Gracious Threads – SewSophieLynn

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

Friday, September 29, 2017

Host: Sprouting JubeJube

SewSophieLynn * Sew Haute Blog * mahlicadesigns * Sew and Tell Project * RP Custom Fabrics Blog * FABulous Home Sewn * Sewing By Ti * Phat Quarters

Suit Up For Summer Day Four

We’ve made it to day 4- woot woot! Have you learned anything so far? Picked up a pattern or two?

Today I’m talking about the best part of swimsuit sewing- FABRIC!! If you’re anything like me, you can never have enough fabric.

We have multiple fabric sponsors on the tour and I’m excited to get you guys shopping. The Fabric Fairy has a HUGE selection of both spandex and board short fabric as well as everything you need to complete your suit- elastic, bra cups, linings, etc.

Peek-a-Boo Fabric Shop offers great custom printed fabrics and coordinates. You can pick up your PAB pattern and sew it up in PAB fabric- oh cool is that?!

Simply By Ti has some great choices for swim cover-ups- think cozy french terry and bright crochet fabrics.

Boo! Designs is based in Australia and has an unbelievable selection! Like I want to order a dozen prints right now!

Sash Fabrics is another custom fabric shop full of unique and fun designs!

My family is all decked out in another of our sponsors latest designs- Raspberry Creek Fabrics! I love that these fabrics coordinate so well together without us being too matchy-matchy. When looking through the new line it was so easy to pair up each print to my kids personalities!

The Sunset Palms were meant to be this kid’s. He lives in subtle Hawaiian prints and this was just too perfect for him! You can read more details about his suit in yesterday’s post.

I’ve been dying to share this suit!! This sweet, sophisticated girl is rocking the Tropical Leaves swim print in a Lil Luxe Leotard Etoile. I think this is the perfect pattern/fabric pairing!

The simple silhouette really lets this print shine!

I need one of these suits for myself ASAP!

My little man NEEDED these sharks the minute he saw them. I love the colors in this print and how easily they coordinate to so many others! You can find his suit in yesterday’s post too!

This sassy girl loves the bright colors of the Sea Floor print. Paired with the Nautical Stripe it’s too cute for words!

She’s wearing a Marilyn Vintage Suit from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop. This suit offers plenty of coverage and so many cute options. This simple view was fun to showcase these prints.

She certainly loves it!

I got another suit too! This time I used the Nautical Stripe for myself. I used the Edgy Top from George and Ginger. It’s not designed as a swim top but with a few modifications it worked great!

I lined the front and added cups and an elastic shelf bra. I cut my pattern a size smaller and finished the neckline and arm with elastic cut barely smaller than the openings. I like to serge my elastic on in the round to the wrong side of my fabric then flip it under and topstitch with a twin needle. Super easy!

I used the bottoms from the First Crush Suit from Rad Patterns. The suit offers so many options and great coverage!

I love these stripes and the chance they gave me to play with the directions. This swim knit is some of the nicest I’ve ever sewn with. It’s nice and thick and has great 4-way stretch making it super easy for me to use it on the diagonal. The matte finish gives it a very high-end feel.

I also used coordinating Navy Board Short Fabric to make me a pair of Swim and Surf Shorts from Gracious Threads. I love the fit of these and after making my little guys these were such a quick sew. I love the extra coverage for chasing kiddos around!

Phew! So…many…swimsuits! Are you sick of me yet?!! Just one more day…

I’ve got to give a huge thank you to our good friends for letting us borrow their gorgeous backyard for these pics! It was absolutely perfect!

Make sure to enter the giveaways for your chance to win some of these amazing fabrics from our sponsors with a ton of patterns too!

Head over to the other bloggers to see what they’ve been making too:

Hosted by Sew Sophie Lynn & Paisley Roots

Monday: Pear Berry Lane / Inspinration / It’s Liesel / Sewing For Four

Tuesday: Harper Lu / Call Ajaire / Stylin Stacy / Skirt Fixation

Wednesday: Sewing By Ti / Sewing With Sarah / Sew & Tell / Me Made

Thursday: Made By Melli / Life Sew Savory / That’s What She Crafted / Auschick

Friday: Rebel & Malice / EYMM / Stitching & Making / Lilliepawillie

Suit Up For Summer Day Three

Welcome to Day 3!! Please tell me you’ve been so inspired and are reading this while prepping to sew your very own swimsuit! I’m really hoping that we can calm your fears and give you the confidence to tackle your family’s swimwear needs.

Today I faced one of my big fears- the dreaded sewing for a teenage boy! I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Before I was brave enough to sew for big brother I got to sew for a much easier critic! This little man was dying for a swimsuit out of this cool shark boardshort fabric from Raspberry Creek Fabrics (one of our lovely tour sponsors!).

I used the Swim and Surf Shorts from Gracious Threads. I hesitate to promote this pattern in my boy post since it’s drafted for girls in sizes 6 and up but I think these fit his little body well. I absolutely love the construction and the bias goes on so smoothly. I used store bought but there are directions to make your own. I switched up the waistband to just be one wide casing after Brittney’s advice. I also used swim mesh for the underwear liner inside- I might switch it up to regular swim fabric in the future just for more comfort.

You know I like to involve my kids in as much of the sewing as I can and with this suit I gave him a handful of drawstring choices. He shocked me with this choice but was very adamant on the coral cord (a trimmed up shoelace!) because it glows in the dark. I tried to tell him that at five-years-old he won’t be doing very much night swimming but he was very insistent! I love it!

