go to patterns signature dress review

July 26, 2012October 22, 201219 Comments

when andrea from the train to crazy contacted me to be a part of the blog tour introducing her new online pattern store, go to patterns, i was so excited! andrea was in season 3 of project run & play with me, and i was bummed to see her go during vintage/retro week. her downton abbey dresses were so beautiful, and i have a torrid love affair with downtown abbey. also, my sister’s name is andrea, so i like her for that too. 🙂

anyway, when she sent me the signature dress for review, it blew my mind!

there are TONS of options in this pattern (three lengths, seven sleeve styles, four pocket types, hood, and appliqué templates, ranging from 12 months to 12 years!). i think another reviewer called this the choose your own adventure of patterns, and it’s true! if you’re the type that likes to follow a pattern and not have to think about switching things up, this is a fantastic pattern for you. and if you’ve never sewn with knits before, andrea includes plenty of great instructions to guide you through.

i used my normal machine with a walking foot for most of the sewing and finished things off with my serger, except for the neckline which i only serged (for stretch) and topstitched the back neckline.

and if you’re the type that DOES like to mix it up, the signature dress provides a basic shape that you can easily customize. i’d recommend printing out the pattern layout and figuring out which pages to print; once you have the pages you need, it’s really quick to piece together.

Em loves her dresses, so i was happy to add another comfy one to her wardrobe.

i made a 3T and originally cut the maxi length, but when i tried to do the neckband in the same apple knit (which is a light t-shirt knit from mill end), the apple didn’t stretch far enough and i had to recut. i should have known it wouldn’t work. so after recutting, it ended up more “tea length” with plenty of growing room. the final neckline is a deep teal interlock with LOTS of stretch. i like this combo better!

i did two lines of shirring (hey hey look at me, i can shirr now!) starting an inch under the armpit, and i left the hem raw to continue the casual summer vibe. honestly i was really worried it might look like a nightgown with the small apple print, but on her it doesn’t at all! phew.

they like holding hands now. O even says “hode hans” and reaches for her. come on. melt my heart.

get your signature dress pattern and browse the rest of the patterns in the go to patterns shop! and if you’re looking for more inspiration, be sure to check out all of the awesome versions of this dress on the tour…

Andrea was kind enough to gift me the signature dress pattern for this review, and i am an affiliate of go to patterns. my opinions are my own.

breezy eyelet tunic tutorial

July 24, 2012August 31, 201210 Comments

time to bring home a tutorial i did earlier this month as part of color your summer, a superfun series put on by kojodesigns and delia creates. be sure to check out kojo’s roundup of all 50 color your summer posts – it’s a rainbow of delightful summery projects!

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hello! i’m kristin and i’m so happy to be wrapping up color your summer at kojo! my project today was fully inspired by my fabric, a fabulous green circle eyelet that i picked up at britex during a recent trip to san francisco (where i met and shopped with one of delia’s wonderful color your summer guests, cherie!).

i decided to make a fancy coverup tunic for my little gal to wear over her swimsuit (she changes into her swimsuit first thing if she thinks there’s any chance of swimming that day), but it could be made in any lightweight fabric for an easy summer shirt.

this tunic is a remix of made by rae’s flashback skinny tee pattern, which is the perfect basic top pattern to adapt to many different things. it’s really a must buy if you ask me. in this tutorial, i’ll show you how to alter her pattern to make this not-so-skinny tunic with a keyhole neckline.

let’s get sewing!

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fruit stripe skirt tutorial

July 18, 2012November 28, 201240 Comments

today i’m posting a tutorial for skirting the issue, a campaign by liz and elizabeth of simple simon & co. to donate at least 100 skirts to girls in foster care by the beginning of august. i’m so happy to join in the effort!

the simons asked a bunch of bloggers to create simple skirt tutorials to share and inspire others to sew for this great cause (or anytime, really). since my little gal is only 4, my first thought was little gal skirts. a skirt is the first thing i sewed for her when she was just 15 months old, and remains a favorite thing to sew. my tutorial today is pretty simple, but it’s got some fun style. i’m also sharing a few general skirt making tips i’ve picked up over the past few years.

