New Horizons Designs Dublin Dolman & Lisse Cowl Mash-up

Mandy Pickle at Made Whimsy sent me some of her new Dreamy Collection solids to sew up. This beautiful Tangerine was first on my list to sew. I love to wear dolman tops in the fall and winter and decided a New Horizons Dublin Dolman would be perfect, but I wanted the cowl from the Lisse Cowl.

I cut this HTV design out a little over a year ago. I weeded 40 designs while on a cruise last year in September and I'm still working through using them all!

This "Well Behaved Women" cut file is from Thread & Grain. You can buy the cut file or even ready made items with this on it. It's a quote by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.

I immediately saw that this Navy print from Wanderlust went with the tangerine beautifully. I've always loved Blue & Orange colors together.

I wanted maximize my print as much as possible, so I used the tall bottom band on the Dublin Dolman, and went with long sleeves with tangerine cuffs.

When I was cutting the fabric for the front of the Dublin Dolman, I cut the neckline higher than the pattern as I knew the neckline on the Lisse Cowl was higher. I decided to eyeball my cut instead of getting the Lisse Cowl pattern out to copy the neckline.

Luckily, my eyeball was spot on. I measured the cowl pattern piece to my neckline and they were a perfect match. I love the drawstring detail on the Lisse Cowl. I did not add the drawstring on the first Lisse Cowl that I made and I know think I need to go back to it and add it.

The Dublin Dolman is a great pattern with a ton of options. One option I hope to try soon is the gathered v-neck. The Dublin Dolman is great for a variety of knits. I do size up the Dublin Dolman from the bust down to give it a looser, more relaxed fit. The pattern is intended to be more fitted with the revision that released back in May. You can read my blog post about it HERE.

The Lisse Cowl is super cute with a tulip hemline with pleats below the bust. It is also good with most knits, but you do want a knit with some drape, otherwise the tulip bottom can look a bit boxy. You can read my blog post on the first Lisse Cowl that I made HERE. That original blog post was over two years ago when New Horizons went by Terra's Treasures!

I really love how my mashup of the two patterns turned out. I will likely do it again.

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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.

Greenstyle Creations Warrior Pants

I always enjoy testing for Greenstyle Creations. I wish I worked out more to justify buying and sewing all of their amazing activewear patterns. I really enjoy sewing and testing the more athleisure patterns, as those fit into my lifestyle so much better. The newest pattern is the Warrior Pants.

It's hard for me to believe it, but I moved to Plano nine years ago from my hometown. It's so hard to build a new network of friends and get into a new routine. For me that meant I needed to find a new workout routine that was gentle on my body as I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis after moving.

That's when I discovered yoga. The Warrior Pants are named after the warrior pose in yoga. When I think of the warrior pose, I think about doing Sun Salutations. Moving through a series of poses all while slowly breathing in and out. Like life - sometimes you just go through the motions of day to day life.

I haven't been to a traditional yoga class in probably 2 years, but still practice at home. The Warrior Pants are not something I could see myself wearing to a yoga class though. I tend to prefer leggings and tanks. I wore wide legged pants once and I kept catching my foot in all that extra fabric hanging between my legs and nearly fell over - several times.

The Warrior Pants to me are the perfect warm weather athleisure pants. You look like you might work out, but you might just sit on the sofa all day. The pockets have a very unique construction that results in the front leg overlapping the back when you make the pockets.

You sew up the side seam as you desire. While you could sew them completely closed, that would be kinda boring. I don't care to show too much leg, as my legs are not very pretty. I sewed mine down the sides to my knee.

I made this pair of Warrior Pants with rayon spandex from the fabric district. You can find amazing remnants for $2.50 a yard at the fabric district - but you have to take the entire remnant. That's usually not too bad, but some of their remnants can be an entire bolt! I got this fabric from Sharon (Sweet Mama Life - check out her Warrior Pants blog post). She and I often swap fabric leftovers. She gave me this fabric after she had already made something from it.

I also made the Warrior Pants in cotton lycra.

These are so comfortable!

While I may never wear my Warrior Pants to a yoga class, I'll definitely wear them all over town.

As we get further into fall and our nice warm days slowly disappear, I'll be looking forward to next spring to get out my Warrior Pants and even make a few new pairs.

The Warrior Pants are definitely not for a beginner sewist. The unique construction of the pockets could be challenging for a beginner. In addition, these require a lot of topstitching - often with slinky fabrics. While I did make a pair with cotton lycra - the Warrior Pants look best in a drapey lightweight knit. The first pair in my blog is an ITY knit. The ITY and Rayon Spandex are ideal fabrics for the Warrior Pants, but both can be extremely shifty. So be prepared to use lots of pins and patience, but the end result is worth all that extra effort.

The Warrior Pants are on sale for $9 through Thursday, October 25th.

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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 Sunset Lounge Pants - Free PDF Pattern!

Sinclair Patterns is one of the very few pdf designers that offers every pattern in petite, regular, and tall sizing. As someone whos is only 5' tall - this is something that I really appreciate. It's amazing to print out a pattern and not have to make any adjustments to it!

I love that Oxana - the designer - also likes to give a new free pattern a couple of times a year. The newest pattern to be free is the Sunset Knit Lounge Pants. They are free through December 31, 2018 with the code SINCLAIRPATTERNS.

I basically live in knit pants. Who am I kidding - my whole wardrobe is slowly becoming all knit.

