Boys Can Wear Pink Blog Tour

Hi, and welcome to my day of the Boys Can Wear Pink Blog Tour hosted by the awesomely creative Kelly of Handmade Boy.

The whole concept behind this blog series makes me smile.  If you've seen pictures of Connor before, he wears blue and pink Frozen Sneakers that were the only shoes he would pick out after going to three different stores.  He carries his pirate sword and Minecraft toys in a purple princess lunchbox. And likes having his nails painted with blue sparkly polish.   But above all of that, he picks his own clothes and his own fabrics for when I make him stuff.

So this is our first *pink* outfit.  He picked out the My Little Ponies and the blue to go with it.  When we went to pick the piping, I suggested yellow, black, and turquoise.  He picked pink.  In retrospect, its a good thing he did, because it matches rather well.

When we went to the store, all I told him was to pick a fabric he liked that had some pink in it.  He actually picked two, but you'll have to wait for our second outfit!

For the shirt I used the Dandelions 'n' Dungarees Old Tyme Baseball Shirt.  This pattern comes in 3 size grouping, but the the bundle is the best deal.. and if you wait until tomorrow to pick it up, you'll get the newly revamped pattern pieces that are being finished up as I type.  The pattern has button instructions (and very awesomely explains male vs female buttoning), but I did the snaps for Connor so he could take it off himself.  Awesome bonus! The code boys30 gets you a discount in the Dandelions 'n' Dungarees Etsy shop through Wednesday night!

For the pants, I used my go-to woven pants pattern:  Little Kiwi's Closet Paneled Pants and Shorts.  I use this pattern for both kids when I need a pants pattern with a cool coordinating detail.  And there is cute bow or pocket options to add as well.   I think of all the patterns I own, this is the one I most often make.

You'd think that the My Little Pony watcher in the house would be Inara, but nope.  She doesn't like MLP anymore and gave her mini-figures to Connor who loves it.  So thankfully they area toy that got happily passed from one kid to the next!

I love the outfit with the pops of pink in it.  I'm also thrilled that his daddy thinks the outfit is cool (whew!), and most of all, I'm happy that he loves it, because that's what its all about... dressing him in clothes that he loves that show him that he can wear anything he wants and colors don't have genders!

Connor says to go enter the giveaway below!  With this awesome list of prizes it's totally worth it!

One yard of Stenzo Pit Stop Poplin in pink from Mabel Madison

$25 gift certificate, plus a surprise fat quarter from Phat Quarter Shop

One yard of solid cotton/lycra & one yard of coordinating fabric from Purple Seamstress

One pattern of choice from Paisley Roots

$20 store credit from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop

One pattern of choice from Patterns for Pirates

One pattern of choice from Mouse House Creations

Bottoms Up Pants Pattern from If Only They Would Nap

One Pattern of choice from Titchy Threads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by! And please check out the rest of the talent posting this month and keep tabs at the round up post.

Pattern Review: Flyaway Cardigan and Saucy Skirt from Dandelions 'n' Dungarees

Okay, so I went to bed last night planning on finishing up a smaller set this morning and then adding some quick pictures and posting, BUT then I got to looking at the smaller size range of this pattern and decide I would be doing a huge disservice to everyone with littles if I didn't show you how awesome the tiny size was too.  So here are the two newest releases from Dandelions n' Dungarees.

There are two patterns being shown here in size 6: Flyaway Ruffle Cardigan and the Saucy Skirt.

These patterns are available in three size groupings
Baby: NB - 18mo
Girls: 2 - 7
Tween: 8- 16

Can you tell how much she loves it??  As soon as photos were over it went right into her little pile of clothes to wear the next day.  Perfect for fall in the Pacific Northwest... just add leggings!  How great is it that this coordinates with her hair too?

It's such a lovely pattern, and here was the kicker for us... even with making the ruffles, the entire outfit was done in under 3 hours.  And, another equally cool aspect is that the skirt has multiple options included that make it so versatile.  During testing we had a Princess Party to go to and Inara wanted a frozen themed skirt to wear, so I grabbed the flannel lined satin from Joann's and some pink costume satin I had laying around and whipped up a woven one with a simple yoga waistband... (yes I left the serger edges sewing.. we were leaving in 45 minutes and I was in a bit of a rush lol)

The pattern is just so sweet, and we know how much Inara loves twirl, right? So how perfect is this:  

She may have twirled until she fell over...  I may have laughed a little.  

I also wanted to show you another way to to the ruffles... so here is the cardigan and skirt in a size 3 (for Connor's little girlfriend)... the tie on the skirt is done in grosgrain ribbon instead of the tie AND the ruffles on the back are done with ruffle fabric... so if you're in a big hurry for a super cute outfit, this saved even more time..

The skirt on this one is done with a semi-sheer shimmey slub knit, as are the sleeves on the cardigan... I was hoping they gave up a sort of shimmery fairy quality... we'll see what Evie thinks when she gets them!

