, and that seemed to work out great!  I wasn't sure on the width when I was sewing, but after I got the pieces sewn together, it was the perfect size.  Slightly narrower than a standard tee, but still roomy enough to allow for some skateboarding, bike riding, and dirt mound climbing!

When I was doing the bindings, I did actually zigzag the raw edges together so that it was easier for me to line them up.  This is absolutely not necessary, but I did it just to be lazy...

I was looking at my kids' summer wardrobe and was just a little disheartened at how big they had grown so there was no way to use last year's clothes.  This pattern came along just in time for some major summer sewing!  I am so excited that they all love this top, and we're already in the process of picking out the next wave of muscle shirt madness.

The simplicity of this top lends itself to options for embellishment, too.  I actually freezer paper stenciled on my nephew's and son's shirts, and they came out perfect!

Now for the best part!  This pattern is available now at a special release day price.  You can pick up your copy for $5 for a limited time only.  It's available at Jennifer's Snuggle My Baby Etsy shop and you can join her facebook group to keep up with her happenings and ask for help if you hit a head scratch at any point!

If you've stuck it out with me, thanks so much for reading along! Now go grab your copy of this pattern today!

Happy Sewing and Blessings,
Kim