Kicking it with Katie

I love this panel that we got from Zenith and Quasar!

When the tester call came for the Katie Crop Top, I told myself, “Do NOT apply.  You do NOT have time!”  BUT, sometimes, you just know in your gut that you need to do something.  That’s what happened with Katie’s crop top sweater. I found myself telling Jennifer that I would love to test this pattern…even though I told myself not to.  And I am so, so glad that I did.  This pattern is amazingly fast to sew and so versatile that I see myself making these year round. 

 

This was one of the ones that I made with too little stretch.
Still awesome looking but a squeeze to get on.

As always, I like to give you some basics up front about the pattern:

- Pattern ranges from 2T to 12 (which makes me happy as my little bug is nearing the very top of the size range for a lot of the patterns I have)

- Only three pattern pieces to cut so very quick prep

- Can be used with a variety of knits to cover all four seasons!

- No buttons and zippers so my girl can put this one on and off on her own with no muss and no fuss.

- As with all of Jennifer’s patterns, the instructions are very concise and straightforward.  There are also tons of pictures for those of us who do better with the visuals. 

As far as the pattern, it was extremely easy to follow along, and I really do think this is a great pattern for anyone wanting to delve into the world of knits.  It really is a happy place to be, and knit sometimes gets a bad rap…My daughter was loving the crop part because she could “show off her fashion underneath, too”…

 

Another one with too little stretch but we made it work!

I will caution you that you really do want to check the stretch on your knit to make sure it has at least 50% stretch.  For those who are wondering what that means, here’s a quick example:  I cut a 6” piece of fabric and stretch it.  I measure how far it stretches.   The equation to figure out the stretch is:

Amount past the original size the fabric stretched / original length = % stretch.

So for the 6” piece, if it stretches to 9” then it stretched 3” past the original length so:

3/6 = .5 (multiply this by 100 and you get 50%). 
 

Did I confuse you completely?  I hope not. :/!

SO, as I was saying, you want to get something that is at least 50% stretch.  VERY IMPORTANT!!  I didn’t do that with the first ones I made, and it was a fight and a half to get that over the girls’ heads.  We did it, but they looked like something out of Total Recall as I was pulling it on them.  As long as you have the right stretch fabric, you will be golden as far as the neck fit.  As far as the overall fit, I found it to be true to RTW.  Little Miss wears a size 6 RTW, and I made this in a size 6.  Same with my niece.  She is a size 9 and perfection…

All in all, we really do love Katie a lot here, and I am already envisioning some more for the upcoming spring weather! Now for the best news...It’s on sale for a special release price at Jennifer’s shop starting today!  You can get your copy of Katie’s for $5.  After that, it goes up to $7.95.

Grab your copy of Katie’s here at her Snuggle My Baby Patterns Etsy shop!  Remember, the Katie’s Crop Top Sweater is on sale for a limited time only to celebrate the release of this simple but very versatile pattern!  

If you want to skip on over to the Facebook group, you can find it here.  Jennifer posts all of her happenings here so you won't miss out on new releases or special events!  

Now, if you've read this far, then I really do appreciate you for sticking with me!  Now head on over and pick up your copy of the Katie’s today!

Happy Sewing,

Kim

Just hanging around with Emily

So, I hate to go clothes shopping...and I hate to do laundry.  I might hate to do laundry just a little more than I hate clothes shopping.  So, when Marisa posted that she was doing a tester call for her new Emily Tee, I was all over that like bees on honey!  I was a little worried about it being something for me because I have a love hate relationship with sewing tops for myself (I usually have to frankenpattern to make things fit all my bits right), but this...this top was perfection!  I seriously want to make 30 of these so I have a whole month's worth that I can live in.

Okay so some basics about the pattern first:

- Pattern ranges from XS to XXL so it covers a large size range.

- There are 3 sleeve options: long, elbow, and short.

