NEW pattern! Introducing the MENS Bowling shirt!

 

CLICK TO BUY THE PATTERN

We are so very excited to announce our latest pattern release! the MENS bowling shirt pattern! 

This pattern picks up where the kids bowling shirt pattern leaves off The sizes included in this pattern and the measurements are: 

Chest Measurement Size (around)

XXS - 30” - 32”

XS - 32½” - 35”

S - 35½” - 38”

M - 38½” - 41”

L - 41½” - 45”

XL - 45½” - 49”

2XL - 49½”- 53”

3XL - 53½” - 57”

The Bowling Men's Bowling Shirt has the same options as the kids for creating a shirt all from one fabric for more of a "camp shirt" look, or pieced from multiple fabrics! The placket, sleeves and collar can all be made from contrasting fabrics as well, giving unlimited mixing and matching options. The front and back of the shirt are great for appliques or machine embroidery to personalize.  Each step is described in detail and fully illustrated in the same great quality as our other patterns. One of the other AMAZING features in this pattern is the placket construction - You won't have to toss the whole short if you oops on the buttonholes!

Now who wants to see some of the testers versions? 

Jeanine's husband politely posing to show off his unlined bowling shirt:

Cathy's husband in his tropical style shirt:

Holly also made a tropical style for her husband, in fact, I hear he picked out his own fabrics even for this shirt and two more!

Kimberly's was worn to an actual bowling game! 

Crystal picked out the fabric for her husband's shirt! I love this fun fabric!

 Nancy made the bowling shirt for her son, I love the contrast in the front and on the collar!

 Sheri went for a solid look and I mist say I am impressed by her lining up skills!

 Sheri also made her husband a bowling shirt!

Sumi used this lovely yellow check on hers, it shows off the details so well! 

Sunni was a busy sewist making shirts for her daughter and son! (and doesn't Sunni look pretty in her daughter's shirt too!)

I love the back piecing options she took advantage of!

Tomi made her husband one in this very fun themed print! 

Natalie sized her husband's bowling shirt down for a closer fit 

and Tera did some great colour blocking on hers! 

and of course, some of the husbands had a little fun with the picture taking! 

This pattern is truly a wonderful option for sewing for the men in your life! So many great options to get a unique looking shirt every time you sew it, or keep it solid for a simple statement shirt! 

Oh, and did I mention there is a buttonhole template? There is !!!! No guessing or getting out the measuring tape needed to get your buttons on right where they should be!

CLICK TO BUY THE PATTERN

Who will you be sewing the bowling shirt for? 

Criss-Cross Carly Bubble Romper Tutorial

As you may or may not know already, the Carly Romper is one of my favourite pattern for littles! It has sleeveless, puff sleeves or, as seen here, flutter sleeves for options! I love that the traditional pattern has a nicely closed back! Especially for little little ones! My Cheeks is about to be 2 this summer though and so I don't mind opening the back up a little. 

I'll be honest with you, the idea for this tutorial came from the AMC show The Walking Dead, when they escape from the prison the baby Judith is in a little romper that has a rounded open back and it was just so cute! 

I made this romper a size up from what Cheeks currently wears since we are still a good 2 ish months from romper weather.

To start with this modification you are going to have to draw a shape like below on your back piece and cut it out - this will be your back hole where the straps go across - feel free to change the shape up!

Once you have cut out the back pieces you will measure across them about where the straps will be. Remember to add a few inches to this measurement so you have some wiggle space and space for snaps and sewing in, etc. Better safe than sorry!

Then you will cut 2 strips of fabric the length you measured plus the few inches and about 2.75inches wide. (I found this the perfect width for snaps after folding)

Now fold the pieces in half and iron and then fold the ends in - not quite to the middle. Your straps should be the right width for a snap. and then sew the straps about halfway up. (There is a reason for this!)

Now you will sew the romper as directed for shoulder seams and then place the straps where you want them. I always place this way to get an idea of where I want them to be for the finished product and then flip them over for sewing in.

I measured for making sure my strap placement was the same on both sides and then double checked by pretending to flip up 

Pin the straps in place. One on each side.

Now you will sew as per directed in the pattern 

It just looks a bit different because when you sew the neck and back up you have a larger open space :)

Once you have finished sewing the romper as per the pattern directions we will do the strap finishing.

The Reason you only sewed the straps half way is so you can lay the romper out and see exactly how long you need them, cut off any excess and then fold the ends in and finish stitching up the straps.

Now attach the snaps! You could do buttonholes, I just thought snaps would be much easier to work withon such a small spot.

And there you have it, a criss cross back Carly romper! and it is still completely reversible!

Another thing I love about this romper, aside from it being reversible, is that it is a perfect spot to add an applique or bit of embroidery! Because it is reversible the embroidered back never touches skin to irritate! 

Embroidery design can be found HERE at Urban Threads.

All done with pictures!

What is your favourite TV show or movie to get sewing inspiration from? Leave a comment :)

So Precious!

This week I don't have a tutorial for you, but I wanted to show you Cheeks Easter dress! (You already saw what Berry will be wearing last week.) 

For cheeks I used the precious dress pattern. I love how many options this dress has and I love the hidden buttons in the back, which, of course, Cheeks did not allow me to photograph. 

Isn't this dress really just the most precious thing you've seen Cheeks in? I think she is trying to convince me to buy her a pony in this picture!

Funny story: I was going to add the puff sleeves, I even had them cut out.... but then late one night I decided I was going to just start sewing this dress up - and then I just kept going... Before I knew it was past midnight and I had a perfectly finished SLEEVELESS bodice! OOPS! But I loved the look and I don't love my seam ripper so this is my happy mistake!

I'd love to hear a happy mistake story from you in the comments!

When my Berry saw Cheeks having her picture taken she just HAD to have her picture taken again in her Easter skirt, the perfectly preppy, Enjoy her mustache pic!

Getting Ready for Easter with KCW

I used the All the Rage Raglan pattern for the shirt and the Perfectly Preppy for the skort.

In my mind the looser fit shirt looked amazing with the skirt - casual and went with the pastels in the skirt kind of style. In actuality I wish I had followed the pattern directions to size down for a closer fit. Oh well, The shirt is SUPER cute with jeggings so it will get worn to Easter brunch

Because I knew I wanted the shirt not to be all loos at the bottom as I made it a looser fit in the top I left an inch open when I did the hem and threaded elastic through and then stitched it closed. This gives the shirt a cute "bubble" effect. 

(embroidery pattern from Urban Threads, fabric is all from Fabricland)

What are you sewing for Easter/spring?