PRP Pantone Party- Viva Magenta

Project Run and Play Pantone Party is always a good time! We love to participate each year (you can see our past posts here and here). This year’s color Viva Magenta is all about joy and hope and happiness. What could be more hopeful than sewing swim looks in the middle of a gloomy Utah winter?! This look totally brought us happiness and optimism that warm weather will be here before we know it!

This year we teamed up with Raspberry Creek Fabrics for some swim looks that are too cute!

We used three patterns from the Project Run and Play library. The Viridian Swimsuit is a favorite with my girls. The Reef Beach Rashie is the perfect extra layer of protection. And this Cancun Coverup worked overtime last summer so a second one was definitely in order!

We used this groovy 60’s floral from RCF’s Designer Showcase printed on swim knit and double gauze paired with lipstick pink solid swim knit.

It was great to get this same print on two different fabric bases. The swim knit is a poly based print which makes the print really shine. It’s vibrant and crisp on this base. The double gauze is a natural fabric and the print is more muted and soft. It’s perfect for this coverup look.

The Viridian Swimsuit is full of options. From a simple one piece maillot to a color blocked two piece, this pattern is great for girls of all ages. It comes in sizes newborn-12 meaning you can use it for years! For this girly, I sewed up a size 10 with a 12 length two piece featuring a solid bottom and ruffled racerback top.

This vibrant pink color will be at every pool this summer! It’s so fun and it keeps popping up in all the rtw ads I’m seeing these days.

For this Reef Beach Rashie I sewed up a size 12 and really slimmed down the sides to make it more fitted. She’s excited to have a layer that’s perfect for long beach days.

Let’s talk about this coverup! This pattern was just made for double gauze. It’s soft and squishy and still lightweight and flowy. It’s so quick to throw on but oh so stylish!

As I was prepping for this shoot I was feeling all the nostalgia! The retro print of the pieces just had me right back in my own childhood. I knew I had to pull out this super sentimental reminder of my own happy carefree days. This towel was my Grandma Lola’s and every time I stayed with her I pulled out this towel for my baths and showers. I was so surprised when I would come back year after year and she would still have this towel tucked aside for me. When I was in college and would stay with my grandparents for the weekend, I was shocked to see how small my towel had gotten, lol! Funny how that happens, right?!

Well, It was so much fun to be back in this space, sewing and taking pics of my cute little model. I miss those days when I was sewing like crazy but time and season for everything, right? I’m hoping to be back with a fun and different project real soon!

Project Art Studio

Project Art Studio is the newest collection to release from Project Run and Play. It’s a compilation of some of the cutest children’s patterns ranging from a killer denim jacket to cozy hoodies and sweatpants. There are 13 patterns in the collection- holy cow, right?!!

I love a good theme and this one was super fun to roll with. My absolute favorite museum is the Musee D’Orsay. I love all of the impressionist exhibits and never thought I could feel so many emotions from just looking at a painting. I’ve talked about this magical place with my kids so much that I decided to take them on a virtual tour!

The best part of our ‘trip’ is that they got to wear their comfy new clothes! I sewed up five patterns from the collection in Raspberry Creek Fabrics prints and solids. RCF solid french terry is my go-to once the weather cools and I used clay, olive, and teal for our looks. I paired it with a CLUB stripe double brushed poly and this amazing Designer Studio print to really tie all of the colors together.

Charlie got a Sundowner Sweatshirt and 4 Seasons Joggers. These patterns check all of his boxes. The joggers have a comfy yoga waistband and cool big pockets. He’s obsessed with the pockets in the hoodie and loves the relaxed loose fit. He actually requested no bands or ties so it’s just about as cozy to wear as it can get! I love the colorblocking on the hoodie and the huge size range (newborn-12 years) that they both come in.

Payton is always looking for cute outfits to wear to dance and that double for other activities. She got a Blank Canvas Cardigan, Easel Tee, and Rocky Shore Tights. These three pieces just work right into her everyday wardrobe. The cardigan is the perfect fall layering piece and this pattern will become a go-to for us. It sews up quickly and the fabric options with it make it super versatile. The Easel Tee is a cute basic piece that is fun to show off a statement fabric or keep it simple with a good solid. The Rocky Shore Tights have lots of options. We knew she’d be wearing these to dance so we went with the short option with a little added length. I also cut at the highest waistband height and added the band to it so they’re an even higher rise (to work well with her cropped dance tees).

