Ain't No Party...

Like a Time Lord Party!!!  Am I right?  This month's theme over at Crafting Con is Doctor Who!!!  Could I be more thrilled?  Ummm...I'm pretty sure I couldn't.  I just wish I had all the time in the world to sew all these great ideas!  (And money to buy more fabric too!  :p )

So, I have plans for at least one thing for the sew a long but I thought for now it would be fun to just post some of the Doctor Who things I've made the past year.  Most of these were customs so there aren't modeled pictures (my girls don't like Doctor Who.  *sniff*  but my boys do!!!  So I'll be sewing for them this month.)

This one is actually MINE!!!  I used Patterns for Pirates Boyfriend Tee V-neck pattern with some of this great My Little Dalek fabric. 

Upcycled hoodie for a little dude that got to go to the Doctor Who experience over in Great Britain this past February.  

Doctor Who pillow cases (oh how I wish these were mine!  I may have to make myself one...)

Cute little upcycled bubble tunic

Upcycled top using Funktional Threads pattern (did I mention that Kessa doesn't like Doctor Who?  She was just modeling the top for me.  Silly girl doesn't know what's good!  ;) )

And a fun upcycled Town Square dress (from Terra's Treasures).  Now that I see these all together I REALLY want to get my sew on!  Guess I better get my "have to" stuff out of the way so I can get on with my fun sewing!!!  

Be sure and stop by Friends Stitched Together and see all the great contestant entries and guest posts!  

Fall Style

What's that?  It's August and I have MORE fall sewing done?  No way!

I got lucky and got to test my first two patterns by Made for Mermaids last week and they're a hit!  I really love how they're both just solid staples for fall/winter.  

The Rose Ruffle shirt was released last week and is fantastic for layering or as a stand alone.  It comes in sizes 1/2 up to 14 and can be made with mid or full length sleeves.  It has a slimmer fit through the torso that makes it especially ideal for layering.  (The neck band has been lengthened to take care of the puckering that you see in my teal and gray striped top)

It also pairs PERFECTLY with the Hailey Ruffle pants that will be released this coming Tuesday!  Now let me tell you about these pants...these pants are SOOO cute.  AND they have a yoga waistband so your daughter will think they're super comfy.  AND they have a waist ruffle that almost looks like a ruffled undershirt.  AND they can be made in knit or woven for all pieces except the yoga waistband!

On this pair I used a woven for the pants and bottom ruffles and a cotton lycra knit for the waistband and waist ruffle.  

Saying "hi!" to Si.  They have nice full booty coverage too.  No plumbers crack here!  ;)

For this 2nd set I made I upcycled a shirt and used stretch lace for the sleeves on the top.

The pants and bottom ruffles are knit, as well as the waistband, and the waist ruffle is an awesome Wonder Woman woven fabric.  I love patterns that let me mix the fun woven fabrics I find in with my beloved (and comfy!) knits!   

Also, stretch lace is becoming a bit of an obsession for me.  I love it.  I'm going to be sad when it's too cold to use it and I feel I might start layering it over things at that point.  It's just so fun!  lol

See?!?!  HOW CUTE IS THAT LITTLE RUFFLE?!?!?!  Ahhhh!!!!!!!!!  Ok, so...now that you're wishing away Monday so that you can buy this awesome pattern...I'm going to bed.  Night night!

EYMM 4 Seasons Cardi

I've talked before about how much I love Kymy and EYMM.  Her patterns are so fast (I mean, seriously fast!) and super trendy and now, she's done it again!   She just released her 24th pattern (in one year!  More about that celebration later!) called the Girl's Four Seasons Cardigan and Duster.  Like most of Kymy's pattern this has options!  

Options, options, and more options in fact!  It can be made with or without a hood, it has multiple sleeve lengths (extra long, long, 3/4, short, or sleeveless) and it can be made in a cardi length or a duster length.  

I've made two so far (with plans for more already this week!)  Both times I used the cardi length and the 3/4 sleeves.  It's still summer in most of the US but we're starting to think about transition to fall clothing so this version is perfect!  

And because we all know I can't resist a good upcycle I used t-shirt panels for the backs of both of them.  I really really adore the Future President one on Grace and I wish I could get her to wear jeans more often!  lol  It's already sold and gone to a new home.  

But seriously, how cute does she look?!?!  You can hem the edges, to a rolled hem, serge them, or just leave them plain.  I hemmed them on the Future President one and left them plain on the Toy Story one.  

