by Sherri Sylvester | Aug 28, 2015
Fabric Spark is giving a paper copy of this pattern away today! They provided the fabric for this top. All opinions are honest and my own. Thanks for supporting the shops that support this blog!
Step 1) Procure gorgeous super-soft Loominous fabric. Step 2) Mix in your (favorite) top pattern. Step 3) Sew for 2 hours. Step 4) Remove from sewing machine. Step 5) Press and wear. (Maybe 3 days in a row!) Best. Shirt. Ever. Really! I am IN LOVE with this Loominous fabric from Anna Maria Horner. And I got to use my favorite top pattern The Bess Top from Imagine Gnats. The fabric is Loominous from Anna Maria Horner – yarn dyed lightweight woven cotton, it has an amazing hand and drapes so well. Plus, it’s called Big Love, the Primary colourway – how could you not love it?
I met Daryl from Fabric Spark for coffee a few months ago. She is super inspiring to talk to and I always come away ready to check out amazing bloggers and pattern makers I haven’t heard of yet. So good! Anyhow, We started chatting about working together on an apparel project and I immediately thought back to the Loominous fabric I’d seen in her shop when I picked out my Monthly Sparks bundle.
I had recently made a muslin for the Bess Top pattern from Imagine Gnats. (Imagine Gnats makes my most favorite patterns ever!) So I suggested that maybe we could make a Loominous Bess Top. Lucky for me she agreed! Fabric Spark now stocks the Bess Top, the Alder Skirt and the Roly Poly (children’s Pinafore). Hooray!
Bess Top pattern by Imagine Gnats
Imagine Gnats patterns make wearable, comfortable clothing that’s not too fancy. They all have little design elements that look great and are really simple to sew. And they come in a really wide range of sizes. (I have made the Alder skirt before as well, in fact I wear it the most out of all my handmade clothing!)
The Bess Top (or tunic or dress without pockets) is made from only two pattern pieces. The back curves over the front and *bam* you’ve got sleeves, without even knowing it! Rachel has taught me to use jersey strips to finish the neckline, hem and sleeves and it has changed my life – literally! I’ve been using the technique on lots of other projects recently.
This top is a size 6 throughout, with a size 4 through the bust area. I used the lower neckline and replaced the shoulder pleat with pretty gathers. I don’t hate the pleat, in fact I love it. Unfortunatly, the pleat doesn’t love me, the gathers soften the detail by spreading the extra fabric along the whole seam. Much better!
I’ll do a proper pattern review when I post about the next Bess I’m making, from nani IRO double-gauze. I managed to order some from Fabric Spark before this print (Jewel Song Pocho) went out of stock, but she has others and some Ellen Baker double gauze in stock as well. Everyone is talking about double gauze – really, everyone!– so I figured it was high time I got my hands on some. My first impressions are great, and I’m excited to see how it drapes in a top. Fingers crossed it will be amazing!
Loominous by Anna Maria Horner
When I started working with this fabric I asked for a bit of extra so I could match the main stripesat the sides of the top. In the end it doesn’t look exactly matched because of the ikat-esque “stripes”, but I did end up using about 1/2 yard more than the pattern calls for to match the main sections. Ordering a little extra will save you lots of time and headache!
The bold patterns in this fabric make placement really important. I quickly searched online and found this top by Miss Make – wide strip in the center front – perfect. The internet is such a useful thing! The back of this top is centred on the two large orange stripes, mainly because I was trying to conserve fabric so I could make a little something for one of my girls with the leftovers!
If this Loominous print is not your favorite – Fabric Spark stocks 5 to choose from!
Hooray! Fabric Spark is giving away a paper copy of the Bess Top pattern today!
This giveaway is open to International readers, from August 28 – September 3, 2015 at midnight EST. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter – and if you don’t have Facebook to sign in with, just use your name and email address. There’s a “click to enter”, no social media login entry too!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by Sherri Sylvester | Aug 19, 2015
I have a problem with Pinterest – it causes me to want to do ALL THE THINGS. You know what I mean right?! The likelihood of my ever finishing all of my pins is currently somewhere in the “never in a million years” range. Yikes! I recently got the chance to review an amazing subscription box and accomplish a bucket list project, so I took it… and now I get to share a fun new product with you today. (Disclaimer: Cannonball Collective sent me this kit in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own – as usual. This truly was a great experience.)
I’ve been seeing a ton of visible mending happening on the interwebs lately. Along with an increased focus on hand mending, hand sewing, slow sewing – reusing and recycling fabrics. When I got an email from Cannonball Collective asking if I would like to try out their Revival Issue, Torn and Frayed Cannonball Kit… I thought it was a great way to get to do some visible mending. But I have to admit it was the chance to use these Merchant and Mills products that made me say “Yes, Please!”
