Back to School Outfits #1 with Gymboree

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything sewing related so I thought I’d jump in with some back to school outfit ideas with sewing pattern suggestions to achieve those same looks.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. All affiliate links are marked with an *. All opinions are 100% my own though.

Dress and sweater outfit from Gymboree
Outfit via Gymboree*

First up is this cute outfit from Gymboree*. The pieces can all purchased separately, so switch it up if you’re not liking certain pieces! This a great outfit for those school days where it’s warm in the sun but gets cool in the shade.

The Dress

Coral Watercolor Dress, Gymboree

What I love about the dress is that it’s so flowy and roomy, great to move around in.

Pattern Suggestions:

A similar sewing pattern I found is the All Spice dress* from Paisley Roots. 

All Spice dress pattern by Paisley Roots*

It’s a super cute dress and fairly easy to sew. I made a version that you can see here. Depending on where your child’s measurements fall in the size range it will look looser (like my version) or more fitted like the photo above, if you prefer a looser fit I would size up in the width. The pattern comes with a long sleeve version that you could modify to look more like the inspiration piece from Gymboree. The other major difference is that this dress buttons up in the front but it could be modified to look to have them in back.

Other similar patterns:

The Sweater

Star Sweater from Gymboree*

I love a chunky sweater, and I love the grandpa-ness of a v-neck sweater! Since the Gymboree sweater is knitted it will be difficult to get an exact match by sewing one but a similar look in thick knit fabric is doable.

Pattern Suggestions:

V-Neck Cardigan pattern from Peek-a-Boo Patterns*

The V-neck cardigan is super cute and you can always leave off the buttons and buttonholes to make it a closer match (and quicker sew!) to the Gymboree sweater. I would also suggest doing appliques if you really want something as close to the original sweater.

Other similar patterns:

Complete the back to school outfit:

In the photo of the Gymboree outfit the girl has a cute little purse, I couldn’t find it on their website so I thought I would share my favourite little girl’s purse.

Darling Daisy bag sewn by Lulu & Celeste
Darling Daisy bag I sewed, pattern by Molly and Mama*

It doesn’t look anything like the purse in the photo but this is my favourite one I’ve made so far for my girls and I think would make a cute addition to any outfit.

Gymboree Sale On Now!

I’ll be back next week with another outfit and more sewing pattern suggestions. Until then!

Lulu&Celeste signature

Real Life Real Sewing - Lulu & Celeste

Real Life Real Sewing Blog Tour

Lulu & Celeste - Real Life Real Sewing

Sew 20‘s Real Life, Real Sewing blog tour challenged participants to show that we actually wear the things we make. None of the staged photos, just actual photos of us going about our daily life wearing handmade. Roxanne of PenSeb&Rox and Sew 20 sent tour participants some questions to answer for her #realliferealsewing tour.

Continue reading “Real Life Real Sewing Blog Tour” →

B4176 in Modern Bloom feature

Butterick B4176 in Modern Bloom fabric

Hey there!

I’m super excited! I’m over at the Fabricville blog today sharing the newest dress I’ve made Silly Bean!

I sewed up the Butterick B4176 in Modern Bloom fabric from Fabricville. It’s so pretty!

I would love it if you visited me over at the Fabricville blog to say hi and checked out the rest of the photos!

Butterick B4176 sewn by Lulu & Celeste

Disclaimer: I received the fabric and pattern for free in exchange for the post over on the Fabricville blog.

Spring Capsule Planning

I’m semi sewing along with Free Notion’s Spring Wardrobe in a Week plan. I won’t be sewing it all in a week (it’s supposed to be this week in fact) but I do plan to sew following a similar plan.

What I like is that sewing items for me with an actual plan means I may end up with actual outfits instead of random pieces that don’t work together.

I based my Spring capsule on Becca’s (of Free Notion) Super Casual plan (you can see it in the link I posted above). She has three versions, Business Casual, Casual and Super Casual, a lot of the patterns actually overlap between them, so it would be easy to use a few of the pieces for work as well. (I work in an office at a hospital, on weekends, and it’s fairly small hospital so it’s super quiet; there aren’t any other offices open on weekends so I don’t see too many people so casual work wear works for me).

