Sleepover time (Vick and Vicky's Button Up PJ Top from Snuggle My Baby)

When my kids sleep, their body temperature usually shoots up to the heat of the sun so it's really hard to get them to wear PJs to bed.  It's really awkward when they have sleepovers because they end up half or completely naked by the end of the night so I've been on the hunt for a good pattern for PJs. Jenn Gunn from Snuggle My Baby Patterns recently posted a tester call for her Vick and Vicky's Button Up PJ top that has no collar, and I kind of waffled for a hot minute on applying.  However, I figured it's worth a shot to see if my kids will stay in them all night so I applied and was so stoked to find out that I was "in" as a tester for it.  And, we can claim SUCCESS!!  Both kiddos woke up the next morning with both their tops and bottoms still securely on their persons.

Alright, so this top is seriously so quick and easy to put together.  I paired it with Chris and Christy's PJ bottoms to make a set for each of them.  My son picked 5 different prints for his, and we had to streamline his choices a little so his ended up having a few different "Aviator" prints from Quilting Treasures.  My daughter was a little more conservative and went with some Riley Blake "Lost and Found Love" that I got from Robin Bergman of My Little Lady and Gentleman.  

This is me in my PJs before my morning milk, Mom!

Let's talk pattern specifics before I get too far ahead of myself...

- Pattern ranges from 2T-12 so you have a pretty large size range to work with.

- Quick, easy pattern assembly.  There are only four pattern pieces plus the facing pieces

- Options for long or short sleeves

- No collar so this keeps the top of the shirt off your little's neck 

- You can use either buttons or snaps (I opted for snaps because I didn't have enough matching buttons)

- Relatively little fabric used (for the long sleeve sz 12, you will only need 2 3/8 yds total)

- Photos to accompany the very detailed instructions that come with the pattern.

- Seriously fast sew.  I made a top in about 45 minutes from pattern assembly to putting on the last snap.

We live in Oklahoma, and between sunrise and sunset, we could easily experience all four seasons as far as the craziness of our weather so I opted for the short sleeve and shorts/capri version of the PJ set for my kiddos.  This way, they can still wear them throughout the spring and summer.  Like I said, I had a mish mash of buttons for these so I just put snaps on them, but I really want to make some with buttons at some point...in my spare time, when I have no unfinished projects (just kidding, that's never going to happen...I'll just have to make them or I'd be making some for my grand kids).  

So, my son asked for airplanes on his PJs.  Thank you, Jesus, for letting me have a large fabric hoard (because let's face it, that's what it is :/!) that I can choose from.   We found some pretty cool plane fabric on the shelves, and he grabbed pretty much every airplane print I own for his PJs.  As soon as they were done, I told him to try them on so I can take a photo and he was not too pleased with me, but he did it for me even if he started out refusing to play the game with me:

  

"Let me take your picture."  "No"

He's a size 4 or 5 in ready to wear, and this top fit him perfectly in the sz 5.  I didn't have to alter anything to make this happen.   It's a very relaxed fit top so this gives him plenty of room to grow and plenty of room to move.  I made the bottoms in a sz 5 with 4 length because he's only in the 12th percentile for height for kids his age...makes buying pants for him very interesting for sure.

My daughter is a little more conservative and introverted than my son so she went with a sort of vintage looking fabric for her PJs.  She also asked for capri pants to cover more of her legs.  I'm not going to discourage that, to be honest. HA!  I made her top in a sz 7 with sz 7 pants, and again, they were spot on with RTW clothes.  She's so hard to sew for because she hates anything that touches her neck too close or anything that hugs her body too tightly.  She has some sensory sensitivities when it comes to clothes so when she put these on and told me that they felt amazing, I knew we were golden.  The top is roomy and lets her play without feeling like it's pulling at her anywhere.  

Since getting these done, they haven't really worn any other PJs so I'm definitely going to need to make a few more of these to get us through the rest of the year.  I'm really excited to finally have a PJ set that my kids will both wear.  It's going to make sleepovers so much less stressful for me!

