Summer Sewing with Ellie and Mac (part 2)

Hi, there!  Well, I’m lucky enough to be back for another stop on the Ellie and Mac Get Ready for Summer Tour sponsored by Seams Sew Lo!  My first go round, I made my daughter a Sunshine Romper.  This time, my son wanted to get in on the patriotic fun.  For him, I used the same panel from Peek A Boo Fabric Shop as I did with the romper.  Only I made him a modified Half Pipe Tee and paired it with some High Tide Board Shorts.  I made those in cotton woven that he will wear as regular shorts instead of swim shorts.  **I do want to add that I received these patterns for free, but the opinions expressed here are my own.  Links to the patterns are affiliate links so I do make a small commission if you buy them using my link.  

Let’s talk about that tee first.  I personally love this pattern because you can color block the pieces to get some really neat looks.  There is also an applique in the pattern that you can use if you want. 

Half Pipe Tee details:

•           Wide range of sizes:  12 months to 14
•           Color blocked front and back (I did a solid front on mine)
•          No trim pages
•          Layered pattern pieces so you can choose what sizes you want to print
•          Fully photographed step by step tutorial

This pattern is a unisex pattern so you can make these for your little ladies as well!  AND, there’s a women’s version for some cool Me and Mom sets!  For my son’s top, he wanted the same panel as big sister so I cut the top as a solid piece.  This was a simple hack…I took out a ¼” to the front bodice piece and cut on the fold.  Easy peasy!  For the back, I color blocked so I removed ¼” from the piece and cut two pieces. 

My son is super tiny (one of his favorite things about himself) so he’s only just now starting to grow into a size 7.  He probably could fit the size 6 still, but we went one size higher to a 7 to give  this shirt a little bit longer life  span in his wardrobe. 

It was a super fast sew.  I think I made this one in about 45 minutes.  That included cutting fabric and construction.  With just 4 pattern pieces, it was also a quick one to piece together.  This is one of my go to t-shirt patterns for my kids because I can mix and match fabrics to get some really cool shirts for the kids. 

Now, the shorts.  These are the High TideBoard Shorts, and the recommended fabric is board short material.  I actually have made him a pair of those and made the swim bottoms that he can wear under them for water bugging.  Those are also part of the pattern!  The only thing I modified on this was putting on pocket instead of two because I forgot all about adding the second pocket when I was sewing.  I told my son that was intentional, but it was absolutely because I brain farted.

High Tide details:

•           Another one with a wide range:  also starts at 12 months and goes up to 14.
•           Two length options: above or below the knee
•           No trim pages
•           Layered pattern pieces
•           Photographs with each step

My son prefers his shorts longer so I made the below the knee version.  I did the size 7 length because he’s been eating like a horse lately so I’m anticipating some growth this summer.  I did cut the waist to a size 6 elastic, though, because I’m not sure where he’s putting the food he eats.  He’s still super skinny…

Like I said earlier, these ones are a cotton woven, and I sewed down the elastic in the waistband because he’s always on the move and I didn’t want the waist to be moving around with him.  It just gave the elastic some stability as he was running and playing.   These shorts are pretty roomy so he had plenty of space to move around and run after his sister. 

He was pretty stoked that I made him an outfit that matched his sister’s so they can be “Independence twins” when we go visit their grandparents this summer.  Both of these patterns are on sale right now at the Ellie andMac webstore so you can save yourself some money when you head over to get you copy of these patterns!  Lindsey has also provided a store credit that you can enter to win. I’ll give you a link to the giveaway here in a sec!

We’re already a week into the tour so there have been a lot of pretty awesome posts out there with some of the patterns that you can make as part of your summer sewing!  Hop on over to the other bloggers’ posts to take a look at what some of the other designers have put together for us!  Don’t forget to enter the giveaway to win a $50 store credit to Ellie and Mac!

1. May 7th: Seams Sew Lo
2. May 8th: Tenille's Thread
3. May 9th: Seams Sew Lo
4. May 10th: The Sewing Goatherd
5. May 11th: Aurora Designs Fabrics
6. May 14th: Our Play Place
7. May 15th: Momma Can Make It
8. May 16th: Aurora Designs Fabric
9. May 17th: QuiltsbyJoann
10. May 18th: Liviality
11. May 19th: Momma You Can Make It
12. May 21st: Margarita on the Ross
13. May 22nd: Sewing Blue
14. May 23rd: Kathy's Kwilts and More
15. May 24th: Momma Newey's Makes
16. May 25th: Jot Designs USA
17. May 28th: The Scatty Sewer
18. May 29th: Granma Texas Sews
19. May 30th: Fee Bricolo
20. May 31st: My Sewing Roots

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for stopping by again, and don’t forget to stop in and visit the other bloggers on the tour to show them some love!

