Pattern Review: Love Notions JamJams

Hi! Welcome to my third post about the Bundle Up!  You're running short on time if you want to bundle, so let me tempt you one more time.  Today you get to see three patterns

Love Notions JamJams - which I was a tester for
and two patterns which I made from my bundle purchase (yes, I liked the bundle enough to buy!)
EYMM Harems
Jocole Wide Leg Pants

First up, I tested this pattern and totally love it.  Here are the Love Notions Jam Jams

First, the details

Size 2- 14

Shorts or capri bottoms

drop shoulder top with gathered back

Perfect for mixing, matching and upcycling

What I love: Like all of the Love Notion patterns, this includes some great tips for working with knits, so if you are new to knits, this is a great place to start.  The back toke and ruffles make this pattern perfect for mixing and matching different prints and my daughter loves the fit of the top so much she wears it to school!

What I'd change:  I think the capris run a little long on Inara... though she's also not very tall.  Either way, for our next pair, I'll make the capris a 5 in length, but the fit is otherwise spot on.  

And... because I want to make sure that you don't think I'm just promoting the ones I got for free.. I did actually like enough patterns in the bundle that it was worth it to purchase.  Here was my theory.. If a normal priced pattern runs $8-$10, then I'd need to like at least 5 patterns in the bundle to make purchasing all of the remaining ones worth it.  Because at $44, that would equate to around 5 full priced patterns.  Either way, I liked enough and bought the remaining 7 that I didn't have... and here's what I had time to sew this week...

Inara is wearing the Jocole Wide Legs and Connor is wearing the EYMM Harems

First up, the Jocole Wide Legs:

Sizes NB -14

Work in knit or woven for the pants

Short, capri, or pant lengths

Knit waistband in various widths

two pocket types

What I loved: The fit on these pants is fantastic... they cover her tush nicely without being weirdly baggy on the upper part.  The big patch pockets are an adorable detail, and we both we swayed by the wide leg cuteness.

What I'd change: Actually, the only change I'd make is to shorten them by 1", but again, my kid isn't super tall.

And Connor is rockin' the EYMM Harem Pants:

Sizes NB - 18

Work in knits or woven.  

capri or pant lengths

multiple waistband options

multiple hem options (elastic, normal, cuff)

What I love: The fit on this is fantastic.  I am not a super fan of Harems, but the drop on these is nice... they don't look silly, and instead have a nice baggy fit that are great for crazy toddler play.  In fact, they are laid out to wear to toddler tumbling tomorrow!

What I'd change:  This one is total stupidity on my part, but once I got done, I wished I'd done the cuffed version, but I'll make him another pair tomorrow with cuffs!

Anyways... today is your LAST chance to Bundle Up!  So jump on it and grab yourself some awesome patterns!

Naughty and Nice Double Pattern Release Tour: Greenstyle and EYMM

Yay for some sewing time for me!  As a last minute holiday treat, Greenstyle Creations  and Everything Your Mama Made & More are releasing two patterns that you're just going to LOVE.  I know you probably saw both of them during the Sew Fab bundle sale, and if you weren't ready to commit to all of the patterns in the bundle, I hope you're ready to grab these two when they release tomorrow (December 23rd)!

First up, the Norah Nightgown and Underwear (I apologize ahead of time for the cleavage shots, but man does this pattern totally make the girls look fantastic).  

The details:

Sizes XXS to 3XL

Two nightgown lengths

Crossover bodice option

Instructions for adding optional under-bust support band 

Gathered or bust darts

Boy short and two types of thong patterns

Approximate sew time: 90 minutes for the nightgown and 20-30 for the underwear

Let's discuss the bust for just a minute...  I am a 38DD and I did the crossover bodice with darts and the optional elastic casing under the bust. 

I am totally comfortable sleeping bra-less in this and it has enough support and the right shape that everything stays in place!

I used a ruffled elastic to bind my bodice and straps, but you can use FOE, lingerie elastic or even clear elastic.  

And I picked a length that was sort of in-between the sweet and the sassy because, well, I have a big tush, and I wanted to make sure it stayed covered lol 

The gown itself is made from a rayon/spandex print from Joann's.  

And while I won't scar you with pics of the modeled underwear, I made both the boy shorts and the thong.  I would say the boy shorts are kind of length between hipster and boyshort, but they are REALLY comfortable, and the thong is as well.  

It is a bit strange posting my "unmentionables" on the internet!  

Th thong is laying face down at the top and is edged with FOE.  The middle is made with a stretch mesh and edged with lingerie elastic and the bottom is FOE edged as well.  

And to the right here are the ones I made this weekend.. They are just stretch lace with no edging, and they stay up perfectly ;) 

AND now for the second pattern that you NEED to get yourself for a Christmas gift... The Off the Shoulder  Dress and Peplum from EYMM.

Don't mind my hair that is in desperate need of being dyed...  My winter coat is coming in (heehee).  

The details:

Sizes: XS - 5X

Long or 3/4 sleeves

Peplum or dress length

Gathered or circle skirt.

Approximate sew time: 90min-2hrs 

This top is fantastically comfortable.  I went with long sleeves and a circle peplum.  The bodice and  cowl fabric are from Joann's and the skirt fabric is a custom print from The Fabric Igloo.  

