Hello! I’m taking part in another pattern tour today! There’s a sale involved so read on to get the coupon code!
Continue reading “Bella Sunshine Designs Holiday Cutout dress tour”
Otium Blog Tour and Giveaway!
Disclaimer: I received the pattern for free for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own of course! This post contains affiliate links, which are marked with an *. That means if you click the link and buy through it, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Elegance & Elephants: Fall Looks
Disclaimer: I received the pattern for free for testing it. The pictures are of a tester version of the pattern, slight modifications may have been made in the final version.
I’ve been lucky to test for Elegance & Elephants in the past. I made the super sweet Bohemian Babydoll top a few months back. Today I’m here to show one of her fall patterns that I recently tested: the Ponderosa dress.
I really enjoy testing for Heidi. Her pattern instructions are clear and easy to understand. They’re not overly wordy at all. She is seriously one of the easiest to test for, I don’t have to worry much about checking for spelling errors or other non-sewing things like that.
Baby V is a little bit shorter than the size I tested calls for so the dress is a little long on her.
Keep an eye out for the release of the Ponderosa and other dresses coming really soon!
Check out the Fall Lookbook by E&E Patterns for more inspiration and to see the next release coming out this month!
Ula writes for Lulu&Celeste
Link up parties you might find me at:
All Spice dress by Paisley Roots
I have to admit I have a bit of a blogger crush on Karly of Paisley Roots.
I really like all the things she makes for her kids. And I love the design of her first pattern, the Saffron Twirl dress*, so when I saw her tester call for her newest dress I jumped right on it!
Meet the All Spice dress*.
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| PATTERN: ALL SPICE DRESS BY PAISLEY ROOTS | FABRIC: WOODLAND TAILS BY RILEY BLAKE, PURCHASED FROM FABRIC.COM |
Lots of options are packed into this dress.
Long, cap, or flutter sleeves, or sleeveless.
Originally I was going to make a long sleeve version but I didn’t have a chance (I made a booboo). So I went with sleeveless since it’s easily layerable. (Is that even a word?)
Zipper or button front closure.
I did zipper, it’s a lot faster than buttons honestly, and not too scary to do. Although, make sure you’re paying attention to how you’re pinning your zipper on otherwise you end up with a backwards zipper. (That might or might not have happened to me…)
The pattern comes in sizes 6-12 months to 12 years. I sewed up the 12-18 months size.
We had fun with this mini photo shoot. Big sister Silly Bean was running around the yard trying to catch butterflies and the weather was just perfect! I took so many pictures that I couldn’t choose my favourites so this post is very pic heavy!
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| Enjoying an apple in Auntie L’s backyard |
Visit the Paisley Roots blog for more details. And go to the Etsy shop to pick up your copy of the pattern. It is listed for just $7, and is on sale for 25% off until Sunday , September 7th with code ALLSPICE.
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This is part of my stash busting challenge! I’ve had this fabric for about a year and half now.
Cherry Blossom dress by Mandy K Designs
Disclaimer: I received the pattern for free for testing it. All opinions are my own. The pictures are of a tester version of the dress, slight modifications may have been made in the final version.This post contains affiliate links (in this case with Craftsy). That means if you click the link and buy through it, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
The Cherry Blossom dress is the latest pattern released by Mandy K Designs (affiliate). The dress is an Asian inspired dress which features a faux front placket, a cute mandarin style collar and a ruched sash. It comes in sizes 12m to 14. (Read to the end to get the sale code!)
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| Cherry Blossom Dress pattern by Mandy K Designs sewn by Lulu&Celeste |
Amanda, of Mandy K Design, released this pattern as part of the Aspiring Designers Challenge which is hosted by Pattern Revolution. It’s a pretty cool challenge that encourages new designers to come out with new designs. You should check it out if you haven’t already and read about some of the lesser known designers out there. (And hint: if you want to try pattern testing following some of the “smaller” designers is your best bet since your chances of being picked are greater).
I’ve sewn/tested for Mandy K Design a few times before: The Princess Party Dress, the Tiers of Joy Dress, and the Tilt and Twirl dress (that I never got around to blogging about! whoops!). Can you tell I like her designs?
Now, on to the Cherry Blossom!
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| Trying to show that she does have a neck! |
Like all of Amanda’s patterns, the instructions are very detailed and great for beginners. I would recommend any of her patterns to a newbie to sewing because of how clearly the instructions are written. More advanced sewists can probably “do their own thing” I suppose.
