Monday, November 28, 2016

Foliis Release, the full trifecta



Today, the Sofilantjes'* pattern portfolio is expanding again. The name of the newest gem is The Foliis*. The pattern has three main options, cropped jacket, long jacket (tunic length) and dress. The pattern is designed for Sweat fabrics and French Terry. After I sewed the cropped and long jacket in official fabrics, I wanted to sew the last option, the dress to finish my trifecta. I was curious to see how it would look in good quality jersey and it worked perfectly. I did double the front bodice, to stabilize the zipper as much as possible. I will show you all my sews in one post, so embrace yourself for many pictures. In the end of this post you will find info about the release sale, and if you are quick, you can still enjoy the end of the store wide Thanksgiving sale!


For me the most intriguing part of the pattern is the hood. I had never seen a hood like this, the pattern pieces look weird (really nothing like a standard hood). Like always, Anne turned me into a believer. The hood is designed to be extra decorative when down. The bottom of the hood is flat, which makes it lay straight on the back of the wearer. Not only the back, also the front looks extra nice compared to a regular hood. The hood actually looks like a special collar. In the dress version that I made, I even cut the fabric of the hood intentionally upside down, such that the hood, when down, looks extra awesome.




The long jacket has inseam pockets and the dress has contrasting pockets (I foresee many possible mix and match options there). I chose ladybug colors (black and red) for the pockets. The contrasting pockets both have a binding and facing, so it is a very stable pocket. The pattern includes two sleeve length, 3/4 and long. I put 3/4 sleeves on the long jacket. The length of the sleeves was shortened a bit in the final pattern. Both the cropped jacket and dress were made with long sleeves. The cropped jacket, I made during during pre-testing. I made my eldest several beautiful Sofilantjes' summer dresses, and with such a cropped jackets, you can easily get another season out of them.



In the official instructions, the hood lining has to be sewn to the hood by hand. Although I do not shy away from hand sewing anymore, I do try to avoid it if possible. I therefor sewed the hoods with a minimum about of handsewing, by leaving a turning hole in the lining and sewing the entire neckline on my machine. I made pictures during my second sew, and I will write a guest post in the near future on the Sofilantjes blog, to show you how you can do the same. Here you can find my tutorial on how to make the same changes.



All the main fabrics from this post were bought at Joyfits. You could call it a coincidence, but it actually isn't. Most of my jersey fabrics are from there, so it was bound to happen. I love the selection and prices at Joyfits. The ladybug fabric is still available there by the way, with a 50% discount. Last week, Joyfits had a crazy sale and I actually bought 30 (!) meter. So, as an alternative FHA (fabrics horders anonymous), I signed up for the movement that will sew 10 meter of fabrics (each) before the end of the year.



Under the long jacket (the red one), you can spot my first Orbis. The Orbis is also a pattern by Sofilantjes, but for now (coming moths) only available through One Thimble. My eldest needs some dance pants, so you will probably see more from this pattern on this blog in the near future.



As with every Sofilantjes's release, the release sale for The Foliis* is short and sweet. The pattern is 35% off for just two days. If you have a girl and like sewing jersey, you need this pattern. If you do not like sewing with jersey yet, this might be the ultimate reason to give it a try, three types of garments in one pattern. Due to the Thanksgiving weekend, Sofilantjes also has a store wide* sale at the moment through Monday, November 28th 11:59pm EST take 20% off of single patterns (sale items, like the Foliis itself are excluded) using the code THANKFUL.




Feel free to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than English, German, Dutch or Hungarian). If you buy anything through my affiliate links (*), I get a small commission (the price stays the same for you), I am very grateful for everything that feeds my fabric addiction.


Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Petite Stitchery & Co Tour



At the beginning of November a new designer company was born, Petite Stitchery and Co. The designer team consists of Gemia, Laura and Ashley. These three talented ladies created an entire collection of seven patterns (consisting of patterns for both woven and jersey fabric for babies and kids) perfect for Fall. They will do the same magic trick three months from now! Their vision is to jointly design a collection per season. I got the honor to pick whatever I wanted from their Fall collection and I chose to sew the Fawn Leggings and the Sparrow  Peplum Top.



