Cotton Lawn Mini Penny

Ages ago I bought some of this gorgeous navy floral cotton lawn from Imagine Gnats.  It was back before Bean sprouted up and I could actually do something with a small amount of fabric.  Since it was my first purchase of this fabric (I like to feel the fabrics before I commit) I only ordered a half a yard or something ridiculous like that.  Of course then the color sold out and Rachael wasn't able to find it to order again so I was left shaking my head for being a dummy.  There are other colors and I have some of the purple floral, but there was something I adored about that navy so I was determined to find a use for it.

Then the Mini Penny Pinafore entered my life and I thought maybe it would work to use the lawn for just the center portion of the dress.  Also if I made it a shirt length then I'd have more then enough to work with (or maybe squeeze out two shirts).

Now the pattern instructions are clear that this is a pattern meant for knits and I totally agree.  There needs to be stretch in the neckline and around the outside sleeve/armscye seams.  However, my only worry with using the woven for just the center pieces was that the neckline wouldn't have enough stretch.  The opening looked large enough, but you know how big kids' heads are so I crossed my fingers and sewed away.

And it totally worked.  The neckline has just enough stretch with the small amount of ribbing I used for the collar that it goes on without a hitch.  I think the lawn being somewhat on a bias at the neckline (or some of it is as you go along the neckline) may also help with the stretch a bit.

And the rest of the 3T top fits perfectly.  Bean had worn the shirt all day (and two other times before that) so there are some wrinkles in these pics, but trust me, the fit is just right.  The pants she's wearing are the Hosh jeans I made here.  Again, they were worn all day so there may also be some wrinkles (or mud) on them, hehe.

I am so excited about the possibilities with the addition of a woven center panel for this pattern.  This was one of the February Monthly MashUp patterns so we already have lots of neckline options, but this adds so much more.  Bean being comfortable in her clothes is so important to me and there's something sweet about the idea of the knit fabric sort of hugging her in at the side panels.

because I know my sister will ask... I have no idea what she is doing in this pic, hehe

So what do you think?  Any other ideas of what could be made for an almost three year old with just a half of a yard of fabric?

And the Winner is.....

The winner of the Mini Penny Pinafore and Bimaa Sweater patterns giveaway is Rachel Nelson!  Congrats Rachel and I can't wait to see what you make for your little ones.

(i love that it looks like they are looking toward each other here, hehe)

Those of you who are interested in buying the patterns can find the Mini Penny here and the Bimaa here.  Again, I'm not an affiliate of either of these patterns' designers, but I have loved every single pattern I've ever bought from Kitschy Coo and LouBee Clothing so I wholeheartedly recommend them!


And in case you haven't heard, I was voted in as the final contestant for Season 9 of Project Run & Play!!  It's very exciting and terrifying all at the same time.  They have announced the other designers and guys, I am blown away.  Just to be a part of that group is an honor.

I'm sure it'll be a crazy few weeks of preparation before the Season begins, but I have to start here with saying a huge thank you to all of you that voted for my dress.  I've been following Project Run & Play since the first season when I fell in love with the idea.  Bean wasn't even born then, hehe.  I've eagerly anticipated every season and I have to say it was definitely what got me into sewing for my girl.  I've always sewn things for myself, but once Bean was born all this inspiration came pouring out and I know I have the ladies behind Project Run & Play to thank for that.

Now I'm off to check my email to see if we've been given the themes for the new season yet.  My mind is spinning with the possibilities....

Shaffer Sisters' Betty Skirt

I'm so excited to tell you about the Shaffer Sisters' first e-book pattern release: the Betty Skirt!

These lovely ladies are always creating great clothing for their own children and now they have banded together, combining their individual skills as only sisters can to make an e-book worth of options for a yoked skirt.

The basic design is inspired on the deep yokes of the 1920's.  I was a pattern tester and made the version with the small pleats.  There are three other skirt options in the e-book along with instructions on how to get a perfect fit using your child's measurements.

Bean's 3T size skirt was made late one evening.  I decided I'd start the skirt even though it was late, but then it was finished before I thought it necessary to stop.  The shape of the pieces make the construction and cutting out super simple.  The pleating was the most difficult part and even that was a snap.

Of course getting her to stand still for a photo is still another story.  She's worn this skirt already a few times and I love the length on her right now.  

I really think you'll love this e-book.  Congratulations to the Shaffer Sisters on a great first release!

Monthly MashUp (2) - Mini Penny Pinafore and Bimaa Sweater

If you're looking for the details of this monthly series you can check out the introduction post.

For February's Monthly MashUp I chose two pattern designers that I completely adore.  Every pattern I have used from both Sarah (EmmyLouBeeDo) and Amanda (Kitschy Coo) have blown me away.  The Bimaa Sweater (LouBee Clothing) and Mini Penny Pinafore (Kitschy Coo) do not disappoint.

