Uptown Downtown in Brushed Poly

I had the opportunity to try out some fabric from Water Tower Textiles, a new Canadian fabric shop. 

Now, so you know, I did receive the fabric for free in exchange for a review, be it good or bad. 

This is my own honest opinion of the fabric. 

I chose to review the Fuchsia Brushed Poly. 

I had never sewn with brushed poly before and was absolutely thrilled with how soft the brushed side is! 

The fabric is perfect for fall or winter clothes as it's so cozy. 

My daughter was not cold at all when we went out in the chilly morning to take these pictures--she kept telling me how warm this dress was. 

The brushed poly washed up quite well with minimal shrinkage--between 1/2" to an 1" of shrinkage on a piece approximately 62" long. 

A downside to sewing with brushed poly is that you don't want to make mistakes while sewing.

It's so pillowy that the stitches are quite difficult to take out--especially when you use a triple stretch stitch. My poor fingers took the brunt of my seam ripper. 

(I think that is a downside to any thicker, soft fabric, so definitely not limited to the brushed poly!) 

I also do not know how it will hold up as it gets washed over and over again. 

Overall I'm happy with the fabric and would buy brushed poly again--especially for warm clothing.

The pattern is the Girl's Uptown Downtown Dress by Sew Straight and Gather in a maxi length with the cowl add-on and the long sleeves.

I sewed up the size 5 with added length. 

The sleeves are a little more snug than I hoped they'd be, and I may size up to a size 6 overall next time, though that's just personal preference, as the dress is meant to be snug and fitted. 

I also did not hem the sleeves as that would make them even more constraining, especially when putting the dress on. 

Sew Snappy

A couple of months ago, I had the great opportunity to test and proofread a pattern in the book 'Sew Snappy.'

It is a translation of the Dutch book 'Zo Geknipt' which I've tried getting, but it is out of print. 

So, when the opportunity came to test and proofread the English translation, I was thrilled! 

I only tested one pattern in the book--the Swim Bag, but I'm pretty thrilled with how it turned out.

It has actually become my purse/diaper bag since I don't need a huge diaper bag right now. 

The step by step instructions are clear and where there is any possible confusion, the pictures clear that up. 

I used regular cotton for the lining instead of a water resistant one, as I wasn't going to use it as an actual swim bag. 

The outer fabrics are also a cotton for the top and pocket, and Essex linen for the bottom. 

It's now available at Amazon so make sure to get your copy! 

It comes as a PDF/E-book and as a regular book. 

Both versions have pattern pieces included where needed. 

There are a number of fun, quick projects in the book--great for gift-giving! 

It is available on Amazon (affiliate links):

Canada:

USA: 

Caroline Dress V.2, a Sale, and a Giveaway!

(This post contains affiliate links! Thank-you for using them and supporting my sewing addiction in this way!) 

 

Quite some time ago, I posted about V. 1 of the Caroline Dress.

I had good intentions of following that post up rather quickly with this post.

But, with my lack of energy this pregnancy, I've had little desire to write up a post.

You should see how many drafts and pictures I have yet for other posts.

 

 

Either way, here is my second version of Mouse House Creations' Caroline Party Dress.

I made it the same time as V.1. My daughter was growing out of her clothes and was somewhat jealous of her older sister's twirly dresses.

So, I quickly whipped up these two dresses.

 

 

The fabric for this dress I received from a friend. It's an older quilting cotton but it has stood up very well to the wear and tear of a toddler.

I again did the modification for snaps on the back, just because I figured it'd be easier to quickly dress her with snaps rather than trying to zip it up without getting her hair or skin caught.

 

 

Oh, and have you heard about the sale and giveaway happening over on my Facebook page?

Use the code JUSTBECAUSE in my Etsy shop for 30% off.

 

Inspired by Gracious Threads

This outfit is in large part thanks to Jess from Gracious Threads.

First of all, the Maple Skirt is her pattern, and I was extra tempted to sew it when there was a great prize to be won in her sew along. 

The grey fabric is from Fabricland that I bought over a year ago--it's been in my stash waiting for a pattern like this. It has a slight stretch to it. 

The buttons are from the thrift shop. 

For the top stitching, I used two threads in my needle to really make it stand out, and I love the results. I will be using that technique again! 

Second, the fabric for the shirt I received from Jess when she was destashing.

It's a cotton knit--not great recovery but I couldn't resist making a shirt out of it--neckband included. 

The pattern for the shirt is from Greenstyle--the Easy Options T-shirt.

I find the sleeves a little short on my daughter, so I think I'd lengthen them a bit next time, but I love the slight flare of the sleeve. 

Pink Origami

I liked my previous Origami tunic so much, that I had to make another one!

It is again the Origami Tunic by Love Notions.  

Don't you love my photo bombing dogs?

 

I got the fabric from a destash site on Facebook just for this reason.

It's pretty sheer so it does need layering, but I really like the drape and feel of the fabric.

 

This pattern has definitely become a favourite!

Horses, Shirts, and Skirts

(This post contains affiliate links! Thanks for using them and supporting my sewing habit in this way!) 

Quite a while back now, I won a gift certificate to JoyFits.

The horse print was one of the fabrics I my kids chose. 

I bought a half meter of it, and was able to squeeze a whole shirt and the front panel of a second out of it. 

First up is a Greenstyle Creation's Easy Options T-shirt.

My daughter requested the cap sleeve option.

It's a very easy, quick pattern to sew. 

And it has a ton of options. 

I also made the skirt she is wearing.

It's a basic tiered skirt using her measurements and using fabric that my friend was destashing that screamed 'tiered skirt!' at me when I was looking through her destash. 

The next shirt is New Horizon's Suburban Basic Tee. 

It's also a quick sew, and I've used it quite often for my boys as well. 

The contrasting fabric is a regular cotton/lycra in charcoal. 

Now, the skirt. 

Ha.

Well, I wanted to make something she could wear with the shirt.

And, I thought I could whip one up when I was tired, late at night. 

So, I picked a fabric (of which there was not enough for a skirt) and made a skirt out of it. 

It is more like a pencil skirt than an easy-to-run, play skirt as envisioned.

But, she loves it anyway, and keeps wanting to wear the whole outfit. 

Bella Sunshine Designs Sale!

(This post contains affiliate links. Thank-you for using them and helping support my sewing addiction habit)

Bella Sunshine Designs is having a Back to School sale this week. 

Every day two different patterns will be listed at $5 for 24 hours. 

Today, two patterns that I have sewn are up! 

First up is the Coffee Shop Lace Dress. 

This dress is super cute--I love the lace detail.

It goes from size 12 months to size 12 girls. 

More details of these dresses can be found here.

Next up is the Gabriella's Winter Coat. 

The shape of this coat is adorable. 

It's not a straight a-line pea coat. 

It has flare. 

It has twirl. 

It has style. 

It goes from sizes 6 months to size 12 girls, so a huge size range. 

More details of the dress can be found here. 

Make sure you pick these two patterns up today if you don't have them already! 

Gabriella's Winter Coat.

 Coffee Shop Lace Dress.