Make sure to follow along and soak up all of the other stops on this tour. The artistic creativity is breathtaking! So many fun looks coming your way!

PRP Project Jet Set: Destination Greece

If you’ve been a follower for very long you know just how much we love to travel. When Project Run and Play announced the theme for the latest collection I was over the moon! It’s been so fun to travel along with the other designers and to see all the incredible and creative destinations. My husband and I have been fortunate to travel to Europe a few times but I’ve yet to go to my ultimate dream destination of Santorini Greece. I knew that’d be the perfect place to let our imaginations explore and I had so much fun creating looks that embodied that beautiful setting.

Between Mamma Mia!, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and my favorite hidden gem tv show, The Durrells, Greece and particularly the Greek Isles and coast have charmed me!

We used fabrics from Raspberry Creek Fabrics for our looks. We stuck with vibrant blues, teals and white to recreate the incredible colors of Santorini.

Charlie went for comfortable travel clothes that can take him wherever he wanders. We used the new Singapore Shorts and Pants and paired it with the Chromium Hoodie.

I used this fun wave print available in the Design Library at RCF. Printed on french terry, it is ideal for throwing on after swimming or on cool summer nights. For the hoodie, I made a couple of alterations. I sewed on the kangaroo pocket from the Story Dress (he can’t live without a front pocket on his hoodies!). I also used the long sleeve pattern piece and hacked it to be elbow length.

The shorts pattern is actually made for wovens making it so versatile. It looks great in linen or even for swimming sewn in boardshort fabric. You know this kid and his sensory issues so I opted to use a soft knit for these. I used a faux denim ponte and love the look! These shorts have a nice wider elastic waistband, front pockets and back patch pockets, faux fly detailing, and short and pants length. They are a little relaxed fit and a great basic pattern to have in your collection.

The first piece for this cute girl is the Cancun Coverup. Again, if you know us, it was obvious I had to sew up a pattern with that name! Bonus that it is the cutest swim coverup EVER!

I used a beautiful woven swiss dot in off white and a cute dot trim I had in my stash. I sewed up the knee length version with a regular hood. The only changes I made were to sew my placket to the outside so I could add a little trim there and I skipped the pocket trim piece and used the embellished trim instead.

I think this piece will get the most wear all summer long. It’s a classic style and so easy to throw on. It sews up quickly and the fabric possibilities are infinite! How cozy would this be in a plush terry? Or sophisticated in a mesh or chiffon?

She’s been adding bucket hats to her accessories collection and I knew the Camper Hat would be the perfect addition. In a classic striped seersucker, this hat can coordinate with so much!

This pattern comes in a huge range of sizes from preemie to large adult. It’s easy to get the perfect fitting hat! I sewed up a teen size according to her head measurement and it fits so well.

It’s fully reversible so you can make it super versatile too. I did the same fabric for the main and lining, interfacing one side per the instructions. This gives it just the right amount of body without being too stiff. It’s also slimmer and the brim is shorter than a lot of her other hats, giving it a different look that I think is too cute on her!

The final pattern in this collection that I sewed up was the Saltillo Swimsuit. I can’t seem to pass up a good swimwear pattern!

This is another pattern that is full of bells and whistles. And in true teen fashion, we skipped almost all of them. I sewed up a solid royal suit with cross-back straps and optional big bow. There are leg and strap ruffles and a neckline flounce that can be added too.

The construction of the straps was my favorite part! I tend to shy away from straps because my topstitching is usually less than desirable. For these you create a casing around the elastic- no topstitching required!

A note on sizing, I talked about negative ease in my last swimwear post and how important it is to note. Her measurements are almost spot on for a size 10 but she is a 12 girth. I sewed up a straight size 10 and had to cut the back straps off about 2 inches each. The pattern tells you to try the suit on to get correct strap length so I just wanted to let you know not to skip that step! Every body is different and it’s great to get a more custom fit. You can also see the suit is a little bunchy and loose. Not terrible but just note that this suit doesn’t have the negative ease I’m used too. This is a bonus though for anyone with sensory issues as they won’t feel as tight or confined as other suits. AND there are no exposed seams on the inside so they’ll be extra, extra happy! The crotch area is wider which provides extra coverage in the front and back but I think I’ll need to slim hers down a bit in the front for her next one.