Sarah's Bimaa Sweater pattern took the internet by storm over the past few months and I completely understand why.  I bought the pattern in the late summer after seeing all the lovely Aussie ladies sewing them up for their winter babies while we endured the heat of August in Maryland.  Then it was also a part of the fall Sew Fab Bundle so Bimaas were popping up everywhere.  I knew at first glance that the style was too cute not to pass up.  And like her other designs the Bimaa is stylish yet super comfy for Bean.  There are three neck options, but the most often seen is the dramatic cowl.  Bean wears both of her cowl neck Bimaas all the time.  The pattern sizing is 12M to 6 and I know we'll be using it until Bean gets too big to squeeze herself in.

The Mini Penny Pinafore is a relatively new pattern from a well established designer.  Amanda is basically responsible for Bean parading around Instagram in her underwear all the time, hehe.  Her Boy Cut Briefs are the best underwear pattern ever and they are the only type of undies Bean owns.  But back to the amazing new dress.  As Amanda is the queen of comfort knits of course this dress is just the perfect shape for running and playing.  It is meant to be made with stretchy knit and has just the right amount of length to be age appropriate, but still look cute and youthful.  And those side panels!  Lets talk about those.  The opportunity for color blocking is always fun, but they also lend a high design feel to a relatively simple sew.  Part of what eases the sewing is the meticulous time Amanda puts in with all her pattern designing.  When you cut out the side panel pattern pieces they don't look at all like they will fit the front and back at their seams, but as you pin the fabric together they magically match up EXACTLY.  Designing princess seams that don't make me want to tear my hair out while I sew takes a lot of skill and is something I truly appreciated while trying to speed through sewing something for my girl.  There are options for short or long sleeve and the pattern runs from 6M to 10Years so we will get a lot of use from it.

There have been a few simple Bimaa Sweater dresses out there since its release and I even have a simple one cut out for Bean that has been in my to sew pile for awhile now.  But for this MashUp I wanted to show you how easy it is to take two already interestingly designed patterns and Mash them together to create even more design options.  And trust me when I say this is a super simple MashUp.  Both fabrics were bought through Girl Charlee ages ago.

Using the neckline of the Bimaa Sweater and the body color blocking and sleeves from the Mini Penny Pinafore adds over 20 more options for what you can create.  I chose to make a long sleeved color blocked dress with the shawl collar, but all the work for making any of the options is done just with mashing the neckline.  I can now take my MashUp pattern and make combos like a cowl neck Mini Penny solid color A-line dress or a hooded color blocked short sleeved top.  It's like having an entirely new pattern in my stash.

Here is how I mashed it.  (note: these drawings and photos are not to scale so please don't try to use them as pattern pieces)

Start by tracing just the center front and center back pieces of the Mini Penny pattern and any markings.  You'll also need the front and back pieces of the Bimaa Sweater.  Both patterns use a seam allowance of 3/8" which makes a simple MashUp even easier.

We are interested in the Bimaa's neckline for this MashUp so since they are the same seam allowance we only need to match up the shoulder seam and the fold edge of the pattern pieces.  Line up the fold edges and then slide the Bimaa pattern along the fold line until the shoulder seams meet.

Once the pieces are lined up simply trace the Bimaa necklines of the back and front (blue lines above) onto the already traced Mini Penny pattern pieces (red lines above).

Cut the pattern pieces out using the blue necklines and the red lines everywhere else.  And you're done.  Easiest MashUp ever, right?

With super cute results.  Use whichever neckline option you'd like from the Bimaa Sweater and then the rest of the Mini Penny Pinafore pattern pieces except for its neckband.  Now this already great Mini Penny Pinafore has three new amazing neckline options which make it even more versatile.

I already have a hooded version cut out that I'm really excited about, but I wanted to feature the shawl collar option in this post.  I think the Bimaa shawl collar is so perfect, but I rarely see that option out there on the internets.  I have a few other shawl collar sweatshirt patterns and they are great, but the way Sarah designed the construction of this one is crazy simple and I've never had a shawl collar sit exactly right the first time (using a serger!) with any other pattern.  It definitely deserved a moment in the spotlight, hehe.

Amanda and Sarah have generously offered to giveaway one of each of the patterns to one lucky reader! Just follow the instructions in the rafflecopter below to enter the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Want to MashUp your own, but don't want to wait until the giveaway is over?  You can purchase the Bimaa Sweater pattern here and the Mini Penny Pinafore here.  I am not an affiliate of either of these ladies.  Just a HUGE fan, hehe.

Be sure to follow the Monthly MashUp Pinterest board if you'd like some more inspiration on garments to mash.  And remember, if you do a MashUp I'd love it if you would share it in the Call Ajaire Monthly MashUp Flickr group!  I'd love to have some MashUps to feature next week.