Okay, so if you've read this far and are still thinking, "I might need this..." well, you seriously do so here's the goods on how to get the goods.  The Vick and Vicky's top is live right now at Jenn's webstore, just click here to get the pattern for a special release price of $5 (regular price will be $8): Vick and Vicky's.  If you want to grab the PJ pants, just click here: Chris and Christy's.  OR, you can buy both as a bundle for $8 (regular price will be $10): PJ Bundle.  Don't wait too long, though! These sale prices are only good until 1 February.  Jenn also has a group on FB where you can post pictures of your masterpieces and ask questions if you hit a headscratch while sewing up some SMB happiness: Snuggle My Baby Patterns!  

Thanks so much for reading along.  I appreciate you hanging tough with me!  Now, head on over to Snuggle My Baby Patterns and grab yourself a pattern or two and sew up some PJs today!

Blessings and Happy Sewing,

Kim

William joins the crew!! (William Vest from Laela Jeyne Patterns)

A few months ago, Marisa at Laela Jeyne Patterns released the Willa and Billie vests that are perfect for those chilly days when you are needing a little more than a shirt but a little less than a jacket. Well, the older gents were so taken with these vests that there was a call for a men's version, and man, did she deliver!  The newly released William vest is ahh-mazing!   My husband, who isn't really a vest type of guy, is asking for one even (he didn't get one during testing, and I think he was a little put out about it...).

Before I get too far ahead of myself, let's get some details out there about the pattern itself:

• Extensive size range: XS - 3X (my 14 year old nephew fits the size XS so this one is perfect for the younger guys too!)
• Optional welt pockets and chest pockets
• Optional snap on hood
• Optional zipper flap and snaps
• Optional shoulder accents
• Can be made reversible depending on the zipper you choose
• No trim pages (which makes pattern assembly so much quicker)
• Layered sizing (only print the one(s) you need)

For the test, I made an XS and a 3XL, and both vests turned out so perfect!  My nephew is just now getting into men's sizing, and his measurements fell right into the XS.  He's been talking for ages now about getting his hunting license so he can go hunting with his Dad so I opted for a camo print vest with a blindingly bright orange fleece lining so he could wear this when they are out waiting in the stand.  For this one, I opted to leave off the zipper flap and added both the welt pockets and the chest pockets.  The fleece was perfect because it wasn't too bulky for him but it added a layer of warmth for those EARLY mornings during hunting season.  I didn't have to add any length to this one because he fell within the original draft height of 5'10".  I'm pretty sure his favorite part was the pockets because he stuck his hands him them for every photo!

My 3XL model is 6'2" so I added 3" to his vest (about 80% of the difference between him and the draft height) and it fell just right on him.  I kinda urgh'ed and argh'ed over what to do for his vest because he was so willing to help me out with this test so I seriously stalked his FB page to see what kinds of stuff he likes.  He had posted a photo of a Cubs Christmas tree, and I realized that he is a HUGE Cubs fan so I made him a "Cubbie" vest.  I opted for a heavier bottomweight for his vest and went with the fleece lining again.  I also added the shoulder accents on this one to give it a little bit of a break on the blue, and well, they were just too awesome to pass up.  On both of the vests, I chose to not quilt them, but I might do a quilted one in future.   I would advise that you pay attention to how much length you add to the vest because you will need to add that much to the zipper length.  I completely forgot to do this and at the point where I was attaching the zipper...Suprise!!!  This one also had the zipper flap so you could fold it over and cover the white zipper if he wanted the front to be all blue and red.  He's decided that he's adding male model to his resume the next time he needs to apply for a job!  HA!

As I said, I put welt pockets on both of these vests, and I was a little leery of that whole process.  However, Marisa's directions made the welts so simple to do, and I realized I had actually panicked myself into a tizzy for nothing at all.  Given the pockets, zipper flaps, and lining, these vest did actually take me about 3-4 hours to complete.  The time invested was absolutely worth it because I love love how both vests turned out.  I definitely agree with the intermediate rating on this one.  An adventurous beginner might be able to take this on, but with all of the different elements on this one, I would definitely recommend a little bit of experience first.

Alright, so guess what!  This pattern is currently on sale for $6.50, but that price won't last long! After the release sale is over, the price goes up to $9.95 (still a steal for everything you get with this pattern!)  You can grab the William Vest here by clicking here: William Vest Pattern OR you can grab the Family Vest Bundle for $22.  This bundle includes the William, the Willa, and the Billie so you can make vests for the entire family: Family Vest Bundle.  Thanks so much for hanging through this review with me; I really appreciate you!  Now go grab you some patterns and sew up some vests for the loves in your life!