- The neckline has 4 options: hoodie, cowl, scoop neck, and jewel neck.
- You can opt for a triangle inset on the side seam or just leave it as a whole piece.
- There are elbow patches for the long sleeve option!  I loved these and was trying to find a way to incorporate them into the long sleeve tee that I did...so sad that I couldn't so I guess I just have to make another one.
- Maternity add-on pack available!
- The instructions are very concise and straightforward.  There are also tons of pictures for those of us who do better with the visuals.  

As far as the pattern, I had no problems with following along.  I did read it a couple of times to make sure I knew what to do.  I actually read the thumb hole part a few more times because I had never made actual thumb holes before, and after I got started, it was REALLY easy.  I seriously want to put them on all of my long sleeve shirts now.  Those thumbholes and the cowl neck are my favorite parts of this shirt!!  I made my first top in a burnout sweater fabric that I have been hoarding forever now, and it was perfect for this top.

I also did a second shirt in the short sleeve version so that I had a top to wear to the KidFest here in Oklahoma City.  It took about 45 minutes from start to finish, and I had a top that fit me so perfectly that I didn't even worry once about it all day.  This pattern fit me everywhere, even my arms which usually need some readjusting.  

Again, as far as the fit, I found it to be pretty true to RTW.  I didn't have any issues with the bottom riding up or the sleeves being too tight.  It's kind of a close fit cut on me, but not so close that I was self conscious at all.   The pieces sewed together like a breeze.  Everything lined up perfectly, and it was a very quick sew.

AND, the best news of all, Marisa is offering the pattern at a special release price!  You can grab your copy of the pattern for $6 (maternity add on on sale for $2) from now until February 26th!

Shop Laela Jeyne Patterns here at her webstore!  Remember, the Emily T-shirt is on sale for a limited time to celebrate the release of this have to have pattern!  

If you want to skip on over to the Facebook group, you can find it here.  Marisa posts all of her happenings here so you won't miss out on new releases or special events!  

Now, if you've read this far, then I really do appreciate you for sticking with me!  Now head on over and pick up your copy of the Emily!

Happy Sewing,

Kim

In the Hampton's with Jack and Jackie

All smiles!!  These are the standard sleeves
on Bug and flutter sleeves on Boo.

Okay, okay, so maybe it's not Hampton's.  And maybe aren't hanging with anyone from the Kennedy family...BUT, this shirt is still a whole lot of happiness all on its own. It's such a rare occasion that my kids want to wear something that I've made that I have to (not so secretly) celebrate when they BOTH agree to wear something "mama made"...Wellll, let me tell ya, the Jack and Jackie top that I recently had the good fortune to test for Snuggle My Baby Patterns is one such pattern.  This pattern was absolutely perfect for my littles since my daughter is quickly growing away from ruffles and bows (TRAGEDY for me because in my world everything is better with a bow!!!) and little bug could have a shirt to match sissy.

See what I did there?  We're not above bribery
to get a photoshoot going on!

So, first things first, pattern details:
- Pattern ranges from 2T-12 so there's a lot of room to grow with this one!
- There are three sleeve options: long, short, and flutter
- There are two sizing options: regular or slim
- There are no buttons or zippers to work with so super duper easy there!
- The instructions are very concise and easy to follow along with, and if you're a visual learner like me, there are a lot of photos along the way to show us what we need to do!
- The pattern itself is really easy to sew together and is a really quick sew.  I was able to get 4 shirts done in a day!

At this point I was informed that
I should have done long sleeves

Like I said, the pattern is so easy to follow.  I read it once through before cutting anything to make sure I understood the instructions, and we were off and running!  Construction came together like a breeze, and I had no issues at all with the pieces lining up.   The top slips over the head so there aren't any fasteners for little hands to work through.  My kids picked out some British Invasion from Riley Blake and had to match so they could be twinsies so I made them both the same top with different sleeves.  I also made a Spiderman one for my son's best friend and a long sleeved version for a special little girl we know!

Bribery again!  She would only stand still because
I promised her cheese sticks.