I got the box sooner than expected, Canadian shipping usually takes longer when things come here from the US. Great start! It was soooo hard to wait for the right sunny day to open the box and get some good photos. Unpacking it I wondered how I got to be so fortunate as to have all of these great quality sewing products landing in my mailbox. Fabulous Japanese sourced fabrics, thread and a super well designed ‘zine full of great inspiration – they call it “ignition” which is a great word for it! There’s even gum (melon flavoured) from Japan included just for fun.
I’m a sucker for marketing and branding – how things look – and this ticks all the boxes. It looks amazing and is well thought through. Best part is this box is all about visible mending. I’ve been looking for an opportunity to fix my favorite jeans. They got a huge hole in the knee and I think everyone was tired of seeing me walk around in them – plus my knee got cold in the winter. One bucket list project down! #check
I took an afternoon out recently to explore the box and fix my favorite comfy jeans. The mini magazine included was full of inspiration, so instead of searching online for ideas like I usually do, I turned to it instead. No screens! So I sat with my melon flavoured gum, reading an inspiring interview with Luke Deverell from Darn and Dusted and taking in photo after photo of amazing visible mending. (Oh, and the Imagination Movers in the background… yup, kids…)
The experience was a lot of fun and I found out that machine sewing doesn’t relax me. I love creating, but I’m too much of a hurry to be done and see the final product! With this hand-stitching it was totally different, concentrating on each stitch – the length of them, where to put them… I was inspired by the halo of stars you see over a cartoon characters head when they get hurt. So… the giant hole in my pants is surrounded by stars too. There’s also a star and a few cross-stitches on the side of my jeans – around the hip area where they were pulling apart. We won’t talk about why the hip area might be getting tight though, got me?! #reallife #momlife
You all know by now how much I like to know the story-behind-the-story. Going back again to my Pinterest comment – this kit gives you an actual experience. Cannonball Collective sends out kits with everything you need to create, to make it easy for you! Here’s what they have to say:
“We believe there is a strong desire for good, solid, interesting, inspiring, and entertaining storytelling, particularly delivered digitally. But while it’s fun to discover and learn through reading about stuff, actually doing the stuff takes you that extra mile.” ~ Cannonball Collective Founders Story
Does ordering this subscription and getting a new experience every quarter sound fun to you? The kit came to me with two $10 off cards, and I want to share the love. I will personally mail them out anywhere internationally. So, if you are serious about ordering the subscription they will go to the first two people to email me with their address – and I will update this post to let you know when they have been taken. (The subscription is $95 US every quarter and Cannonball Collective ships internationally. Send emails to: sherri at threadridinghood dot com)
Reader Feedback:Have you tried visible mending?
Thank you for reading the whole post! Join me for “thread ride” so you don’t miss more great content.
by Sherri Sylvester | Jul 10, 2015
I made another First Day Top! If you’ve been around for a bit you know that’s nothing new (it’s my favorite!)… but this one is extra special. It’s made so I could take photos for the very first post I’ve written for the Craftsy Sewing Blog!
When they contacted me a few months ago I was thrilled to say yes. You’ve likely heard about their online classes or downloaded a pattern from one of your favorite makers there. When I checked out their blog I found it full of tutorials and great information. They even have Free Fabric Friday!
I’m am beyond pleased to be writing for Craftsy! I thought I should write my first post about something I had promised to all of you. A tutorial on how to exactly match your fabric pattern across a zipper opening. I’ve done this quite a few times now and it looks so professional.
Using it with an invisible zipper along with the pattern matching almost makes the seam disappear too! You can see more examples on these dresses and my Violette Field Threads Ginger as well!
And so, we come back to me making this peplum top. I bought the gorgeous floral fabric from Country Clothesline for my oldest a Creativ Festival last spring. My oldest is IN LOVE with floral fabrics and I can guarantee this will be worn so much this summer.
I have to admit, though, that it was tricky to get her to try on her sister’s Cotton + Steel Mustang Top before she’d agree to the style – now she’s hooked! These little tops are easy to wear, fast to make and use up those perfect 1/2 yards (or so) of stashed favorites.
And of course, since is is summer, face paint is allowed in the photos. Her aunt did such a cute job on this rainbow!
I love the more relaxed photo shoots we can have when there isn’t as much of a schedule. This spot is near a park, which was fun, though next time I will have to remember to bring running shoes. The slippery soled dressy sandals just don’t do a good job when you want to go up the slide “the wrong way”!
I’ll be back this Sunday with the most amazing week in Thread Riding Hood history! Want a hint? Head over to the Thread Riding Hood Facebook page to get the latest updates.
by Sherri Sylvester | Jun 30, 2015
Hello again! I just realized I’ve taken an unintentional week off. My parents are visiting with us for a few weeks and we are so excited to have them. As a result, though, I haven’t been as eager to get on the computer! I do have a super summery project tutorial coming up later this week, and today I’m posting a bit about our vacation.
