SewSophieLynn

Decklyn Jacket by Blaverry

Guys, I made a jacket! Like a cute, zippered real life jacket!

And I took a million pictures to prove it!

Because when it looks this gorgeous on your little model you just can’t help yourself!

This is my second pattern from Blaverry. I mentioned last month that I’ve been given the opportunity to work with Christie at Blaverry to help promote her fantastic pattern shop.

In return for a pattern I promise to spread the word about her patterns. Great deal, right?

This month when she announced that the Decklyn jacket would be the pattern to promote I honestly was terrified! I sew knits… like half hour, quick and painless projects.

While this jacket took a bit longer- two nap times shockingly, it was such a satisfying sew.

The pattern is impeccably made and the details are so good!

It’s fully lined and has the cutest zippered sleeve accents!

I used a cotton twill from Joann’s and a woven lace I picked up in LA. The lining is something I’ve had in my stash for awhile. Sophie picked it out and I think I’m rubbing off on her- I totally would have picked it for myself!

I love that this jacket will take her right into the spring!

The pattern instructions are fantastic and Christie is so readily available if you ever have any questions. I just love that about pdf patterns- most designers love to help!

She loves it as much as I do- can you tell?!!

She said she will happily wear it every day!

I told you I took a million pictures! As much as I love my quick sews, my favorite makes are always the ones that I take my time on. The amazing details and perfect fit make this a project that I’ll be proud of for a long time.

Patterns for Pirates Me Heartie Dress

Being my kid is hard. Mom will make you new clothes all the time but then mom makes you stand outside when it’s 20 degrees and threatening to snow just to take a few pictures. Never mind that she’s dreaming of spring and makes you a short sleeve dress. You just suck it up, smile, and know there’s a treat in it for you when you’re done. And mom hopes she can edit out the goosebumps later 😉

These girls are getting so good at just smiling and pleasing their crazy mom.

And they even have a little fun while they’re at it.

The pattern I have for you today is the just released Patterns for Pirates Me Hearties Dress. I was thrilled to be able to test it and my girls just love their new dresses and top.

The first one I made was a simple short sleeve bodice with fold-over-elastic binding and a dress length circle skirt.

This was my first time using FOE to bind hems and it was just fantastic! I followed this tutorial from Made for Mermaids and it made for perfect hems every time!

I don’t do circle skirts very often and my girls loved it so much that Sophie requested her own version. They just twirled and twirled til they were dizzy!

For fabric on these I used a black and white stripe from Purpleseamstress, Club dots from Raspberry Creek and a photo floral print I picked up in LA. I love the selection of FOE at Hobby Lobby and used a couple different ones for my dresses and top.

After I did the dresses I just couldn’t stop! The sweetheart neckline option of this pattern is just too cute!

I used a knit lace I had in my stash, backed with white cotton/lycra from Raspberry Creek and Club floral from Raspberry Creek (that is unfortunately sold out). The neck and sleeves are bound with FOE.

I did the shirt with peplum option and my sleeves are an in between length as I was using every last bit of the lace I could.

I absolutely adore this top and love how sweet it looks on my girly.

There are so many options with this pattern! Check out the Pattern for Pirates Facebook group for some incredible inspiration. With the lace overlay, this simple dress becomes a stunning fancy frock. And the best part… you can make one for yourself, too! Pick up the women’s version here or grab the mommy and me bundle here.

And I saved my favorite picture for the end… Seriously, this girl is one spunky chica!

Floral Cropped Hudsons

The Hudson Pants from True Bias are one of those things I could make in my sleep. Between me and my little ones, I’ve made too many to count. I needed some quick comfy traveling pants before our trip so I instinctively grabbed my Hudson pattern.

Now, while I’m thrilled with the final pants, that fateful Friday-the day before we left, was the sewing day from down under. I usually share all my butterfly and rainbow sewing tales but this was just an awful day.

I whipped through these pants and almost two raglans all on my serger when I realized my serger tension was off. Like way off… looking great coming off the machine but a little stretch and it would unravel. In my five years of sewing with my serger I’ve rarely had tension issues. My good ol’ Brother 1034D just is that amazing!

So, instead of being done with my projects in an hour, I spent three fiddling with tension, tearing everything apart and RE-SEWING everything! AND, I was silly and didn’t interface my grommets so one came off while threading the drawstring and while I thought I could be tricky and put a grommet in with the waistband attached I managed to punch a hole clear through the other side of the waistband. Somedays are just like that… even in Australia (to quote our favorite book of the moment 😉

So these pants are fabulous though! I can’t wait for warmer spring weather to wear these ALL THE TIME! This Club french terry is so soft and delicious!

