Back to School – SewSophieLynn

Back to School Tour 2019

I love a good blog tour filled with friends, awesome giveaways, and any excuse to get behind my sewing machines. The Back to School Blog Tour hosted by Karly of Paisley Roots was the perfect reason to drop everything and sew up a few back to school pieces.

This little miss starts middle school this year, sob sob. Her actual first day is TODAY and while you are reading this I just might be having a mini-meltdown. Middle School! How did that happen?! She’s so ready and I know she’ll rock it but when did my little girl get to be such an amazing young woman?!

She’s getting to be very picky and very particular about what she wears. She definitely follows teenage trends. She’s such a shy girl that she likes to fit right in and not be too flashy. For her back to school wardrobe, she shopped at her favorite stores, Tilly’s and H&M, and then we threw in three handmade pieces that would really compliment and work well with her store-bought items. What resulted is a cute mix and match mini capsule wardrobe that she loves!

I used three patterns from my favorite pattern designers that cater to tween and teen sizing. Modkid Boutique has an ever expanding catalog of tween patterns that are so on-trend. Hey June Handmades Hey Junior line is a collection of basic pieces that can be hacked into a million different looks. It’s a great starting point for classic patterns you can use again and again. I also turn to Love Notions Patterns because their patterns go from size 2t-16 which means I can use them for my girls and my nieces. I love a great size range!

The first handmade piece is a hacked Brooklyn from Modkid in a super fun Retro Stripe from Raspberry Creek Fabrics. For this look, I took the dress piece and just shortened it to top length. She loves mock necks and this pattern fits her well. It’s slim fitting and has multiple sleeve options. I used the long sleeve pattern piece and shortened it to hit mid bicep.

Her leggings are our go-to Love Notions Leggins’. They are a nice slim cut and always fit her so well. I used a mid-weight cotton lycra from CaliFabrics. I absolutely love the weight of this fabric for leggings. I’ve been on the quest for great leggings fabrics since this girl would live in them and I will be ordering more colors of this for sure!

Her last handmade item is a Morrison Tee from Hey June Handmade in a yummy modal stripe from CaliFabrics. This fabric is my absolute favorite for tees and if it looks familiar it could be because I’ve made a handful of other tops out of it in multiple colorways for her and I. It’s so soft and that drape is amazing!

The Morrison Tee is another pattern that I turn to over and over again. That back curved hem and the oversized fit just make me happy! I did an extra-wide cuff and folded it up and tacked it in multiple places. I just love a cuffed sleeve.

Her store-bought pieces:

Mustard Jeggings from H&M

Black Jacket from Tilly’s

Yellow Vans

White Slip-Ons

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure you head to the other stops on the tour for some adorable back to school looks. Head to the end of this post for a super fun giveaway too!

Paisley Roots / Sincerely, Shantelle / Kainara Stitches

Sewing with Sarah / Our Chez Nous / Custom Made by Laura / It’s Liesel

Pear Berry Lane / Sew Sophie Lynn / That’s Sew Kari

Crafting Fiend / Florence Taylor

Giveaway!

2 yards from Mimi’s Custom Fabric

10% off all patterns from DIBY Club with code: B2Sblogtour (expires Aug 25, 2019)

2 patterns of choice from DIBY Club (bundles excluded)

2 patterns of choice from Rad Patterns

2 patterns of choice from Paisley Roots

1 pattern of choice from Sisboom

1 pattern of choice from Little Lizard King

1 pattern of choice from Titchy Threads
1 pattern of choice from New Horizons Designs

Mimi’s Custom Fabric / DIBY Club / Little Lizard King

New Horizons Designs / Rad Patterns / Paisley Roots

Sisboom / Titchy Threads / Modkids

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back to School with Project Run and Play

Summer is coming to an end and my kiddos are headed back to school next week. Making and buying new school clothes and supplies is one way we make it a little less painful. It’s hard to be sad when you’ve got a cute outfit on, lol! To help with your back to school sewing, Project Run and Play is introducing four new patterns to the shop and you can grab these patterns on sale for 20% off through Sunday, August 18th.

I sewed up the Odeline Blouse and Dress from Iris May Patterns. I loved all the options that come with the pattern and it was so fun brainstorming different ideas. A cute gathered sleeve dress in plaid flannel? I simple solid version with ALL the ruffles? A striped linen dress for the last bit of summer weather? One look at all the listing pictures really had my mind reeling. So.Many.Options!

We settled on a short sleeve blouse in this fantastic pineapple print crepe that I picked up in the LA Fabric District. We’ve got a couple more months of nice weather and I wanted something she could wear the first few days of school. She’s loving the pineapple trend and this colorway feels like something that will work well into fall. Short sleeves are so great for layering once the weather gets cooler too.

This pattern features both blouse and dress lengths. There are short, 3/4, and long sleeve options and you can pick a plain or puff sleeve. You can also choose to add a ruffle to the neckline, bodice, and chest. Mixing and matching all the options gives you so many different looks. I chose the neckline ruffle, plain short sleeve and blouse length.