<a href="http://ajaire.blogspot.com/search/label/Monthly%20MashUp" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QaqRN54YV5eIpr-nbvuESs6hHOsDFaMODZGPwnVmLdGK0WCIYxnF7W4dZ8eOpKDmR7oCYL_5hvysYBodMWplhjguDoc0ZpyH9QMsGqN4sm3RHmMlUNTuok4VnzI-G48rr3O_8iweIsqZ/s1600/Monthly+MashUp+graphic+600px.png" alt="Call Ajaire Monthly MashUp" width="125" height="125" /></a>

**the patterns have been generously donated for the giveaway, but all opinions are mine and I purchased my own patterns before contacting the designers.

Flip This - Josephine Jacket

It's been a few months since I have been able to participate in the Flip This Pattern monthly sew along over at Frances Suzanne so I was determined to flip February's pattern.  The pattern is the Josephine Dress from Violette Field Threads.  It's a really lovely pattern and though I hadn't sewn with one of their patterns before I definitely will again.  The instructions were clear and the design is very detailed.

When I first saw the pintucks on either side of the front button placket I thought of a spring jacket for Bean.  She has worn her Peppermint Bubblegum Coat all winter, but I wanted something fresh for spring.  The 3T sleeves of her coat are starting to get a little short so for the new jacket I decided to use the 4T sizing.  This will hopefully make a great fall jacket too so though it's a tiny bit big today I am so happy I chose the larger size.

The Jacket was made of this lovely coral fabric I picked out from G Street Fabrics' sale bin last month.  It has a nice feel to it with texture and a bit of stretch.  My first thought with the fabric was for pants or a skirt for me, but by the time I got it home I had decided on a spring jacket for Bean.  I still have some left over so we'll see what that becomes.

The lining is more of the lovely floral double gauze from Imagine Gnats' shop.  It is lined everywhere except for the sleeves.  I didn't want the extra bulk in the arms for the warmer weather.

I have pictures of how I made the jacket and will post later about those details.  Maybe early next week?  But for now I'll do a quick rundown of the changes I made for this flip.

I chopped the bottom five inches off the shirt length of the pattern front and back pieces.  I then created a band to reattach to the back with some ruffles.

I added mini epaulets at the shoulders and narrowed the collar.  All the buttons were made with more of the coral fabric, but using the reverse side.

The ruffled button placket and pin tucks were so nice I decided to keep them.  I created them a bit differently so the jacket could be lined nicely, but the overall look is the same.  Where I chopped the five inches off the bottom of the front I then reattached a band with a faux pocket detail on each side.

The shoulder of the sleeve was left as is, but I changed the sleeve bands to wrap around slightly and be open without a closure.  For now I can turn up the band so Bean will have room to grow into the arm length.

So there you have it.  A spring jacket with snowy pictures, hehe.  I will say that is was gorgeous out though.  The weather has warmed just enough to make you want to go outside and play.

Bean was very excited to be able to run around outside for a bit.  I feel like we've been way too cooped up this winter.  We had a stretch of just insanely cold temperatures (as did most of the rest of the US north and east coast) so it's great to enjoy some 30s and 40s for a change.

I'm happy I was able to squeeze in this flip.  The Josephine Jacket came out just as I had imagined.

Don't forget to vote for one of the competitors in the viewer's choice category later this week.  There are some great designers this month.  And of course there's the sew-along.  Stop by and see what everyone else made.

And be sure to come back again tomorrow because it's the third Thursday of February which means it's time for our Monthly MashUp.  February's MashUp is really exciting so you won't want to miss it!

Signature Dress - All Wrapped Up

It's no secret that I like to make something fun for Bean to wear on the holidays.  I try to make things as subtle as possible so that they can be worn on other days too.  For Valentine's day I knew we were going out to dinner and that she should have a cute dress to wear.  I quickly looked through my patterns (neatly stored in a file cabinet - LOVE) and found the perfect dress.

I haven't made a Go To Signature Dress (*affiliate link) since the fall of 2012.  That's really just a year and a half ago, but doesn't that sound like an eternity?  It is such a great pattern, with so many options and I'm happy it's on my radar again.

During the most recent KCW I was scanning through Sew Set for dresses to see what I might like to make.  If you haven't seen Sew Set it is worth checking out. It's like an online catalog of sewing patterns and tutorials that you can scan by subject and whether they are free or for sale.  It was created by Jess Abbott from The Sewing Rabbit and is just a genius idea.

The dress that caught my eye was called the Wrapped Up dress from iCandy Handmade.  I thought the tied band would be a perfect way to spice up the Go To Signature dress for Valentine's day.  I didn't look at the tutorial, but it is offered for free and I assume it would include how to make her original dress.  I just took the easy way out and used her front ties idea on a dress I was going to make anyway, hehe.