As you can tell, we had a little too much fun at our photo shoot. It was 8 pm (yassss to late sunsets!), Charlie had just been swimming all night and Payton was at dance all afternoon. It could’ve been a recipe for disaster but these kiddos were amazing! I think it’s the taste of summer in the air. We can’t wait for long days together, sunshine, and fun!

Raspberry Creek Fabrics Suit Up For Summer 2022

Have you been following along with the Suit Up for Summer tour this week? It’s been so incredible! So many new techniques to try, genius tips, and can we talk about all of the gorgeous swimsuits?! Hello! This year’s bloggers really blew me away. What a privilege it’s been to get to know them a little bit and to witness their amazing talent.

In years past, this week has been a bit crazy for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to sew swimwear and usually have about a dozen to share with you (you can find all of our past swimsuits here.) This year I scaled back for multiple reasons but I still couldn’t wait to sew a few new suits. The new Raspberry Creek Fabrics swim collection is just way too hard to resist!

I always love RCF florals and this swim collection is just full of so many good ones. My girls and I don’t tend to gravitate to red but this print jumped out to all of us. My younger daughter requested it, I stole it and sewed it for myself, then my older daughter modeled it and has now claimed the suit for herself!

For this suit I used the Petite Stitchery Colby Bralette and Patterns for Pirates Busy Bee Bottoms. The top is not intended for use as a swimsuit but it worked out great. I did add cups between the lining and main fabrics for a little more coverage. I think next time I use this pattern for swim I will add elastic to the neckline and armscye as well. It’s extra comfortable without it and has plenty of negative ease to stay in place but I think it would lie better. Remember, I made this top for me, using my measurements but it fits my teen surprisingly well. I’m in love with this bottom pattern. My all-time favorite bottom pattern is the P4P Hello Sailors but this one just might be the new go-to. It’s very similar to the Hello Sailors (high-waist, great coverage) but has so many other options as well. The leg line is a little higher and feels more flattering but still is comfortable and modest. I sewed up a size small graded to a medium in the waist. My daughter measures into an XS but these fit great as well.

This is the Petite Stitchery Brooklyn– SO CUTE, right?!! This is another pattern so full of options. I sewed up this swimsuit in a small (again according to MY measurements). When I tried it on though the fabric design was very stretched and distorted so this little miss got another swimsuit! I think in a solid fabric, I’d stick with a small but I hated losing the details of these amazing prints. For the top I did the optional shelf bra and added cups. I also cut it at the longer cut line and added the band for a little more length. The bottoms have real pockets! While I loved this detail, they kept poking out so I sewed them down after these pics were taken. I love the idea of them but they just weren’t practical. I do keep seeing bottoms with pockets and might need to hack another pattern to have them (just big enough for a hotel key while on vacation!).

The colors in these prints are what sold me. The peachy foliage and teal geometric just remind me of our favorite vacation spot in Cancun. I paired these prints with solid peacock teal and tangerine for a little pop!

This girl had a very specific request for me. A ditsy floral swimsuit with flutter sleeves. Done and done!

The Little Lizard King Maui swimsuit seems to be a favorite of the RCF team this year and it’s no wonder! It’s really so, so cute! There are one piece and two piece options and the bow back is to die for. She picked the two piece and I slightly altered the flutter sleeve piece to give her the look she wanted. I extended the curved side of the pattern piece about an inch and then didn’t gather it as much as the pattern intended, starting and stopping the sleeve just under the arm. It gives it a little more of a grown up look than the typical flutter sleeve.

This Sage and White Ditsy Floral print was just what she dreamed. She really wanted a white floral and I love that Diana was able to make that happen! It’s so classic and sweet without being babyish. Just perfect for this almost teenager.

My swim wardrobe is pretty chock full but I really wanted another one-piece. I tend to shy away from them. Store bought suits rarely fit because of my long torso and I’ve yet to get a great fit when I’ve sewed one. I mentioned negative ease a bit before but let’s talk a little more about it. I think it plays such a huge part in how your finished garment looks and feels. Some patterns will have a lot of negative ease, meaning your fabric will be stretched to fit your body. This can be great to hold you in and keep things snug BUT it can also make your prints stretch out and make it uncomfortable to wear. I sewed a fantastic one-piece a couple of years ago but the negative ease really flattened me out (another con if you’re not working with a lot in the bust area like me!) and kept riding up in the length. You can solve this problem by sewing a bigger size (but I’d keep the elastic the same as your true measurements) or adding length.

