Layer Me Up and a Tiered Skirt

It's mid May and I finally finished my Sunday spring/summer outfit. 

 First, the skirt was sewn with a chambray from Fabric.com. 

It is a self-drafted skirt, perfect for warm summer days! 

The top is the Layer Me Up from Patterns for Pirates. (affiliate link)

I was a little worried that the front would be too low, and that I'd be showing off more than I wanted to when I'd bend over, but it doesn't gape at all, so I'm quite happy with the fit. 

You do need to size up if you are going for a not-too-snug look. I'm on the lower end of this size and I wouldn't want it any tighter.

(I used 3/8" seam allowance for the sides instead of the 1/2" as well.)

It is sewn with a super soft, cotton lycra from Fawnette Fabrics.

The fabric is available for pre-order right now until the 24th of May, in their Facebook group.

(On a side note, you NEED to check out the cat head fabric that she has for pre-order as well! If I could justify buying a yard of the grey or purple, I would!)

Raglans, Raglans, Raglans...

A while back, I won some fabric from JoyFits a fabric shop in the Netherlands. 

Having a very Dutch background, and also having heard of the great quality of Euro knits, I was super excited to get some fabric from the Netherlands. 

Like, really excited. 

But, I had no idea what to choose. They have so many fun choices--how could I chose only 1.5 meters?! 

The kids came to the rescue, and each one of the oldest 4 chose their favorite print. It was super convenient that the older boys chose the same print. 

The plan initially was to make just the front panel in these fabrics, but when Marloes emailed that the fabric with the steer heads had some paint spots on it, and she'd include a whole meter, I had enough to make the boys a whole shirt out of the fabric. 

(And, I looked, but I could not find any paint spots on it, after washing...so if they were/are there they are so inconspicuous that I haven't noticed them yet!) 

These fabrics are super soft, and after countless washings, they still look just as good. 

For the two older boys' shirts, I used the Rascal Raglan from Ottobre. 

For the youngest boy I used the raglan from the Sewing for Boys (affiliate link) book.

I have some fabric yet to use for my oldest daughter and depending how I use it, I may be able to whip something up for my youngest daughter as well. 

I'm a little intimidated because my oldest daughter wants a dress and I have 1/2 meter of the fabric. 

We'll see what I come up. 

In the meantime the boys are enjoying these shirts. 

Thanks for the great prize, Marloes! 

You can get the Monkeys here but it looks like the Steers are gone. 

Polo and Pants x3

My boys all have new Sunday outfits for the spring and summer.

After sewing up the penguin polo, I was inspired to make all three boys somewhat matching outfits.

Polo shirts and linen pants.

 

 

The shirts are all made using Jalie 3137.

I really like how this shirt sews up, at least for the sizes I did.

(I know some people have had some trouble with the fit not accommodating a toddler tummy.)

 

Fabrics used for the two other polo shirts are from my stash--one is from Girl Charlee that I bought quite some time ago. The brown argyle is from a Facebook destash site.

For the pants, I ordered some Essex Linen from Fabric Spot and I used the Butler Britches pattern from Brownie Goose. I opted to leave off the cuffs, and I modified the pants by cutting the pattern in half to insert side pockets in the seam. The boys wanted front pockets, and the pattern doesn't include them, so I had to fiddle with that a bit.

 





 Overall I'm quite happy with how their outfits turned out.

They'll be all dressed in their Sunday best....as long as the pants don't get holes.

 

 

My boys were pretty happy about their new clothes and also quite the bunch to try to photograph.

Mabel Madison Boys Blog Tour

Welcome to my stop on the Mabel Madison's Boy Blog Tour--Duds for Dudes! 

My boys don't get nearly as much as my girls. It's often more fun to sew for the girls as the fabric is pretty, the dresses are pretty, and they just look so pretty when they dance around in their new dresses. 

But, boys need clothes too, and how much more fun is it to sew boy's clothes when the fabric is cool!

I was super excited to try out some Birch Organics knit from Mabel Madison.

I had heard great things about them and I'm not disappointed with the Murre Grey (looks like it's all sold out) that I received--it definitely fits into the cool category. 