Blessings and Happy Sewing,

Kim

Summer Sewing with Ellie and Mac

Aaah, summer!  I love these early days of summer when it’s not too hot and not cold…mostly the not cold part…I also love that it’s time to put away the bulky clothes and pull out the shorts and tee’s.  Or in my daughter’s case, the rompers!  She has some sort of love affair with rompers and would wear one every day of the week if she could.  So, when Lo from Seams Sew Lo put out the call for the Ellie and Mac Get Ready for Summer Tour…why, yes, please!  I’m super excited to be one of the stops on the tour!  Nay went round and round on what pattern she wanted most, and she landed on the Sunshine Romper.  I do want to add a disclaimer that I received the pattern for free, but all opinions in this post are my own.  This post also contains affiliate links which means I get a small commission when you order through my link.

This romper is super cute!  You have a one shoulder bodice with bubble shorts…and my daughter is crazy about these!  I think she has 5 of them now with at least two more that she wants before the summer fully arrives.  I even let her pick her own fabrics, and she went with a Peek A Boo Pattern Shop panel with red and blue solids. 

Ok, so this pattern:

• Very large size range: starts at 2T and goes up to 12
• One shoulder bodice with a strap option for the open shoulder
• Bubble shorts
• Two waistband styles
• NO TRIM pages (can I get a woot woot!)
• Layered printing so you just print what you need
• A0 print shop pattern pieces so you can have the entire pattern at once
• Step by step instructions with photos if you’re like me and need a visual

This pattern is designed for knits, and you really want to pay attention to the stretch recovery.  If you have a fabric with not so great recovery, the bodice will end up stretched out by the end of the day and there will be no modesty at all.

Like I said, we opted for a panel for the bodice front and went with solids for everything else.  I sized mine as an 8 with 10 length because Nay is in a weird in between size with her clothes.  It was a little long on her, but here in about a month, it will be perfect!

I usually measure her legs and cut to her leg for the elastics, but I went a little wider so that she would have some room to move.  She has a few that are cut to her leg width and loves them, but she wanted something a little looser about the legs since we’re going to a fair with her grandparents for the 4^th of July.  I also opted for the straight waistband on this one but I still added the elastic to give it a little bit of structure.

This pattern is a pretty quick sew.  I think I completed this one start to finish in about an hour.  It was the perfect project to fit in between a meeting and having to pick up the kids…I had a total of 5 pattern pieces (6 if you use a shoulder strap), and with the no trim pattern pieces it was pretty fast work to piece together.  I think the longest part of the process was gathering my shorts so really fast sew, and I do see a lot of these making their way into our summer wardrobe here! 

Lindsey has some really great patterns for the summer so hop on over to Ellie and Mac Patterns and take a look at her entire collection!  She also makes boys patterns (my son is super upset that I didn’t make him something yet so I might be doing another blog post with some Ellie and Mac for him)!  AND all patterns are on sale right now, no coupon needed…just sayin’… 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Like I said, I’m just today’s stop on the tour.  Don’t miss out on the amazingness from the other ladies on the tour!  Here’s the schedule for the Ellie and Mac Summer Tour…oh, and a chance to enter for a giveaway to win $50 store credit to Ellie and Mac!

1. May 7th: Seams Sew Lo
2. May 8th: Tenille's Thread
3. May 9th: Seams Sew Lo
4. May 10th: The Sewing Goatherd
5. May 11th: Aurora Designs Fabrics
6. May 14th: Our Play Place
7. May 15th: Momma Can Make It
8. May 16th: Aurora Designs Fabric
9. May 17th: QuiltsbyJoann
10. May 18th: Liviality
11. May 19th: Momma You Can Make It
12. May 21st: Margarita on the Ross
13. May 22nd: Sewing Blue
14. May 23rd: Kathy's Kwilts and More
15. May 24th: Momma Newey's Makes
16. May 25th: Jot Designs USA
17. May 28th: The Scatty Sewer
18. May 29th: Granma Texas Sews
19. May 30th: Fee Bricolo
20. May 31st: My Sewing Roots

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much to Lo for hosting this tour and to Lindsey for sponsoring this tour!  Also, thanks again to you for stopping by and please take some time to check out the other stops on the tour!  You won’t be disappointed, and we’d love for you to come visit all of us!

Blessings and Happy Sewing,

Kim

Victory with the Victoire (La Femme Collection from Laela Jeyne)

Are we safe to say that winter is finally getting evicted?  I’m scared to jinx it, but here in Oklahoma, it sure feels a lot like summer is right around the corner!  I decided that I’m going to try something new this year and get myself into some dresses…a far cry from my usual sweaties and tee combo (which, by the way, I count as pretty stylish).  Marisa, from Laela Jeyne Patterns, announced that she was planning to do a women’s collection, and one of the dresses was a button down summer dress.  It, like the rest of the collection, is amazing!  I think I have four of these dresses now, each in a different type of fabric.  I’m contemplating a denim and lace one in the near future…

SOO, when Marisa sent an invite out to join her La Femme Collection Blog Tour, I was down for it immediately!  I decided to make myself another Victoire dress for the tour, but I cannot wait to grab the other patterns and get sewing on the other ones as well.  I do want to add a disclaimer that I am an affiliate with Laela Jeyne so I do receive a small commission for any pattern you buy using my affiliate links.