During a Black Friday sale I bought these tiny polka dots from Michael Levine and I knew they'd be put to good use.  It's a perfect little girl fabric for cuteness and comfort.  I paired it with some leftovers of the bright pink striped JoAnn fabrics knit that I used for Bean's Long Sleeved Banyan Tee.

I didn't do any gathers or shirring around the chest or back in order to leave the rest of the dress simple in design.  I thought the pop of stripes at the neckline and the tied band would be enough of a statement.

I made the size 3T dress length and though it's a little short it's where I like her dresses to hit at this age.  It'll be perfect for spring/summer with leggings or shorts too.

Since I hadn't used the elastic cuffed short sleeve version of the pattern yet I thought I'd give it a go.  It's a similar look to a gathered and banded sleeve, but so much simpler.  I love how it turned out.

For our dinner Bean wore a pair of black tights and her black boots with the dress and it was really cute.  She looked so grown up sitting at the table with us.  We've had only a few meals at this restaurant since she was born because it's quite a drive from our house and it's incredible how much of a difference I notice in her each time we go.

We had a fantastic Valentine's day and I'm so happy I dusted off a staple pattern (*affiliate link) to make this new dress.  It can be easy to forget about those old standbys with so many great new patterns coming out all the time, but this one is always a winner.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Some of you may already know that I lived in Seattle for most of my adult life.  I went out to the Northwest for college and then pretty much stayed another nine or so years after that.  Through the years I made great friends and some became like family.  That happens when you live 3000 miles away from everyone else.  One of my closest friends from my freshman year's family lived nearby and I spent a lot of time with them.  They took me in as an adopted daughter and I'm really grateful for  the time I spent in their home.  In my last years in the Northwest I even rented their old house from them and it was so fun living next door.  It really felt like I had family close by even though I was far from home.

All this is to say one of my favorite memories of my time spent there was how they would decorate for Valentine's day.  Overnight the kitchen small appliances were replaced with bright red versions.  The toaster, blender, etc.  It was such a fun way to celebrate.  It brightened up the room and though subtle, was the perfect way to make it feel like this was a special time.  I knew this was something I wanted to bring to our family.  Valentine's day is a commercial holiday, but really if it's all about showing those you love a little extra affection one day a year I don't see the harm.  My husband and I don't go overboard, but we really want to make it a special day for us all as a family.

I made Bean a removable Cushion Cover as her main Valentine's day gift.  She LOVES to read her books so I thought it would be nice for her to have a soft place to sit on the floor instead of actually sitting on the hard wood floor, hehe.  I gave her the cushion yesterday with a Round Cushion Cover on it.  She loved it and dragged it throughout the house.  This morning I put the Heart Shaped Cushion Cover on it and left it out for her to discover.

The iPhone picture above was taken while she was pondering how the "circle" cushion turned into a "heart" cushion.  She was so curious about it and seemed to really love that it became a heart for Valentine's day.

We also gave her three books and a set of stacking heart bowls for her pretend cooking set.  She dove right into the books as I knew she would.

A couple of days ago I decided I would make a new Table Quilt for our dining room table (which is shared with the living room area so we are at this table ALL DAY LONG) with a Valentine's day theme.  It was way overdue to swap out the fall themed one, so I used a coupon to buy some prequilted reversible pink fabric from JoAnn Fabrics.  I followed my tutorial (which was great because I didn't even have to calculate the measurements, hehe) using some flannel and quilting cotton for the edges.  Using the prequilted fabric is such a cheat, but perfect for a speedy holiday sew.  I simply added some premium felt for batting in the edge pieces and the whole thing was padded enough to protect the table.  Of course I didn't start the actual assembly of the table quilt until last night, but I knew it would come together quickly.  It's still reversible, but looks exactly the same on the other side.  As I'm sitting at the table right now I might have already dripped some coffee on one side so that's probably a good feature, hehe.  Because the table takes up so much room, it's the best way I can dramatically decorate our living space.  So there you have it, super simple and it was absolutely the first thing Bean noticed this morning so it was totally worth staying up late to finish it.

Tonight the three of us will go to our favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner.  That may sound silly, but this is an extra nice restaurant that goes all out for Valentine's day with their decorations and it's become tradition to make reservations their for the occasion.  Bean loves going out to eat so she'll be extra excited when she finds out about that.  For now she'll spend the day pretending to make delicious treats in her new heart bowls.

Of course having everything ready, I woke up early this morning and decided she had to have a new pair (or two or three or four) of underwear.  That teeny heart fabric was just made to be underwear or pajamas wasn't it?  Hmmm... pajamas...I guess I know what I'm doing during rest time this afternoon, hehe.

What about you?  Do you do anything special to celebrate these in-between holidays?