So it was with a little trepidation that I sewed up this suit but boy am I thrilled! I sewed up the Clara from Swim Style Patterns. Swim Style is a new to me company based out of Australia. I stumbled upon them last year and immediately feel in love with all of their suits. They are so on trend and I initially thought of my girls with all of the adorable two piece options. But when searching for a one-piece with great coverage but a little extra ooomph, the Clara jumped out to me.

I love the leg line and the deep v-neckline really helps add to my (lack-of) curves. I sewed up a size small graded to a medium in the waist. I’m a rectangle with my current measurements being 34-30-38.

This pattern came together sooo easily! I loved the tutorial- not too lengthy but also had all of the information needed. The finish is nice and clean on the inside too making it sooo comfortable to wear. There are pockets to add cups and the option to add elastic to the under bust seam which really gives it that extra support. I chose to do a little gathering instead of the bust pleat since my bust is smaller. I was worried a pleat would be too big and the gathering turned out to be a great call. For my next version (which I seriously can’t wait to make), I’ll shorten the shoulder straps a bit to give even more lift and add power mesh to the stomach area between the lining and main fabric. Remember my rant about negative ease, the Clara seems to have the perfect amount for me! It’s not so tight that the print is distorted and doesn’t feel restrictive at all.

To say I have a thing for black and white prints is an understatement. I love me a good black and white stripe and gingham is right up there with that. This little bench is in our entry way and I was cracking up that I matched it!

I think the RCF CLUB basics don’t get enough love. They work great as coordinates but also stand on their own. This black and white gingham is so classy and timeless. Gingham is still everywhere in stores and will be around forever, just like this swimsuit! I can’t wait to wear it all summer long.

Thank you to all of our amazing sewists who joined in the tour this week! It’s been such a pleasure to sew along side them.

Hosted by SewSophieLynn and Paisley Roots

Sew Hard of Hearing, I Em Sew Happy, Zaji-Kali Makes, Sewing with CWay

Sew Mary Mac, Lorelei Caroline, Sew With Summer, All My Spare Time

Made By Kates, The Imperfect Sewist, Intensely Distracted, Lovely for Life

Sew Whit Designs, Sew What with Afton, It’s Liesel, Clothed in Vermillion

Kainara Stitches, Stacey Durant, Desert Blooms, That’s Sew Kari

Very Peri Pantone Party with Project Run and Play and Art Gallery Fabrics

It’s time to PAR-TAY!!! No one throws a party like Project Run and Play and of course I had to join in the celebration. The Pantone Party 2022 is highlighting Pantone’s color of the year Very Peri.

Very Peri is a vibrant hue full of joy and fun. It’s a pretty combination of blue and purple and was so fun to work with.

I was lucky to be sponsored by Art Gallery Fabrics and we had a blast picking out our fabrics for our looks. Payton and I both were crushing hard on this floral (Asphodel District) and used it as the base for our designs. Sophie wanted something simple and casual so we picked a cute geometric plaid in Blueberry and paired it with solid white linen knit and grey stripes with a pop of daffodil yellow.

Payton has worn her Noel Dress, from our Project Happy Holidays tour, so much that I knew another one would be perfect for her. She loves that tiered skirt and the looser fit of the bodice.

The Noel is so full of choices that I really should have branched out from the last one we made but why mess with a good thing? We did short sleeves and three tiers for the skirt.

This color was just made for her! The modern floral print and the boho style of this pattern are such a great match.

My casual Sophie is ready for summer! I sewed up the Tin Tin shorts and Yawn Sleepshirt for her look.

The boxy fit of this tee is just like all of her favorite ready-to-wear tops. It’s super cute with these shorts and also pairs well with jeans. She picked out the graphic from Cricut Design Space and cut and ironed it on herself. I sure love when we work together to get just what she wants!

Such a Sophie look! Easy to wear and the mix-and-match possibilities with her wardrobe are endless.

Thanks for joining in the fun and stay tuned to Project Run and Play for all of the posts from the best group of designers out there!

Project Happy Holidays

The newest Project Run and Play collection, Project Happy Holidays, is so much fun! With 12 patterns that work for the holidays and beyond, it’s a great collection to add to your pattern lineup.

