Women's Bundle Up Blog Tour: Jillian and Clemence

Have you seen enough BundleUp awesomeness yet?? No, of course not!

Seriously though, this bundle has been one of my all time favorites... so here I am to show you a little more of the bundle up on me.

Here I am wearing my Jillian Top from Greenstyle Creations and my Clemence shorts from Filles a Maman.

Let's start with the details.  First the Jillian.
Sizes: XXS to 3XL (bust 32" - 47")
wrap style racer back outer tank can be made in knit or woven
Inner tank, can be done as a tank, sports bra, or bandeau and is made from knit
REALLY fast to sew, and not a big fabric hog at all

And the Clemence:
Sizes: 00 to 24 (hips 33.25" - 52")
Short or Bermuda length
3 different style accents: 2 scallops and 1 flap
Made for wovens, and look really nice in a stretch woven. 

 

How am I doing at not looking awkward?  Justin is out of town so I hired Inara to take pictures for me.  She's not a half bad photographer for being 6.  She tells me that I'm "super weird" in front of the camera, though lol.  

I'd say that the sewing time on the Jillian was probably about 90 minutes for both pieces.  I did the bandeau for my inner tank, using a plain black cotton/spandex performance knit.  For the outer... This is exciting for me... I dyed my own fabric!!  The print is a custom knit from The Fabric Igloo, but because I never remember to order pre-orders when I want them, I actually got it from the host's Hyena Cart (Knits & Giggles).  I ordered one of the dyeing kits she stocks and got my fabric, gloves, mask, dyes, and soda ash all in a nice little package.  

Kind of neat, right?  So I took this pretty innocent looking white and black fabric and gave it a very *me* twist.  I'm kind of addicted to dying things now, and I really love the personal touch it gave this shirt, without it being over the top.

Jillian What I loved: I will definitely be wearing this shirt a lot this summer (I like how my tattoo shows, hmmmm.. I feel like that's an awesome trend with this bundle too!), and I love how it fits, an I definitely love all of the options that are included in it.

Jillian What I'd change:  There is only one thing that I would probably constantly change when making this.  The waistband is cut on the fold, so there is only one seam when its sewn.  I put this seam lined up with one of the side seams, but the obsessive part of my brain wants the seams to be symmetrical, but I feel like that is just me being a bit weird.  

And my awesome shorts.   I actually pre-tested this pattern.  I made the Bermudas for the pre-test because I am a bit self-conscious about my thighs, and I will tell you that SO much care went into making the fit just right on this pattern.  There are instructions on how to adjust the waist, so if you're like me and your hips are significantly bigger than your waist, your shorts won't fall down!  (Don't laugh, the struggle is real :p)

So for this post, I originally was going to make another pair of Bermudas, but it's been warm, and I really want to own a couple pairs of actual shorts... so I went for it!  And I really like them.  I used a stretch denim with a sort of tie-dye looking print on it that I found at Joann's. 

In case you hadn't noticed, I'm pretty, bottom heavy, so I HATE making bottoms for myself out of anything other than knit for PJs.  I can only fit a couple brands of store bought jeans that will fit over my hips and not be all weird and huge at the waist.  These shorts fit amazingly well.  I followed the instructions for adjusting the waist that are included in the pattern, and I am 100% sure that they aren't going to show my underwear when I sit, and my hips fit!

Clemence What I Love: I love how easy it is to adjust the shorts to make them fit nicely at both the hip and waist.  And I love how easy the pattern was to follow.  And that there are multiple lengths included.

Clemence What I'd Change: I think my next pair, I may cut them just a little longer than the short pattern calls for.  But, the pattern does have a length chart, I just didn't measure myself first!

And just to crack you up... Photographer Inara choce the pose.... She said I wasn't being cool enough with my awesome outfit... so here you go... BundleUppers UNITE!  (She calls is the Superhero pose)

 

So the bundle is almost over, but there have been lots of blogs of all the different patterns... so check them out!!

 

Mimi's Mom - Baby Fish Designs - The Wholesome Mama - Gloria June - Sew Happily Ever After - Manning the Machine - Sew Like My Mom - Sproutign Jube Jube - Keep Calm and Carrion - Friends Stitched Together - Thread Riding Hood - Gingerbear Hibbadorary - Pensebrox - Sew Starly - If Only They Would Nap - Handmade Boy - All Things Katy - Bunch-o-Berries - Bee Quilted BeautiesSew Thrifty - Made by Sara - Feathers Flights - Mabey She Made It - Mae and K - Sugar Plum Cuties - Rebel and Malice - House of Estrela - Phat Quarter Blog - Sofilanjes


And then... make sure you BundleUp! 

Women's Bundle Up Blog Tour: MODKid Women's Malibu

Good morning!  Welcome to Day Three of the Pattern Revolution Women's Bundle Up Blog Tour!

I'll be posting a bit this week to show off the patterns I've sewn from the bundle, but let's start here with the gorgeous MODKid Malibu.  

*Disclaimer, I am totally and completely awkward when it comes to photos, so enjoy my attempting to follow Inara's instructions to "pose pretty."  

