Pattern Review: Little Kiwi's Closet Flutterby Peasant Dress/Top

So I have to start this post by admitting something that may sound kind of silly:  I have never made Inara a peasant dress before.  I made a modified one for myself last year, but I hadn't found a pattern I loved for Inara.  Then Lydia of Little Kiwi's Closet posted her teaser pics and I jumped on the chance to test.  

The Flutterby Peasant Dress/Top

Sizes Newborn to 12 years
4 style variations: dress with ruffle, dress with no ruffle, top with ruffle, and top with no ruffle. 
7 sleeve options: flutter, short, long and various elastic options
Designed for wovens, but works nicely in knit!

The first thing I want to highlight about this pattern is the body shape.  The body piece is slightly a-lined and it gives the pattern a nice flattering shape when worn.  

 

The second thing I want to point out is that this pattern is AMAZING with border prints!  I decided to go with the top with no ruffle and the short sleeves with elastic to highlight this gorgeous fall border print that has sat unused for over a year now!  

 

 

Can you tell Inara loves it?  She was so excited to pose in it.  I was actually kind of worried that the arm elastic would bother my sensitive princess, but I think its just the right length to look cute without irritating her.... Win-win.

After whipping out the top in under an hour, I decided to make the dress version.  I wanted to bring out the whimsical look of the fabric and went with the ruffled style with flutter sleeves.  I think she makes a cute little fairy .  :)

THEN, one of the other testers mentioned knits... And off I went back into my sewing room.  

I decided to  make the top version with flutter sleeves and I did a rolled hem on the ends of the sleeves and the ruffle.  

The result was a super cute and comfortable knit top... And moment of silence for using up the rest of my Finn and Jake fabric *sniff sniff*

 So, if you're looking for a cute and versatile peasant dress pattern - this is definitely the one to grab.  The instructions are clear and easy to follow.  The pattern pieces are easy to assemble.  I think that the wide size range and the multiple style options make this pattern a great value as well.  

And after you've picked it up, come on over and join the Little Kiwi's Closet Facebook Group  where you can ask any questions you have AND see lots and lots of pictures of all of the LKC patterns that people are making so you can add more of them to your library!  

OH! And very importantly... It's listed at 20% off for the next few hours!  Grab it here while its still on sale! 

Mimi Blog Tour - Day One

Hi!  Welcome to day one of the Mimi Blog Tour.   I am so excited to be part of this, because I absolutely love sewing Mel's patterns. 

The Mimi is a darling pattern from one of my favorite designers, Filles a Maman.  Mel's tester calls always make me excited - her patterns are well written, easy to follow, and always have this sort of special flair that I feel like really shows off the cool side of her personality.  I tested the Mimi and Inara totally loved it...

 So when Mel said "blog tour?" My reply was YES!  Then it came time to decide what to make... and (get ready to laugh), I planned this entire post around a button.  Yup.  One button.  The neckline of the Mimi is really unique and the asymmetrical neck closes with a button.

See my cool button?  It's sparkly and Inara totally loved it, so I had this cool button, and then I spent a week staring at it before realizing that I had no fabric that was going to work with such a fancy button... So I actually got to go shopping to pick up some fabric... and I used a nice soft light blue cotton/lycra for the facings, since the texture of the main print might itch Inara.  And here is my first Mimi for the tour...

Don't you just love her sass?

This is the size 5, as I wanted to go for a tunic length with a slimmer fit.  By the size chart, she falls outside the size 5 (the Tinkerbell one is a size 6), but she's still pretty slim, so the size 5 was perfect for a slim fit tunic.








This one is the short sleeved version, which, adding an even cuter detailing, has a cute cuff detail on the sleeve.


I totally love this look - And even with all the cool little details that this pattern has, it took about 90 minutes start to finish.










After finishing this one, I realized (much to my surprise), that I had a little extra time.  So I decided to make a shirt version.  After staring at the pattern options a bit, I decided not to do the collar option, but that I really wanted to do one with the tassel detailing.

For this one I used the shirt length, size 5, tassel detailing, and took the long sleeves and made them into 3/4 sleeves with a cuff detailing.  The fabric on this one is lightweight thermal, so I think it will be perfect for cooler summer nights.  The tassels are actually FOE, as is the button loop, since the rainbow print was just too perfect to pass up And check out the button!

Oh!  The details!
The Mimi comes in sizes 12mo through 14yrs
Two sleeve lengths: short or long
Two body lengths: dress or shirt
Three collar options: simple keyhole, asymmetrical peter pan collar, and fringe front

Can you tell how much she likes it??  The pattern calls for grosgrain ribbon for the fringe, but since i used FOE I tied little knots at the bottoms of the pieces to weight them down a little.

I really can't say enough positive things about this pattern.  As with all of her patterns, the pattern pieces go together easily and are clearly labeled.  AND the random cool note, that always impresses me... they come in both English AND French!

Also, Mel is generously doing a giveaway with the tour... so make sure you take a moment to enter to win patterns of your choice from her shop!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

And lastly, make sure you check out all of the other bloggers who are showing off their Mimi's for the tour!

 
Thanks for stopping by to check out my Mimi's and if you haven't picked up the pattern yet, I highly recommend you do - its totally year round perfect and there are so many fun ways to make it reflect your child's personality. 

Pattern Review: Go To Signature Dress from Go To Patterns

Sometimes its just fun to try a new designer, right?  I have this rather embarrassingly large collection of patterns... PDF and paper.  For a while I had two emails attached to my paypal too, so sometimes I would buy the same pattern on both emails not realizing I already had it.   This pattern is a new designer for me, who I had (a) heard lots of positive things about and (b) had previously shopped on her website.  A new friend asked if I had sewn any of her patterns, and it was sort of the perfect slap upside the head to get me out of this weird haze I've been in the last couple days.  Sewing is usually so cathartic for me, but I've had so much on my mind, I just couldn't seem to sit still to work!  So thanks... and you all get my fun review of the Go To Signature Dress from the lovely Go To Patterns.

 The details:
Sizes 12mo thru 12yrs
Three lengths: tunic, dress, maxi
Seven sleeve options: long, short, cap (binding/elastic/hemmed), ruffle, flutter. 
Hood option
Four pocket options: inset, ribbed, gathered, and kangaroo
Optional elastic casing for bodice.
Templates for elbow patches and applique

Okay, before I keep going - there are SO MANY combinations for this one, I was sort of floored.  I printed all the pages out and glued them all together (I'm sort of obsessed with my glue sticks lately), and stared at them trying to decided which one I wanted to to make.  The pattern pieces all went together easily and everything is clearly labeled so you know what to cut for each option you want.  In the end, I just cut everything out and gave up on decision making...

I started with the maxi length, ruffle sleeve (by the way, if you do this without a layer below it, you'll need to hem the rest of the sleeve opening), and I did the elastic casing. I was actually really excited about the elastic.  It's all nicely enclosed, so Miss Sensitive wouldn't flip out over the elastic being against her skin.

 Inara is a pretty standard size 5, and I made the size 5 in this going off of the size chart - its perfect.  The length is great - ankles, but not too long so that she trips.  And the fit is awesome - loose and flowy, but doesn't hang off of her at all.   

 

I used about a yard of jersey fabric for this one, since the skirt isn't wide it easily fit.   The sleeves are in a cotton lycra and the neck binding is a ribbing.  From cutting to snipping threads, this dress took about an hour, so really, if you're pressed for time - this should totally be in your pattern collection.  So then I decided I wanted to see what the knee length came out like.  

It's Inara approved.  For this one I did the knee length, cap sleeve ( I did a lettuce type hem on the sleeve) and did the hood and the kangaroo pocket with it.  I decided to leave off the casing on this one because I made it out of stretch terry so she can wear it as a beach cover up, and I thought the casing might be a pain to mess with at the beach. 

This is my favorite pose of the night.  She's such a weirdo.  She totally loved it though, and I like how even without the elastic on the bodice, it still fits nicely.  She totally missed the point though, and goes "MOM, its like a TOWEL - I'm gonna wear it after the shower!!"   So I guess she'll need another... and I'll probably have to make Connor one too so he's not all jealous.... are bath cover-ups unisex?  Sew time on this version: also about an hour.  Taking out the elastic saved some time, but adding the hood and the kangaroo pocket balanced it back out.  I had a yard of the pink terry, and I have some useable sizes leftovers from it, and the hood and pocket just took a small amount of the polka dot. 

Last, but not least - the tunic length, with flutter sleeve, gathered pocket, and elastic casing on the outside.  This one took scrap pieces of the cotton/lycra Alice print (all I had left, but Inara begged for something in it) and the main print was the last of this lovely interlock I had found at the Goodwill (seriously, it was like 2yds worth for $1.99 and then 50% off that... anyways, it matched everything and I'm sad I'm out of it!).  

Of course she is totally in love with the pockets.  I may go back and stick inset pockets on the maxi dress, since by the time I got to this one, I realized just how much she loves pockets.  The tunic length is just perfect too - covers her tush, so its perfect for wear with leggings. 



Thoughts on the pattern?  It's extremely detailed.  All of the different options are explained clearly, and there are extra tips throughout on changing it up (like how to make the elastic casing look pretty on the outside of the top).  The instructions are easy to follow, though personally, the two columns of instructions flusters me, because I have to scroll up and down and I'm afraid I'll miss something (I know that's silly, but we all have our idiosyncrasies, right?).  The detailing at the neckline is extremely feminine and gives a really nice look to the finished dress. 

If you're newer to knits, you will especially love all of the explanation provided about choosing fabrics and which stitches to use.  So if you're new and nervous, you can do a nice basic version, and do more with more of the cool add-ons as you get more confident with knits.   

I really enjoyed sewing this one, and each version took about an hour from the point I finished staring sadly at my dwindling stash, to the point that I snipped those pesky leftover threads.  So in a house where time is always a hot commodity, this dress gets plus points.  And, I just love all of the options that the dress has! I can't wait for fall so I can do the layered sleeves with it too. 

I'm already trying to decide which Go To Pattern to sew up next.  Maybe something for Connor?  That Study Hall Jacket looks ah-mazing!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed the review, and let me know if I missed anything!