We got together with our sew-friends, Sew Whit Designs, for a fun holiday photo shoot! You know how much I love our PRP shoots and they’re even better with friends. My kids always marvel at how good sewists kids are in front of the camera and Whitney’s were absolute pros!

Our looks were all made with Raspberry Creek fabrics and I love that they work for well after Christmas too.

For Sophie’s outfit, I sewed up the Evergreen Skirt and Blip Turtleneck. I tell you each time I sew a PRP collection that it will probably be the last time this cutie gets in on the action but here we are again. I sewed up a 14 in both of these patterns and added length. She’s officially as tall as me at 5’6″ which puts her off the size charts height wise. She really does fit well into adult extra-small patterns but I just can’t seem to give up the cute kids patterns for her.

The Blip Turtleneck in this adorable rib knit is one of my favorite pieces! You’ve got to check out August Sewing’s versions and you’ll suddenly need one for yourself. It’s a simple pattern that is so incredibly cute!

The Evergreen Skirt is so full of options. For this version I used stretch mesh and lined it with double brushed polyester making it so comfy! The Evergreen Skirt has so many options. I do find with patterns with lots of options that it can be confusing picking which version to do. I spent more time deciding on which version to do than I did actually sewing!

The Noel Dress and Top pattern is so full of options! I love the loose fit and it has quickly become her favorite dress. She adores RCF stretch crepe and this print is way too cute!

The Noel has a button back and multiple sleeve options as well as 4 length choices.

Those tiers are everything!

If you have a 9-year-old, you know that comfort is key and this collection is full of comfy options! I sewed up the Cinnamon Cardigan, Lemon Tee (from Project Watercolor Beach), and Jingle Joggers for a cozy outfit that he loves.

I used simple black french terry for his cardigan and did the banded version. It works great for layering for school or church.

The Jingle Joggers are so awesome! We love joggers in this house and this pattern is really incredible. That side stripe option is so good.

Our favorite part- these hidden inseam pockets! This pattern includes sooooo many options and I can’t wait to make some more for him and for Payton too.

I used one of the digital designs featured with this collection and it is too cute!

The jewelry Payton wore in this shoot was from Cloudy Jewelry Studio, Sophie’s Etsy shop. Those Merry and Bright bracelets have been my favorite to wear all month long.

For some major inspiration, settle in with your favorite cup of hot cocoa and flip through the Project Happy Holidays lookbook. The designers and other team members really hit it out of the park! Stay tuned tomorrow for details on all of Whitney’s looks too. Hope your holidays are happy and full of the best things in life!

Back to School with Project Run and Play and Raspberry Creek Fabrics

Can you believe it’s almost time for our kids to head back to school?! We head back mid-August and I can’t get over how fast this summer flew by. The good thing about heading back to class is that it gives me the perfect excuse to sew up cute new school clothes! I joined in the Project Run and Play Back to School Tour sponsored by our favorite shop Raspberry Creek Fabrics.

If you’ve been around these parts very long you know my kids are all about comfy (what kid isn’t?). These knits from RCF were just perfect for them! Paired with simple knit patterns, these makes were so much fun to sew up. These patterns fit my kids fantastic and sew up in no time.

My little guy got a classic jogger and tee outfit. I used the Lemon Tee paired with the Joseph Joggers, two patterns that we absolutely love and use over and over again!

For his tee, I used the diagonal body colorblock front piece and the solid back piece in a size 9. It was fun to play with prints and solids and this pattern is just perfect for it. I started with the Puzzle Cube print on jersey then used Deep Rust and Charcoal jerseys to coordinate. The neckband is bamboo cotton ribbing that matches the sweatshirting of his joggers perfectly.

He recently found a scrap of this incredible bamboo cotton sweatshirt fleece in my stash and carried it around as a blanket for his newest stuffed animal. He declared it the softest fabric ever so you can imagine how delighted he was to get pants made out of this magical stuff! This jogger pattern is a favorite because of it’s classic fit- not too slim but not too baggy either. This is a size 9 with added length.

When looking through the new back to school prints this girl fell hard for this paint splatter print. Just look at those colors!!

She’s still been loving casual dresses so the Story Dress was a great choice for her. Those sleeves are too cute and sewn up in cozy french terry, this dress is beyond cozy! We sewed up a size 10 with added length.