As for the fit, it was true to ready to wear sizing.  There's plenty of room in the top that the kiddos can climb and jump around, but the shirt itself doesn't appear to be swallowing them up when they are wearing it!  Spiderman informed me that he would much rather have had the long sleeves as that would hide his web blasters much better, but he would make it work!  I thought that was pretty benevolent of him. :)!

All in all, all four of the kiddos loved this shirt, and I've been asked if there is any way that all of their friends can have shirts so they can all match.  At this rate, it might be summer by the time I get them done so I'm thankful this is a quick and easy pattern!  It's on sale right now until February 19!  You can grab it at a special release price of $5!  After that, it goes up to the usual price of $7.95 so don't miss out!

The pattern is available at the Snuggle My Baby Patterns Etsy store!  Jennifer also has a group on Facebook that you can join to keep up with her happenings, apply for test calls, and ask for help on patterns!

Still bribing him!  This time we had to add some
Umi Zoomi to sweeten the deal!

If you've made it this far, I appreciate you hanging in there with me!  Go grab your copy of Jack and Jackie's and sew your little love some of these tops!!

Happy Sewing,
Kim

Bella of the Ball

Sometimes, you get the opportunity to try something out, and it turns into an instant love!  That was how it went with the Bella Party or Play Dress from Snuggle My Baby Patterns.  I was testing the tulle skirt version the first shot out the gate, and I’ll admit, I was a little worried about the tulle.  We usually aren’t besties, but oh my, was it amazing on this dress! 

Okay so some basics about the pattern first:

- Pattern ranges from 2T to 16 so it covers a very large size range.

- There are 4 dress options: long tulle, short tulle, special occasion fabrics, and play dress

- The bodice has options for long sleeve, short sleeve, or no sleeve.  All seams are enclosed so you won’t have any seams showing when complete (except where you sew the sleeves on…)

- There are pattern pieces for the bodice and measurement charts for the skirt pieces and sleeve cuffs so that we can save our paper and ink.

- The bodice closes with 3 buttons so NO zippers!

- The instructions are very concise and straightforward.  There are also tons of pictures for those of us who do better with the visuals.  Jennifer also made a video on how to attach the tulle in case that parts sticks us up.

As far as the pattern, I had no problems with following along.  I read it a couple of times before I got started to make sure I understood what I was doing.  My favorite part of the dress has to be the bodice.  It closes using buttons and has a sweet little curve in the back that is really unique.  My daughter was over the moon over the twirl factor.  When we went to raid my stash for fabric, she opted for a long tulle skirt and….um, ninja fabric.  I wasn’t terribly excited about her choice until it came together, and it was love! 

I also did a second dress in the play dress version that my little could wear to church (they wear uniforms for school which made me uber sad that she won’t be wearing this to school, but it’s all good). This time momma got to pick the fabrics so we went with some gray floral that I’ve been hoarding for a while.  It was a pretty awesome Hobby Lobby find and was perfect for this dress with some yellow solid that I had picked up from Ozark Fabrics on Facebook. 

As far as the fit, I found it to be true to RTW.  Little Miss wears a size 6 RTW, and I made this dress in a size 6.  It fit her perfectly!  The bodice is slightly form fitting, but there was still plenty of room for my ninja princess to wage war on the skeleton army (i.e. her brother).  The skirt was definitely roomy enough that she could chase her brother around the yard and play in it.  Even a ninja princess needs to be able to play, right?

I made my own buttons for the bodice using the button covers that you can get a JoAnn’s or Hobby Lobby.  It’s really easy to do that with this pattern because you don’t sew button holes.  The pattern calls for elastic loops so you can use pretty much any type of button you want.

All in all, we really do love our Bella around here, and I see many more of these in our future!  Now for the best part!  It’s going to be on sale for a special release price at Jennifer’s shop from today through Sunday, 31 January!  You can get your copy of Bella for $5.  After that, it goes up to $7.95.