Even though these are called "lounge" pants. I'm wearing these babies everywhere! This pair is made with a "winter weight" supplex I bought from Zenith & Quasar a few years ago.

As a matter of fact - I wore this ensemble to go to a few open houses today. I might even wear this to work.

I will note - you will only see me with my shirt tucked in, in these photos. I absolutely despise wearing my shirt tucked in, but wanted to show off the drawstring waistband and the great pockets.

The Sunset Knit Lounge Pants have one piece pockets. This means that the opening has a bound edge and that the pocket is attached to the front of the pants. This does give a more casual look over a typical two pieced pocket, but this does reduce the bulk at the pocket.

These pockets are nice and roomy. My iPhone 7 fits inside easily.

Here's a look of the first version of Sunset Knit Lounge Pants I made. These are a french terry.

It was raining when I took these photos. So - there are not very many.

These are so comfortable. I've worn these a few times since I made them.

If you are looking for a great lounge pant pattern, look no further. The Sunset Knit Lounge Pants are amazing! These would make great gifts for the Holidays! Or just be selfish and make yourself a whole bunch. Trust me - you'll love how comfortable they are and how quickly they go together.

The Sunset Knit Lounge Pants are FREE with the code SINCLAIRPATTERNS through December 31, 2018.

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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.

A Sparkly Baby Awesomesauce Tee

I've made a couple of A Sparkly Baby Patterns before and decided to try out the Women's Awesomesauce Tee.

I have to say, it's pretty awesome! It has a slim and regular fit options. I made the regular fit.

I do find the sizing of A Sparkly Baby patterns to be a whole lot different than most PDF patterns. For the Awesomesauce Tee, there is only an underbust measurement.

My under bust is 31" which is 6" smaller than my under bust and 7" smaller than my over bust measurements. According to the pattern, I should make the size 30".

I printed out sizes 30" - 36". Because while I have a small under bust measurement - my hips are quite a big larger. I also have a broad back. I graded my pattern pieces from a 30" underbust to a 36" at the hem line.

I then cut my back piece with an extra inch at the fold line to give me the width needed for my back. This gave me the perfect fit across my shoulders and upper back.

I love the loose fit of the regular cut line, but I did add some additional ease to the top.

When I cut the lower bodice piece I again added some extra width at the fold cut line adding an extra 1.5 inches to the center section.

I used a single brushed poly from So Sew English that has great 4 way stretch. I bought it about 2 years ago.

This top is so comfortable and I love how it accentuates by bust and then is nice and loose over my waist and hips. There are 2 options for the center bust. I did the center band option, but think I'll do the elastic option next time.

I'd suggest using a light weight knit with 4-way stretch for the bust pieces, but a 2-way stretch should work for the rest of the top. I also recommend printing multiple sizes if you are a non standard shape like myself and measuring pattern pieces to ensure you get a proper fit.

A Sparkly Baby does have a multi pattern discount- 20% off 2 and 30% off 3. I highly recommend the Renni Dress and the Palauchos.

The entire shop is currently 40% off through October 27th!

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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.

Ellie & Mac Women's Be Adventurous

It's time for Wacky Wednesday at Ellie & Mac! Today the Women's Be Adventurous is on sale for one dollar through Midnight on Wednesday, October 17th!

The Women's Be Adventurous is a great pattern for the fall.

The Women's Be Adventurous pattern has peplum, tunic, and dress options. I made the peplum version. I removed 2" out of the length for my 5' height.

 There are two sleeve options, hemmed (as I made) and with a flounce at the end.

There are two neckline options - banded or a cowl. I made the cowl version as I love cowls - especially if they are drapey.

The Women's Be Adventurous cowl is nice and big and has the drape I love.

The Women's Be Adventurous pattern worked perfectly in this printed sweater knit from Sincerely Rylee.

I love the fit of the Women's Be Adventurous! I'll definitely be making a few more for this Fall & Winter.

Grab the Women's Be Adventurous while it's only one dollar HERE! Check out all the other Wacky Wednesday patterns 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.

Sew Big Fabrics ASL ILY

The current preorder at Sew Big Fabrics is really cool and it supports a great organization that supports and offers education, services, and advocacy to members of the Deaf community. The round is ASL ILY - American Sign Language I Love You. There are panels featuring various ASL signs with beautiful coordinates that can also stand alone. $2 of each yard sold will be donated to the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Service Center Inc. The preorder is open from October 15 - 29. All panels and coordinates are offered on cotton lycra, double brushed poly, french terry, cotton woven, and minky.

I was so excited for the print and panel that I received.

These are the Pink/Purple Gradient Geo Stripes. From the get go, I knew I wanted to make another Duck Butt Designs Back to Fall Hoodie - but this time with a large cowl.

These Pink/Purple Gradient Geo Stripes are on cotton lycra and they happened to perfectly match the Purple Cactus Flower Tactel from Zenith & Quasar.

The Adult panel I received was the Butterfly on Light. This panel and the Pink/Purple Gradient Geo Stripes also come on a dark background.

The Adult panels are 30" wide by 38" tall. It was perfect for the back of my BTF.

Here's a bigger photo of the beautiful design. It shows hands making the ASL sign for butterfly with a butterfly over the hands.

Here's a look at the other panel designs and coordinates.



This round is full of beautiful prints that can go with so many solids and would make great coordinates for other prints. I love that buying from this round also benefits members of the Deaf community. Shop all the designs HERE.

Scroll to see more photos of my BTF - I was having way too much fun taking photos.

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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.