Payton asked to head back to this cool bridge for this shoot and it was so much fun! Charlie really hates the thought of photo shoots but gets into them once we get his music going. These two continue to get closer and closer and summer has been the best for them. They just have too much fun together (with plenty of arguing thrown in too!).

Make sure you follow along all week for some incredible inspiration from past PRP participants. Art Bella Creates nailed her makes yesterday and got me even more excited to see what’s to come the rest of this week.

Raspberry Creek Fabrics Favorite Things Blog Tour 2021

As part of my job at Raspberry Creek Fabrics, I get to work with the incredible promo teams. As we end our promo year we’re celebrating with a Favorite Things Blog Tour- our chance to thank our awesome team and your chance to be totally inspired. You’ve got to head over to the RCF blog for some exciting news too!

For my look, I chose a few of my favorite things. I used a couple of my favorite pattern designers, Hey June Handmade and Love Notion Patterns as well as some of my favorite fabric bases, linen and triblend jersey.

Since this is a fabric tour, let’s talk fabric first. This black medium weight rayon linen is the perfect drapey but stable fabric. I love the feel that the rayon gives it and you can never go wrong with linen in summer. I’ve been so anxious to try the new tri-blend jerseys in the shop and just had to get a print from designed by the great Emily Ferguson. This Peace and Love print is just the cutest and I just adore the art on this print.

When it comes to favorite patterns, the Love Notions Classic Tee is WAY up there for me. This fabric was meant for a cool summer tee so it really was a no-brainer! I love the relaxed fit of this pattern and I can never have enough of them.

I think I’ve gotten fabric for the Hey June Greer Jumpsuit at least three times and ended up using it to test other patterns (because deadlines always win!). This tour was just what I needed to finally sew them up and I’m sooooo thrilled to have my own pair at last!

I made a simple alteration and doubled the width of the straps and just cut two of them. I added buttons and buttonholes to the bib front and that’s it. Welcome to another easy hack courtesy of yours truly!

As part of the tour, Raspberry Creek is giving away our favorite notions in their Facebook Group each day. I know I’ve shared about this amazing thread before but I still use it ALL THE TIME. Eloflex Thread by Coats and Clark is now widely available (I pick mine up at Hobby Lobby but Amazon also carries it). I use it primarily in my bobbin when I’m sewing with my double needle on my sewing machine. It gives hems that extra bit of stretch to make them hold up and give just a little more. I also use it with a single stitch in the bobbin of my machine when I top stitch my knit neckbands. And let’s not forget sewing swimsuits. This stuff is perfect for that too! I use it in my bobbin then as well to top stitch elastic down or for binding too.

Not part of the giveaway but I have to share my new favorite tags from Intensely Distracted. Simone was a member of the RCF promo team and I love, love this new adventure of hers.

Make sure you’re following along this week and check out the rest of the team. It has been such a privilege to work with this incredible group of sewists:

Made By Kates, Kainara Stitches, I Sew Best After Midnight

Sew Mary Mac, Tessa Does for Love Notions, Sew Love You

All My Spare Time, Pins and Pinot, Crafty Professor

Sew Hard of Hearing, Replicate then Deviate, Sew Sophie Lynn

Genwin Design Co., Shwin Designs, That’s Sew Kari

Thread Faction Zero Waste Collection

When Liz of Thread Faction reached out to see if I wanted to be part of the release of her newest Zero Waste collection, I was intrigued. The concept behind her Zero Waste patterns is genius and so cool! I don’t know about you but I’ve got so many odd size scraps and these patterns are made to eliminate those.

Liz takes an approach to pattern making to eliminate those odd scraps that inevitably end up in our garbage. By creating garments out of rectangles and patterns that don’t use excess fabric to create similar looks of a traditional pattern, she’s come up with a unique collection that is just as adorable as it is functional.

When I showed Miss Payton the patterns in the newest collection, she immediately wanted the jumpsuit. She loves the hip, cool vibe!

I headed into Raspberry Creek Fabrics to pick fabric and have to admit I was a little stumped. In the wrong fabric, she could end up looking more industrial and way less modern and trendy. I settled on this dreamy milk chocolate brown double gauze that is both soft and easy to work with. This fabric is a new favorite of mine and I’m trying my best to fill all of our closets with it! It’s so squishy and cozy and I can imagine wearing it head to toe in a jumpsuit would be the best thing EVER.

