Tester - The Peggy Swim Cap from Filles a Maman Patterns!

I am an absolute fan of Melanie, of Filles a maman patterns. Mel has a wonderful sense of design, with a modern, chic outlook. She primarily speaks French, although her patterns are available in both English and French. Her store is beautiful, I must say, with patterns for men, women, boys and girls. There are also a few free patterns!

One such free pattern, releasing today, is the Peggy Swim Cap.

 Have you ever gotten frustrated with your kiddo's hair getting in their eyes when you're at the pool? The Peggy Swim Cap is tied under the chin and is fully lined.

It's a very easy, super quick sew with a few cool tips to handle swimsuit fabric along the way. Best of all, it's free! And tested by yours truly! He he. 

The matching swimsuit is from Cole's Creations, the CCC's Bowalicious Suit. That is a review all of its own. 

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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

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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.

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A Day at the Park! And a Riding Cape from Stitch Upon a Time.

We had a wonderful day at the park this weekend. We played around, although the grass was wet and the breeze was freezing. Miki wore her Riding Hood cape that I made, and she looked absolutely adorable.

The pattern is by Stitch Upon a Time, the Riding Hood Poncho, and was very easy to sew up. It's double layer fleece, and a full zipper that I had to figure out, since it was a regular zipper, not the separating kind.

I had both fleece fabrics, the zipper and the snaps in my stash. It's not shocking, though. My stash is well stocked. 

I can't believe how confidently she walks. She just started walking a couple of months ago, and she's already striding around like she owns the place!

I absolutely love how excited this baby gets when she sees a dog. She stares at it, completely unafraid, and runs all out at it. The problem? Her shoes. She's so fast, we had to get her those squeaky shoes, and while people may judge, I'd rather know exactly where my little houdini is. Those shoes are hard for dogs to figure out, since they sound like their favorite squeaky toys. So while Miki doesn't look like a squeaky toy, she sure sounds like one!

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An Elke for Miki!

Since I made the Elke dress for my niece in fleece, I have been obsessed with the pattern. I didn't like the look of the first Elke I made, which was a ponte knit. It turned out too big in the neck and the drapey fabric made Miki look too skinny. I really wanted to make her one in fleece, which I knew would look really nice since I found many wonderful examples on Facebook.

I had made a run to Joann on Thursday for some other fabric, and fell in love with this not-too-girly combination. I have always felt that Miki looks great in navy, and this feminine design makes the boyish colors look super cool.

Again, taking advantage of the awesome properties of fleece, I left the edges raw, and pleated the frill on the sleeve instead of gathering it. I prefer pleats.

Here's the bow! It's big, and cute, and tacked down at the shoulder as per the designer's recommendations. The collar looks nice and appropriately stiff, and fit Miki so well that I need to make her an Elke every winter. It's a must-do on my list now. The whole dress took me just one hour to make, from cut to finish.

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One Hour Baby Leggings

I have been so busy these last few days that the laundry has been languishing, and the dishes piling up. So while I took the time to do the chores, I couldn't resist sewing up a quick and easy pair of leggings for Miki. From cutting to finishing, these took exactly 40 minutes. I know because that's how long she naps.

The pattern is a free one from Melissa Esplin that I had pinned to my board, "Sew For My Toddler" on Pinterest. It's a very simple pattern perfect for a beginner. I serged the seams, using my sewing machine only a couple of times.

I did put my own spin on the leggings, since I had made this pattern before and knew that the cuffs were not as tight as I would like. I used a rib knit tank top that I cut the cuffs from, and because the fabric stretches so much, I cut the cuffs about two thirds as long as the foot opening.  That gave me a very nice, snug fit on the cuffs.

The other modification was the waistband. I had lovely fluorescent pink waistband elastic which I simply zigzagged on to the legging at the end. I could have been much neater, but Miki was waking up and I just needed to be done. She is all kinds of curious right now, and unerringly manages to find pins on the carpeted floor of my sewing room. I really cannot sew with her around yet.

These leggings look absolutely adorable on Miki! The only things I would change next time are a more roomy hip, and a longer waistband elastic. The hip needs room because we do cloth diapers and the legging is quite snug with the diaper on. It also seems a little too tight at the waist, and I might actually rip out the elastic and put in a new, longer one, just so we get a lot more use out of it. The length could easily last her a year or more, but since she is crawling around and getting her knees super dirty, I doubt this pair will endure too much abuse from the washing machine.

All in all, a gorgeous, fast pair of new baby leggings!

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