So just head to Snuggle My Baby Patterns or visit Jennifer’s etsy shop!  Also, Jennifer has a facebook page where you can follow her happenings:

Shop Snuggle My Baby Patterns here at her webstore or here at her Etsy shop!  Remember, the Bella Party or Play Dress is on sale for a limited time to celebrate the release of this amazingly versatile pattern!  

If you want to skip on over to the Facebook group, you can find it here.  Jennifer posts all of her happenings here so you won't miss out on new releases or special events!  

Now, if you've read this far, then I really do appreciate your for sticking with me!  Now head on over and pick up your copy of the Bella!

Happy Sewing,

Kim

PJ partying with Laela Jeyne!

Last month, I had the opportunity to test the Comfy PJ pattern from Laela Jeyne Patterns.  If it were up to me, I would never ever change out of my pj’s. Ever.  So, I was ecstatic when I saw that Marisa was getting ready to release a pj pattern, and I was even more ecstatic when I found out I would have the chance to be part of her test team.  And let me tell ya, this pattern is perfect!   It comes with pattern pieces for short sleeves and shorts or long sleeves and pants.  Being vertically challenged at a whopping 5’1”, I was stoked to see that this pattern has a shorter inseam option as well with higher and lower rises.  With sizes ranging from XS to XXL, this pattern really covers a wide range of sizes.  It can also be made is either a woven fabric or knit!  I actually made one in flannel and one in cotton woven. 

As with all of Marisa’s pattern, this one is very clearly and concisely written AND there are tons of photos to help illustrate the directions for those of us who are more visual sewists!  And one of my favorite things about this pattern are NO TRIM pages!  This essentially means I didn’t have to spend precious sewing time cutting the edges off the pages to fit them together.  And the pieces just slid right into place when I glued the pages together!  Oh, and layering.  I really love that I could select the size that I wanted to print, and just the size that I wanted.  It makes for much easier cutting when I have only the one set of lines to cut on!

The design and construction of these also lends itself to some pretty nifty embellishments if you’re wanting to do some piping or add a little something to the pockets.  It’s really such a versatile pattern, and you have so many options that you can’t go wrong.  One of the testers even made some of these for men, and she said they turned out great so really, what’s not to love about this pattern?

Now, sewing for myself is iffy because I’m never sure how the fit is going to go with the finished product, but I love the fit of these pj’s.  The top is roomy enough to allow movement but not so roomy that I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of fabric, and the bottoms have just enough give for me to have some "running around after the kids" freedom.  I didn’t add the pockets to mine, but I wish I had now that I’ve worn them a few times.  I’m always looking for a place to stuff my phone or tuck away the treasures that my kids need me to keep for them while they continue tearing through the house so I think I’m going to be adding some pockets on the next pair that I sew up…WHICH, I might add is going to be happening when Marisa starts her sewalong for this awesome new pattern!  It starts in just a week on 11 January on the Laela Jeyne Facebook page!  You can join in the fun by RSVP’ing to the event and you can snag the pattern on sale by clicking here!  Sale ends the 11th, though, so don't miss out!

So, go grab your copy of this pattern and then raid your stash for some fabric so you can join the sewalong!  Happy Sewing and see you at Marisa's FB page on the 11th!

Blessings,

Kim

Soda pops with Gertie!!

I had the opportunity to work with Linda Lehn from Merry Church Mouse again as a tester for her new Gertie dress pattern, and I can honestly tell you that I love this pattern!  It’s a vintage style dress that was inspired by a movie that Linda saw, and I was over the moon in love when I saw the initial drawings for this dress!

My daughter is six and has migrated away from ruffles to a simpler style when she chooses the dresses she wants, and when she said, “Hey, momb, can I get two or three of this dress?” I was secretly jumping up and down inside.  My husband wasn't so excited to hear that she was not interested in anything  on my shelves so we would be going to the fabric store to get more fabric.  I wasn't so secretly excited about that prospect!!

The pattern is rated intermediate, and I really do recommend that you have some sewing experience to tackle this dress.  It has a few elements that aren’t hard to do, but it really does help if you’ve sewn a few things before taking this dress on. 