(Yes, I received the fabric for free, but all opinions are my own.) 

I chose to make a polo shirt from the Jalie 3137 pattern. 

It'll be perfect as a Sunday shirt for summer, along with some navy linen pants I plan to make yet.

This fabric is so soft and cozy in the inside, and yet, because it's a cotton it's breathable.
Plus, the print is gorgeous--I didn't want to cut into it.
I used some snaps instead of buttons as I did not want to mess up the lovely placket, and my son voted for snaps as well.  

Unfortunately for my son, the snow is all melted, so he couldn't pose in something that resembled the penguins natural habitat. 

Make sure to stop by all the other amazing stops on the tour! 

Mabel Madison is really thrilled to host a week-long blog tour focused on sewing for BOYS! Every day this week, you'll have a chance to visit with a few of our friends and see what they have made for their boys. Here are today's stops:

FABulous Home Sewn

PenSeb&Rox

BeriBee Designs

Mabel Madison

Baby Boy Banner

I was way behind in baby gifts. I mean way behind. 

My friend Jess over at Gracious Threads had a baby boy almost a year ago now.

I finally thought of a suitable gift. 

Sad, I know. 

But, what do you make for someone who can sew better than you?! 

When this idea popped in my head, I even asked her what color scheme she likes. 

And, then I chose two sets of fabric from my stash and asked which one she liked better. 

Yeah, I know--it's pretty sad when you have to get their input on a gift. 

I am very pleased with how it turned out. 

And, if it's hanging on the wall, there's less chance she'll inspect the seams. Ha! 

(right Jess?!) ;) 

Easter Blog Tour: Camille Dress

(*This post contains affiliate links (as do most of my posts). Thank-you for supporting my blog by using these links!*)

Welcome to an Easter Blog Tour, where a number of bloggers have come together and sewn up Easter outfits.

I don't usually sew specific Easter dresses--they're usually spring dresses as I'm a rather practical lady. In fact, a spring dress often morphs into a summer dress and then a fall dress and with the right layering, a winter dress.



This is one of those dresses.

It looks great with a sweater or cardigan layered over it for winter, or colder spring and fall days.

It also looks great on its own--as a spring and summer dress.

May I introduce you to the Camille Dress from Lily Bird Studio?

My daughter absolutely loves that it is a longer style dress, and I do too!

The dress also comes with pretty flutter sleeves that add a very feminine touch.

My daughter chose the invisible zipper closure since she didn't have 'any zipper dresses!' but there is also a button closure option.

Also, the amount of fabric that is gathered makes this dress great for spinning and twirling.

There is also an option for a tie at the waist, but I chose not to add that--my daughter likes to climb trees and other things like that and I don't want her getting strung up with the ties.

A contrasting strip of fabric peeks through between the bodice and skirt, tying the colors of the dress together. 

I'm thrilled with how it turned out, and I'll be using this pattern again--I'm already making plans.

And, a surprise! Camille from Lily Bird Studio has offered my readers (that means you!) 20% off your entire purchase using the code: FABULOUSCAMILLE 
It's good for today and tomorrow (March 30th and 31st) on the Lily Bird Studio website only! 

Make sure to stop by all these other blogs for some more Easter sewing!

3/28/16: Larissa from Connected By A Thread 

3/28/16: Linda from Sew Happily Ever After 

3/28/16: Amy from Wally and Grace 

3/29/16: Cindy from Cindy Parrett 

3/30/16: Ula from Lulu & Celeste

3/30/16: Fenna from FABulous Home Sewn

3/31/16: Heather from All Things Katy!

3/31/16: Courtney from the WHOLESOME mama

4/1/16: Patricia from Sew Far North 

4/1/16: Tibeca from Sewing By Ti  

Easter Sewing and the Perfect Petal Purse Pattern

I'm over on the Swhetty Bettie's Blog with an Easter/Spring version of the Perfect Petal Purse Pattern!

Plus, there's a mini blog tour for the day, featuring this pattern as well, so make sure to follow the links through to the other blogs as well. 

And, as a bonus, there is a giveaway happening along with a coupon code. 

But, you'll have to pop on over to find those.