Hi, everyone, I’m Kim from Nini and Ash, and I’m one of the day two stops on the tour!  I’ve already seen some of the other outfits the ladies on the tour have made, and you aren’t going to want to miss the amazingness that is.  I’m pretty stoked to be a part of the tour with the rest of these talented ladies.

Like I said, I made a Victoire dress, but first, let’s get some pattern details on the table so you know what you’re working with here:

- There is a huge size range on this pattern.  It starts at size 00 and goes up to 26.

- Bodice pieces in different cup sizes so you can get the perfect fit

- Two length options: mini and tea

- Two strap options: you can use either 2 or 4 straps

- Optional bodice ruffle

- Extremely clear and concise directions and illustrations for each step

- No trim pages…can I get an AMEN on this one?

There are a lot of options on this dress so you can literally make over a week’s worth of dresses and never have the same one twice.  I have one in faux suede, one in a medium weight cotton, one in lightweight woven, and the one I featured here with a silk/cotton blend from Boho Fabrics.  This one is probably my favorite, though.  It’s so soft and drapey.  The fabric was a double border print so I used both sides to make the dress, and it came out exactly as I pictured in my head.

I ended up blending sizes for mine because I fell right in between a size 16 and 18 on measurements.  The straps are designed to be a little longer at first so that you can measure the exact length for your comfort.  I was going to hack this to make ties for the shoulders, but I decided that I love the look of the solid straps so I stuck to the pattern as drafted. 

Construction took a little longer for this one to piece together the cups, but man, it sure is worth that little extra time because it fits me like a glove.  I usually have issues with my bust because I’m a little smaller chested.  I measured as a B cup, and it was spot on.  There's also a little bit of ruching on the cups, and I love the way it looks when it's done.  You will want to get yourself a strapless or those stick on bra cups because the straps will show or in my case, the top of the bra poked out the top.  I think some of the ladies were looking at how to do a bra connected to the dress as well so that might be an option for my next one.  I also took a bit of length from the bodice because I measure in at 5’1” on a good day.  The pattern is drafted for a 5’5” woman, and I sure wish I had those extra 4 inches sometimes. 

I will say that you want to be pretty deliberate about buttons because you’ll get some separation on the button placket if you don’t place them just right.  I pinned my placket in place first so that I could figure out exactly where I wanted the snaps.  Yup, I went there…I used snaps.  I had buttons picked out but the kids wanted to help with the buttons.  My daughter chose light pink, and my son chose royal blue and orange (because, OKC Thunder, Mom!).  We went with pink, and I made a mental note to not ask my son for fashion advice in future.  I chose the mini length because I wanted to have something a little shorter for the hot weather we get here in the summertime. 

I’m pretty stoked about this dress!  It’s gorgeous in pretty much every fabric I tried.  Marisa really does go above and beyond to make sure that her patterns fit every body type and are easy to blend because, let’s face it, MOST of us are a blend of different sizes. 

Faux suede version

Like I said earlier, I’m one of the day two stops, so there are several other ladies who have joined the tour and made up some beautiful items for the tour.  Please be sure to stop in and show them some love.   This is our tour schedule for this week! After the tour has finished, you can view all of the links shown.

Laela Jeyne Patterns La Femme Collection Blog Tour

May 1

Madame Stoff - Tester Round Up

May 2

Sew Ingridd - Nini and Ash

May 3

Once Upon a Sewing Machine - Sea of Estrogen

May 4

Just Delphine - Flax Field Sewing

There’s also a coupon code that you can use on the webstore that will get you $3 off your order.  Just use the code LAFEMME.  This code is only good until May 30^th so don’t miss your chance to save some money!  You can view the entire La Femme Collection at the webstore as well to see what other patterns you need from this new collection!  There are four pieces total, and you've already seen the Victoire.  Here's a little info about the other pieces in the collection!

- Cosette blouse: sizes range from 00-26 with cup sizes for A-E, 2 sleeve options (short or 3/4), 2 collar options (Peter Pan or scarf), button back closure, no trim pattern pieces

- Lea Swimsuit: sizes range from 00-26 with cup sizes for A-E, two views: with or without lace panel, optimal rear coverage, criss cross back straps

- Josephine Dress:  sizes range from 00-26 with cup sizes for A-E, designed for medium to heavy weight knits, two views (open V-back and boatneck), princess seamed bodice

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and please be sure to visit the other stops to see what other lovelies you can make with the new La Femme Collection!

Blessings and Happy Sewing,

Kim