No idea what I'm doing in this picture... Probably enjoying how snuggly this shirt is.  It was like 45 out, and I wore the shirt to the store and it was just perfect without a coat.  The big oversized cowl is great, and the instructions on making have those great gathers are really clear and easy to follow.  I've decided to make myself a dress version after Christmas as well.  I'm a total sucker for a circle skirt!.  

Just showing you that the peplum covers the bum nicely!  

I have to say how excited I am that these designers are releasing these patterns for you all to snatch up as they really are fantastic in both fit and instructions.  In fact, I am wearing my Off the Shoulder top to run all my last minute Christmas errands tomorrow AND, check me out while I'm writing this post...

Totally rockin' my Norah with a cardigan and a glass of wine!  Cheers!

And make sure you check out the other bloggers as part of the mini-tour:

December 22nd

Alyssa at Keep Calm and Carrion

Audrey at Pretty and Precious Clothing

December 23rd

Heather at Boutique Birdie

Denita at HattieLu Handmade

Jessica at Gracious Threads

**Note: I was a tester for the Norah pattern and received the Off the Shoulder pattern as part of the blog tour, but all opinions are completely my own and I wouldn't blog on them if I didn't like them!**

EYMM Mommy and Me Blog Tour

I was very excited to be selected to participate in this tour.  I *think* I may have a little bit of dorky mom in me, because as soon as I read the title I was imagining matchy-matchy outfits for Inara and I.    But I managed to talk myself out of that pretty quickly, mostly because I could feel Inara's eyes rolling just at me telling her my idea.  <Disclaimer: I will be reimbursed for the purchased pattern as part of this blog tour, but all opinions are my own!>

So we sat down and flipped through the Everything Your Mama Made & More patterns that I already owned (which is nearly all of them, lol).  And on our flipping we saw Riley's Nightgown and Sleepshirt.  In her intro email, Kymy brought this pattern up as a way to involve your little man, and I thought, how cute would it be if we all had them??
The details:
Riley's sizes NB - 18yrs  and Callie's sizes XS - 5X
Gown or sleep shirt length
long or short sleeve options
Available for purchase individually or as a bundle

Sewing time:  approximately 45minutes.  The longest part is finishing the bottom facings. 

So first came Connor...  He got this cool knit print that I picked up in a destash group months ago, paired with a kelly green cotton-lycra blend for the sleeves and binding.

I said "pose like your sister," and this is what I got...

He loves it, but then again, most of his jammies consist of t-shirts that are too big that come down to his knees anyways.  And I have to say that nightshirts are perfect for late night diaper changes - no pants to mess with getting off and on!  The length is perfect on him.  He's nearly 22 months, but small for his age, and is a RTW 18mo.  I did the 18-24mo on him, and its perfect. 

Then came Inara.  She picked this bath diva print and paired it with what was left of the pink/yellow/white bubble print that we picked up in the red tag section at Joann's a while ago (*Note to self: look for more of this before Daffodil Dash ends*)  I did the size 6 on her, so she would have a little growing room, but did the nightshirt length as well.

Best. Pose. Ever.

So now they're both happy with their night shirts.  Like really happy.

Jump on the bed happy. 

We don't usually do photo shoots all over the house, so they were having a ball.  And on to me... (I still hate being in front of the camera.)  I picked up the Callie's Nightgown and Nightshirt to sew for myself.  I did a size bigger than my measurements called for, and here's why.  Little man still breastfeeds.  Mostly at night, and a nightgown that I can easily feed him in, without falling out of all night (I know, I know, TMI, but really, who designs nursing nightgowns??)  In retrospect, I could probably have just sized up the neckhole, but since I chose an interlock print for mine (pink guitars from the group Fabric Dealers on Facebook), I wanted to make sure I had all the stretch I needed.  The sleeves are from a solid pink interlock and the neck binding is a ribbing that I have no idea where it came from... (sign of a recovering Fabricholic).

I did the nightshirt length on mine as well.  Apparently we are a nightshirt kind of family around here.  The pattern is really easy to follow, with clear and simple instructions.  Which is true of all of Kymy's patterns.  The fit is great as well, just go with the measurement she says is most important and you can't go wrong.

That mirror smudge is making me really embarrassed. 

So dorky or not, we all took our photos, brushed our teeth, read a story, and went to bed in our matching nightshirts.  AND if you want to be cool (dorky)  and extremely comfortable, like us, you can pick up the Riley and Callie's Sleepwear bundle and save 15% off what it would be to get them individually.

The majority of our photos look like this...

 I also highly recommend joining the Everything Your Mama Made and More Facebook Group in case you have any questions or want to keep up with what's going on with EYMM.

Thanks for stopping by!  And please check out the rest of the tour!

4/28 - Lisa www.piepiedesigns.com

4/30 - Deborah www.sproutingjj.blogspot.ca

5/1 - Alyssa www.calmandcarrion.blogspot.com

5/2 - Tasha www.FriendsStitchedTogether.wordpress.com

5/3 - Emily Www.justanothersewingmama.com

5/4 - Nienke www.pienkel.blogspot.com

5/5 - Shino www.nutta.typepad.com

5/6 - Melissa www.rebelandmalice.blogspot.com

5/7 - Erin www.craftybiggers.com

5/8 - Jessica www.bunchoberries.blogspot.com