AND, here is what decided to buy last night and cut out and sew this morning... (yes, I liked this pattern so much that I went out and bought another size grouping)  because I really wanted to show one more way to do the ruffles... and my friend has a new baby that NEEDS this outfit.  This is the Newborn size (HOW CUTE AND TINY) and the ruffles are made from an eyelet lace that I had in my stash.  It was already slightly gathered, so I just sewed the strips on as they were.  

So there are lots of great options for embellishing the back of this sweater, and they each give it a unique look.  

ALSO, you can do different neck closures... which is a cool way to personalize the pattern as well.  For Inara's a did a button and loop as the pattern is written.  A couple of testers extended the neck binding and used it to make ties at the neck.  And for Evies I did a pom-pom to look like the one's on Tink's shoes and for the baby one, I extended the binding to make a tab on on side and used KAM snaps. 

I just cant gush enough over this pattern, and I really wanted to show off the tiny size BECAUSE right now there are some awesome sale bundles going on in the Dandelions n' Dungarees Craftsy Store.  For only $9.00 you can get 2 size groups of the Flyaway Ruffle Cardigan and for $13.00 you get from NB through size 16.  And the same sale is on for the Saucy Skirt as well.  So while they are on sale for the release, you should definitely grab the bundles as the savings are HUGE.  (Sale ends Sunday!)

And after you grab your patterns, please come join the Dandelions n' Dungarees Facebook Group to show off your sews!  

Thanks for stopping by to see what I made!  

Designer Talk: Dandelions n' Dungarees

I've decided to try something new, and once a week I am going to chat a bit about designers whose patterns I find myself going back to more than once...  And, because they are so fresh in my mind, first on my list is Dandelions n' Dungarees.

The design team behind the name totally enchants me... April (mom) and Elise (daughter) are amazing.  I love my mom and all, but I can't even imagine working with her!! I did that in high-school, and she fired me more than once.  These two though, totally encourage each other and keep each other focused, and some how they keep coming out with these beautiful patterns that each have their own flare to them.  Elise is kind of a night-owl, so when we're both up late I make her ridiculous memes to keep everyone motivated...

The first pattern I sewed from DnD (as I will now be abbreviating it as), was the Old Tyme Baseball Shirt, which is available in three size groups (Baby, Child, and Tween), so if you buy the bundle, you can totally outfit all of the kiddos.  Connor loves Curious George, and I had a couple small pieces of fabric left after making a birthday gift, and it was just enough to make him this awesome top. 

Then came the Retro Frock (available in sizes 2T-10).  Testing this pattern with Elise gave me a new appreciation for what designers do.  I have no idea whatsoever how drafting patterns works, but when it wasn't working the way she was envisioning it, she stuck with it and we ended up with this totally awesome patterns (pockets, can we talk about how much I love pockets???)

I love the ruffled sleeve option on this one, and am definitely adding in on to my "back to school" sewing list.

And, in case you didn't know, DnD has what may be the most fantastically vintage swimsuit pattern available... The Vintage Bikini.   I was REALLY nervous about testing this one, because, well after two kids, I'm definitely not bikini material, right?  And I don't have a ton of experience sewing with swimsuit fabric, but I followed very carefully along the instructions, and I am totally in love with this pattern...  I *may* wander around my house in this, just because I can... 

Then there are the Baby Girl Bottoms, which is one of the most versatile patterns I've seen.  It runs sizes NB-24mo, and has 2 skirt options, bloomers, pants, shorts (all with two waist options and cuff options), and a diaper cover.  Really, all the bottoms you need for your tiny angel, all in one.  I don't have a tiny girl anymore, but I borrowed one just to make the shirred front skirt and diaper cover... and a pair of pants

Connor was VERY concerned with making sure that Baby Katie was okay.  How adorable are these??? The diaper cover can be standalone, like I did, or it can be done attached.

I even made a little skirt for Katie's big sister too! 

And most recently... <swoon>  The Ruffle Whimsy Tunic and Dress.  If you didn't know, making ruffles is not really my favorite thing... but man do they totally make this look fabulous.  I picked the tunic, because I have grand plans to make the Perfectly Pleated Pants to go with these for a stellar outfit.  I just need to find the time!

 Of course Inara had to choose her own fabric and out came the My Little Pony Print.  Then, miraculously, she said "mom, just make the ruffles pretty colors," and ran off to play.  So I got to pick the ruffles...  I decided on a pink variegated thread to do a rolled hem on them, just to make them a little more girly (like it wasn't girly enough??) and  I am totally thrilled with the result.

That just leaves the Perfectly Pleated Pants for me to sew up, the Vintage Bikini Bottoms (give me like 15 more lbs, and I'll let you know how those go!), and the Classic Ruffle Dress I am going to pick up for my back to school list as well... So then I will have all the DnD patterns, lol.  I have a lot of patterns, from a lot of designers (if you haven't noticed), but there is something that just draws me to the classic look of all of these patterns.  I've seen some sneaks into what's coming up too, and you'll LOVE the classic feel!!

If you're still on the fence, come join the Dandelions n' Dungarees Facebook group and see all of the gorgeous creations people are making with these patterns.  You definitely want to try them out!