I finally fiddled with the pocket size on the Hudsons and love them! My phone fits perfectly and it’s not too bulky- win-win-win!!

Do you ever have days like that? What’s been your worst sewing disaster? I’ve had patterns not work out for me but I think this was especially bad because it felt like an old friend, my trusty serger, had turned on me. With a little work we’ve gotten back together and will have many more rainbow and butterfly stories to share with you!

Sabrina Slims by Love Notions

I feel like these posts praising Tami at Love Notions might get a little repetitive but ladies…Do…you…see…these…pants?!!!

The Sabrina Slims are THE perfect pants. With a change of fabric these can be worn for practically any occasion.

These pants went into testing the day before we went on our trip. I was crazy excited about them and didn’t want to miss out so I quickly (like under an hour quickly) sewed up this pair in a stretch bottomweight from Joann’s that I’ve had in my stash forever.

I sewed up the basic pant- no bells and whistles. They are sleek and fit like a glove.

They are made to hug your thighs then are straight from the knee to the hem. The high waist is flattering (more on that in a bit) and comfortable.

So while I was thrilled with this pattern from the start, other testers struggled to get the perfect fit. I got to watch the rest of the testing process from afar and I was absolutely blown away by the hard work and determination Tami showed to get these pants perfect for every body type!

She went through almost a dozen revisions as tester feedback came in and the fit just kept getting better. She’s included a detailed tutorial walking you through various fixes for common fit issues. I learned so much while testing these pants and you will get the same information right in the pattern tutorial. It’s worth buying the pattern just for the fit tips!

As soon as I got home I was dying to whip up another pair using the final pattern. I was not disappointed.

I used a knit jegging material from Joann’s and added the front seams and back welt pockets to this pair.

These were my first welt pockets and the instructions were fabulous! (gotta love the hand stamp 😉

I love how versatile this pair is. Paired with boots and some jewelry it’s perfect for going out.

Or with a tee and sneakers they’re perfect for running errands.

I love that they look a bit more pulled together than leggings but still are oh so comfortable.

Now for the flattering part. Everyone has their body issues and mine will forever be my belly. This is a comparison of my ready-to-wear leggings on the right and the high waisted Sabrina’s on the left. I love, love what these pants do for my gut!

The Sabrina’s are on sale through 1/30. Make sure to pick them up here (affiliate link). I’m sure you’ll love them as much as I do!

A week in paradise

I’m a Southern California girl living in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. I need a little beach trip every once in a while to get me through the cold seasons here.

We were lucky enough to head to Cancun for a week of sun and family time. It was a big deal for us since we don’t often get to do big family vacations. This year for Christmas instead of big gifts we chose to do a trip. Hopefully we can make it a tradition because I’d much rather have the amazing memories than a house cluttered with toys!

Seeing these three together in their mama-made swimsuits was so satisfying. They were comfortable and just darn cute!

You can see more of each suit here, here, and here.

Would it be terrible to have a wall full of pics from this trip?!!

He’s got the ‘smolder’ down- watch out ladies!

And that water…like bath water warm! Heaven, I tell you!

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We had the resort photographer take family pictures so those combined with ours from the week make for some pretty sweet reminders of an amazing trip. I’m ready to head back!

Recess Rash Guard Swimsuit

Little sister’s swimsuit was so perfect for the beach. The rashguard proved invaluable against the sun and wind and those colors just popped against the turquoise waters.

I used the Santa Monica Tankini from Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop for the bottoms. I add a bit to the back rise and always fully line them. It is the same pattern I used here for Charlie.

We both love the coverage and fit of boy shorts. Plus they look dang cute!

Her top is a slightly modified Recess Raglan. It’s lined in the front and taken in under the arms.

I ordered a bargain lot of swim knits from Girl Charlee last spring. There was enough yardage for suits for the next five years! Lots of fun prints including this daisy and the light blue polka dots. A great deal and so fun to experiment with.

I could take picture of my kids on the beach all day long! You can’t beat the backdrop and lighting 😉

They can mix and match their suits which is a huge bonus being the same size. Hopefully they’ll always love sharing clothes because it sure makes it easier on this mom.

She always has to throw in some sweet moves! She just cracks me up!

