Tester: Love Notions' La Bella Donna in Women's and Girl's sizes! Pic Heavy Post!

Have I mentioned how much I love Love Notions? I'm sure I have, about a zillion times. I'm now at the stage where I don't feel compelled to try every single designer out there, because I have about eight hands-down favorites that, between them, fit my design aesthetic to a T. I'm fortunate enough to test for most of them on a continuing basis, which I am super grateful for.

Love Notions is one of them. I trust Tami Bunch Meyer to have a comprehensive pattern, with simple chic designs that sew up easily and accurately. They fit well, and have cool features like no-trim pages and layers so I can print just my size (or sizes if I'm grading between multiple sizes), thus saving ink and a lot of squinting.

Here are the Ladies and Girls La Bella Donna tops that released last week.

I do think my posing is improving!

The Ladies version goes from a 30" to a 47" high bust. There isn't too much ease at the chest, which is a big plus for me, considering this is a dolman sleeve style.

 Miki in coordinating LBD and Leggin's! Both from Love Notions. The leggings are a free pattern.

The Girls version goes from 2T to 16. I made a 2T for Miki, and slimmed the chest one half inch in the black and stripe version, since the black is a very stretchy, loose rayon.

Read More

Tester Review: Poppy Peplum Pants by Filles a Maman!

I'm so ashamed that this blog post is a week late. Mel Henry of Filles a Maman is a wizard in my opinion, with super cool designs that every fashion forward little girl would love to wear. Poppy Peplum Pants are, as you can see, no exception.

The idea for these pants was put forth by another extremely chic lady, M. Malice, who won a contest run on Facebook for what Mel should design next. I've been following Ms. Malice around the FB and Instagram world, and boy does she have great taste!

The pants sew up in hardly any time at all, with an unusual faux fly technique that is impressive and easy to construct. I sewed up two pants while testing, each took a day. I didn't have any issues at any point with the fit. The first I used a Rapunzel-inspired fabric from the custom fabric group I admin, that features the iconic Suns from the movie as well as the unmistakable Lanterns from the famous scene.

The second pair I sewed from stretch velvet, which I really wanted for Miki's Fall wardrobe. A nice pair of thick pants can help transition so many summer outfits to cooler weather. Since she's not really growing as fast as she used to, I need to get creative now.

Both fabrics work great for this pattern. I really recommend this pattern for a staple. You can easily leave the peplum off for a smart pair of tights. I think I'll sew a black pair for her next!

Read More

Tester: Piper Tunic from Wardrobe by Me - an Amazing, New-to-me Designer!

Last week, I had the privilege to test a new pattern by Christina Albeck, designer of Wardrobe By Me patterns, the Piper Boho Tunic.

Christina has been a pattern maker for many fashion brands in Denmark, for over 20 years. I can attest to the fact that her patterns are industry standard, and very, very good. With measurements in both metric and imperial, she caters to all her audiences. She also gives finished garment measurements, which is something many indie designers don't. That's a pet peeve of mine, can you tell?

I made two versions of the pattern, one long sleeved, and one short. Both were a light voile I bought in India for a song. I sewed up a size 16, which is the largest available. It fit nicely, I must say.

The neckline is faced, with the shoulder seams staggered so that there's no added bulk anywhere.

With good sewing practices like understitching and pressing in the instructions, and nice deep hems that won't flip while you wear the top, the finished top looks and feels like top quality.

The blue top is for my Mother in Law, who is an amazing, warm, wonderful lady. She's also almost exactly my size, so I'm glad to be sharing the sewn love!

Read More

Tester - The Itch to Stitch Carey Top!

Kennis Wong, of Itch to Stitch designs, is a phenomenal pattern designer. I've followed her for a while now, and have three or four of her patterns. The Jacqueline Hoodie is one that I plan to sew up soon, for this Fall. Her Idyllwild top has taken the pdf pattern world by storm, since it's a gorgeous basic tee or dress, and used to be only a dollar. I planned the Emily Culottes for this summer, but since I'm in the process of losing a significant amount of weight, I wanted to stick to elastic waistbands.

I applied over and over to test Kennis' designs, and lo and behold, I got in! Here's the super fun Carey Top, a lovely dolman-sleeve design that flatterns all body shapes. The incredibly clever drawstrings give you the freedom to ruche the sleeve along the outer arm as much or as little as you want, going from a three-quarter sleeve length to a short sleeve length. You could even use elastic!

The pattern goes from size 00 to 20. with comprehensive body and finished garment sizes given right in the listing, in imperial and in metric. No more buying the pattern only to find it won't fit you! I love when designers are thoughtful and bring their A game like Kennis does, every time.

There's a little guide in the listing and in the pattern, to help you choose your size. As you know, ready to wear sizes are inflated and usually don't fit as nicely as when you choose your size and tailor your clothing, so this will help beginners tremendously.

I used a cotton lycra gauze, and a contrasting dark navy-black solid knit for my top. It was a tough time, binding this gauze, but I think I did really well! I love this top, and V couldn't believe I made it. He kept insisting I bought it somewhere!

Read More

Tester: You Need the Love Notions Pemberley Tunic

Ever look at your wardrobe and think, 'Hmmm.. too boring, too functional, not flattering enough, not dressy enough" about your clothes? Love Notions Pemberley Tunic and Dress (coupon code at the bottom), a gorgeous new release, will dispel all such thoughts. This is such a dreamy, romantic silhouette, suiting almost every figure.

Tons of options - dress or tunic, three sleeves (AND an amazing bishop sleeve - soooo rare to see one nowadays!) There are pattern pieces for average bust and full bust adjustment, and a tutorial on how to do your own adjustment for those that don't fit into one size easily. Mine was an XL average bodice.

My tester versions - I made two, I'll show you the second in a future post. This filmy rayon spandex from Hancocks was perfect for this style. I also used a stretch lace for the sleeves.

I haven't worn much makeup these days, V has been too busy to take me out lately. I did appreciate (and treasure) the look in his eyes when he saw me in this top. I sew late at night, and rarely show him my creations before "picture day". This top elicited the best response in him, ever. Like ever. You gotta get this one! It's on sale till Saturday, August 1, 2015. Use code 'tunicsale' for 20% off through Saturday. Buy it here!

Read More

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. 

Read More

Swimsuit Season!

Lately I have been obsessed with swimsuit fabric. It looks like most of the fun prints are on a nylon/spandex blend, like these from Fabric Fairy:

Amazing, right? I made Miki a swimsuit from Cole's Creations, and while it was a simple task, it was thoroughly enjoyable. I also made my Greenstyle Inspire Tights with swim fabric, and I really love them.

I'm planning a Bombshell Swimsuit in the next few weeks, but I just can't decide on a fabric. Should I do a solid for a muslin? Or go full-out and use my favorite fabric? Hmm.

In the mean time, I've been sewing up a storm, making myself a few essentials for my wardrobe. I'll share pics soon.

Read More