Now, how about that sale?!?!  EYMM has been in business for one year and she's having a HUGE sale and giveaway to go with it!

She's also having a huge giveaway!  You can find out all the details and enter here.  

(this post contains affiliate links)

Upcycle Dress Review

So, if you know me at all you know I LOVE upcycling.  Like...it's my business.  ;)  I've used a lot of different patterns and I love finding new styles to try.  When Stacey asked me to test her new upcycle dress I jumped at the chance!

Then...once we actually started testing...it just got better.  This pattern has SOOO many options ya'll!!

Let's start with the dress - instructions for piecing it, in case you aren't confident doing that yourself, can be done with a short peplum, a long skirt, two layered skirts or a paneled skirt over a long skirt!  It has a drop waist and a slimmer fit setting it apart from most other upcycle patterns.  It also has long sleeves, short sleeves, layered sleeves and sleeveless!  

                            

I did the paneled skirt over the long skirt on this dress along with the short sleeve option (because it's FINALLY starting to feel like spring here in Southern IL!)

And then....I did the sleeveless version.  In a dress with just the long skirt for Grace and in the shirt for Kessa.  I'm not kidding when I say the fit is perfect!  I didn't adjust anything and I'm usually adjusting stuff left and right on patterns!

 But wait!  There's more!!!  More you say?  Yes more!!!  lol (do I sound like an infomercial now?)

In addition to the dress with all it's options, and leaving off the skirt and just making a top, there are also instructions for making just a skirt!  With this skirt again, you can do one layer, two layers, a paneled top layer and solid lower layer, a whole paneled layer, AND ruffles!  And did I mention the twirl factor?  Clearly a hit for the spinning crowd (and I'm not talking exercise bikes!  lol)

In these pictures Kessa is wearing the top and skirt with a 4 panel top and bottom skirt and a ruffle.  

Outtake anyone?  She's wearing a store bought tank and the skirt below...

 And here she's wearing just the shirt with jeans.  I LOVE the way this set mixes and matches and I really love the length and fit of the shirt.  Kessa's getting out of dresses so much but I love being able to make her shirts that aren't TOO tight but aren't big and baggy either...and that cover her if she bends over!  lol

And one last one...the skirt with a tank again.  

This pattern is great!  So thorough and SOOO many options!  AND, Stacey is having a naming contest in her group right now.  Head on over and enter for a chance to win the pattern for free!!!  It will be released later this week.  

Cricket Top

 

Kessa has been reading the original Winnie the Pooh books and has fallen a bit in love with little Piglet.  One of my upcycle buddies was kind enough to get me a shirt for her and we turned it into this cute little number for summer!  

 

Now that she's getting a big older she's not liking dresses all the time but she still wants me to make her things.  The Cricket top from FooFoo Threads was right up her ally!   It has several different options included a neck ruffle and a bottom ruffle. 

One fun thing about this is that while the bodice needs to be made of knit you can use woven for the bindings and the drawstrings and even for the ruffles if you do them. 

(she's been watching the Odd Life Of Timothy Green.  Great movie!  ;) )

I did find that the length of the shirt without the ruffle was QUITE short, especially if you're planning on using the draw strings to ruche up the sides.  I think the finished length of a size 6 without the ruffle was something like 14".  That's way too short for my taste so I just lengthened it before I ever cut it. 

Also, according to the measurement chart I should have made Kessa about a size 3.  She wasn't home and after checking finished measurements I went with a 6 anyway.  Normally I go by the measurement chart because I know she's small but in this case I'm glad I did the 6. 

The chest on the 6 is a little wide.  The pattern tells you when to try it on your child and how to adjust that if it needs to be done but since Kessa wasn't home I just went with it.  Next time I'll still make the 6 but I'll take the arm holes/upper bodice in slightly so the binding doesn't run on her armpits.

Overall I think this is a great pattern.  It's fairly quick sew and the results are super cute for summer.  I just highly suggest that you check measurements...especially length...before cutting. 

Oh!  And one last thing...the pattern doesn't include it but I think I'm going to make some with just normal ruching on the sides with some elastic...I know some of my customers' children won't like the ties hanging down at their sides.

I plan to make the ruffled version soon for the shop or Grace.  There's also an adorable dress version (I bought this bundle pack with both the shirt and the dress and I think I might use the dress for Grace's Easter dress...if I actually get around to making them that is!  lol )