Disclaimer: This post contains a couple affiliate links. Affiliate links are marked with an asterisk (*). If you purchase through an affiliate link I may receive a small commission which will help feed my fabric and/or pattern buying habit.

Spring Capsule wardrobe sewing plan

Shoes are from Payless, necklace is from Reitman’s, scarf is from Old Navy. Shoes are similar to some I already own and I just used them for illustrative purposes, I might get different flats once Spring comes around. 😉

The patterns (from left to right):

Top Row: Day Tripper (Shwin Designs); Jeggings version of the SOS Knit Pants (Patterns for Pirates)

Second Row: Brassie Joggers (GreenStyle); Raglan (Patterns for Pirates)

Third Row: Peg Legs (Patterns for Pirates -Free if you join the Facebook group); Carol Tee (Shwin Designs); Julia Cardigan* (Mouse House Creations)

Bottom Row: Julia Cardigan*; Tortola Tank (Sisboom); Elastic Waist Pants (Teach Me Fashion)

 

Basically the only changes I made between my version and Becca’s is that I swapped out patterns that I didn’t own for similar versions that I did.

I’m currently going through my fabric stash to find the right fabrics for each pattern. I’ll post again when I make decisions on that!

Check out Becca’s blog for all her capsule sewing tips.

Lulu&Celeste signature

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day: Win a cupcake ornament!

I love making ornaments, especially with felt. I had a few left over from my craft sale this past weekend and have started listing some in my Etsy shop but I thought I would give one away as part of the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day!

Up for grabs is this cute cupcake ornament! Giveaway is now over but pattern details are below if you would like to make one yourself, or contact me through my Etsy shop if you’d like to purchase one. 🙂
Felt cupcake ornament front

Disclaimer: This post includes a few affiliate links. All affiliate links are marked with an *. See my Disclaimer-Legal Info tab for more info on affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are my own of course!

 

It was completely hand-stitched using wool blend felt that I purchased from Prairie Point Junction. The pattern I used is the cupcake ornament from the Festive Felties* set contributed to the latest One Thimble Magazine* by Lauren of Molly and Mama. I actually tested the Festive Felties set so I had received the pattern originally for free. It measures about 3 1/2″ high.

Felt cupcake ornament back

If you’re interested in making one yourself, you should definitely pick up the pattern. The set also includes a mouse and a reindeer. They’re so cute, and if you love making felt ornaments as much as I do you’ll enjoy making them. Or you could always purchase one of the other two cupcake ornaments I have leftover in my shop 😛 OR better yet, you can win the one pictured above by commenting on this post. Be sure to click to enter through Rafflecopter as well, that way I’m sure to have an email address that I can contact you at.

The giveaway is open until Sunday, December 13th at midnight EST. I will contact the winner by email Monday. Since as per the Sew Mama Sew rules this needs to be mailed out by Friday, December 18th if I don’t hear back from the winner within 24 hours, I will redraw for a new winner. Giveaway is open internationally.

Don’t forget to check all the other giveaways happening for Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day!

Let me know in the comments who you’ll be giving the cupcake ornament to (or if you’ll be keeping it for yourself!)

UPDATE DECEMBER 16, 2015: The winner of the cupcake is Libby J. Thank you all for participating! I wish I was able to give you all a cupcake ornament but the shipping fees alone would bankrupt me! I loved reading your responses. I especially loved the ones from people saying they’d be selfish and keep the ornament for themself! Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and have a great 2016!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

Lulu&Celeste signature

P.S. If you’re purchasing on Etsy (for anything really) don’t forget to use Ebates. You can get cash back on all purchases on Etsy, usually 1% but sometimes they run specials and it’s more. If you don’t already have an account you can sign up here if you’re in the US: Ebates.com* or here if you’re in Canada: Ebates.ca*. (Or do both like me) In the past year I’ve earned back roughly $50, and it probably would have been more but I have a bad habit of forgetting to click my links first, lol. Don’t be like me!