I have a soft spot for jersey fabric, so I picked from that part of the collection. High low hems are my recent addiction, so when I saw the Sparrow, I knew that I was making that pattern for sure. I foresee many more of these in the future, I really love it. The sizing was just perfect, I based my cutting on the size table and I would not have changed a thing. The Fawn leggings sewed up quickly and fit great as well. The leggings have a fun tuxedo stripe option, but I went for simple, to be able to compare these leggings with many outfits.



Seeing that I was not testing, I permitted myself a little hacking. The first one, is a very minor one. I cut my skirt pieces such that I cut it in two pieces, which made it possible to avoid birds flying upside down. I did the same trick with the collar, I did not want drunk birds on the back. The second hack was omitting the back split. I used an interfacing for stretch fabrics on the collar,retaining the stretchiness of the neckline. I (correctly) assumed that I would not need a neck split in that case. To nicely finish the neckline I added a jersey bias on the outside of the neckline, which is totally covered by the collar.


My second choice from the fall collection, would actually have been a woven pattern. I am loving the the Ruby romper with bubble option. Dutch fall is just too cold for that unfortunately. Although it would look adorable over tights, I fear my just potty trained girl, would not hold her bladder long enough to take off a bubble romper and tight, but I would love to sew one come spring.


The ladies behind Petite Stitchery and Co have a great eye for color. I was almost drooling while looking through through their lookbook. It was immediately clear to me that the outfit that I would be making needed a true fall colors. Fall colors are actually my most favorite colors, so I had plenty to choose from in my closet. The mustard yellow that I used for the fawn legging is from Joyfits, last time I just bought the last 1.75 meter. Fortunately, she got new, this is one of my most favorite fabrics. The Megan Blue bird fabric was an extra inexpensive coupon. Originally, I was planning to only have the collar in red. I quickly realized that there was no way I would be able to cut the entire tunic from the fabric, so I solved it by going for a red bodice.



Before you start waving your wallet, I advice you to join the Petite Stitchery and Co facebook group. Seeing as Thanksgiving, and with Black Friday is coming near, there is a sales code there! Today, I am the first one on a small tour. Check out the line up for the coming days! For now, I advice you to participate in the Rafflecopter, you might win one of the patterns!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Head wear releases



In the last weeks, I tested two head wear patterns, both released this week. Both are packed with options and both are still very different. Seeing that I have a few other posts planned already, I decided to just show both patterns at once. Like a true pattern junky, I could not tell you which one I like better, I am happy I could sew them both. Enjoy the picture heavy post.



The first pattern that I am showing is the Evergreen Bonnet from Twig and Tale. The pattern is suitable both for winter and summer. In the winter it is nice a cosy with some Sherpa inside, in the summer the optional peak keeps the sun from their eyes. The pattern include all kind of animal options, and there is a free reindeer add-on (through the Twig + Tale facebook group), making it a perfect Christmas gift. Lisa though, the designer, was looking for someone to show of the effect with embroidery details, and I was happy to comply after enjoying this project.



The pattern pieces from this bonnet are rather small, so many scraps will be big enough to turn into a bonnet. I made the black and white version from some scraps from when I made this coat. I put some fleece on the inside for softness and warmth. The Evergreen bonnet is a pattern for woven fabrics and is available from new born to teens. There is a chin strap, self tie and make your own tie option. I went for secret option number four, no ties at all. Like I mentioned before, my versions are rather plain, but you should check out the listing, you will be drooling over the cuteness portrayed there.



The second pattern that I am showing today is the Coif Hood from Mother Grimm's designs. This pattern is for a jersey hood with four different head shapes (one seam, two seams, pixie and large pixie). Also this pattern has many add-ons. I applied for the test because I was intrigued by the dragon and knight options, but you can also make a shark, or a Christmas elf and many more.



All versions, but especially the basic one, sew up super quick. The basic one is reversible, so the cowboy and whale sides are just the two sides of the same hood. Officially the pattern demands for a lining, but the knight version is unlined. I used a double sided fabric and just left bottom unfinished, worked like a charm.