Before all that I realized that I have not as yet posted the winners of the last two giveaways. Shame on me… here they are:
Seam Allowance Fabrics gave away a $30 Shop Credit to Kathy D. I hope you are enjoying it Kathy! {interview here}
Fabric Please! gave away a Thread Riding Hood Blogger Bundle to Pam P. Amazingly, we sent Pam her congratulatory email on her actual birthday! What are the odds?! {interview here} You can purchase your own Blogger Bundle from Fabric Please! and you can still get 15% off your purchases with the code THREAD15 until July 1, 2015!
We recently got back from Florida after a much needed 10 days away from our home. I find that since we are all in our home all the time – save business meetings and school – that we go a bit home-crazy every once in a while. We were so fortunate to get away, even if we did work a bit while we were there.
I love that owning our own businesses allows my husband and I work from anywhere in the world – as long as we have wifi! A chance of scenery is so good for us and we come home ready to work again.
On the last leg of the 19 hour drive home, I realized that I was surrounded by handmade. Literally! I packed in it, my kids and I were dressed in it and we stored the stuff in our bags in it too! When we got home I tried to photograph every handmade item as we unpacked. I was curious and wanted to know how much we really had with us and what we used everything for.
Since also love roundups of “things on white backgrounds” – here are the photographs. (Linked to their respective blog posts if applicable of course!) These are some of our most-used handmade items, since only the most useful things are deemed good enough to come on vacation with us! It is also fun to go through some of these older posts, the kids are so little, especially the pink and yellow Tennis Skort post below!
by Sherri Sylvester | Jun 18, 2015
I’m feeling especially patriotic today. It’s my turn to post on the Canadian Pattern Designer blog tour. I am super proud to be Canadian and connected with this group of designers. This tour is an amazing showcase of great patterns! (Discount below + lots of prizes to be won! Keep reading!)
Ula from Lulu and Celeste has organized a great bunch of bloggers over the past few months and each of us gets to showcase a different pattern from our selected Canadian Designer. I was so fortunate to get to play with Victory Patterns! Kristiann Boos is well known for her patterns and I was dying to make an Ava. I seem to keep collecting dressy tops when I am part of these blog hops – maybe that’s a sign I need to get out more?!
My general impression of the Ava pattern was that it is SO professionally put together! I happened to have about 4 pattens that I was putting together at the same time a few months ago and this pattern stood out way over and above the others. The way it is written, down to how it prints out and the directions and ease of finding what you need. I really enjoyed working with it.
I made this peplum top in voile, which I have never worked with before. It was easy to sew, I didn’t have any issues with the fabric at all. To make the top more modest (read: not see through!), I cut two layers of each pattern piece and then sewed everything pretending they were one piece. It worked really well, aside from the peplum skirt having a bit more body than I would like. It stands out from the top quite a bit and I could likely have only used one layer there.
Oh my goodness, can I say how proud I am? I survived attaching binding smoothly for the first time ever! Binding and me have a long standing mutual hate for each other, I was super afraid when I saw the neckline and sleeves were binding bound on this top. My tip is to go slow, really slow – and pin, a lot!
The neckline did give me a bit of trouble, but I found an amazing post on how to sew it on the DIY Fox. Her post about sewing the Ava Sweetheart Neckline was really helpful. I was nervous because quite a few bloggers were saying the two sides of the neckline weren’t even when they stitched it. Again – slow and steady wins the race. Mine isn’t perfect, but I only know that because I made it!
Just to add a bit to the list, the bust darts finish too high. It’s my own fault – I made them a bit wider to take in more fabric (a la small bust adjustment) and shouldn’t have added to the height. Argh. I could take them out and fix them – but I was on vacation while I was sewing it… so they stayed put, mostly because it still fit and didn’t show that much.
PATTERN REVIEW SUMMARY: Ava, by Victory Patterns, Version 3
Fabric: Black Madonna Voile, unknown “French Chic” lining fabric (both from Fabricland)
Here are a few things I love about it:
- Lots of proper notches and markings! This is a super professional pattern.
- Cutting layouts and required fabric listing is super clear for all 3 versions.
- The neckline! It’s so cute.
- The sheer (or not) upper bodice. I’ve seen amazing versions with regular woven material in the top, as well as lace – so many options!
The fit & my alterations:
- This pattern fits SO easily! This pattern fit the best (on my first muslin) out of any of the patterns I’ve made in the last few months.