for the design, i was inspired by fruits – citrus, berries, and melons – the type of summertime fruit that my sisters and i sat outside and snacked on as kids, juice running everywhere, until we decided the best way to clean off was to run through the sprinkler. well…all but the lime, which was probably adding some flavor to mom ‘s icy cold beverage as she kept an eye on us.

i created an abstract color blocked skirt that gave me that summery feeling. i’m calling it the fruit stripe skirt!

we’ve got citrus in sizes 3T and 2T…

…and melon and a berry varieties in sizes 4T and 18 months!

the colors are interchangeable; once you know the method, you can make your skirts in whatever style you’d like. best of all, these take very little time and require no hemming! let’s get sewing.

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shorts and a top on the line, and another thing

July 13, 2012July 18, 201227 Comments

today i’m over at small + friendly guest posting for shorts on the line! what a fun summer series this has been so far, and they’ve still got another week to go! head over to read my pattern review and see how i altered the clever charlotte finch shorts from a bloomer to a full, culotte style. shorts that look like a skirt? sign Em up! my post is here.

but wait! i couldn’t just make the finch shorts! i’ve had the finch top on my “want to make” list forever, really ever since katy made it, and knew this was the perfect opportunity to sew that up too.

i made the top in a size 2T, with a 3T length (as i mention in my shorts post, clever charlotte patterns tend to run a bit large). it fits great. i eliminated the bow and added a button closure, finishing the bottom by folding the main fabric under to the wrong side by 1/2,” the lining under by a little more, pinning them together, and topstitching. it was a quick and easy way to finish the top without bias tape.

after sifting through my stash for the perfect fabric to add some pop to the linen shorts, i chose this glorious washi tape by rashida coleman-hale. ooooh man, i’m such a washi fan now. what a fun fabric. i love how the bright tape jumps off the charcoal background. it’s one of those fabrics that looks good on the bolt, but truly comes alive on a garment. i lined the top with an ikea sheet that i typically use for muslins (lots of yardage for just a little money).

and check out my fun button!!! as a thank you for co-hosting vintage may with her, jess sent me the cutest package of fabrics and notions, including these little buttons! it’s handmade by incomparable buttons, and it adds the perfect touch to finish this little top. i almost always sew with cheap plastic buttons, so this was a real treat! thanks again, jess! can’t wait to use more of the gift pack in my sewing, it’s super great stuff.

i’m so happy with this finchfit, it’s a great addition to Em’s lilac tree-climbing summer wardrobe. i love making clothes she can move so freely in. thanks again to clever charlotte for providing this pattern for my review, it was great.

clever charlotte finch shorts and top

okay, one more thing. i started a facebook page for the blog. this week, i took a fantastic class through alt channel taught by liz stanley and got all motivated, so here we go! click like on the skirt as top facebook page to be notified of posts and whatever else i might want to talk about in between.

if you blog, i highly recommend the alt classes. it’s so much easier to learn how to sew than how to blog sometimes, i swear! these classes help you skip the trial and error and learn from those that have already figured things out. through the end of july, there are even ways for you to take classes for free! (#thanksbing)

that’s it! if you haven’t yet, go see my acrobatic little gal in her new shorts, and have a wonderful weekend!

film petit: introduction & the life aquatic with steve zissou

July 10, 2012October 31, 201284 Comments

my favorite thing about blogging is getting to be as geeky as i want and having friends online that are right there with me. this was not the case growing up – in grade school and high school, it was never a good idea (socially) to overtly try hard at anything. you were supposed to hang back and blend in, not talk about how you were really into some nerdy niche thing.

i’m 30 now, and i’m finally over that. the sewing blog world obsesses over fabric lines and patterns and new creative ideas. i don’t blog to put out the thing that will get 100,000 hits. i blog because i’m a bit different, you’re a bit different, and we all support and inspire each other.

