Sweatshirt – SewSophieLynn

Love Notions New Year Sale- A LN Roundup!

Happy New Year! We celebrated with a little fondue, Rock Band and confetti cannons and now it’s time to relax and settle into an exciting year to come.

My first post of the year (decade!) is very fitting. I’m bringing you a round up of some of my favorite Love Notions makes from 2019 in honor of their rare 30% off site-wide sale. 2019 brought a little slow-down to my sewing but I still made sure to make plenty of time to continue to work with the companies that I love- Love Notions being at the top of that list! I love the quality of LN patterns and the fact that there’s a little something for the whole family.

This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing through them does not cost you any more but I do receive a small commission. I like to mention that I joined the Love Notions family AFTER being a long time tester and falling in love with the patterns and thorough testing process.

The Samson Sweater is one of those patterns I use over and over. I love it for my girls and also my little guy. It’s a little boxier than our other raglan patterns and makes the perfect sweatshirt. It’s easy to size up, add length or crop to get different looks. Plus it sews up soooo fast!

I made my first Kayak Boardshorts last year and I’m hoping to squeeze in another pair for our mid-winter beach trip. They were super easy to hack to get this look for my teenager but I think my littlest man would love a pair as-is. The knit waistband would be just what he prefers.

The Sloane Sweater continues to be a favorite for both me and my kids. Last year I made for my first one for Charlie and I adore how it turned out. There are a ton of options and that back yoke piece is just perfect for playing with fabric combos.

Last year was all about the dresses for me. Dresses are my favorite things to sew and Love Notions Lyric and Dolce dresses were a big hit for me and my girly. I can’t wait to sew a new one for my this spring!

I also added a couple of new Willow Wrap dresses to my wardrobe and I adore this pattern! These are both maxi hacks- the mustard version uses the Olympia skirt and the tropical print is just a lengthened gathered skirt version. These dresses are the ultimate in comfort!

The Melody Dolman is the LN pattern release I anticipated the most and it did not disappoint. I wore this top to death all summer and love how easy to wear it is. It looks great with jeans and feels so pulled together. If you are looking to try a button-up pattern for the first time, this is a great intro pattern. It’s easy to follow and sews up so nice and quick.

The Octave Coat is one of my proudest makes of 2019. I wear this beauty so much and feel giddy at the thought that I actually made it. It was a fairly simple sew and another great pattern for anyone wanting to push themselves just a bit. With so many different recommended fabric choices, you can make just the coat you’re dreaming of.

To round out this round-up, I’ll leave you with my absolute favorite Love Notions pattern, the Classic Tee (the girl’s version is equally awesome!). I wore these tees to death all spring, summer, and fall and continue to wear them layered under cardis and sweatshirts in the cold weather. I also love the long sleeve option. This tee is the perfect slouchy tee and I love it in so many different fabrics. If you were to just buy one pattern during the sale, do yourself a favor and pick up this beaut.

It was really hard to pick my top Love Notions patterns! If you’re looking for more options you can head here for all of my past Love Notions makes. Happy New Year and Happy Shopping!

MadeIt Strip Tee Challenge

We are so excited to be part of the MadeIt Patterns Stripe Tee Challenge this week. The premise is so fun. We got to sew up the Strip Tee Adult and teen pattern and put our own little twist on them. We will be competing against 7 other mother/daughter teams to see who made it best. The girls had to sew their tops on their own but the mom’s were able to guide and help them along the way. Super cool, right?!

It was such a great excuse to get my girly behind the machines and to spend a fun afternoon together. My daughter is still a beginner sewist but loves the chance to create. She took a sewing class two summers ago that taught her the basics. I wanted her to learn the correct principles and I knew having someone else teach her would give her a foundation that would serve her well into the future. She made bags, pillows, and pajama pants that summer. Since then she’s made a hoodie, leggings, and a few other things. We struggle to find the time to sew together so this challenge was a great push to get us together in the sewing room.

We started with a trip to our favorite shop, Raspberry Creek Fabrics. She fell in love with this pretty burgundy windowpane sweater knit and I knew it’d be a great choice for her. I love the vibrant color and immediately thought of the faux leather in my stash as an accent for the strip in back. She loved the idea! This fabric is also fairly stable and easy to sew which I wanted for her (I steered her clear of all the lovely rayon spandex for this first one!).

For my version, I kept going back to this ‘boring’ medium grey french terry. I wanted to add sleeves to mine and the weight and drape of this blend is so good! I wear grey too much I know but I think you can never have enough of it. It’s a great basic that provides the perfect backdrop to add accessories or in this case a little bling!

I love that these tops are all business in the front. Just your classic tee and sweatshirt, right?

But there’s a little party in the back! The leather adds such an edge and those sequins are brilliant.

The sequins are a remnant from one of my favorite Project Run and Play looks for my daughter and it was super sentimental using them for this piece. We shot that weeks look in this same location too, bringing us full circle.

I added long sleeves to my top to be able to wear it as we head into our cold season. I measured the sleeve opening, my wrist, and my arm length. I used those measurement to make an angled rectangle. It’s very basic and probably not the ‘correct’ way but I’m very happy with how it turned out.

It’s such a cozy top and I love the little extra pop that back strip brings.

For my daughters look, she sewed up the smallest teen size although her chest is still a couple of inches shy of the charts (teeny girl!). At eleven she has a 26″ chest and is 60″ tall putting her in an XXS chest and S height so we went with an XXS and then added 2 inches to the length.

She did all of the work and sewing on this herself and I’m super proud of how it turned out. I gave her a little plaid matching lesson on the side seams but apparently forgot to check the back, oops! Design element?! She’s such a pro at topstitching though. Like so good I should hire her out to do all mine, lol! I showed her how to use soft and stretch hem tape for the hems and that sure helped make that step a breeze.

This top is just five pieces (four pattern pieces) which makes it a great beginner project. It took my daughter about two hours from print to hemming (mine was done in under an hour if you’re more experienced). I love that it’s such a blank canvas that she can now use to customize tees to her liking. I think she’ll be able to sew them on her own from now on and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with. We may need to add a sleeve piece to her pattern so she can wear them all winter long too. She’s requested a long sleeve black tee or turtleneck to layer with this one so she can get more wear out of it as our days get chillier. Don’t you just love that happy face?!

Make sure you head over to Instagram to see all the competitors this week. You can vote for our look by simply liking our post (easy peasy). Follow the hashtag #stripteeteamchallenge to see all the other looks this week. I have a feeling we’ll be in great company! So many amazing seamstresses and their daughter are participating!

Make sure to head over to Madeit Patterns to pick up your Strip Tee patterns for 20% off this week! I’m sure you’ll love them as much as we do!

Retro Tees with the Cricut Easy Press 2

This post is sponsored by Cricut. I received the Cricut Easy Press 2 in exchange for promotion. All thoughts in this post are my own.

It’s no secret that we’re huge Cricut fans in our house. We’ve all gotten spoiled and love to create looks that we dream up ourselves. As a seamstress, I love to create clothes and pick out pattern and fabric combos that suit both me and my children. The Cricut Maker, Easy Press 2, and sewing products help us take our handmade wardrobe to the next level.

I’ve been absolutely loving all the rainbow and vintage vibe tees and sweatshirts that are everywhere these days. It was so much fun to come up with our own sayings and designs and use our handy Cricut tools to create looks that fit their personalities.

The Cricut EasyPress 2 makes ironing on your vinyl designs such a breeze. I’m loving the new vibrant color and three different sizes that will suit all your needs. The small 6″x7″ size works great for baby clothes and little projects. The medium 9″x9″ size is super versatile and a great all-purpose machine. The large 12″x10” has been fantastic for our family. It’s great for youth and adult clothing and has been getting a work out at our house.

The EasyPress 2 is easy to use and is so quick and handy. It heats up so fast and the ceramic coated plate produces smooth, even heating (something my iron sure lacked!). I use mine on my kitchen table and I know that it’s protected from the heat by the insulated safety base and the EasyPress Mat. It gets up to 400 degrees and irons on your designs in no time. The easy to read digital display makes it easy to set the temperature and timer to suit your iron-on material and fabric. And I love that it’s easy to store on my shelf and is light and portable. Phew! So many great qualities! I honestly don’t know how I lived without mine.

When creating these looks I turned to Cricut Design Space and the loads of fonts at my finger tips! You can create this look for yourself here. I used the Playroom Sampler pack, with Kelly, Orange, and Sky but I think it’d look amazing in an array of Glitter Iron-On as well.

I’m a Cricut Iron-On convert. After using different brands I’ve been thrilled with how well our Cricut brand makes have held up. Cricut has introduced the StrongBond guarantee that will give you the confidence and peace of mind that your iron-on projects will last and last. The StrongBond guarantee means that if your Cricut iron-on products are used as directed and you’re not completely satisfied, Cricut will replace it for free. Cricut Iron-on products are made to last 50+ wash and dry cycles and I’m here to testify that ours have taken a beating and still look amazing. That’s a big deal with kids- their favorites can stick around until they’re outgrown!

I used the Samson Sweater from Love Notions sized up one and with an extra wide bottom band to give it that oversized look. This french terry from Raspberry Creek is one of my favorite fabrics for fall. (I love it so much I used it for my little guys joggers too!) It’s nice and thick and worked wonderfully with the iron-on.

This Legendary tee was another fun design. This kiddo has certainly reached ‘legend’ status at our house so this tee was just too perfect for him. I used the Boho Sampler pack of Everyday Iron-On for this look. I used the #121 Ringer Raglan pattern from Thread Faction- I can’t get enough of that slim fit!

I used the Lexi and Lou Loungers from Made for Mermaids for his pants. I added a long vinyl stripe down the side and in the pocket for a touch of color. The large EasyPress made ironing on the stripe simple and easy! One bonus of making a garment is that you can iron things on flat, before they get completely sewn together. I sewed up the pockets and side seam, EasyPressed the stripes on, then continued with the construction.

This design is a trial and error look. I’m always trying to come up with new ways to use my Iron-On materials and this one was a fun one. I took strips of each color and taped them together using transfer tape on the plastic backing. I cut the design out in white iron-on and applied it to the sweatshirt. I then cut the design out of my rainbow piece and applied it directly on top of the white lettering. It’s far from perfect but that just means I get to keep trying it until I get it just right! I love the look and used the same technique here too. You can get this design in Design Space here.

Her top was made using the Striped Swallow Designs Apres Ski. Those big full sleeves take this sweatshirt from boring to brilliant.

I’m thrilled with this whole Retro Rainbow collection and love how quick and easy it was to make with our Cricut products.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Toaster Sweater from Sew House 7

I’ve got a new addiction this winter. The Toaster Sweater patterns from Sew House 7 have become favorites to sew and wear. They check all the right boxes for me- comfortable, loose fitting, quick sews, and stylish.

I shared my first two over on the Cali Fabrics blog. I made this green one out of a mid weight sweatshirt fleece and it’s the ultimate in warmth and comfort. This particular sweatshirting has a bit of two way stretch that makes it easy to wear. It’s the first thing I grab on a snowy day.

The tall neckline of #1 is so cozy and I love the boxy fit of this version. The topstitching details add such a professional finish. I added length to this version to provide optimum coverage!

After sewing a version #1, I just had to try sewing #2. I used a luxurious stretch velvet and had the perfect holiday party top.

It’s loose and chic and I get compliments every time I wear it. I love that it looks dressy while still feeling like I’m wearing next to nothing. I think I’d wear velvet all day every day if I could.

So after those first two sweater all I could think about was sewing up another. When I laid eyes on this amazing quilted knit from Raspberry Creek Fabrics I knew it had to be a boxy sweater and the Toaster #1 was just what I was after.

I lined the body and sleeves in a lightweight double brushed poly and kept the length I added to the pattern previously. This fabric is a bit less stiff than my first version and the neck line has a slouchy effect. This top is incredibly warm and just about as pretty as a sweatshirt can get.

I found these darling tags at Hobby Lobby (in the yarn section) and like to add them to those special things I know will get extra love. Just a tiny detail that I adore that looks upscale from afar but only I know the care that went into this piece.