Blessings and Happy Sewing,

Kim

Little bit of Lacey (Lacey Back Tee from Snuggle My Baby Patterns)

You know how sometimes you see a pattern and wonder if you could possibly squeeze yourself into one?  Well, that was how it was for me when I saw the Lacey Back Tee from Snuggle My Baby Patterns. I was a little worried that my tomboy daughter was going to poo poo this top, but she saw the lace and it was over.  We were applying, and I was so excited when Jenn stuck my name on her tester list.  This top is pretty amazing.  It's perfectly feminine, but just "sporty" enough that my daughter wanted to pick it out of the wash to wear the next day.

So, let's do a quick rundown of the pattern features so you know what you're getting:

- Large pattern range: 2T-16.  So that means you can get some pretty good mileage out of this pattern.  My daughter is almost topped out on most patterns since she just now grew into a size 7 so the pattern range was very exciting to me.

- Three sleeve options: short, 3/4, and long.  I didn't make the short sleeved one for the test since we are in the throes of a very unpredictable winter here in OK, but come spring...

- Layered printing so that you can select the sizes you want to print.  Less ink and sometimes less paper if you're doing the smaller sizes.

- Various options for the back panel so you can do a lace back or a straight knit back.  I did two of each to see what they look like, and I kind of love both options.

- Photos and the usual clear step by step instructions for each step of assembly.  I like photos or illustrations because it helps me to see what mine should look like at each step!

Sweater knit from Sincerely Rylee

I signed up to do a few different sizes and was biting my fingernails a little that I was going to miss the deadline, BUT this shirt is seriously such a fast sew.  It has 4 pattern pieces and a neckband cutting chart so assembly took no time at all.  I actually use a glue stick for pattern piecing so that shaved off quite a bit of time as well.  About 45 minutes from start to finish, and I had a shirt done and hanging on the mannequin.  Seriously, really fast.

I also used a serger to put three of them together, and I tried one with the sewing machine just to see how long it would take.  The time to do either was about the same for me, so this is completely do-able with a sewing machine if you don't have a serger or coverstitch machine.  I will advise that you really need to pay attention to the foldover hem if you use a regular machine, though.  My hem was a little wonky on the lace one because I totally got cocky and thought, "yeah, I got this..."  and I did, BUT, I also didn't pay attention too closely and unpicking lace is not really an option.  HA!  My daughter didn't care, and I was able to iron it out pretty flat so we're good....Oh, and please use an ironing cloth of some sort on the lace or you'll be looking at a singed piece of mess (ask me how I know. :(!)

For my first top, I used a sweater knit from Sincerely Rylee, and oh mylanta, it looked so so comfy. My niece, who's pretty much anti anything girly for day to day wear, was all about this top, and I really want one for myself now.

My second top was for my daughter's friend, and I added a panel to the back so it wasn't see through. This is NOT part of the pattern, but it's easily done by making a second back panel and sewing the two together.  This one was an aqua with mint lace, and it turned out so pretty.  My model was so over the moon about how glamorous the lace made her feel.  She was actually a blend of sizes, and it was so easy to just cut the pieces to the sizes and lengths I needed.

The last two were for my daughter.  She asked for one with a standard knit panel in the back and one with just the lace, no lining...and lace sleeves.  Yeah, for my tomboy to ask for lace sleeves meant this top is pretty special.  That one was actually my favorite of the four if I HAD to pick a favorite.  I loved the look each one had and really makes this top so versatile.

I absolutely think that this top could easily be made for everyday wear with some leggings or jeans or dressed up with some slacks or a skirt for those "little more than casual" occasions!  I'm in love, and I'm going to make a shameless plug to Jenn to make this one in women's sizes, or I will seriously try to squeeze myself into the size 16.

Okay, so you've read this far (for which I am very appreciative so Thank You!) and seen some photos....how do you get this pattern?  Easy peasy.  This top is live right now on Jenn's webstore.  It's also available right now for the special release price of $5.  That price won't last forever, though, so don't miss your chance to get this awesome pattern at this price.  After the sale ends on the 20th of January, it goes up to the regular price of $8.

Thanks again for reading along!  Now, go grab your copy of the Lacey Back Tee and make one for your little love!

Blessings and Happy Sewing,
Kim