Winter Wear Designs – Page 2 – Connected By a Thread

Posted on March 14, 2016March 18, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 3 Comments

Whimsical Fabric Voile Blog tour

I’m so excited to be the first stop on the Whimsical Fabric Voile tour! I have just recently started playing with voile and venturing to use it for garments. I think what held me back so long was I really didn’t know what voile was! It is really hard to tell from a picture and a description what something feels like or what it sews like. a simple search turned up this: Voile is a soft, sheer fabric, usually made of 100% cotton or cotton blends including linen or polyester.

Doesn’t really tell you much right? Well, let me tell you about it! It is silky soft, perfect for tops that don’t need a knit. I have seen some awesome dresses for little girls, and I bet it would make a wonderful maxi skirt (ohh…might have to use the coupon to get some to try that!). For this project, I picked a beautiful light blue with flowers (found HERE). I also picked Winter Wear Designs Button up as my pattern (found HERE).

This sewed up so nice! I modified the pattern just a little. I used a smaller seam allowance as I was between sizes. I also turned my sleeves under 1/4″ and hemmed than that way rather than using bias tape (personal preference). I haven’t decided if I want to put buttons on this one or leave it this way to wear over my tank tops this summer!

Pattern Details:

Long sleeve with tab
Long sleeve with cuff and placket
3/4 sleeve plain
3/4 sleeve with tab
Short sleeve
Sleeveless
Front pockets with optional pocket flaps
Directions for sewing the shirt with french seams for really sheer fabrics

Ok, back to the voile! This was the 3rd shirt I have sewn in voile for myself, and I are starting to wish all my shirts were this soft! The fabric has a beautiful drape. My first thought was it would make a beautiful infinity scarf, but I never wear scarves! It sews very nice with a universal needle. My last shirt, I forgot that I had a microtex needle in my machine, and it kept snagging and pulling the fabric. If that happens when you start sewing yours, check your needle! I really flew through the machine like butter! If you find your machine wants to eat the fabric, try putting some tissue paper under it.

Things we all want to know:

Fabric width: 54″
100% cotton
Fabric washes beautifully but tends to wrinkle easily. This was the only downside I found, as I never iron things, but with this fabric, I need to iron it before I can wear it!

I also made the Gallery tunic by liesl+Co (found HERE). This is one of my favorites to wear! I will share more about this top on Saturday!

I hope I have inspired you to pick up some voile and give it a try!

Be sure to check out all the posts this week! So many different uses for Voile!

3/14: Larissa from Connected by a Thread
3/15: Denita from Hattielu Handmade
3/16: JaNette from Merri Poppins
3/17: Sharon from Sweet Pea & Pumpkins
3/18: Stacey from From a Box

You can shop voile fabrics on the Whimsical Fabric website and be sure to use VOILE for 10% off your voile order! Coupon expires Thursday, March 24th at midnight CST.

Posted on February 10, 2016February 10, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 6 Comments

Whimsical Winter Wear Dress

If you follow me at all, you know I love Whimsical Fabric. I have been buying my fabric from her for a while now. Twice a month, she has “Wacky Wednesday”. On these days, she has a set of fabrics from a line, usually 1 main print and 2-4 coordinates, that she posts in her group for a great deal. The catch? You must buy the bundle, no picking and choosing what fabrics you want from it. Today is a Wacky Wednesday and I LOVE the fabric she chose for today! I had the chance to purchase my bundle earlier and sew it up to share.

Late last year, I started sewing up samples of these bundles, hoping to give people some inspiration and show the fabrics in use.

Here are the ones I have done so far:

Jocole Skirts- 2 size 14 girls skirts out of a 1 yard bundle!

Sig Creations Delaney and Birdie ruffle pants- Size 3 with fabric left over from a 1 yard bundle!

And this awesome Swoon Vivian and Straight Stitch Have it All Wallet- this set used all of the main print, most of the grey (its the lining of the purse as well), and then pieces of the floral- this left me 2 full yards that I chose not to add in from the bundle.