The details:
Sizes XS to XXL (30"-42" Bust and 32-44" Hip)
Made for knit fabrics
Two back options (crossover or solid)
Two lengths (mini or maxi)

I did the mini-length with the crossover back.  I am kind of at the top end of the fit for this pattern, and I feel like I could have taken it in a little, so there is definitely some give room if you're worried that it won't be big enough, don't worry!  In fact, my hips are definitely outside the measurements and I was a little worried that I might have to adjust the skirt, but it didn't need it.

This is me attempting to listen to Inara's constant critiques of me posing.  She was standing off camera on her play set yelling down at me.  She goes "Mom, your dress is pretty, how about you pose pretty too? AND take that frumpy sweater off."

Apparently, she doesn't love my cardigan... but it was a bit chilly, and I wanted to show that it layers up nicely for cool summer nights!

The pattern gives instructions for either using FOE for the binding or doing a knit binding.  I thought a pretty lace edged bias would look cute.

What I loved: I love that the back shows off my tattoo, while still allowing me to wear a bra.  I also like the A-line skirt shape, which I find to be much more flattering to my body type than a straight or gathered skirt. I also like that it has a solid back option for more modesty, if that's what you're looking for.  Also, this I thought was cool, the pattern gives 3 cutting lengths for the skirts: petite, average, or tall.  Which meant that I wasn't cutting a skirt that would end up being 3" too long, because I'm kind of short.

What I'd change: This one comes down to body type, I think, but when you add the elastic at the waistline, it gives the dress a better shape, but if you're like me and have a natural waist that is significantly smaller than your hips, it almost pulls the bodice up a little too far.  So I think for the next one I will shorten the bodice a little bit, so the crossover in the back sits more flat when worn.

This is my first MODKid Women's pattern, and I'm really happy with it.  I found the instructions to be easy to follow and understand, and the dress came together in about two hours from print to hem, which is amazing for a dress for me!

If you're still deciding which patterns to bundle up, this one is a yes from me!

And if you need more opinions and to see more options on all the patterns included (which come on, we all need to see more inspiration!), make sure you check out the rest of the bloggers on the tour

I've found that the best way to see all the posts, is to make sure you're following the Pattern Revolution Facebook Page!  

**Last disclaimer... this pattern was provided free to me in exchange for blogging about it, but all opinions are my own, and I picked it because I loved the teaser pics!

Pattern Review: Adeline Dress and Tunic from Boho Banjo

Well, I've been doing some sewing for me... so don't laugh at my awkward modeling... I even tried one of the poses that my photo editing software said was one of the most flattering poses for women...  I ended up looking rather awkward.  BUT I really liked this pattern, so awkward posing aside, I need to show it off.

This is my first time sewing for this designer, who is part of the Aspriring Designers' Challenge on Pattern Revolution.  Meet the Adeline Tunic from Boho Banjo Art To Wear.

I really enjoyed making this tunic, and I really like how flattering it ended up.  When I first saw the sketches I thought that maybe it wasn't going flatter my *wide* hips, but once its on, it flows and drapes so nicely I just love it.   The pattern fits a range of sizes - the large fits US sizes 14-24 (bust sizes 36-52.   The small fits US 6-10.  It also works in knit or woven fabrics, and I think you could get away with a combination of the two as well.  

This is the pose that my photo editor said to use... do I look weird?

The blue and black one is done in a cotton/rayon blend knit with the side panels done in a black interlock.  It's super comfortable and I'm actually wearing it tomorrow to see some friends from where I used to live.  The longest part of the pattern is cutting and taping the pieces... BUT *woohoo* the pattern comes with a print-shop option as well, so if you don't want to sit and cut and tape all the pages, just run it to the print shop!

What I love:  I really like how it fits... loose but still flattering and gives a nice shape line.  The instructions were easy to follow and well written, and are detailed for all the various options.

What I'd change:  I didn't consider the weight of my fabric on the knit one, so the weight of the fabric pulls it down a little in length.  Since I used  stripe, I didn't want to do the stripes horizontally, which would have alleviated my pull issue, but In the future I think I'll want to take 1" or so off the bodice before adding the skirt pieces.  

The one above is my woven version.  I this one in a chiffon print that I picked up specifically for this pattern and I just love how it looks.  It's light and flowy, and I just stuck a plain tank top underneath, and I think it will be perfect for the beach this summer as well.  The pattern has two options for binding the neck and arms as well, but I did knit binding on both of mine, as I wasn't sure I could battle chiffon on the bias to make the bias-bound option.  

All in all sewing time took about 2 hours, maybe a little less, as I was a bit paranoid about messing up the front pleat, so I kept rechecking my lines.  I really love how the pleat brings in the front area and then it spreads back out for the lower half... Creates a nice waistline illusion.

The back has the same figure flattering pleat as the front, which I do think works well even with a tush the size of mine.  The pattern uses illustrations along with detailed instructions on how to create your tunic (or dress... it has a dress length as well, but I made both of mine in the tunic length.  I think I want a dress length one for the summer though).

The pattern is available in the Boho Banjo shop and you should definitely grab this as an awesome wardrobe add on!  And make sure you take a moment to read more about the designer Pearl, on her Aspiring Designer Challenge Post on the Pattern Revolution Blog.  And check out some of the made to order dresses in her shop... she prints her own original artwork on them and they are so cool!

Thanks for checking out my post... and not giggling too hard at my attempts at modeling this fantastic new pattern!