So little brother’s suit was a breeze- cut and done in about an hour. This guys was a different story! I used Jalie Boys/Mens Board Shorts pattern and am really proud and happy with the results. He is too which is such a relief! I love that I was able to easily modify these to his taste. We cut about 4 inches from the hem (he’s almost 6′) and brought in the inner leg about an inch so the legs weren’t so wide. He really likes the more retro fit and I think it suits him well!

I have such a love/hate relationship with Jalie patterns. I love, love that they come with so many size options in one pattern. I could use this same pattern on the 5-year-old and my XL husband- you really can’t get that anywhere else. I love how well they go together, the end product is always amazing and the finishings are fantastic! That being said they are usually not my standard quick afternoon projects. I know I need to concentrate and take my time to achieve a great looking garment. The instructions are pretty basic (you can preview them before you purchase a pattern to make sure it’s something you want to tackle). This is where my love/hate comes in. I love the conciseness. I tend to read the instructions one or two times through before I start a project and then just go for it, referring back to the directions only occasionally. With Jalie, you can print the directions on just a couple pages and have them right next to you as you sew. With this pattern though, I could have used a little more hand holding. I learned a lot and these were constructed different than I have done anything in the past. Not bad obviously, just different.

Lucky for me, my sister came over and manned her coverstitch machine and I did the sewing and serging. I don’t know what I would have done without her help and the coverstitch. Almost all the seams are topstitched which can be done with a double needle on your regular machine too but that would mean a TON of switching back and forth between a double and single needle, or if you’re really precise, faking the look by running two single stitches side by side. Even with the two of us, this project took a good few hours. Granted we were sewing with a lot of little helpers running around too 😉

This awesome fabric is also from Raspberry Creek Fabrics. You can find the coordinating navy also. I can’t wait to share with you all our fun CLUB line suits tomorrow!

Looking for more boys swim patterns? Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop, Titchy Threads, Life Sew Savory, and Made By Jack’s Mum all offer them!

Have you entered the link up yet? I’m loving what I’m seeing so far! You won’t want to miss out on your chance at the fun giveaways! (Giveaways are now closed)

Now go check out all the other amazing bloggers joining in the swim party:

Hosted by Sew Sophie Lynn & Paisley Roots

Monday: Pear Berry Lane / Inspinration / It’s Liesel / Sewing For Four

Tuesday: Harper Lu / Call Ajaire / Stylin Stacy / Skirt Fixation

Wednesday: Sewing By Ti / Sewing With Sarah / Sew & Tell / Me Made

Thursday: Made By Melli / Life Sew Savory / That’s What She Crafted / Auschick

Friday: Rebel & Malice / EYMM / Stitching & Making / Lilliepawillie

Club Line 2 for the Boys

The boys in my house have been loving the new Club line from Raspberry Creek Fabrics, too!

I seriously can’t get over how versatile these prints are!!

So far they’ve gotten things made with the Club aztec and buffalo check but I think stripes are in their future too.

Charlie was the first up. He got a comfy new pair of Mini Hudson Pants out of buffalo check french terry.

He always grabs sports pants when he dresses himself and I love that these have a bit more style.

This time he got a 3t with a 4t length for the perfect fit!

Next up, Alex requested a tee like Tanner got out of the first Club line.

I used the Jalie Men’s/Boys T-shirt again. I like the slim fit but next time I’ll need to lengthen the sleeves. Too short for his taste even if mom thinks it looks great.

I used the Club aztec in cotton lycra and solid white and charcoal cotton lycra from Raspberry Creek also.

I think it’s a win and he loves it paired with his new joggers out of this french terry. I used Gracious Threads Lazy Day Lounge Pants for him since he’s sized out of the Mini Hudsons (they both go to size 10 but the LDLP was a few inches longer). We modified the pockets to be like the Hudsons.

Finally, Charlie got another Samson Sweater from Love Notions (affl. link).

I did a simple version with a lined hood and added length. I used this french terry combined with the aztec.

This is a first round aztec strike off and the colors have changed a bit since. The red in the print now is deeper and is a great match for the burgundy in the shop.

I love, love these prints on my boys and Tanner has already requested a hoodie with the aztec. I love that they let me sew for them and have even been spending a lot of time in the sewing room with me this winter break. My big boys both made their own pj pants and love to help pair and cut fabrics.

I’m also loving any excuse to get pictures of these two together. Charlie is such a mini Alex and it’s so fun to see them together. Best friends one minute and bugging each other the next 😉

Gracious Threads New Look Blog Tour

I’m super excited to be on my first blog tour today. Jess at Gracious Threads has a new storefront with a whole new look and feel to her website and blog. To celebrate I’ve joined with other bloggers to showcase a ‘New Look” for us.

I had a hard time picking which kid needed a new look until I realized this boy has already started creating his own fresh look the past few months. He started middle school this year and it’s been fun to see his wardrobe go from comfy sport pants and tees to skinny jeans and button-up shirts.

He is just barely hitting a size 12 and I knew the Jasper Jogger pattern would be a great choice. We headed over to Pinterest for some inspiration before we started.

These are made with grey stretch denim from Joann’s. I used the wrong side of the fabric for the main pants because it felt more lived-in and less dressy. I used the right side as contrast on all the pockets and waistband.

This is the one bum shot I was allowed 😉 I made a couple alterations to the pattern to get the right fit for my skinny guy. I tapered the waist and hips about an inch and cut off three inches from the length. I added a drawstring and grommets to the waistband too.

We headed to his school one night to get some pics and loved our little shoot. He brought a buddy along because what is middle school without your best friends?!!

I love the casual look of these pants but he loves how comfortable they are too.

Ready for the best part? To celebrate head on over to the new Gracious Threads Shop and use code ‘ANEWLOOK’ to get 40% off all patterns (offer good from November 16-29)! See how excited he is…