Lets get to today’s bundle!

Today’s fabric is Milk, Sugar, & Flower by Penny Rose Fabric. Isn’t it just adorable?

As soon as I saw it, I knew it was destined to be a dress for a little girl. The problem? I dont have a little girl anymore! So I put out some feelers for models, and got a couple hits but none that would fit the bill and timeline! I realized I was going to have to send this out to someone, and time was running out! So, I started looking at my sewing friends and who would fit the bill of what I was looking for. All the sudden, I came across a picture Suzanne posted of her little girl and I knew I had found the girl for this fabric! Suzanne is the owner of Winter Wear Designs, and also works on Pattern Revolution. She is also an amazing photographer! I quickly sent her a message asking if she would be interested. Thankfully, she was as excited as I was! We tossed around dress ideas, and settled on the girls Bateau dress from Suzanne’s pattern line.

Isn’t she perfect in this fabric and dress??

This is just perfect on her! I’m so glad I had that light bulb moment and sent that message!
This was my first time sewing the girls version! I tested the ladies version and made many muslins to get the perfect fit on my teenager! So sewing this was pretty quick, since I didnt have to run back and forth between my computer and my sewing machine! To get from printing to the zipper installation probably took me 1 1 /2 hours. I then put it down for 2 days, and finished it in another hour or so before sending it out! Not bad for a dress with 4 double box pleats!

Details of the Dress pattern:

Sizes: 1-14 (Size 1 is equivalent to a size 18 months)
Side zipper – great directions on how to put it in and have it turn out well!
Boat neck
Options of a scoop back or cross strap back,
Tunic, vintage, or regular lengths
Pleated rectangle skirt or pleated circle skirt
The optional petti-skirt allows you to add additional ‘poof’ under either skirt version.

This version is a size 7 width and size 6 length with the scoop back and pleated rectangle skirt. I think I want this in my size now! (there is a Ladies Bateau dress available!)

I added on the Bateau bolero to round out the outfit, and it just works so well with this style of dress!

Details of the Bolero pattern:

Sizes: 1-14
Basic bolero
This can be basic and casual in knit or quilting cotton, or over-the-top in fur or sequins.
The front is designed to close with ribbons tied in a bow, but I love it with no closure!

Be sure to grab your bundle today! It will be on sale HERE at Noon CST! ***Fabric SOLD out*** Be sure to check out her website for more awesome fabric!

Posted on February 1, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 2 Comments

Winter Wear Designs: The V Neck Vest

When I really got back into sewing and discovered PDF patterns, I quickly caught the testing bug! I love testing patterns and helping designers work out all the kinks! As life became busier and I started working for designers, I stopped testing, I just couldn’t make the time commitment and I really don’t like turning stuff in late! Lately, I have been getting back into testing groups, and Winter Wear Designs is one of my favorite designers to test for. I love her approach to testing and how she actually listens to what the testers say and suggest. I also LOVE that she is working on getting more BOY patterns out into pattern land! you can see more of the items I have made from this designer here.

The test we just finished up is for the boys V Neck Vest. It is on sale through Tuesday 2/2/16 for only $4!! Be sure to pick yours up! Of course, it will also look super cute on all those girls as well!

Isn’t he just so cute??

Details:

Size: 1-14 (a size 1 is equivalent to 18 months)

V neck
banded arm holes
banded hem or a regular turned hem

Fabric choices:

upcycling
raw yardage of sweater knits
thick knit fabrics

This is definitely a nap time project! A few of the testers times ourselves and the average was ~33 min from start to finish!

My toddler loves his and keeps asking for his “soft shirt”

Details about mine- The blue is a size 2 width with a 4 length and banded bottom. This was my first run of the pattern, and even though he fit in the 2 measurements, it was a little snug, so if you are in between measurements, I would size up. The red, is a straight size 3 with banded bottom. the fit was spot on! I can see is having a few more of these in the coming weeks! and defintely something cute for Easter!

Don’t forget to pick up your copy while it is on sale!