by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 16, 2013
Can I say I am soooo excited to have been asked to be on Abby’s pattern tour. I have been reading Sew Much Ado for at least 3 years now and love what she does. I’m sure you’ve seen her super-cute Mommy and Mia apron pattern (my version here), the Ruby Lou doll, and my all-time favorite diaper bag! But… today I get to talk about her great new pattern for girls. (And according to Max California – maybe boys?!)
The Skipper Top is a dolman sleeve pattern for girls sized for 6 months to 10 years. I’ve raved about dolman sleeve tops before, they go together super-fast because you do not need to set in a sleeve. Abby’s pattern does not disappoint in the style factor either. There are different sleeve hems, hem, neckline and pocket options – so you can make it over and over and never have the same result. As always, Abby’s photos and directions are super informative and easy to follow (geared for beginners). I like that she includes the finished measurements of each size – so you can gauge the ease and sizing better.
I also love that Abby has made this as a pdf pattern. Even though taping pages together takes a bit more time, I tend to sew as inspiration hits and I don’t like to have to wait for shipping! I also like the fact that I can print it out each time I need a new size, easy peasy! Speaking of sizing – this pattern is great. I did check out my kids’ measurement chart before I started, but it worked out that they both needed their ready-to-wear size Skipper Top. The length is great too – it’s on the long side – which I especially like the look of with the waistband and leggings.
As far as fabric, I decided to try and use up some of my stash – since I’ve now maxed out my new bookshelf space! I have mostly plain coloured knits and some stashed Heaven and Helsinki in different prints and colours. Since my youngest will still wear anything I figured this was a good time to cut up the adorable cat knit shirt that doesn’t fit her anymore. (no more toddler shirts, tears…) Since the solid pink was the only knit I had that matched, that was what we went with. My oldest has always been more selective (*cough* loudly opinionated *cough*) and so I let her have a go at choosing her own fabric. And that is how I gained two more pink shirts to add to the stacks around here!
I did manage (as usual, I know…!) to alter a few things on Abby’s amazing pattern. I thought it would be nice, needed to was obligated to add a skirt to my oldest’s shirt – because she would not wear it at all if I didn’t. Thankfully the forced creativeness turned into something I am really happy with. I added a gathered length of knit (double the width of my daughter’s waist measurement) when I stitched on the bottom waist band. Then I turned up the waistband toward the bodice (seam allowances pressed toward the skirt) and stitched it along the sides to hold it in place. For my youngest I added a bit more fullness to the shirt front with some gathers along the shoulder seam. Since she’s still got some toddler-chubs (love them!) fitted shirts don’t always look the best. I’ll be posting a tutorial on that tomorrow.
Enough about me! You are here to check out Abby’s pattern and I am here to tell you I love it! I have already seen what the first four stops on the tour have done (list below), and you can check out today’s other stop on the tour at Mad Mim. I have to say I am especially loving the shoulder patches on the Max California version! I may just have to spend about an hour (yup, it’s that quick to sew!) making one like it for my youngest. And I saw a great dolman sleeve sweater on my sister-in-law this past weekend that I’ve got to try… maybe for KCW next week?
I have to say, the only thing I am disappointed with on my shirts is that I wasn’t able to use quilting cotton for the pockets. When I first saw Abby’s women’s dolman sleeve top (The Seafarer) and now the Skipper Top – I thought that the quilting cotton allowed for a great use of different prints and patterns. Unfortunately because I matched the pocket to the shirt bands I needed to use a knit. Tip if you’re doing that – use medium interfacing on the pocket piece, it helps everything not to wiggle too much while you are sewing, and the top of the heart pocket might be a bit floppy without it as well.
Make sure (while you get distracted checking out the other Skipper Tops on the tour) that you eventually get back to Sew Much Ado to buy the pattern – you can get the Skipper Top here! I felt super professional when I stitched the (optional) 1/4″ clear elastic into the shoulder seams of these shirts – you can too!
Disclosure: I received this pattern free as part of The Skipper Top Pattern Tour. As usual, all opinions are my own.