The trickiest bit of this pattern is attaching the collar. I still haven’t mastered collars yet. And also doing the bias trim along the armhole. Take it slowly and you should be fine.
There are also instructions for adding decorative buttons or frog closures on the front. Unfortunately the only frog closures I could find in the time I had to make this dress would have been way too big for this size dress. So I’m going through my vintage button collection trying to find three matching buttons. Hard work because they need to be tiny (or at least I want them to be tiny).
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| If only she would have stayed looking at me! It would have been a good shot |
I believe that in the final copy of the pattern the skirt will be slightly longer, hitting mid knee. (I think the issue with the length was only on a couple of the smaller sizes, the larger sizes seem to hit the knee on the testers). Although I do like this length (but a diaper cover is needed), it’s adorable and Baby V has cute little knees!
Pattern details:
- Sizes 12m to 14 ; Chest sizes to 19″ to 31.5″
- Includes cutting charts, finished measurement charts, and child’s size charts, fabric requirement chart
- Pattern pieces are nested but split into two group sizes with the option to print in layers as well
- Clear photos with each step
- Instructions included for doing either snaps or button holes
- Includes 18″ doll pattern
Fabric:
- Main is Anisa Floral in Lavender by Hoffman Fabrics. Purchased from Fabric.com but I don’t see it on their website anymore.
- Contrast is Kona cotton in Turquoise also purchased from Fabric.com
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| Her Tiers of Joy flashback moment |
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| Note to self: Remove wheelbarrow from background next time |
Pick up a copy of the pattern in their Craftsy shop (affiliate) or on Etsy. Until August 22nd all her patterns are 20% off! The prices are already reduced by 20% on Craftsy, or go to Etsy and use code CHERRY20 to get 20% off. And head on over to the Pattern Revolution blog to try your chance at winning a copy.
You can find Mandy K Designs on Facebook here (and the Facebook group page here) and her blog here to keep an eye out for the next pattern releases!
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This project is project #4 for the August Sewing from the Stash challenge. The main fabric has been in my stash only since April whereas the turquoise has been hanging out with me untouched since last October!
See you next time!
Ula writes for Lulu&Celeste
Link up parties you might find me at:
Friday Favs Party, Inspire Us Thursdays, Tuesday Sews, We Did it Wednesday, You Made it and ♥ it!, Create Link Inspire @ Nap-time Creations, Worthwhile Wednesdays, #Sew4Me, Inspiration Monday Party, Craft Lover’s Link Party, SNAP, Threading My Way, Sew Many Ways
Baby basics Rock-a-bye Baby Bundle tour
So Tweet Patterns has just released a FREE pattern bundle of baby basics, the Rock-a-bye Bundle! This is the first pattern from Shelly who also blogs over at Giggles & Beans.
Included in the pattern bundle are patterns and instructions to make a bib (in two sizes), a burp cloth, and car seat (or stroller) strap covers.
Miss V inherited all of Silly Bean’s hand me down bibs and didn’t have any new ones for herself. I wasn’t too concerned about her using stained bibs (well, because they’ll just get stained some more) but some of them have started to get gross looking. This bundle came along at the right time because I was just about to sew her up some new ones!
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| Kissy face! |
Bibs are fun because you can use large scraps of fabrics and they don’t take a lot of time to make. It’s nice to sew a few up after working on a longer project. (More on that next week!)
The pattern gives instructions on working with minky fabric but since I’m doing an stash sewing challenge this month, I have to sew from what I have and not buy any new fabric. So I took some scraps of some pretty quilting cottons and some terry cloth I had.
And I got these two made in under an hour. (Not including choosing the fabrics. That was the longest part for me!)
If I had had this pattern back when Miss V was a newborn, I very likely would have made the burp cloth as well. I love how it’s contoured around the neck. But she’s well past that stage!
Pattern Details:
- Includes pattern and instructions for: bibs in two sizes NB to 6 months, and 6 months – 2years; contoured burp cloth; car seat/ stroller strap covers
- Illustrations with each step
- Clear instructions. Tips for using minky fabric, and includes instructions for using velcro for the closure but I couldn’t find my velcro in my
messcraft room. - FREE
So, if you’ve a got a new baby on the way (or an older baby) or have some baby showers to go to, go and download this pattern bundle and sew something cute!
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| YAY! New bibs! |
I’ll be sewing up a pair of the strap covers soon since the ones for her stroller disappeared. Just have to pick the fabric I like best!
Don’t forget to go download your copy of the FREE pattern here!
See you next week!