Day 5: Swoon Eloise Wallet Sewalong- Zipper Pouch, Accordian Tabs, andFinish

Last day!  It's an easy day, so let's finish up!

Grab your interior zipper and your four zipper pouch pieces.

Place your zipper along one of the interfaced zipper pouch pieces, right sides together.  Change to a zipper foot, if that pleases you. 

Day 4 Swoon Eloise Wallet Sewalong: Attaching Trifold Compartment andCompleting Main Compartment Pleats

Next to last day ladies!

Today we are attaching the trifold compartment to the main compartment and completing the main compartment lining.

Grab your two compartments.  With the main compartment folded, but unzipped, center the trifold compartment.  If you have a preference on which side the trifold compartment is attached to, take care to note which way the zipper is going.

Etsy Shop is OPEN for Business!

Many years in the making, Ali Cat & Co finally has an Etsy shop!

Please check out the shop and tell me what you think!

To celebrate, we are having a Etsy shop opening giveaway.

Prize is for your choice of clutch in the shop.

The giveaway ends Saturday night.
The giveaway is open to US residents only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 3: Swoon Eloise Wallet Sewalong Completing the Trifold Compartmentand Attaching Main Compartment Zipper

Day 3 of the Swoon Eloise Wallet Sewalong.
Today we will finish the trifold compartment and attach the main compartment zipper.

Take the stripe panel.  Fold each long end under 1/2".

My Little Plumcake Spring Dress

This child of mine is adorable, prepare yourself for a cuteness overload.

My Little Plumcake is red hot this spring. She has great style, clean lines and what I can 

only describe as new designs with a classic look. MLPC patterns are sweet and adorable.  

Both of my children like them!

Introducing the MLPC Spring Dress.

It has a lined and fun shaped bodice with a button tab back closure and gathered skirt.

For extra detail, the bottom sides of the skirt, curve up to meet.

I'm a broken record here, but her instructions are very clear and great for beginners.

Pinning the bodice to the skirt requires extra attention to get smooth curves, but the rest is easy peasy sewing.

Cookie Dough wouldn't put Pup down.

Please tell me how FREAKIN' ADORABLE she is!

Day 2: Swoon Eloise Wallet Sewalong Completing Trifold LINING Panel

Welcome to Day 2 of the Swoon Eloise Wallet Sewalong.

Today we are completing the Trifold Lining.

Below are pictures and written instructions for making the Trifold pleats.  

But here is also a link for a video on how to make the pleats. 

Making the Pleats Video

1. Take your Trifold Pleat panel, lay it horizontally, wrong side up.
Starting on the left side, mark 4" over.
(I marked the top and the bottom or you can draw a vertical line down)
From your 4" mark, make another indication at 6.5" followed by 3 more 6.5" markings.

Greenstyle Creations Brassie Pants and Shorts

Happy Monday!  Hope everyone had an amazing weekend.

I bought a new sewing machine! I'm the happiest person on the planet right now.

I digress.

Greenstyle Creations just released the Brassie pants and shorts.

These are so cute and comfy; I want a pair in my size!

The nitty gritty:

sizes: 18 months to 14 years

fabrics:  legs can be knit or cotton but the waist and leg cuffs must be knit

 yardage: 1 yard or less

styles:  shorts or pants

Boys AND girls

Check out the Greenstyle Facebook page to see the pattern on boys, girls, and all sizes.

These are super fast-like 2 hours and so easy, especially if you are new to knits.

I'm going to make the shorts version as well.

My favorite part of the pattern-using elastic thread to gather.  WHY haven't I been doing this all along?  Perfect way to gather.  Absolutely genius!

This is a great pattern for spring and summer. Nice and cool but the pants give coverage.

Plus, no zippers, snaps or buttons- ideal for little ones who are learning to dress him/herself.

I feel a loss of words for how wonderful the pattern is and I don't know what else to say.

SO, I will let the pictures sell the pattern.

Day 1: Swoon Eloise Wallet Sewalong Printing, Cutting, and Stabilizing

*This blog post contains affiliate links*

Welcome to Swoon's second sewalong.  We will be stitching Eloise Wallet.

If you have not purchased the pattern yet, do so HERE.

Materials:

1 fat quarter quilting weight exterior fabric

1 yard (44" wide) quilting weight lining fabric

1/4" yard two sided fusible Pellon Peltex (72f)

  1/2 yard Pellon Craft-fuse 808  interfacing

18" #5 zipper for main compartment zip aroun

8" zipper for interior pocket pouch

One magnetic snap: 3/4" diameter

1.  Print out the pattern.  Make sure your printer is set at "actual size" and "auto rotate".  Do NOT check the "fit" box.

2.  Cut out the pattern pieces and cut out your fabric based on what the pieces state.

3.  In addition to cutting the pieces, also cut

• Trifold Pleated Panels: 1 lining 37.5" x 7.5"
• Trifold Pleated Backing:  1 lining and 1 interfacing 7.5" x 3.75"
• Main compartment Pleated Panels: 1 lining 12"x18
• Main Compartment Pleated Backing: 2 lining, 2 interfacing 4"x9"
• Pocket Panels: 4 lining, 2 interfacing 4"x8"

For the cut list items, I like to write those names and measurements on a piece of paper

so I can remember what they are.

Mouse House Creations' Womens Caroline Party Dress

My lovely friend Hayley over at Mouse House Creations gave me the extreme pleasure of 

allowing me to pattern next her newest PDF pattern-the Women's Caroline Party Dress.

If you remember a few months ago, I made the girl's version of this dress.

Scientific Seamstress: Katie's Fancy Pants

You all know how much I love Scientific Seamstress.