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 15, 2013
Since it is quickly becoming cooler around here these days, I am finding that a lot of my go-to kids patterns have short sleeves! Not a problem – there is an easy way to change a simple sleeve pattern so it is fall and winter appropriate.
I traced one of my daughter’s shirts when extending the sleeve of the Figgy’s Banyan Tee for my oldest.
You will need:
- long sleeve tee that fits and uses the same fabric as your pattern (woven tee – woven pattern, knit tee – knit pattern…)
- short sleeve pattern piece
- paper a bit longer than the length of the sample tee sleeve
- pen
- ruler or straight edge
Here we go:
(1) Fold your sample sleeve exactly in half. (2) Check the seam allowance amount in your pattern directions and mark it on the pattern piece. (3) If your sleeve is not cut on the fold, find the centre and lay it on the edge of your paper (4) Lay the sample long sleeve on the pattern piece with the fold along the edge of your paper. Line up the shoulder seam with the seam allowance mark on your pattern piece.
(5) Trace the sleeve edge allowing extra at the wrist for hemming. Trace a few inches up the side of the sleeve, adding in the seam allowance amount.
(6) Mark the top corner of the sleeve pattern piece with a dot (see photo).
(7) Use the straight edge to make a line from the bottom hem edge to the dot you just marked.
(8) Finish by tracing the rounded part of the sleeve around to the edge of your paper.
Proceed as detailed in your pattern instructions with your new long sleeved pattern piece. Be sure to mark your pattern piece so you don’t forget to cut it on the Fold! It is on the straight paper edge of your pattern piece. You will also need a bit more yardage than the pattern instructions suggest to fit your new sleeves.
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 14, 2013
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving today! Made by Me Monday has been replaced with a reflective post, seeing as how I have a lot to be thankful for. Most of all, I am thankful for my family, and thought I would post a few photos of things we have been doing since the last family post. I’ll be posting a fall-related pattern altering tutorial tomorrow. And, I’m excited to be in the Skipper Top pattern tour on Wednesday. Be sure to follow Abby along the tour this week! (and not to leave out the “Made by Me” part of this post, you can check out links to Made by Me things through a few captions.)
Another fall has slowly been happening here in Southern Ontario. This year has been warm, so it has crept up and coloured the trees quietly, some orange, some yellow and some are still green. I’m sure the green ones are wanting to pretend (like I am) that winter isn’t on it’s way!
I look super-fun here – ha! I think I was trying not to fall off, it spins like a merry-go-round! (Chevron dress here)
Our “last day before school starts” day trip included a super-fun park. We put the kids from bed right into the car and gave them clue cards for the destinations along the way. My (super-gracious) husband stayed up to draw the cards after I told him my “brilliant” late-night idea! I am thankful that he goes along with so many of my last minute plans.
Old doors make great photo backgrounds! (Shirt here)
We took advantage of a windy afternoon to fly a kite together. Mary Poppins is a favorite movie in our house, so there was much singing on the way there… “Let’s go fly a kite, up to the highest height….”.
With fall comes apple picking, and we are fortunate to have an abundance of farms in our area. We visited one with Grandma on a sunny Saturday a few weeks ago, and then got to go back this past weekend with cousins who are visiting for Thanksgiving.
This particular apple farm has expanded to include tons of kid-friendly activities. Pony rides, giant slides and a nature walk with rope swings, just to name a few!
The Turkey Tees I made last year for the kids still fit. If you live in the US or have some time this morning before a dinner tonight you can still make one for your kiddos!
Thanks for hanging out today, I hope you all have a wonderful week and I hope I’ll see you again tomorrow!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 10, 2013
A few weeks ago I wanted to make a birthday gift for a sewing friend. I’ve had this basket in my head for a while now, ever since the scalloped hem emerged everywhere in sewing land! I thought it would make a cute gift with some handmade bias tape and buttons. And, I can’t lie, I was in NEED of a project to sew with some of my Warp & Weft Koi stash! It’s been sitting for far too long and I was dying to make something with it.