- To make it fit my non-average measurements I:
- took in a bit on the sides and widen the dart. (Basically a small bust adjustment)
- extended the shoulder up to a size 10, graded back to a size 4 at the top of the bodice and graded to a size 8 at the bottom and through the peplum skirt
- Since I am long-waisted, I added 1″ to the length of the bodice.
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Things I changed from the original pattern:
- Nothing save alterations to the fit.
Things I might change next time:
- I really, really want to make one of these out of knit instead of woven – since I wear knits almost every day.
- I’d love to try the sleeveless version as well.
- I would not use a double-layer of voile in the peplum skirt, it gives it extra body which isn’t as flattering.
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There are SO MANY prizes to be won along this blog hop! Enter for your chance to win a Victory Pattern below. Find out how to win the Grand Prize here!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Victory Patterns is offering 15% off anything on their website using the discount code “CANADATOUR” from June 17 – 23, 2015. Thank you Kristiann!
Follow the Canadian Pattern Designer blog hop below. Link over to so much great Canadian information!
June 1 – 3 Gracious Threads – Interview : Creative Bug – The Wholesome Mama – stitched by crystal
June 4 – 6 Jalie – Interview: Shaffer Sisters – Call Ajaire – hibbadoray
June 8 – 10 Thread Theory – Interview: Handmade Boy – Rebel & Malice – Sew Out of Control
June 11 – 13 Audrey & Tiffany – Interview: All Things Katy! – Not Sew Fast – Conversas de Hermana
June 15 – 17 E+M Patterns – Interview: From-a-Box – Made by Sara – Climbing the Willow
June 17 – 19 Victory Patterns – Interview: Swoodson Says – Thread Riding Hood (that’s me!) – Sprouting JubeJube
June 18 – 20 FABulous Home Sewn – Interview: Create3.5 – Calm and Carrion – Stitches by Laura
June 22 – 24 Filles a Maman – Interview: Pattern Revolution – PhatQuarters – sewstarly – House of Estrela
June 24 – 26 Closet Case Files – Interview: gloria june – Rebel & Malice – Sew Far North
June 25 – 27 Elegance & Elephants – Interview: Sprouting JubeJube – AmandaRose – Mae & K
June 29 – 30 Lulu & Celeste: new makes and a round up post
July 1st Last day to enter Giveaways and Final Round up Post!
Reader Feedback: Have you made any of the Victory Patterns? How did you like it?
Thanks for reading. Follow along and join me for “thread ride”!
And what is a good post without a tiny photo bomber and her “new rock”?!
Disclaimer: I received the Ava pattern from Victory Patterns in return for this post. My opinions are always my own and I do not promote things I don’t love. Thanks for reading!
by Sherri Sylvester | Jun 8, 2015
Inspiration from a 80’s rock band anyone?! This top is a first “wearable” muslin of the Vernazza Color-Block Top. It’s not perfect, but I like the front panel and colour-blocking so I decided to take photos anyhow! This pattern is from the book: Just for You, that I recieved as part of my Sewlebrity Sewalong post in January. I have finally gotten around to making another project from it, and finished just in time to be part of May’s Sewalong.
Since it was Made be Me May last month, I was looking for another top to sew for myself so I could round out the photos I was taking. It so happened that I read a post on Sew Can She’s blog and remembered that I could make this top. I had also just picked up a knit panel at the fabric store and was trying to find somewhere to use it.
Thoughts on the pattern:
- It’s well laid out and written.
- The photo instructions are very clear.
- Includes tips to make your top look less handmade. (Which I failed to do because my knit hemming/top stitching skills need lots of practice!)
Here are a few things I love about it:
- It’s really well thought out and explained pattern.
- Comes in sizes XS-XL.
- Uses proper techniques to finish seams etc.
- The style of the top is different, I don’t know of many other top patterns that have side panels.
Thoughts on the fit:
- LOVE that it fits pretty well. Especially on the front. The back is a bit large, but that could be because I altered the pattern quite a bit (see below).
- I find that I generally should have made one size down from whatever I think I need on most patterns. Not sure if I am bad at measuring myself or if I tend to like a more fitted finished product.
Things I changed from the original pattern:
- I removed the color blocking from the back to save a bit of time when sewing it. This probably altered the fit quite a bit since I had to curve the pieces a bit to fit them together properly.
Things I might change next time:
- Use a more structured knit. This one was so thin it was hard to hem – as seen in the photos!
- Use hem bands to omit the hemming all together and see how it looks.
- If the hem bands don’t work I’m going to make the sleeves a bit smaller around.
- Try one or two sizes down, or make alterations – this was a first muslin after all!
Reader Feedback: Do you have a favorite sewing book? What project from it do you like the most?
P.S. Hmmm… I wonder what we are doing on our vacation today?! Come over and find out!
Thanks for reading! Follow along to get more great tutorials and posts:
