Tester - Greenstyle Inspire Tights!

GreenStyle Creations is a brilliant pattern company. The patterns are modern and stylish, yet easy and fun to both sew and wear. There is a nice variety of men's, women's and kids' wear, with their Centerfield Raglan and Brassie Joggers being my all-time favorites. I do have my eye on the Taylor Shorts and Jillian Tank which I will probably buy at full price - these patterns are really worth it!

The Inspire Tights are very comfortable. That's what was foremost in the minds of us testers, and the designer who is very fit herself. We worked with the pattern over and over, until the tights didn't slip even once over a full, grueling workout for most of the sizes. The instructions were tweaked, the hidden pocket was added (I love pockets), the rise was adjusted for larger hips and big bellies like mine - I can honestly say these are comprehensively tested, because none of us "phoned it in" - like Jillian Michaels says.

I had the most fun buying fabric for the tights. The Fabric Fairy's extensive swimsuit fabric collection sucked me in and stole my heart. The fabric in these pics is called Euphoric, That's how I feel in them, Inspired and Euphoric. I went out and bought an elliptical machine the day I made these tights. I swear. I just have to make a few more pairs so I can actually work out!

I also had a blast posing for these photos. Obviously, I have very little idea of exercise, but I did what I could distantly remember about working out :) 

The Inspire Tights have a few great options that includebasic tights, back of knee inserts, front angled inserts, back angled inserts (or both at the same time), an athletic crotch gusset, and  a hidden waistband pocket.  The length options are capri (shown), cropped, regular and extra long I believe,

GreenStyle Creations Inspire Tights

Sizes Included: XXS to 3XL
Skill Level: Confident Beginner and Up
Pattern Features: PDF Instant Download, Layered Sizes, No Trim Pages, A4 and Large Format available upon request

Read More

Tester: Fresh Stitch Patterns - Testing The Overlap T-Shirt and Harem 3/4 Pants!

I've always been intrigued by tees and onesies that overlap at the shoulder. The resulting boat neckline is very cute, and has great coverage for babies that burn easily (like mine). Fresh Stitch Patterns is releasing these cute patterns this week (and are on sale right now), the Overlap T-shirt and the Harem 3/4 pants, and I was chosen to participate in testing them. You can buy the combination of  both patterns for an even deeper discount here.

The T-shirt is easy to sew, with plenty of style and the cute boat neckline which is great for big toddler heads. It's not a fitted top, so there is room to grow. There are two sleeve options, full and short. There is also an option for a banded hem that is great for adding length if you need it.

The Harem pants take about an hour from start to finish, and the directions are so clear even a beginner can make these in one sitting. The drop crotch makes cloth diapering easier, while the elastic waist keeps the bulk down. These pants would make great gender neutral gifts at baby showers!

 The Harem pants are really easy to play in, too. Here you can see Miki squatting, a pose she manages with ease, She spends a lot of time sitting like that, and not once did her pants ride down! The pic below shows how much ease there is, and I do think that that's what kiddy play clothes should be - easy.

Read More

Back in the Groove!

We have finally moved the majority of our possessions into our new home. It's a little house in a little neighborhood, and perfect for the three of us. I absolutely hated not being able to sew all day, everyday, and knowing that my sewing machine was sitting idle while I unpacked a billion boxes these last few weeks was torture. I did, however, test a few new releases in the mean while, and make a few clothing items since I needed hot-and-humid weather items in this coastal city.

First up, is the amazing LoveNotions Women's Bluezette tester pics. A wonderfully simple pattern with over 30 options, this dress can be with or without two kinds of sleeves, slim or blousey bodice, faced or bound necklines, woven or knit skirt with five different skirt options. Whoa!! Here's my first one, with many more to come.

The red top is a mystery synthetic knit with lots of stretch and great recovery, while the skirt is a cotton interlock. I look so great in this dress that I couldn't resist posting all my final pics. I couldn't choose just a few!!

Read More

A Moooove is Coming!

I've been away from my sewing machine for over a month now, and I haven't missed it all that much, to be perfectly honest. While immersed in my sewing frame of mind, I tend to be constantly on, planning outfits and photoshoots and blog posts, leaving little room for other things. I really needed a break, which these last few weeks have been all about.

We went to India for three weeks, and had a really wonderful holiday. Miki had a blast with both sets of grandparents, going to the park and feeding the neighbors' dogs and eating all kinds of junk food and ice cream while I was not looking. Just as it should be, right?

A few days after we got back home, we found out that we're moving to Columbia, SC. V has accepted a position there, which means packing up our stuff and finally facing the fact that I have a fabric stash bigger than I would care to admit. It's really easy to accumulate things, and over time unless I make an effort to throw things out or sell them, I forget I own something and it just - grows. One yard of shiny fabric becomes a boxful, even though I hate shiny fabric. I have found so much tulle that I just need to give away.

I have been slowly sorting and packing my sewing supplies, and will be away from sewing for another month or so. Wait for me!

Read More

Sneak peek of the new Clemence Shorts from Filles a Maman!

Spring is still a few weeks away, but my heart has been crying out for warmer weather. It is my pleasure to show you a few sneak peeks of the new Clemence shorts from Filles a Maman!

The pattern will be available on UpCraftClub ONLY from 18th to 22th of February, 2015. If you are a member, you can buy the pattern with your credits for $6.95. After that, it will be available on the designer's website, Fillesamaman.net (affiliate link) from the 23rd of February 2015 onward.

Clemence Shorts are a fun, easy pattern with scalloped panels down the front.

With clear instructions and well notated pattern pieces, this pattern is great for beginners. 

Mel Henry is a warm, wonderfully receptive designer who took every tester's suggestion and continually updated the pattern throughout testing. We went through several iterations until everyone was happy with the fit and instructions.

The full view of the outfit is still a little while away, since the top is still secret. It's an amazing combination, well worth the wait!

Read More

Testing for Sofilantjes, an amazing experience!

Anne Jacobs, of Sofilantjes Patterns, is a talented PDF pattern designer. I was lucky to be chosen to test the Iridis Dress add-on pattern, which is a circle skirt complement to the original Iridis wrap dress with a paneled skirt. The Iridis circle skirt add-on will be on SALE from Sunday, 15th February 2015, to Wednesday, 18th February for $2.50 (normal price $4.50) The Iridis wrap dress + circle skirt add-on BUNDLE will be on sale for $10 (normal bundle price $11.95).

The best thing about her as a designer was that she took everyone's feedback seriously, and always had a helpful word for each tester. We had a wonderful group of testers, and all of us shared videos of our kiddos twirling in this twirltastic dress! (I *had* to use the word twirltastic for this dress, it's a given!) Miki even learned to twirl in this dress! She's really growing up too fast.

And the best part? The add-on skirt piece works perfectly with the original bodice. The new skirt piece fits the original bodice piece exactly, and looks great sewn on. The pattern has so much information - fabric choices, layered printing, printing layout and guide to print only the pages you need for your chosen size, child's actual measurements, finished garment measurements, fabric chart, how to put on binding, and an awesome summary of the instructions both in words and in pictures. This much information I have seldom seen from any pattern designer, if ever.

 The fabrics I used were a cotton interlock from Joann (green flowers), a mystery pink and white stripe that I had in my scrap basket that had over 100% stretch, and 95/5 cotton lycra jersey from Purpleseamstress on Facebook.

The Circle Skirt option is great for a clean look, and since it's a wrap dress, it flares out beautifully when Miki walks. The only gathering needed is at the sleeves, and the most time consuming part of the pattern is applying the binding, which takes ten minutes at the most. This was definitely a nap-time dress for me, going from start to finish in under two hours. I mostly used my serger, and finished the hem and binding topstitching using my trusty double needle. Easy as pie! 

The Iridis is designed for both knits and wovens, and has options like short or long sleeves, a tiered/paneled skirt or simple or circle skirt. It's a must-have in my opinion, since most wrap dress patterns don't have such good coverage and tend to gape when walking. It's easy to get on a wriggly toddler, and is great in a collection of classic looks. You could add a ruffle along the bodice neckline before doing the binding, and it would turn romantic and vintage-looking. Use lace in strategic areas, or mix and match fabrics, or even make a tulle skirt with a lining and attach it to this bodice to make it amazingly poofy! There have been a few patterns I have sewn up that just don't look as nice as the tester pics do. The original Iridis dress, though, I must say, has so many possibilities that every iteration looks beautiful and unique.

Read More

The Opal dress by Tie Dye Diva!

Tie Dye Diva, or TDD, is a very well-loved pattern designer. I bought the Opal pattern on Black Friday during her sale, and now wish I had bought more. It's a knit pattern that's right up my alley.  

The stylish curved bodice is so on trend right now, and has plenty of room to layer a t-shirt underneath. I love the little flutter sleeves, especially with Miki's slender arms. 

The fabric I used was a half yard of my treasured and jealously guarded Night Foxes, by Lillestoff. I had bought it when it was completely out of print, from someone that was destashing her entire collection. I was so lucky to get it for a decent price, because I know I would have paid at least double the retail price had I not scored right then. 

With the contrast blue flutters in a solid cotton-lycra from Purpleseamstress Fabrics on Facebook, I was able to squeeze out the dress and get two bum circles for Maxaloones down the line. But that's for another post. 

I only wish I had successfully pulled out her pacifier before these photos, but my little stubborn girl just howled and kept popping it back in. Some battles you just don't win!

Read More