I think this little basket even qualifies as zakka! I’ve been intrigued by zakka since reading the blog tours for Patchwork Please (Ayumi Takahashi, Pink Penguin), and Zakka Handmades (Amy Morinaka, Chick Chick Sewing). I think I might be a bit late to the game, but I’m okay with joining the “trend following” masses – the projects are so pretty!
Here is the definition of zakka according to Wikipedia:
Vague enough for you?! Zakka could be almost anything!
I used a little piece of almost every piece of my stashed Koi in this project, leaving out only my daughter’s favorite “The Way of Flowers” for another special project! “Don’t be Koi” for the bottom of the basket, “Scalloped Edge – Gray” for the sides and “Pennants Waving – Ivory” for the inside and top edge detail. Rashida Coleman-Hale outdid herself on this line – it’s gorgeous. You can see the whole (GOTS organic certified) line here. And the deep purple “Don’t be Koi” adds to the just-emerging quilting cotton purple palette. For some reason, not many designers have focused on using purple until now.
I think I am going to make a few more of these with Rashida Coleman-Hale’s Tsuru fabric line. Hopefully using up some of my gorgeous fat quarters I bought from Fabric Spot in the spring. Maybe in different sizes – taller, wider, nesting baskets? Maybe one with a handle? I’d love to know what you would make!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 7, 2013
So… my three year old is more stylish than me today! But honestly, that’s not hard since I work from home and don’t have to (but should) take time to get dressed properly every day. For the record, 99% of the time I do get dressed, and 85% of the time I do my hair and makeup too!
Before I get too far into I wanted to talk about the Sew Fab bundle again – where I got the Bimaa Sweater pattern. I made the cowl neck version, but it also comes in a scarf neck and a hooded version – which makes it a unisex pattern, hooray! The Sew Fab sale ends October 8th, so if you like the Bimaa – here’s your chance to get it and 25 other patterns for just $29.95! Here’s the Sew Fab Bundle link again to Sew Much Ado (one of the many places you can buy the bundle from).
Since I’m always trying to think of new photo shoot props, today we got out our super-cool industrial style step ladder painting stool. It was fun to count how many differerent colours of paint I could find on it, which of course, makes it an even better photo prop! (Ok, that was sarcastic, hee, hee!) One of the real reasons I dug it out was that I figured my daughter would be more excited to take photos in her “new shirt that mommy made” if it involved climbing the generally-forbidden step ladder. You’ve got to be creative with these things! The Bimaa pattern is made by LouBee Clothing. And, if you missed the bundle sale you can get it at her Etsy shop here. I love this pattern for the same reason I love Figgy’s patterns – they are super stylish, but you can still have fun with them! I made my youngest’s cowl in a different fabric from the main sweater – which Sarah (EmmyLouBeeDoo) labels the “Infinity Scarf Bimaa”. I LOVE it! My husband’s first comment was that I should make one for myself – and I think I might? Suz from Sew Pony made an adult sized Bimaa for Selfish Sewing Week and it doesn’t seem too difficult. Sarah (LouBee Clothing) does a great job of writing this pattern. It is easy to follow and sews up super-quick once it’s cut out. She has a lot of drawings and the pattern pieces are well put together. I used my daughter’s filled out Measure-Me chart to choose a size and it fits perfectly! Since I don’t have a serger (yet?!) I used my regular machine’s stretch stitch to sew the whole thing together. The only tricky parts were the waist and arm bands, because they are cut across the stretchiest part of the knit they stretch more while they are being sewed. I ironed the wobbliness out when I was done and I think it will be fine when it comes out after the first wash. The cowl fabric is some more Heaven & Helsinki knit from my local Fabricland. It is usually $15 and I found it there for $5/m a few weeks ago. I’ve got it in a few more colourways now, which is great – because I have a lot more knit patterns I want to make for my girls this fall. This knit is a dream to work with, even with the 4-way stretch. The light green is 2-way stretch fabric for $3/m fabric I picked up from Fabricland as well. Even though the Bimaa pattern recommends a 4-way stretch fabric I found it worked out just fine for the body of the sweater. It may not have worked for the cowl though, because you need to have the extra stretch so you can put it over your head.
I think there will be more Bimaas in our future… Have a great start to your week!