Cosi Swimsuit and Raglan Rash Guard

The Cosi Swimsuit by SewPony Vintage has been on my to-sew list for ages.

A quick google search will bring up countless darling versions and will give you the itch to sew one up too.

I love all the options it comes with- two piece or one piece and multiple color blocking choices plus a version with a ruched center piece. They all are so retro and cute!

I did the view F bottoms and added faux piping in the seams. For the top, I used the one piece pattern and chopped it off to hit as close to the top of the bottoms as I could. I wanted the look of the two piece with the modesty of a one piece.

We have so many versions planned come summer! It’s a fantastic pattern with great instructions and so, so many options.

We also adore rash guards and I love how simple they are to make.

I used the Recess Raglan from See Kate Sew. I take it in under the arms a bit to be more fitted and line the front in swimsuit lining.

So perfect for hitting the waves!

To finish her look, she got a new cover-up. I used the Kelli Kimono from Made for Mermaids. I followed my women’s version (the Patterns for Pirates Summer Kimono) as a guide to make it robe length and to add a sash sewn onto the back. It’s out of a lightweight sweater knit that matches her suit perfectly!

I’ll leave you with my new favorite picture of these two! There’s such admiration in his eyes- he sure loves his big sis.

Euro Swimshorts for my baby

As we prepared to leave on a week vacation to paradise, I did what any normal mom would do and whipped up much needed new swimsuits for the family.

I’ll have a couple more posts this week to share some warm weather sewing but first up is the little guy.

I love those first glimpses of little knees and bellies after months of bundling up. My boys usually wear rash guards in the sun so these cute belly pics in the early morning kinda make me giggle.

As I was cutting suits for the girls I was using Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop’s Santa Monica Sweetheart Tankini. It has the cutest little boyshorts that I knew with a bit of tweaking would be perfect for my boy.

I added a touch to the back rise and fully lined them. I finished them with wide bands on the legs to add a little length. I think these were a half hour project but looked so hip and cute out on the beach.

Nothing groundbreaking but so darling on his tiny body.

Love that lil’ toosh!

And he grabbed them day after day… a win in my book.

Editing these pics in the middle of a snowstorm sure makes me want to go back! Who’s with me?!!!

Club Aztec Greenstyle Hudson Hoodie

You don’t see much of this kid on here because 1- he’s too cool for mom-made’s usually and 2- he’s super picky about his clothes, period.

He received this hoodie for Christmas and immediately wanted me to replicate it because he loved it so much. I gladly accepted his challenge!

Good thing I knew where to get some awesome Aztec french terry!

I picked up some solid charcoal french terry to go along with it- all from Raspberry Creek Fabrics.

I used Greenstyle’s Hudson Hooded T-shirt in size XS. Another reason I never sew for this kid is because he’s right in between boys and men’s sizes which makes it difficult to find patterns that fit. This pattern has a great size range (chest measurements from 34″-53″)!

I lined the hood in Aztec and added a drawstring and casing but otherwise followed the pattern. The fit is great but we’ll change a few things next time for his preferences (picky, picky kid!).

I’m loving the final coloring of the Aztec. The red is actually a deep burgundy and the colors are so vibrant.

And yes, he is wearing shorts in below freezing weather. Are all boys like that?!! I promise you he has a closet full of pants and you don’t need to send them our way 😉

Finn by Blaverry

I love a good basic, simple pattern. I’m not usually into ruffles and frills so when I had the chance to work with Christie at Blaverry I jumped at the opportunity. Her style just fits with ours perfectly!

I sewed up the Finn top but extended the peplum to make it dress length. I love the neck binding. Such a nice, clean finish.

I used gorgeous Club Feathers from Raspberry Creek.

I think she likes it, wouldn’t you say?!!!

It’s got that comfy, twirliness that she loves but the cute curve of the peplum skirt adds a hipness that I adore.

We layered it with a jacket, boots, and scarf to wear while it’s cooler. The pattern comes with a long sleeve option but I’m dreaming of Spring here.

Such a versatile dress!

I love that we can accessorize this fabric with any color to really make it pop.

It’s amazing what a little Taylor Swift can do to pump up a photo shoot! I got a ton of wiggly, blurry picks cuz’ this girl likes to shake it, shake it off!

Make sure you head on over to Blaverry to check out all the chic, adorable patterns from dresses to pants to stylish jackets- so much cuteness in one shop!

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