Sinclair Patterns Danielle Relaxed Fit Batwing

I tested the Danielle Relaxed Fit Batwing before it was released by Sinclair Patterns and have gotten a lot of wear out of it. I recently decided to make 2 more out more springy fabric. I have one finished and another that I needed to order the perfect coordinate for.

The Danielle was recently updated to add size layers - which I'm so happy about! I didn't need to size up the hips much on the Danielle, so I did not reprint my pattern before starting. However, I probably should have reprinted the arm bands as they are a bit loose and this was corrected in pattern testing. My next one will have the correct arm bands.

For this version I used an ITY (interlock twist yarn) knit from Zenith and Quasar fabric. ITY knits are great for spring and summer apparel. They are lightweight and have great drape.

I used a light purple supplex from Zenith and Quasar for the bands. ITY knit does not make very good bands. Supplex is a nylon lycra knit most commonly used in athletic wear - but it makes the most amazing bands since it has great recovery, never fades, and just holds up amazingly well.

It is however a little thicker than most knits. After adding the band around the neckline, it's supposed to be folded in again to make a binding.

I wasn't thinking this through before making my top and should have used a different binding method to create less bulk. Instead, I decided to leave the band as is and not fold it in again.

I think it turned out just fine. I'm wearing my Danielle in these photos with some RTW skinny jeans, but plan to wear it to work with some blue or white palazzo pants. I love that the Danielle can be dressed up or be more casual.

 If you are interested in making a Danielle - there is a Sew Along starting on April 23-27 in the Sinclair Patterns Sew Alongs Facebook Group. The discount code for the Danielle is "SewDanielle" and makes the pattern $8.99. Buy it HERE!



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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Sinclair Patterns Penny Leggings

I tested a pattern for Sinclair Patterns a few months back. I love that this designer did petite, regular, and tall sizing, What I didn't like was that each size was its own file - making grading between sizes difficult - if not impossible. But - they are fixing that! I just tried out the Penny Classic Leggings and they have LAYERS! The Penny Classic Leggings are absolutely wonderful too! They have definitely become my first choice for casual wear leggings.



The Penny Classic Leggings have 2 rise and waistband options. I tried the contour band which fits on the lower rise. I love a contoured band. Contoured bands fit so much better and when you add elatric to the top seam - they stay in place all day. Plus - if you line your contour band with Supplex (this is what I always do), then it also helps to hold you in and smooth you out.

What makes the Penny Classic Leggings my first choice for casual leggings - is that they have very little negative ease. This means that the fabric only has to stretch a little bit to fit you perfect. 

Many leggings patterns out there (including many of the free ones) have a HUGE amount of negative ease - some requiring the fabric to streat 12" to fit on an average size thigh.

Little negative ease ensures that you don't get image distortion from extreme stretching. You also won't get the dreaded white show through of the base fabric when using a printed knit.

I made the petite size US 14 based on my hip measurements. The contour waistband goes up to my belly button, giving me great coverage in back and tummy control in the front.

The contour band for the US size 14 was a bit loose. Next time, I'll use the US 10 or 12 contour bnd - my waist is right between those sizes.

I absolutely love this pattern and will be making many more Penny Classic Leggings.

If you are interested in trying the Penny Classic Leggings, there is a sew along beginning TOMORROW!



I love joining sew alongs! It's fun, interactive, a sale,  and there are always great prizes up for grabs! Get the pattern now for $2 off with the code SEWPENNY which makes the Penny Classic Leggings $6.99! Join the Sew Along HERE!

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Duck Butt Designs Offside Raglan

I love patterns from Duck Butt Designs - they always have unique features that make them fun and never boring. I have loved their Really Awesome Women's Raglan (RAWR) since it came out. But now there's a new raglan and I'm in love. It's the Offside Raglan. I just finished making 3 and I'll probably be making many more.

The first one I made was to wear to work for International Women's Day. There was a speaker for the event and the theme was "Nevertheless, She Persisted". Wanderlust Fabrics had printed fabric with the quote"She was warned, She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, She persisted". I knew I needed a top with this fabric and contacted Georgia Lee the owner. I met Georgia recently and she is just the sweetest person ever. She said she had the fabric in 3 different colors. I selected the white with black script.  There is just a tiny bit of this print in stock but it can be purchased HERE.

I paired the "Nevertheless" print with some black & white stripes from Made Whimsy. These stripes are yarn dyed and have incredible 4-way stretch.

I then used the Offside Raglan to make a pi Day shirt! 

The pi print is from Zenith & Quasar and the stripes are from Piccadilly Textiles.

Here's a close up of the wave-ish design that's made by the way the sleeves and front bodice are made. I think it's such a cool feature. I decided to do a reverse coverstitch on the front seam sleeves and I obviously need to practice it more - so don't look too close or you'll see my flub.

I also needed a new shirt for St. Patrick's day and this Shamrock print from Little Roots Fabrics was purchased just for the occasion.

However, at the time, I did not realize that the print was a little naughty. Good thing St. Patrick's Day is on a Saturday this year!

I'm definitely safe from being pinched this year.

I think the Offside Raglan is just awesome. It also comes in a kids version - Offside Mini. So if you are looking for a unique raglan pattern - this may just be the pattern for you.

