Showing posts with label shorts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shorts. Show all posts

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Boxwood Joggers by Sew Like My Mom


It's time for another new pattern by Sew Like My Mom! And guess what? I absolutely love it! The designer's patterns are always very simple to follow, but having great design details that
make them amazing. I can honestly tell you I felt so accomplished when I finished these. I've sewn many garments, blankets, quilts, etc... but when I saw my finished pockets looking so great, I felt like a million bucks! However, the fact that I totally screwed up the back seam took some of that excitement away.

The Boxwood Joggers pattern comes in sizes 12m-8, and 6-16. These are unisex joggers, come in 3 lengths, and the pattern has been thoroughly tested and undergone revisions for the little sizes and the tween sizes; the middle sizes were pretty on target. It comes with the layering feature, making it easy to print just what you need. The best way to make sure these fit perfectly is to go off height, and adjust the elastic waist down if needed. I tested these on my 5 year old, who has a 22" waist, 26" hips, and 44" height. I ended up using a size 6 with a 5 elastic, since size 5 height only goes to 43.5". And as you can tell from the pictures, they fit her perfectly.

This pattern is meant to be used with french terry or sweatshirt material for added stability, but other testers used fleece and knit, and they turned out great as well. For me, the flower fabric is french terry, and the green is knit. I look forward to making many more of these. She has already worn these 2 times, and wants me to wash them again tonight so she can wear them to school again tomorrow. And yes, I just finished sewing these up late Thursday night! That's how much she loves these. You will also need 2" elastic.

Of course, to get some fun pictures, she wanted to go to the park and play in them. She has played so much in these, and the fit is wonderful and they are holding up wonderfully.

 She's done the splits, climbed every playground equipment imaginable, rolled down hills, and even fell off the monkey bars to a perfect crouch...and they are still so comfortable. :)

 These will be releasing in the next few days at the etsy page, and I strongly suggest you make them. They are trendy, versatile, and very comfortable!

Sew Like My Mom facebook page can be found here.




COMPLETE OUTFIT DETAILS

Late Thursday night, I finished the Boxwood Joggers capris up, and couldn't wait for my girl to see them the next day. Then I remembered, her only plain white shirt was dirty and in the wash. So what did I do? While I waited for laundry to finish up, I decided to make her a shirt to match. I didn't have time to try a new pattern, even though I really want to try one of Sew Like My Mom's knit shirt patterns. So I resorted to my trusty Jolly Roger Raglan by Patterns For Pirates, and made her a fun shirt pretty quickly.

I've made this shirt many times, but the fit isn't always consistent. I don't blame P4P though; I'm pretty sure I don't pay enough attention to measurements or seam allowances. But this time, I was very on target and the shirt fits her perfectly and looks great! Wouldn't you agree? And the best part? There is no pink anywhere in this outfit! Anyone else have this problem? :)

Updated to add: Green solid and orange stripe fabric are from Purpleseamstress Fabric found on facebook. She has such a great selection and quality of fabric, with incredibly fast shipping. I can't wait until my next shipment comes in. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I got the flowers. :)

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Posey Tunic and Peony Leggings by Sew Like My Mom

This summer, a designer I love, Sew Like My Mom, came out with a couple new patterns, and I couldn't resist testing for her. I'd tested for her before and love the fit of the pattern I had tried. Now, all 5 kids were with me all summer, so I wasn't sure I could actually test, but I made it happen, and I'm so glad I did!

So my first posts of finished items are going to be the 3 patterns I tested over the summer. So first off, the Posey Tunic and Peony Leggings. I tested this for my twin girl, using a size 3. Her measurements were spot on with the chart, so it was super easy to construct.

The tunic and leggings are very well constructed and the pattern is very easy to follow. One of my favorite things about Sew Like My Mom is the many choices she offers with her patterns! She is currently updating her older patterns to include layers and better instructions, and she always has great options! These patterns call for knits with good recovery. Sizes 12m-8.

So let's start with the Posey Tunic! The tunic comes in 4 different sleeve lengths, sleeveless, short sleeve, elbow sleeve, and long sleeve, all with cuffs as you can see in my picture. The pattern instructions are great and easy to follow. It has plenty of pictures and great tips to help with sewing with knits.

I tested the short sleeve version. We are a sleeve wearing family, so I'll rarely make things that are sleeveless! But I may still test them, and alter them later. We also live in beautiful Arizona, so it is always hot, especially during the summer, so who knows?

My only dislike on the pattern is that the back piece to the tunic is actually 2 pieces, but the designer did this to save on fabric. In the future I might just adjust the pattern pieces so I only need to cut out one piece, but it's still great regardless!

Now, on to the Peony Leggings. These are wonderful, and can be made in a variety of ways and styles. The pattern includes full-length leggings, capri length, and biker short length. The leggings have a contrast panel down the side, which can be regular or ruched. I chose the regular contrast band because I didn't have enough of the pink/white polka dots to do the ruching method. I've also never done that, so I might be a tad bit intimidated. :) I'm fairly confident with my sewing machine and serger, but I'm still intimidated by things I haven't done before.

These come together very quickly and fit great! My little miss is in disposable diapers, and they fit great over it. My little miss sure loves posing for the camera and loves saying "Gees!" So she's my little ham right now and you'll be seeing many more pictures like this one on the right!

I am going to tell you right now, I have NO idea what is considered correct technique when sewing, so please don't hold that against me. Most everything I have learned has been from pdf patterns or blogs, so I'm still learning proper techniques.

You can check out Sew Like My Mom on facebook, or at her etsy page.

Hope you enjoy these patterns as much as I do!

Updated to add: ice cream/summer fabric is from Purpleseamstress Fabric on facebook. Mel has such a great selection of fabric choices, and I love her quality!