Pattern Review: Everyday Tank and Dress from Serger Pepper

Happy Saturday!  The kids have been under the weather, but recovered now, and I am going to take them out to this local fair tomorrow to celebrate.  That and being cooped up in the house with them all week has me feeling quite the need to get them out!  

Have you been following the Aspiring Designer's Challenge from Pattern Revolution?  I love seeing all these new up-and-coming creative minds at work.  I really love getting to test for some of them as well.  Last week I talked about the Omni Tempore from Sofilantjes for Connor.  Today I am here to tell you about the new pattern from Serger Pepper.

The Everyday Tank: Top and Dress:
Available in sizes 3 - 14
Three length options: tank, midi (knee length dress), and maxi (ankle length dress)
Optional pockets 

Banded or regular hemline options
Instructions for multiple binding methods
Made for knits
Great for upcycles

First off, the site chart was spot on for Inara's measurements.  The tank sits right at the perfect length to be appropriate for wear with leggings.  When you have a little one who can't stand jeans, its important to find tops that look good with her extensive legging collection.  

This top was made with Ooga Booga interlock, the solid purple is a cotton/Lycra from PurpleSeamstress, and white ribbing for the binding. 

And, since Inara loves dresses, I made her a midi length as well using a cotton/Lycra print, and two cotton/Lycra solids, all from Fabric Dealers.  

Look at that attitude!

The dress fits nicely without being too tight, which is achieved with the lovely subtle a-line that the dress has, as opposed to the night straight shape of the tank.  The pockets are a super fun detail that Inara just gushed over.

This is the second pattern of Irene's that I have sewn.  The first being these super cute undies...  (You should pick them up as well as the Everyday Tank: Top and Dress, the bum coverage is awesome). The patterns are well written and east to follow.  The instructions are laid out nicely and include lots of detail options to personalize your outfit.  The pattern pieces themselves are well drafted, and easy to assemble, which to me is always a relief, as I seem to have serious issues with taping...

Thanks for coming to check out my post, and I hope you enjoy sewing this one up as much as I did.  Huge thanks to Irene for allowing me to test, and for some more inspiration, check out the other awesome tester blog posts:

Maryall Made 

El Blog de la Tata 

Knot So Normal 

Pattern Review: Rissa Roo's Pixie Knit Shirt from The Plucky Butterfly

Hello and welcome to Monday.   In our house, Monday means house cleaning, laundry, and for this particular week.. Sick kiddos. I have to say, I am really blessed when it comes to my kids' health.  They are rarely sick, so when they are both so sick and miserable I just want to snuggle them.

Anyways, on a much more exciting note, are you looking for a cute, girly, unique shirt to add to your school wardrobe?  If so, I've got it!  Meet Rissa Roo's Pixie Knit Shirt.

The details:
Sizes 2-12 AND doll sized
Short or Long Sleeved options
Three hemline options: curved front and back, curved front/straight back, curved front with panel
Perfect for upcyles!

If you couldn't tell I really love upcycling, so this shirt is great for us.  Inara gets to have a creeper shirt that is just like daddy's but its cute and girly, so she is just thrilled.  Now they can all play Minecraft together in their Minecraft Shirts...  (dorks).

Inara spent a lot of the summer in her Rissa Roo Tank/Halters and her Rissa Roo Woven Dress is one of her all time favorite dresses.  BUT it's getting close to back to school time, and I was kind of sad that the cute hemline wouldn't get to be shown off in school (stupid dress code).  Now, I get to make them for back to school, and I can make her some cute long sleeved ones for winter. 

We even had a birthday party to go to right at the end of the testing period, and I made a girl and matching doll one for the birthday girl and paired them with the Jocole Faux Wrap Skort.

 I used a Frozen t-shirt to make the girl one, and an iron on transfer for the doll on.  I think that little miss likes her outfit!  AND she's got a Frozen outfit that none of her friends have, which is always cool.

So if you are looking for the perfect shirt that has that something extra to make it girly, without being too over the top - this is it.  Inara has already picked out her next two t-shirts to upcycle, which makes me breathe a sigh of relief, because it is so nice to have a pattern that she loves that I know she can wear back to school.

ALL of the Plucky Butterfly Patterns are on sale for a short short time more - so grab them quickly before they go back up to regular price... I highly suggest the Surround Me With Love Twirl Skirt too - its SO FUN to make.

Happy Sewing! 

  

Pattern Review: Omni Tempore Boys Shirt from Sofilantjes

Happy Saturday!  I am actually attempting to pack an overnight bag in a rather hurried fashion as we are heading off the peninsula for a camp-out birthday party for Inara's friend.  Thankfully the mother is letting Connor and I crash in the house, since I'm not sure how well he would do in a tent all night with a bunch of squealing girls...

Actually, this is two posts in a row that are Connor-centric... which I am really stoked about, because I spend so much time making things for Inara, that it's fun to find some cool patterns for Connor.  I am here to tell you about today's Pattern Revolution Aspiring Designer.   This is the second designer I have tested for that publishes her patterns in two languages.  Annemieke of Sofilantjes Patterns publishes her patterns in both English and her native Dutch.  She has native Dutch speakers in her testing group and I am constantly using my *translate* button to try to learn some of the language.  

So I present to you, the Omni Tempore Boys Shirt ((Buy it now, while it's on sale!)) 

About the shirt:
Sizes 12mo - 14yrs
Baggy fit
Unique Collar
Short or long sleeves
Made for knit fabrics

I love how fast this comes together, and I especially love the collar detail.  It's just a little pop of something different, but it makes the top fun to give that personal touch to.  This is the second paid pattern from Sofilantjes, and I love that she is doing both boy and girl patterns.  Her patterns have these nice clean lines, but all have a cool detail that makes them so original.  If you're on the fence, check out her free skirt pattern, and get a feel for her writing style and pattern style. 

I may have been having a bit too much fun with this pattern, and made a whole bunch of them, but Connor really loves them, and we get tons of compliments on them.  And I even pulled out one of my fun custom knits for the one above.  What else is great about this shirt?  Perfect for cool upcycles...

Gotta love that little face... he was SO excited to show this one off.  I used a $7 t-shirt from JCPenny and some leftover cotton-lycra from PurpleSeamstress and in under an hour, we have this awesomely personal, sized for my little Minecraft lover, one of a kind shirt. 

And my last bit of gushing over this shirt.. I know it says *boys* shirt, BUT it is totally awesome for little girls too.  Want to see? 

Both little ones totally rock this shirt, and loved how comfortable it was.  For me, the ability to make an shirt that is comfortable, unique, great for upcyling, and a style at works for both kids in under an hour is just perfect. 

So definitely stop over either the Sofilantjes Craftsy Shop or Etsy Shop and pick up the Omni Tempore,  AND if you happen to have a girl, you should totally grab the Summer Surprise Dress/Tunic (you can read my review here). 

Congrats Annemieke on another awesome pattern!!

Perfect Pattern Parcel #4 Blog Tour: Zippy Jacket

Hi!  Long time no see (I know you are all going, UGH again!), but I'm really excited to be back to blogging, and I'm slowly pulling myself out of the haze of personal issues that seem to have clouded my head lately.  And today I'm here to tell you about the Perfect Pattern Parcel #4 .  This is actually my first of two posts about Parcel #4, which is all about boys.  And it is pretty fabulous actually.


So let me start by explaining how this thing works... From now until September 5th you can purchase these patterns while supporting both the awesome indie designers who made them AND children's education equality, as after expenses are paid the remaining profit is donated to Donorschoose.org.  So there are 5 patterns included in the bundle and you kind of get to name your own price on this bundle (retail value is over $60).  If you pick a price over $26, then you get a special bonus pattern that is also VERY cool.   If you can, the Perfect Pattern Parcel people (say that one ten times fast?) would love it if you choose  to pay as much as you can so that they are able to donate as much as possible to Donorschoose.org, especially since it is back to school time!

The patterns for this parcel are: 

Maxwell Top by Shwin Designs

Zippy Jacket by Blank Slate Patterns

Schoolboy Vest by Sew Much Ado

Small Fry Jeans by Titchy Threads

Jet Pack Bag by Betz White

Bonus Pattern:  Knight Hoodie by Charming Doodle.

So for my first Perfect Pattern Parcel #4 post, I am going to show off my Zippy Jacket by Blank Slate Patterns.  I actually own a couple of patterns from Blank Slate, but they were bought on a whim and have sat in my MAKE THIS folder for way too long.  After making the Zippy Jacket, I went ahead and printed out the pieces for the other Blank Slate patterns I have.

Say hi to Connor, who is getting better at modeling, I think...  He was SO excited to put this one on and didn't fuss at all about the pictures.

First of all, the fit was spot on with the chart.  Connor is in the 18mo/2T and it fits him perfectly.  Second, the instructions were fantastic.  I love how each step is clearly and simply explained and the entire jacket can me made with a very finished look without needing a serger.

For my jacket I used a cotton-lycra knit from So Cheeky Fabric with a white wide-ribbing for the cuffs, bottom band, pocket bindings, and for the underside of the collar.  Start to finish the jacket took me under 2hours to make, which was surprising in itself.  I sat down to sew in the evening with a cup of coffee, since I looked at the jacket and thought, *I could be here a while.*  In the end, I finished the jacket, watched and episode of Dr. Who, made a birthday gift, organized my ribbon, watched another episode of Dr. Who, and then finally the caffeine wore off enough for me to go to sleep.

 I am still some what stunned at just how fast this was to sew. Especially with how darling the finished product is.

The pattern itself comes in four sizes: 18mo/2T, 3T/4T, 5/6, and 7/8. 
Comes with very clear and easy to understand instructions.
Nicely drafted and easy to piece printable pattern pieces.

And I know this is the boy's parcel, but this jacket is totally fitting for boys or girls, and I'm already planning out Inara's for this fall.

He looks so grown up here, right? He's puffing out his chest to show off his awesome ninja turtle Zippy jacket!  And don't let the zipper scare you, her instructions make it a total breeze!!  This one is a must have for the back to school wardrobe!







You really can't go wrong snatching this up during the Perfect Pattern Parcel #4 deal, and make sure you check out the other awesome bloggers over the next two weeks, who will all be showing off more of the patterns that are available in this parcel!


Parcel #4 Inspiration Tour Schedule:

Friday, August 22 casa crafty || Lulu & Celeste || Keep Calm and Carrion
Saturday, August 23 Max California || Amanda Rose
Sunday, August 24 little betty sews
Monday, August 25 Kadiddlehopper || Radiant Home Studio
Tuesday, August 26 La Pantigana || Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts || Friends Stitched Together
Wednesday, August 27 Make It Perfect || Modern Handmade || GYCT Designs
Thursday, August 28 Needle and Ted || Mae & K || Mimi's Mom
Friday, August 29 Pienkel || Once Upon a Sewing Machine || Friends Stitched Together
Saturday, August 30 FABulous Home Sewn || Gray Skies || The Crazy Tailor
Sunday, August 31 Nine Stitches || Max California || Oliver's Fancy || Friends Stitched Together
Monday, September 1 a happy stitch || lady and the gents || Our Family Four || Swoodson Says
Tuesday, September 2 verypurpleperson || Things for Boys || The Crazy Tailor
Wednesday, September 3 Our Family Four || Rebekah Sews || a happy stitch
Thursday, September 4 Sew a Straight Line || la inglesita || Made by Sara || Knot Sew Normal
Friday, September 5 Knot Sew Normal || Gracious Threads || Sofilantjes || Max California