My latest Toaster just might be my favorite. This beauty happened when I stumbled across this fabric in my stash and realized I had just enough to make the cutest Toaster ever. This fabric is a remnant from Girl Charlee years ago, a sweatshirt fleece with absolutely no stretch. I literally could hold the leftover scraps in one hand when I was done cutting this out- totally meant to be!

I used the original cropped length and cropped the cuffs a bit also. Because of the lack of stretch in this fabric this top is a cinch to get on but man, oh man do I have to Houdini myself out of it. If I had thought through this sew a bit more I may have sized up to account for the lack of stretch but I sewed this on a whim from finding the fabric to sewn in under an hour. No time for actually thinking about it- just a quick, rewarding sew!

I really love how different fabrics take to this pattern. I’m thinking next fall I’d love a chunky sweater knit version of either pattern. I think a light jersey knit would look cute as a version 2 for spring or a drapier french terry for that matter.

Have you sewn up a Toaster? Any favorite fabrics you loved for yours? I might have sewn my last version this season (no guarantees 😉 but know it will be at the top of my list when cooler temps hit again this fall.

Love Notions Sloane Sweater

Fall is here and that means sweaters and sweatshirts are taking over our closets! The newest Love Notions patterns are perfect! The Women’s Sloane got a revamp and while she was at it she added a girls version too! (affl. links)

This post contains affiliate links. I became a Love Notions Affiliate AFTER falling in love with her patterns, testing process, and attention to details. Purchasing through the links provides me with a little kick back that of course gets spent on more fabric 😉

There are two different views- view A is a relaxed fit, curved hem top and view B is a boxy fit with bands (similar to your favorite sweatshirt). There are tons of options too! You can add a contrast yoke, elbow patches, kangaroo pocket and a hood. You’ll want to sew up a handful just to try them all!

I sewed up this version pre-revision and blogged about it over on the CaliFabrics blog. This super soft french terry version is one of my favorite makes! The fit didn’t change much during testing but many of the options are new including extended sizing and a FBA piece (so nice to have the work done for you!). This is a simple view B with lace added to the yoke seams.

I had just enough left of the rose french terry for this fun top for my girl. She picked some camo french terry (from LA) as a coordinate and I love this combo sooooo much. Pink and camo is just a sweet little match!

I love that these tops coordinate but aren’t exact copies. I’m sure we won’t wear them at the same time but it was pretty fun to get pics with my mini me!

Of course lil sis needed one too! Are you scrambling to fill in all the gaps in your kids cold weather wardrobe? I was shocked to see this girly had outgrown most of her long sleeved tops. A plain view B was a quick and easy solution! This is a quilted knit from Hobby Lobby last year. It’s a bit thicker than the recommended fabric but I love the boxier fit. The perfect loose fitting sweatshirt without being sloppy!

The grey and flannel version was an early tester version. The final pattern is a bit more slim but we still love this one! I can’t get enough of plaid flannel and french terry together- especially this mustard and grey combo. You might recognize it from this rad Halifax of mine 🙂

That yoke and those elbow patches are pretty fantastic!

This will be such a staple pattern for us. There are so many possibilities, such a great basic pattern that can be hacked to fit your needs.

I’ve got a little sneak peek of an easy hack that I’ll be sharing with you on the CaliFabrics blog real soon. I’ll link it here when it’s up!

Make sure to grab your copies on sale through Thursday, October 19th! (bundle, girls, women’s– affl. links)

Pattern for Pirates Knitfix Hoodie

I’ve been hoarding this floral for months and I’m so, so thrilled I finally cut into it.

I first cut this out and used the scraps to make this sweatshirt for Payton so you probably recognize the fun print.

I wanted an extra cozy sweatshirt so I pulled out my Patterns for Pirates Raglan and Add-ons. I went all in with a cross-over funnel hood, kangaroo pocket, and thumbhole cuffs.

It was the perfect combination for the coziest sweatshirt ev-ah!!

The floral is a Girl Charlee knitfix french terry and the hood lining is Purple Seamstress stripes. The cuffs and bottom band are oatmeal french terry from Raspberry Creek.

I have a feeling this will get a lot of wear this winter. Especially for the holidays- this is my kinda Christmas sweater!

Tag: Sweatshirt