This was one of my first patterns that does not include a seam allowance. I’ve got to admit- I was terrified I’d screw it up! I watched a couple of YouTube videos to refresh my memory and just went for it. I used the two pencils stuck together method and it worked out great- so quick and easy! I’m glad I won’t have to be so intimidated in the future.

I love how this turned out and I’m so glad I still have enough of this fabric left so we can be twinning. It’s such a versatile piece and will work so well for those hot first school days.

Want to win and sew a dream back to school wardrobe? Every purchase in the Project Run and Play shop during the Back to School event will be entered to win 5 patterns of your choice from the shop. Such a fun giveaway!

This little miss attitude is ready to head back to school in style! Head to the Project Run and Play shop to grab the newest patterns on sale!

Back to School Tour Capsule Wardrobe

I love sewing for fall and the Back to School Blog Tour hosted by Lulu and Celeste and Sprouting Jube Jube was a great excuse to sew for my oldest daughter. Make sure to head over to Sprouting Jube Jube to see the amazing list of sponsors- so many great pattern and fabric companies!

When it came time to plan my sweet girl’s back to school wardrobe we first went through her closet to see any gaps that needed to be filled. It’s no secret that this girly has quite the closet full of clothes. In an attempt to keep it from overflowing we decided a capsule wardrobe for fall would work best. We pulled old items from her closet, added a few new handmades, and then hit a couple stores for a few more pieces. I think this collection of handmade and store-bought clothes sums up her wardrobe in general. I love to sew her easy, quick pieces and fill it in with ready-to-wear items that don’t make sense for me to sew- items that are inexpensive or too time consuming for me to fabricate. Sometimes it’s even easier for me to purchase things and then alter them to fit her skinny body- a quick taking in of the waist and hips has saved many ready-to-wear pants! Now on to the fashion show…

This blush pink bomber jacket, purchased at TJ Maxx, was the starting point for this capsule. I love it so much and have a serious case of jacket envy! It’s the perfect weight for fall and has been in heavy rotation here.

Jeans are one thing I’ve yet to attempt so I will gladly keep purchasing them! It’s hard to find pants that fit this girl and when we do I feel like cheering! H&M offers a wider range of sizes and their pants run on the skinny side so they are usually our first stop. Both of the jeans featured are from there. We also order online for her quite a bit since more stores carry slim sizing only in their online shops (Old Navy, Target, and Crazy 8 are some favorites).

This girl loves to browse online and fell in love with a few pieces from Children’s Place, including this hoodie and the button-up shirt (no longer available but here’s a similar version). For under ten dollars each, these pieces were no brainers for me to purchase. Button plackets, collars, button-holes- eek! She loves her button-ups and for that price I will gladly save myself the time, stress, and expense of making them. These hi-top white sneakers are also from Children’s Place.

The leggings and this tee were found at Ross and were both under $6- easy things to make, yes, but for that price point we were both happy to add them to our cart! For all you vinyl-lovers like myself, Thread and Grain has a super cute vinyl file with the same saying! The black and white polka dot Reebox were also a Ross score.

Onto the handmades!! I’m a huge fan of the Love Notions Boyfriend Cardigan (affl. link) and knew she’d love her own french terry version. I picked up this french terry from Raspberry Creek Fabrics and while it’s currently not available there are PLENTY of other french terry options in the shop! It’s beyond cozy and a good alternative to the classic hoodie.

These two tops are oldies but goodies and are still going strong. The floral is the Andromeda Top from Sew Straight and Gather (you can see more pics of it here). The striped tee is my go-to t-shirt pattern, the City Park Tee from Hey June Handmade (more pics here). These are both shirts that she continues to gravitate to so they were no brainers to include in this capsule.

The Patterns for Pirates Butterfly Cardigan is another tried-and-true pattern for us. It’s an incredibly quick sew and I love the slouchy-cool look it has. This thin sweater knit has been in my stash forever and was perfect for this light-weight fall cardigan.

The last piece I made might be my favorite! The Lazy Day Lounge Pants from Gracious Threads are the perfect comfy pants! They’re a relaxed fit but not too baggy and sloppy. In this gorgeous french terry from Raspberry Creek fabrics (currently out-of-stock), I don’t think I could love them more!

Phew! You made it to the end- you might deserve a medal for sticking through all those details! So many pieces but they all add up to one super cute, versatile capsule wardrobe!

Thanks so much to Deb and Ula for hosting! Make sure to check out all the amazing inspiration this week. If you love sewing for kids then this tour is for you!

Monday, September 25, 2017

Host: Sprouting JubeJube

Sewing by Ti * mahlicadesigns * Momma You Can Make It * Kutti Couture * MoonStar – Wondermirakel * Call Ajaire

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Host: Lulu & Celeste

Sew and Tell Project * From-a-Box * Ronda B. Handmade * MeMade * House of Estrela * My Heart Will Sew On * Tales From A Southern Mom

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Host: Sprouting JubeJube

mahlicadesigns * Gracious Threads * Adventures With Bubba and Bug * Elli & Nels * Bellevi * Little Heart Threads * Sewing By Ti * Lulu & Celeste

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Host: Lulu & Celeste

Paisley Roots * The Crafting Fiend * Sewstarly * It’s Liesel * Tales of a Tester * Kaleidothought * auschick sews