Girls

Pattern Review: V Neck Hoodie

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I recently tested the new Vivacious V Neck Sweatshirt Dress & Hoodie pattern from Winter Wear Designs.

The v-neck is a nice change from the normal neckline for hoodies. Getting the v-neck just right took me a couple tries. I normally shy away from anything other than scoop necks because v-necks look bad if they’re even a little bit off. I’m glad I gave it a shot! I definitely recommend basting it first to make sure it’s right. Basting is so much easier to remove and redo!

DD was thrilled to have a shirt with thumb cuffs….not that we need them very often here in SWFL, but she does love her warm clothes when we have “winter.”

Our foster kitten loved the kangaroo pocket.

Such a cozy place to watch the world go by.

On a completely different note – My daughter has recently discovered ear wraps. This dragon is her current favorite. Sometimes she wears one, sometimes two.

The fabric I used is a french terry from Peek-a-boo Fabric Shop. I couldn’t decide which color to pair the print with, so I ordered the mauve pictured and I also ordered a sage green. Either one would’ve worked, but this color combo was her choice.

Buy the pattern here while it’s on sale and then come back and let me know what options you would choose.

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Pattern Review: Skylar Pants/Shorts

I recently tested the new Skylar Pants/Shorts pattern by Made for Mermaids. I wasn’t sure about it – they are a low drop style. DS said he was willing to try them.

They were a super quick sew and I love the way the pockets are finished – they’re just serged, but it such a neat look.

In the end, DS wasn’t in love with them. He said they would be good sleepy shorts, but he wouldn’t wear them out. I had to convince him that taking pictures in the backyard was OK.

The pattern also comes with a pants option, but for us I don’t think it would’ve made a difference. He’s just not a fan of the low drop style. Maybe the shorter shorts length made it feel more like a girly style?

However, if this is your kids style, this pattern is for you! Like I said, it’s super easy and it includes options for front and back pockets as well as shorts or pants. Get it here.

Pattern Review: Noelle by Made for Mermaids

I recently tested the Women’s Noelle pattern by Made for Mermaids. I searched for pictures from when I tested the girls version. It was three years ago! It’s part of their Dreamy Collection and it is definitely dreamy!

We even made her Christmas dress from the Girls Noelle pattern.

She was thrilled to get a new dress in one of her favorite patterns.

I made the dress with both the peplum and the long skirt. Since my fabric is a bit heavier, I used clear elastic to reinforce the shoulder seams, side seams and the waist. It will help the fabric not stretch out so much with wear.

The cowl neck is one of the main features of this pattern. For this version, we folded it down like a turtle neck, but you could leave it unfolded and add a drawstring to make it a little more casual.

The other feature is the high-low hemline. It adds to the dreaminess of the dress.

The best part of this pattern is definitely the full circle skirt – you can twirl & twirl!

It’s also available in baby sizes and girls. There are bundles available too. Go check it out here and then let me know what version you make.

Pattern Hack – Making Lined Gym Shorts plus a Free Pattern


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Have you seen gym shorts that have two layers? Usually a light knit underlayer and then a stretchy mesh kind of top layer? Well, I decided that it can’t be that hard to make them without buying a special pattern. Guess what? I was right! My boys have both been wanting new gym shorts – the kind with just elastic, no tie waists.

Elastic waistband

I ordered some fabric from Amazon (yes, they really do sell everything!). It was a little thin so it was perfect for my experiment. I’m using the Tupelo shorts pattern by Sew Like My Mom which is free, by the way, and comes in sizes 12M – 16!

This is my wannabe ninja putting his shorts to the test.

For the first pair, I used a double layer of the orange. I folded the fabric the “wrong” way because I wanted the fold to be at the hem of the shorts. Instead of folding the fabric with the selvages together (so it’s half the width), I folded the fabric and kept the selvages on either side (so it’s half the length).

Place hem on the fold.

Keep the pieces folded and treat each one as one piece. If it helps, you can baste the raw edges together. Sew the center front seam and the center back seam. You will be sewing through 4 layers of fabric.

Line up all the layers to sew.

Then clip the inseam together and sew that as well.

Clip the inseam together

Because there is no need to hem them, you will need to tuck in the tails from serging.

Tuck in serger tail

Thread the tail into a large eye needle and pull it into the serger stitches.

Now it won’t be visible from the right side.

Next, attach the waistband per the instructions in the pattern. Just remember that you will be sewing through 4 layers of fabric rather than three. Also, because my fabric doesn’t have very good stretch/recovery, I used 1.5″ elastic. I measured it to fit my son’s waist, zigzagged the ends together and put it in the waistband before attaching it.

Attach waistband

Because the hem was cut on the fold, there’s no need for hemming! If you wanted it to look hemmed, you could sew a line of stitching around the bottom 1/4″ from the fold, use your twin needle, or zigzag (one of my current favorite ways to hem sports type clothing).

No need to hem because they're cut on the fold

The neon orange is one of his favorite colors (actually, any neon is good with him).

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Sewing with Kids – Making Pajama Shorts Plus A Free Pattern

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I made the mistake of taking my youngest son with me to JoAnn’s one day (I’m sure he went along because we always stop at Starbucks afterwards!). He found some woven (non-stretch) material that he really liked. I had no clue what we would make with it, but I bought a yard for him.

He told me he wanted to make a sheath for his sword. Boys! (picture a mom eye roll) I suggested that we could also make some pajama shorts for him and that maybe he could even help with the process – I would cut them out and then he could sew the two pieces together and then I would do the waist and hemming (I’m sure kids can hem, but my 10 y/o isn’t ready for that yet).

I knew that the Walk the Plank PJ Pants by Patterns for Pirates would be perfect and it’s free – no code, no joining a Facebook group, just hop on over and “buy” it.

I made his somewhere between short and knee length. The short shorts I made for him previously were too short for him and the knee length were just too long to be comfy for sleeping.

He was so proud of himself! Using Mom’s machine for the first time, learning to use clips instead of pins (which are so hard for kids!), and the final result is wearable. That’s a win in my book!

For reference, here’s the short shorts length on him. I feel like just a couple extra inches made a huge difference in how comfortable they are for sleeping and lounging.

Even though the directions don’t call for it, I sewed around the top of the waistband too – just about 1/4″ from the fold. I think it adds a more finished look to the waist.

I also made some Walk the Planks for my other two kids. Besides short shorts and knee length, it also comes in pants length (or you can be like me – have them try them on before hemming and choose your length). Both of these are knee length.

There’s also an adult version (I have not made this version) which is also free and includes men’s and women’s sizes. You could make family pajama pants!

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