The dress features a long sleeve with a short sleeve option, a gathered skirt in the back, and princess seams that give the dress a tailored, more polished look.  There are also little cuffs on the sleeves that can either be rounded or scalloped. It has a madeira applique collar (also in either a rounded shape or scalloped), and I was a little nervous at first since I have never actually tried this style applique before.  However, after I got my sew-jo going, it was so easy to do with the instructions that Linda provides. 

For the collar, Linda suggested that we use water soluble thread.  For the first two dresses that I made, I used regular thread, and it was definitely do-able.  However, if you can order some of the water soluble thread, it made my life so much easier when I did the third dress! 

The pattern tiles do call for a fair bit of paper, but don’t let that discourage you at all when you start piecing it all together.  I actually used a glue stick to put the sheets together, and it came together very quickly.  The end product is so amazingly precious that it was worth the time it took to glue the pattern pieces. 

I love that this pattern ranges from size 2T to 10.  My daughter is already in a size 6, and I’m quickly realizing that a lot of the patterns I have for her are going to start going by the wayside in a couple of years, so I was very excited to see that this one will grow with her for a few years to come…and  with both long sleeve and short sleeve options, I can make her dresses that will work for both cold and warm weather!  My daughter’s favorite parts were the twirl factor and the little tab at the back that looks like it buttons to keep the dress gathered.  She’s already looking at fabric options for at least two more dresses!  With a little girl who’s tastes are as fickle as the winter weather here in Oklahoma, I’d definitely say that’s a win. 

If you want a dress that’s simple and classic yet has limitless options for embellishment, this dress is perfect!  Linda is also going to have this pattern available at a special release price, and you can snag it for 50% off at her shop or on Craftsy.  At $5, this is a really great deal, but that price is only available until Friday, 18 December so don’t miss out!  You can go to either of these links to get your copy:

http://www.mcmstudiodesigns.squarespace.com/patterns/gerties-soda-shop-dress or

http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/clothing/gerties-soda-shop-dress/180759

Thanks so much for reading along, and Happy Sewing!

Blessings,
Kim

Hanging with Penelope

I hate clothes shopping.  I will put it off as long as possible just so I don't have to deal with the disappointment of a store full of clothes that don't fit for this reason or that.  So, when Marisa put out the call for testers for her Penelope Pleated Camisole, I jumped at the chance.  I was so excited when she told me that I had been selected as a tester.

This cami does take just a tiny extra bit of time to put together with all of the pleats, but the end look is worth it.  There is an elastic casing at the waist that gives the top a little bit more shape and it's just long enough that it covers my behind.  I always get pretty excited when I find a top that will cover my rear.  You'll also have some elastic at the neckline to help pull in the top part a little as well.  I wore this to chase my 5 year old kids around the house, and a few days later, I wore it on an airplane when flying to my parents' house.  The top is roomy enough that I had no trouble moving around at all, and it was super comfortable.  On my top, the waist elastic was a little longer than in the pattern, and I really do think that I will go back and shorten the elastic to make it a little tighter around the waist.

I made myself a casual top for the test, but I already have visions of making another one that's a little fancier that I can wear with a skirt or pair of slacks.  The style of this top makes it really easy to dress it up with a simple jacket or cardigan, and it's loose enough that I can layer it with another shirt as the weather gets cooler!  

The fabric is a woven that has some drape to it, and I would definitely recommend this for someone who has some sewing experience or a beginner who's wanting to challenge themselves a little!

Photo courtesy of Laela Jeyne Patterns

If you're seeing this top and loving it like I do, it just so happens that you can grab your copy on sale $5.50 until 30 November!  No coupon code needed for this one.

Just head over to http://www.laelajeynepatterns.com/product/penelope-pleated-camisole-pdf-pattern/ to get your copy.  Marisa also has a facebook group that you can join so you can follow what's up with Laela Jeyne and ask any questions you might have along the way!

Thanks for reading along and Happy Sewing!