Back to School with Made for Mermaids

It's definitely back to school time! And for some many families, that means new clothes! And while I don't create an entirely new wardrobe for the start of school, I do like to make sure my kids have a few new pieces to ensure they have SOMETHING that isn't stained or ratty for that first week back.

This year Kate is going to be a seventh grader. And even though she is a tween, I still enjoy making clothes for her and she still enjoys having unique pieces. The boutique look has never really been her thing. She prefers athletic wear and simple basics, jeans and tees.

So, that's what I made! Well, not the jeans. But I did make her this adorable tee shirt using Made for Mermaids' Mya Top upcycling a men's XXXL tee.

The tees in the girls department tend to be very, well bubble gum girly. So, we often pick up cheap tees from the men's department and use a cute girl cut tee pattern to make a unique look, but one that meshes well with the styles her friends wear so she doesn't feel uncool about wearing mom made clothes.

I used the top length a couple sizes up for Kate's chest size to give the tee a looser fit. I also added a bit of length and transferred the curve hem of the tunic to the tee.

Don't let the too cool for school look fool you. The girl was cracking up between frames.

 

Officially ready for junior high. She is my third kid at this school, so it's really not a big deal. She knows what she is in for. ;)

Made for Mermaids is having a rocking sale to celebrate back to school! Use the code M4MB2S for 20% Off (Excludes fabric). And if you go over to their blog, you can find some really great printables to keeping track of the ever changing measurements of your little (or not so little) one and enter to win a pretty fab giveaway. 

And be sure to check out the other amazing bloggers on the tour! So much talent to get inspiration from!!

Aug 8 - Lily Shine Boutique   Wild & Wanderful   Paisley Roots

Aug 9 - Handmade boy   Coles Corner & Creations   Pattern Revolution

Aug 10 - Pear Berry Lane   Snickerdoodle Stew   Squishy Face Collection

Aug 11 - Not Sew Plain Jane   Three Penguins   Sweet Red Poppy

Aug 12 - Better Dressed Child   Sew Sophie Lynn   Sew & Tell Project

Catch Me on CraftingCon

Hello!! Today you can find me on CraftingCon sharing a quick tutorial for making Link's Adventure Pouch. Hop over and find out how!!

Skirting the Issue

Hello! Today I have the honor of posting for Simple Simon's Skirting the Issue. My  11 year old isn't really a skirt girl. But, when I made her BLAVERRY's Nina, she fell in love with it. I decided it was perfect to share with you. If an opinionated tween calls it a win, it's a fabulous thing.

Nina is a simple skater skirt with so many great features that set it apart.

To achieve a fantastic fit, there is a tapered, 4 piece waistband. (Don't worry, it goes together quick!) The back piece is slightly longer than the front piece, which I LOVED! It gave me a nice even hem all the way around, without being concerned with the backside being too short.

Look how beautifully that fits her waist! 

I sewed a simple, black cotton lycra skirt. She needed a staple and this was it. I left it unhemmed and also opted to not topstitch the seam at the waist to keep it a bit more casual. And because Kate needs all the length she can get.

I love simple, classic looks that can go a long way. Because Kate lives in leggings, jeans and tee shirts, cute stylish stuff like this doesn't get a lot of use. But, she needs it in closet for those occasions when she has a concert sneak up on us or she has a presentation to give at school and must look nice. And while it waits to be needed, I love that I don't have to worry about this going out of style from one season to the next. (and it's so quick to sew up, I don't have to freak out if she outgrows it!)

She liked it so much, she said she would even wear it to school this fall! I think it would be adorable paired with a simple tee and these red Vans. (Here she has it paired with BLAVERRY's Ollie.) Even though the skirt looks short because of how long Kate's legs are, it is longer than her finger tips at her side.

I think this skirt would be darling with a little blouse also. Something with some sweet puff sleeves and a Peter Pan collar. Not that Kate would ever wear a blouse with a Peter Pan collar, but, I can dream up cute outfits. ;)

While we are at it, what about some sweater tights, some tall boots and a fitted sweater. Love a versatile piece of clothing!!

Hopefully I've inspired you to sew a skirt for even your most "not usually a skirt type" girl. I mean really, we can't wear leggings and jeans all the time. What better alternative than a spunky modern skirt? ;)

Love Notions Girls Tidal Pattern and a SALE

There is something about the challenge of sewing tween clothes that I love. Kate has a definite opinion on what she wants to wear. Nothing frilly. Nothing with crazy patterns. Nothing over the top. And while it sounds like it would be boring to sew things that meet those requirements, it's not! It's challenging! How can I make it stand out, yet blend in to the ready to wear clothes that her friends wear? The key is simple fabrics and trendy patterns.

This post contains affiliate links.

Today, she is sporting her new Tidal tank from Love Notions.

Kate is athletic. Therefor, she gravitates towards athletic fashions. So, it was only natural to use some poly/spandex athletic fabric I found at Joanns for this tank. I used some black cotton lycra for the trim.

To add some detailing to the shirt and show off those cool princess seams, I did a faux coverstitch look. To do this, I serged my seams wrong sides together and then topstitched the seam down so it would lay flat. I also left the shirt unhemmed, keeping the serged edge exposed. Two very simple steps that give an otherwise plain shirt, some interest.

 The Tidal provides good coverage in the front and the back so Kate can stay focused on her game and not worry about a wardrobe malfunction.

