Made For Mermaids Back To School Blog Tour

I'm so excited to be a part of the Made For Mermaids back to school blog tour.  While other parents are busy running from store to store searching for new clothes and backpacks, I'm busy shopping for the right fabrics and patterns to make my daughter items for her wardrobe that are on trend.  When your child is finally a long awaited 5th grader, a top dog of the elementary school, it suddenly becomes important to her to make sure every item she wears is not only comfy but also completely in style.  Unfortunately, a lot of the items my daughter would pick out for herself are accompanied by a BIG price tag.   It makes me so happy that I am able to recreate almost all of the items on her back to school clothing wish list.  It makes me even happier to know that I can recreate them at a fraction of the cost and with better quality.    

For this back to school blog tour my daughter and I chose the Made for Mermaids Blair top.  Let me start off by telling you a little bit about the pattern.  The pattern is designed for knit fabrics which already makes it one of my daughter's most favorite things in her closet. In fact, knit seems to be about the only thing she wants to wear these days!! 

There are several hem options included in the pattern so it is very versatile.  The options offered include a ruffled top, rainbow hem, high-low top and hemmed tunic.  In addition, a single ruffle, double ruffle or lace can be added to any hemline.  Let your imagination wonder and I'm sure you can combine a lot of these options to make several unique garments that all have their own unique look.  The pattern is available in sizes 1/2 - 14 so you will be able to use this pattern for years to come as your child grows.  And I don't know about you but no matter how much I try to slow her down, she just keeps growing faster, taller, smarter and stronger right before my eyes. 

 

For our version of the Blair top we chose the rainbow hem.  I am in LOVE with this option!  Although all of the options are popular, as well as adorable, the rainbow hem gives the top that extra something special (in my opinion).  The blair top usually has a v neck line but we modified ours to be rounded.  Both of our main fabrics were purchased at our local Hobby Lobby.  The top is made with a gold glitter sweater knit and is lined with a cream spandex knit so it is soft on the inside. The ruffle is made from a darker gold sparkle knit.  I am ecstatic over the results. 

The top can be worn casually or for a nice event. It looks great everyway we style it. I can't wait to make more...there are so many ideas running through my mind for this top.  If you feel inspired to make a blair top/tunic I sure hope you will share it in the Made for Mermaids facebook pattern group. I'd love to see and be inspired by your creations!  If you don't have the Blair pattern yet, you can check it out here: http://www.madeformermaids.com/?affiliates=7327">Affiliate

 
Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog today.  I hope you are enjoying the tour!

Made For Mermaids - Back To School Blog Tour Calendar

 Aug 8 - Lily Shine Boutique   Wild & Wanderful   Paisley Roots

Aug 9 - Handmade boy   Coles Corner & Creations   Pattern Revolution

Aug 10 - Pear Berry Lane   Snickerdoodle Stew   Squishy Face Collection

Aug 11 - Not Sew Plain Jane   Three Penguins   Sweet Red Poppy

Aug 12 - Better Dressed Child   Sew Sophie Lynn   Sew & Tell Project

 

 

 

What's Knot to Love About Winnie Pinnie? - Winnie Pinnie Blog Tour for Little Lizard King

I am so excited to be a part of the Winnie Pinnie blog tour for Little Lizard King.  I fell in love with this pattern the moment I saw it.  Winnie Pinnie provides a modern twist on a classic style...it's eye catching and unique yet timeless.  This pattern features both dress a dress and top length version and both are divine.

For the first version I sewed up I followed the pattern and directions as written except for a few basic modification to the skirt so I could include more fabrics from the incredibly gorgeous Nicey Jane line by Heather Bailey for Westminster / Free Spirit.  I love how sweet this fabric line looks combined I couldn't be any happier with this pattern and fabric combination in addition to this sweet field of wild flowers.

For my second Winnie Pinnie, featured here, I wanted to make a classic top with a modification.  Instead of having the back close with two button closure I extended the two top connecting pieces and created ties.  I chose a solid green woven cotton as my fabric choice because I wanted the modification to stand out.  I decided to go with a bright green color.  I always admire items made from this color and yet I seldom use it.  I'm so glad I did because it is so vibrant and fun.

 I am so in love with this modification and it is super simple to do. When cutting out the pattern for this modification I extended the top tab by approximately 4".  At that point I extended  two more inches but started bringing the lines together to meet at a point.  Make sure when doing this step they meet right in the middle.  From there I followed the directions except omitted the top button and tied the extended pieces in a knot.  This was such a fun little hack and I'm extremely happy with it.  I hope you guys will give it a try and share your pictures on the Little Lizard King pattern page. I mean why knot?  Get it?  Lol.

It was a beautiful night and I had the opportunity to have two girls with me so I took a few extra pics of this Winnie Pinnie with the new Star Seeking Crop Top.  I'm telling you Little Lizard King is on fire these days.  I'm really enjoying how their patterns are appropriate, fun and flattering for such a large age range.  I love that I can sewing things for my daughter and her best friend and they are excited to wear them.  In these photos the top length, simple version is being shown.  This top/crop top is right on trend!!! 

I hope you enjoyed this short and easy tutorial....can't wait to see what you create.    The Winnie Pinnie pattern will be on SALE at www.LittleLizardKing.com until Aug 1st midnight EST....enter code  "WPTour" for 20% off.  

Hi I'm Not Sew Plain Jane....Nice to Meet You!

Hi my name is Jane and I am the owner/designer of Not Sew Plain Jane. I started sewing about 6 years ago, but only became serious about it for the past  three years.  I am the mother of 4 children and although I love them immensely I decided it was time for me to have a personal passion/creative outlet in my life again.  I love creating and my passion for designing and sewing continually kept growing so I opened up a successful etsy shop.  I also became active in several social media sewing groups online and before I knew it things were growing faster than I could keep up.  I now test patterns for several designers, am on a review board for patterns and also sew up sample items for a fabric company.  My daughter is my main model and I love getting time with her to go out and do a shoot (even if she rolls her eyes at me and I get a lot of sighs I still know we are bonding and creating memories).  I love that with each item I sew I learn new techniques as well as perfect old techniques.  Mostly thought I love that I am rediscovering who I am through my love of creating.  Here are some recent photos I have done of my daughter of patterns I have tested.