The Evergreen Bonnet is available at the Twig + Tale web shop and the Coif Hood in Mother Grimm's Etsy store. For the Coif hood there are some discount codes still valid.
Coiflaunch25 - gives 25% until midnight ET 19th November,
Coiflaunch20 - gives 20% until midnight ET 21st November
Coiflaunch15 - gives 15% until midnight ET 23rd November

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Tic Tac Toe Release



Last week Suz from Sewpony released her newest pattern, the Tic Tac Toe dress, and today I am on the blog tour. Suz's patterns usually come with many options, and this is not an exception. It might actually be the one with the most options! The pattern has four (!) sleeves (and that is without the sleeveless version), three bodice options (one plain and two different color blockings), with or without contrasting pockets and optional collar, optional shoulder epaulettes and an optional waist tie. This means you could make your girl many dresses with this pattern without them looking the same.



I actually went for the sleeveless version with three way split bodice, shoulder epaulettes and tie. I decided on this recipe because I wanted a truly versatile dress. Sleeveless is great with bare arms (next year) but also very practical to have a shirt under (for now). Sewing sleeveless in the fall is also great size wise. Due to the extra layer underneath the dress can be a bit big now, and perfect in summer next year. The waist tie is also a very nice way to have some growth room (perfect for Christmas dinner). I usually go for a rather conservative skirt length when I sew the dress, this way, a year later the dress is still decent, this would be a great tunic as well though.



Four years ago my eldest got a deep blue dress with white details and waist tie. For two and half years that was her favorite dress, and then it was too small. My girl was longing for a new deep blue dress, so when the See You at Six collection appeared, I bought both deep blue fabrics. The first, the one actually best resembling fabric of her old favorite dress, I used for myself. The other, I used in this dress. The fabric has little colored triangles and one of the colors is grey. I used silver piping, which makes the grey triangles seem silver too. My daughter immediatly saw how this new dress looked like her old favorite, without me pointing it out to her.



The pattern is on a 10% release (until the end of the blog tour) sale with the code TICTACTOE10 in the Sewpony web shop. Enjoyed my dress, or just curious to see more versions? Make sure you check the other dresses on the tour. In the past I also sewed the Dear Prudence and Mis Polly, those are also great to add to your cart, while you are buying.



Monday, November 7, 2016

Bel'Anaïs anniversary



A bit over a year ago Miss Anais van Bel'etoile joined forces and a free pattern plus picture tutorial were born. With the pattern you can make an oversized comfortable sweater. The one version of the pattern fits size 36 to 46 (European sizing). Miss Anais and Bel'etoile decided they wanted to celebrate their joyful cooperation and have organized a small blog tour. Today, I am the first of the tour, but the hole week you will be treated on Bel'Anaïs sweaters.


As tour participants we were allowed to pick a fabric from the Miss Anais web shop. Being allowed to pick whatever fabric you desire from a fabric store must be every sewers dream. Miss Anais has many fabrics suitable for a Bel'Anaïs sweaters and I finally settled on a French Terry by Poppy. The fabric is light green with big drawings of origami cranes on it. The fabric both has a nice stretch and sturdiness and both sewing and earing it it is a dream.


Both cutting and sewing the sweater is done rather quickly. The most complex part of the sweater is the V-neckline. All the other parts sew up super quick. I sewed up the sweater in less than an hour for sure (might actually be closer to half an hour). The tutorial does not specify an elastic width, and I used a rather narrow one. With hindsight, the sleeves will look a bit nicer if you use a wide elastic like in the tutorial, one that fills the entire armband.


I am a huge fan of three quarter sleeves, and I think these sleeves can pass for that type. This sleeve length makes it suitable for me to wear the sweater whole year round (I am not easily cold, but I have to wear non-short sleeves or else the people around me get cold watching me). I am on a weight loosing journey and I still have some kilo's to go before I reach size 36, but this sweater can join me on that trip.


Make sure you check out the tutorial on the a Bel'etoile blog and the great selection of fabric over at Miss Anais. The blogs that will treat you on Bel'Anaïs sweaters this week are:

Inspinration - Naaisgerief -Kaatjesnaaisels - So Popo Sew - Bellevi - DoDidIt - Momfie