I sewed up a size 10 with a 14 length according to her measurements. I sewed it up per the pattern instructions but when she tried it on she wanted a little definition in the waist. The pattern features elastic in the back waistband and I chose to add it throughout the whole waistband to cinch in the waist. I also added a tiny faux button tab to the front chest pocket for a little added detail. I left off the back pockets but only because she didn’t want them (gotta keep them happy!).

I can’t get over this pattern! The construction really is genius and the finished garment is so cool! According to my darling model, it’s super comfy and super cute too. She’s got a list of places she can’t wait to wear it to: as a pool coverup, to dance competitions as a coverup, and any time we travel, not to mention just every.single.day!

We tried out a new location for this shoot and it was absolutely perfect! The evening light was magical and brought out my little supermodel. I love that these pics show ALL her personalities from sweet big kid to sassy almost teenager. We had so much fun and had to follow it up with milkshakes just to cement it as the best night out!

Make sure you check out all of the other stops on the tour and take advantage of the sitewide 30% off sale during the tour too! Head over to my IG for a giveaway for all of the patterns in this newest Zero Waste collection too!

04/06 – Thread Faction Studio Blog, Wattle & Slate on Instagram,

Simple Life Pattern Co. Holiday Tour 2020

The holiday season is upon us and I’m excited it’s time for one of my favorite blog tours of the year, the Simple Life Pattern Co. Holiday Blog Tour. This is our fourth year on the tour (crazy, huh?!) and you can see our past years here, here, and here. We love SLPCo for their darling dress patterns and I know you will too! Bonus, it’s their last sale of the year and you can save 25% off all patterns with the code HappyHolidays. Perfect timing to sew up your own holiday dresses!

I’m so grateful Sophie is just barely able to fit in a size 12 width so I could do one more year of sister dresses. These photos are the real treasure from this project!

We were able to get together with Anna and sweet Inara again this year and these girls just love any chance they get to see each other. I love how each of their dresses just suits them to a tee!

Art Gallery Fabrics was a generous sponsor of this tour and we were able to pick just the right fabrics for our looks. Anna used a super soft knit print and solid for Inara’s dress while we went with their amazing rayon prints. I adore Art Gallery rayons and always think it’s a treat to work with them. They are so soft and a dream to sew with. The prints are incredible and always give me such professional looking garments.

Sophie’s been growing like crazy and her maxi dresses are suddenly no longer maxi length. For her look we knew we wanted a comfortable but dramatic piece. She picked Magnolia Study Silkroad a vibrant red print that is the perfect floral for this anti-floral girly. It’s refined and subtle and just right for this picky girl.

It was only suiting that I sewed my Sophie the Sophie Dress. We love the pretty scoop back and multiple sleeve options. The ruffle neckline is extra cute too!

For her dress, I sewed up a size 12 bodice and added length to the skirt to make it extra long. I love the dramatic look of the puddle maxi right now and know it’s only a matter of time before it’s ankle length, lol! She’s just barely shorter than me so I’m thinking by next Christmas we’ll be eye to eye!

For Payton’s dress, she picked Plaid of My Dreams (is that the most suiting fabric name or what?!). I used the Aspen dress and love the finished look!

Don’t you love that bodice?! It was perfect for using the fabric on the bias and is such a cute feature.

And that back keyhole is both easy to get on and off and simple to sew. I used a faux leather ribbon to up the urban look of this dress.

I sewed up a size 8 bodice with a size 10 dress length. We both love the loose relaxed fit- it’s so comfy and totally adorable!

Make sure to check out the other stops on this tour. These ladies are some of the most talented sewists and always inspire me with their makes. I know if they sew something up, my girls would love it too!

 

A huge thank you to our sponsors!!




Follow along the Simple Life Pattern Company Holiday Blog Tour 2020

❅ Monday (11/9) That’s-Sew-Kari
❄ Tuesday (11/10) It’s Liesel
❅ Wednesday (11/11) Kainara Stitches
❄ Thursday (11/12) SewSophieLynn
❅ Friday (11/13) Kutti Couture


I’ll leave you with our Christmas card photo for this year. Just kidding! I think they look like angelic little models in this pic and it makes me giggle. If only you could see the hilarious behind the scenes of these silly girls!