Kate's chest measures for a size 10. However, she is tall (62" or a size 14), and as you can see, has slightly broad shoulders. So, I had to do some custom sizing for her to get something that would fit properly. Sometimes, you have to do more than just add some length at the lengthen/shorten line in a pattern, especially when you are going between several sizes, like I did here. I'll be sharing a tutorial on Love Notions blog next week about how to adjust a pattern for a great length fit.

The girl's Tidal also comes in two dress lengths, knee and maxi. You can have sleeves, or two tank styles, a true tank like I made, or a sleeveless top, with wider shoulder seams. That one is perfect for dress codes with the "three finger rule." I finished the arm holes and necklines with bands, but there is a binding option as well. So many choices!!

The pattern features no trim pages, layers (meaning you print only the size you need) and has a huge size range, 2T-16.

So, the trendy patterns part is all taken care of! And, you can take advantage of a great sale right now so you can sew your tween all the cool things! Use code 'fireworks' for 25% off your purchase of $20. Tiered pricing is still in effect so you can get a really great deal. :) Sale runs through Monday the 4th www.lovenotions.com

Happy sewing!!!

Sew Americana

Welcome to my stop on Wild and Wanderful's Sew Americana tour! I stepped a bit outside of my normal sewing zone and made a quilt!

Well, most of one anyway.....

This is the story of good intentions and life just happening. Because, bloggers actually have real lives outside of the sewing studio. My summer life has been busy!  And well, the weather has been nice and I've been out in it instead of behind the sewing machine.

But, I LOVED the idea of this tour when Katy shared it and I had to sign up. And then, my friend Jen from Patterns by Jen released this amazing quilt and I knew it would be absolutely PERFECT for this tour!

And then, it was fabric picking time. Well, Gemia from Phat Quarters was the biggest help in the world and spent I don't know how long pulling fabrics and sending me pictures so I could decide what I wanted to use. And TWO days later, this pile of gorgeousness was on my cutting table.

The green on the far right is from stash and I have no clue what it is. Next, we have Mediteranneo, followed by Remix Grey Plus, (which I ended up not using) Pretty Flowers on Denim, Off Shore Red Dot, Lakehouse Dot in Dove, Coral Gingham, Fog Peppered Cotton and Lake Peppered Cotton (I had this in stash and it's no longer listed). (also used and not shown, Parchment Triangles.) The white used as the main background is Kona white. Phat Quarters has free US shipping on orders of $25 or more with code SUMMER25 so if feel inspired, now is the time to go grab some fabrics. ;) Code expires at the end of the month, so hurry!

So, I'm #notaquilter. But, once in a while, I pretend to be one, about three times a year. And I'm pretty proud to say that I managed to piece this top together in a mere 6 days. Now, I know that that's not impressive, Jen can knock this out in an evening, I bet. But, for me, 6 days is quite amazing.

   And then, I sewed the final seam and I managed to sew one half of the quilt on backwards.

Whomp, whomp, waaaaahhhhh.

Can we say this again, #notaquilter. 

So, I get the seam ripper out and 30 minutes later, it was correct. And then came time to make my sandwich. If you are #notaquilter, let me tell you what a sandwich is. It's your quilt, in pieces. Your backing fabric, batting in the middle and then the pieced top on top. Because what I made so far, is just a pieced top. It's not a quilt until all those layers are sewn together. So, like a good pretend quilter, I started assembling my sandwich on my living room floor.

And it wasn't long until I was sending this picture to Jen begging her to fly to my house to help me.

Because, dude, it's HARD! You have to pull all the wrinkles out of all three layers and get them all together nicely. And then, you have to pin them all together. Which, cover your eyes, Jen, I didn't pin it. I used some basting spray and went with it. Yeah, after 45 minutes of wrestling with that thing, I was over it. I drug it to my machine to show it who was boss. 

But not before pretending I could get away with a shot like this pretending it was finished. LOL

So, to the machine we went and I quilted it together. Well, most of it.

I have a couple blocks let to go. This small log cabin is one of them.

 These are beautifully quilted together though, so we can admire this part of the quilt.

I just love how these fabrics work together giving the quilt a vintage Americana feel that is soft and subtle.

The three blocks on the left still need quilted. But, the end is in sight!

And then I have to sew on the binding. Don't worry, I'll share it when I'm all finished!! I can't wait! I know this quilt is going to get LOTS of use!

Thanks so very much to Patterns by Jen and Phat Quarters for sponsoring my post for the Sew Americana Tour!

There are lots of stops on this fantastic tour! Please go check them out and give the blogs some love!

Take a look at the AMAZING lineup for the Sew Americana tour!
Monday, June 27  Wild & Wanderful | Sew and Tell Project | Call Ajaire Paisley Roots | Wally and Grace
Tuesday, June 28 Sew Thrifty | Coles Corner and Creations | Rebel & Malice Friends Stitched Together | The Wholesome Mama
Wednesday, June 29 Sewing by Ti | EYMM | HattieLu Handmade Daydream Believers | PenSebRox | Handmade Boy
Thursday, June 30 Beatnik Kids | Phat Quarters | Sew Starly | Sew Sophie Lynn The Kisses Co. | Adventures with Bubba and Bug
Friday, July 1 Very Blissful | That's Sew Kari | Sew Happily Ever After | Pear Berry Lane
Mae and K | Musings of a Seamstress | Sew and Tell Project
As a special bonus for our readers, use the code ' SEWAMERICANA ' and enjoy a 20% discount at www.THREADandGRAIN.com  You'll find a ton of maker-inspired goodies!
(All created by your tour guide, Katy, from Wild & Wanderful.)

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