all of that is to say that today i’m super excited to announce a new ongoing, geeky sewing series i’m co-hosting with my buddy jessica from a little gray. she lives in ohio, i live in oregon, we’ve never met in person…but i consider her a good friend. you may recall i competed in project run & play season 3 last winter. well, jessica won season 4! we had been casual blog pals for a while before PR&P happened to either of us, but became pretty tight during her season. i had a really fun time cheering her on, sharing my mistakes to avoid, hearing about her designs as they evolved, getting photo previews, texting at 1am…

season 4 got a movie challenge, which made me insanely jealous because i LOVE movies. jessica made this drive outfit that totally blew me away. i mean, who has the cajones to sew from a new, violent, not-so-well-known movie like that, the skill to pull off a quilted, piped, satin driving jacket and oh by the way, she also whipped up some jeans?! jessica, that’s who. because she’s awesome.

once her season was over, we started chatting (texting constantly) about how it’d be fun to do something together where every so often, for our own amusement, we make outfits for our kids inspired by movies. we’re not talking about your classic “nice” movies here. we’re talking about kinda weird, indie, random movies inspiring outfits that are hilarious on little kids…and lo, a new series was born.

we’re calling it film petit and we’re just gonna launch right into it!

as soon as i saw the season 4 movie week challenge, i knew i wanted to sew ned plimpton/kingsley zissou from the life aquatic with steve zissou, directed by wes anderson. ned plimpton is a pilot, and steve zissou’s adult son (allegedly). steve tells him “i would have named you kingsley, if i’d had a say in it,” so kingsley it is. a good part of the movie is ned/kingsley and steve developing an awkward father-son relationship with each other (as they hunt down the fabled jaguar shark). i didn’t have time to sew this during the sewalong, but luckily it’s jessica’s favorite too and she was happy to indulge me now!

my husband and i also share a love of movies, including this one. when i was pregnant with Em, i bought a light blue sleeper and red infant hat for him to open at christmas. that was 2007!

now that we have a 19 month old son, i figured it would be most fitting to make him the full zissou uniform. here he is next to the real kingsley zissou, played by owen wilson.

wes anderson is famous for his careful attention to detail. i tried to get my little outfit as close as i could while making a few intentional changes (shorts instead of pants, kona cotton instead of polyester, no gun strapped to his thigh), but i did miss one major detail that’s driving me a bit crazy. i’m sure you spotted right away that their stoplights don’t match. AAAARGH!

i used the oliver + s sketchbook shirt and shorts pattern in the 12-18 month size as the base, appliqueing double stripes to the placket, sleeves, and sides of the shorts using steam-a-seam lite and topstitching them in place. i chopped a few inches off both the sleeves and the shorts to give them a more retro look, and bound the sleeves (and used binding on the shorts hem too) for accuracy and to reduce bulk. i added epaulets at the shoulders and a team zissou patch to the pocket.

his cap is the family sweater hat pattern from handmade home by soulemama, which i cut several inches longer than the pattern and folded it up to create a cuff. i hand-tacked it in a few places, then appliqued the felt stoplight on top. the hat is made out of an old tank top of mine (same one as strong boy).

here’s mini kingsley on a ping island rescue mission…

getting towed into port-au-patois harbor…

and relaxing with a snack at the zissou compound…

i finished hand sewing the collar the night before we left for hawaii…so worth it for the perfect setting, right?

head on over to a little gray to check out jessica’s version of how this series came to be, giggle-out-loud at her steveZ swimsuit, and admire her adorable little crayon ponyfish dress! so, so great. of course she sewed for both kids…that’s the mark of a champion right there.

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here’s how film petit will work.

every month or so, jessica and i will sew an outfit (or outfits) for our kid (or kids) inspired by a movie we love.
starting next month, we’re going to invite a rotating third blogger to join us! we’ll decide on the movie together, link to each other, and it’ll be fun to have a fresh face sewing with us every time. our friend gail from probably actually will be joining us in august!
we started a film petit flickr group to celebrate the love of sewing inspired by movies, and have added a few of our past projects in there (i know, i sewed a dorothy outfit – i’d only been sewing a few months, gimme a break!).
feel free to add any movie-inspired sewing you’ve done in the past, and if you decide to sew along with our film petit movies, we’d love to see that too! once we get a good number of projects in there, we’ll start doing roundups (or maybe ask you to join us for a future film!).
this is a pretty relaxed series, really the only rule is to make handmade outfits for kids based on films you love. if you have any questions, please let either of us know!

PS – do you ever wish you could breathe underwater?