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Petite Stitchery Emerson Top

Welcome to the Breaking Ground Blog Tour 2018. This week over 20 bloggers are joining together to break new ground by trying a pattern designer that is new to them, try new techniques, new styles, or whatever way they want to push themselves. The Full Tour includes all these creatives... we hope you'll visit us each day: Monday March 12- mahlicadesigns, Sewing Vortex, Sewing A La Carte, Little Heart Threads, The Sewing Scientist Tuesday March 13- Musings of A Seamstress, A Custom Clothier, Octaves of Color, Aurora Design Fabrics, Sew Altered Style Wednesday March 14- Flaxfield Sewing, Chook n Duck, Tales of a Tester, Sewing By Ti, Sewing Vortex, Kathy's Kwilts and More Thursday March 15- Very Blissful, Manning the Machine, Sew and Tell Project, Musings of a Seamstress, Stitches by Laura Friday March 16- Lulu & Celeste, Tenille's Thread, Sewing A La Carte, The Bear and Pea Atelier, Aurora Design Fabrics, Sprouting Jube Jube, Kathy's Kwilts and More

To make the tour even more fun, our Breaking Ground blog team member, Gail is offering 2 patterns of choice from her pattern shop Flosstyle to one lucky winner.

Enter Here!

I've never sewn a Petite Stitchery Pattern before. They are a company with many individuals that release patterns. My friend Sharon tagged me in a post to apply to be a tester for Petite Stitchery - and I figured - why not?  I signed up to be a tester out of curiosity more than anything. I'm always leary of trying a "new" to me pattern group - especially when the designers are not traditionally trained designers with extensive drafting experience. When I saw the first round of patterns available for testing, only one of them caught my eye. This is the Emerson Top.

I really loved the look of the deep v neck in the front and in the back of the Emerson Top. It also has a tiered sleeve version. I tried the 2 tiered sleeve on an earlier version of the pattern, and did not like the look on me and did not care for the shape of the tiers. The single flounce at the end of the sleeve is more my style and I love that it can be added to any length of sleeve.

This version is made with a cotton lycra from Made Whimsy. This is the Azure Blue which is 75" wide and its so soft and drapes well. It was perfect for this Emerson Top which will be a nice wardrobe staple that will coordinate with many of my pants. I made this version without making any adjustments for my height ( I'm 5' tall). I was able to make it with 1 yard of this fabric. The pattern is fairly simple, but beginners may have problems with the neckline facing.

These pants are the Patterns for Pirates Straight Palazzos made with swim knit from Zenith & Quasar fabric. Swim is one of my favorite fabrics for the Straight Palazzos as it feels so nice and cool in the summer, doesn't wrinkle, needs no hemming, and dries super quick for those days I get drenched going into work. These pants are super easy to make, and if you are short, like me (5' tall), then you can make them with just 1 yard of fabric.

This is an earlier version of the Emerson Top that I made during testing. This version is not as fitted in the bust - sizing up on the pattern, would give you a looser fit like this. However, the shoulders want to migrate outwards with it this loose.

This Emerson Top is made with a brushed poly from Made Whimsy. This print is not yet available. Here you can see how the double tiered flared sleeve looks on me. I was asked to do 3 tiers, but I think with my short arms three tiers would look too flamenco dancer or clown like. Which I think while 3 tiers may be flattering on a taller person, on me not so much - I think 2 tiers is pushing it.

In the end, I'm very happy with the final version of the pattern. I am likely to make it again, but will probably do a bit of pattern hacking.

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We'd love to see how you're Breaking Ground this month. Share with us what you're working on by using the hashtag #BreakingGround2018 across social media. Better yet, join the Sew Alongs & Sewing Contests facebook group to sew along with the Breaking Ground theme for the entire month of March. In the group you'll find support and encouragement for your projects and fun themed challenges.

As always, thanks for stopping by today. Please check out the other blogs on the tour!

Monday’s Bloggers:  mahlicadesigns, Sewing Vortex, Sewing A La Carte, Little Heart Threads, The Sewing Scientist 

Tuesday’s Bloggers: Musings of A Seamstress, A Custom Clothier, Octaves of Color, Aurora Design Fabrics, Sew Altered Style

Wednesday’s Bloggers:  Flaxfield Sewing, Chook n Duck, Tales of a Tester, Sewing By Ti, Sewing Vortex, Kathy's Kwilts and More

Thursday’s Bloggers:  Very Blissful, Manning the Machine, Sew and Tell Project, Musings of a Seamstress, Stitches by Laura

Friday’s Bloggers: Lulu & Celeste, Tenille's Thread, Sewing A La Carte, The Bear and Pea Atelier, Aurora Design Fabrics, Sprouting Jube Jube, Kathy's Kwilts and More

 Be sure to enter the  Rafflecopter giveaway

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Sew Big Fabrics Mythical

Sew Big Fabrics always has the funnest prints for adults and kids. I love every print in the Mythical round. All prints are available on cotton lycra, double brushed poly, swim, rayon french terry, minky, and cotton wove. There's a fabric for anything you would want to make! The preorder is open through March 25. Below is a snapshot of the prints at preorder.

I was thrilled to get the Mermaids. They are realistic and remind me of an antique wood block ink print. The detail in them is just beautiful. Here's a closeup shot for you to see the Mermaids up close.

The background of the print is like a pastel watercolor rainbow.

These Opal Scales are also available and make a great coordinate to the Mermaids.

I can't wait to wear this top on my next cruise. I'll be going on a partial transit of the Panama Canal later this year.

I made the Winter Wear Designs La Croix Cross Back Top - that can actually be made to be reversible. And that's the option I chose. I love it both ways, but I think the crossover in the back looks best on me.

I somehow managed to only get a close up shot of the top that was good. We had some crazy wild winds the day I took photos and most photos showed my hair going all over the place.

This preorder is amazing! Fat halfs are available and layaway is available on orders of three yards or more. These Mermaids would make a killer swimsuit.

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is no cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.