Recently I made myself the Women's Judy Pants and I am completely in love with them.

Now introducing Katie's Fancy Pants!

Features:

• pockets
• high rise and low rise options
• full elastic waist band or elastic back/drawstring front
• regular pants or with bottom ruffles
• Inseam lengths from 8" to 29"
• Sizes: 12 months to 12

Like with my pants, I rolled the facing out for a faux piping look.

Also as with my pants, I used the high rise back and low rise front for little Cookie Dough

If you use both, make sure to grade the front sides up to match the high rise back sides.

.

My Little Plumcake Cordelia Dress

I recently found the Cordelia top by My Little Plumcake. I love the sweetheart design. 

(The top is actually on SALE the entire month of February!)

MLPC had a blog post on changing the top to a dress.

Ali likes dresses, so I opted for the single layer dress.

I used Sarah Jane cotton for the top and bottom pieces, and a satin for the middle piece.

I really like the fabric mix up; it brings a bit of pizazz!

Free Valentine Printable for your Science Lover

Valentine's Day is in 2 days!  Are you prepared? 

Me-not at all.  I need to put together baskets for the girls.

However, I DO have my husband's Valentine card finished.

Now, this is not my original idea. I saw something similar on the

Scientific Seamstress Lab Group and decided to take it and run.

You can find the FREE printable HERE.  

I recommend using card stock to print.  

Remember to print one page at a time and flip the paper over to print page 2.

This way it's on the same piece of paper.

I Love To Read-Knit Angie

One of my favorite PDF pattern designers is Scientific Seamstress.  Carla, the sexy brains

behind SS, was a molecular biologist turned designer.  She has written several pattern books and has an entire library of sewing patterns for sale.

She commonly joins forces with Sis Boom, a fabric designer, to create a different series of pattern as well. Check out all the Sis Boom patterns!

You can see my other SS/SB items:

Bebop

Judy's Fancy Pants

Jamie

Angie

For the month of February, Scientific Seamstress is having an I Love to Read Challenge.  Pick 

 one of your favorite books, use a Scientific Seamstress or Sis Boom pattern and create an outfit for yourself or child!

I thought and thought and thought.  Of course, I was going to make myself a dress.  

Thinking about all of their women's pattern and my favorite books, I had a hard time linking

the two together. So I migrated to Ali's book shelf. 

I grabbed I Wish That I Had Duck Feet.  The mom wears a dress I think is classic and a

perfect choice for an Angie flip.

Scientific Seamstress/Sis Boom: Judy's Fancy Pants

Scientific Seamstress and Sis Boom have released Judy's Fancy Pants for women!

It comes in size range XS to 3XL.

These pants curve with your body and have a nice flare at the bottom.

There are optional front pockets and optional back darts for a more
tailored pant.

There are two options for the waist band: full around elastic or elastic back and drawstring front.

Speaking of options, there are two rise cut lines:  low and high.
Low rise works well for shorter ladies or those with a flatter bum.
High rise is better for taller women or those with a larger boo-tay.

I'm an average height, however, my legs take up 2/3 of my body.

Therefore, I did high rise back and low rise front.

If you are going to mix the two rises, you will need raise the side seam lines on your front pieces

to line up with the back height.

I also did the elastic back/drawstring front option. 

I prefer this option; it makes the pants look a bit fancier.

They are Judy's FANCY pants after all!

The leg hems and waist band are faced.

You can use the same fabric to face, but an accent fabric is fun.

I left 1/4" of my facing on the right side of the fabric to give a faux piping effect.

Tiny Artist Coloring Book by Diedelbug Handmade

My beautiful friend over at Diedelbug Handmade just released her

first pattern, the Tiny Artist Coloring Book.

It holds up to 8 regular crayons and a little memo spiral notebook and has an elastic band closure.

Easy beginner sewing project.  After cutting, it takes about 15 minutes to sew up.

I whipped up 7 in a short amount of time.

The Tiny Artist Coloring Book is an awesome scrap buster!

It is also perfect for any child's gift: Valentine, party favor, stocking stuffer, etc.

OR keep these in the car for your little ones.  I like for them to be entertained in the car so I can roll

the windows down and sing to Madonna.  

I made these for Ali's school Valentine gifts.  The monster fabric is the FIRST boy fabric I've ever had in my sewing room! 

The best for last-the pattern is only $2! That's it! Go buy it!

And please, go like Diedelbug Handmade on Facebook.  She also

has amazing bags for sale and ready to ship!

Pom Poms and Pinecones: Entertainment for All

Our house is on the market, which means it really needs to stay clean for last minute house showings.

I put away all the messy or multi-piece toys. It's been hard on the girls and I have felt like a horrible mommy.

We were playing in the backyard and found several pine cones.  Lightbulb!

Threw the art table cloth on the table.  Pulled out the pom poms and tacky glue.

Saffron Twirl Dress in Knit

My good ol' pal Karly over at Paisley Roots released the Saffron Twirl Dress....I don't remember when, but I've made three of them.  Scratch that, this is my 4th.

Easy and fast pattern. Love it!

This time, I attempted it in knit.  Why?  Well, why not?

Here are the changes I made and changes I would make next time.

Changes I made:

1.  Scoop neck-you can see how to do so here.

2.  I did not line the bodice and added binding to the neck and arm holes

3.  Made an elastic back band verses the button tab.

4. I still put the elastic in the skirt, but reduced the amount of elastic by a few inches.

Changes I would make next time with knit:

1.  Shorten the bodice by 2 inches or so.

2.  That's all.

I would shorten the bodice because knit stretches and pulls down with the skirt weight.

Overall, still love this dress.  Perfect for playing on a hot summer day.