Winter Wear Designs Journey Tunic & Dress

Two months ago Suzanne Winter of Winter Wear Designs posted that she needed a few more testers for a boho-style tunic she had in testing that was for wovens. I love boho style tunics and I just so happen to have quite a few lightweight apparel wovens sitting in my stash. This is the Journey Tunic & Dress. 

I made the non-tiered version of the tunic body with a gathered back bodice, the sleeves with a ruffle, and collarless neckline. The non-tiered version is considered a pattern included hack. There are not full pattern pieces for this version, but the pattern tells you how much length to add to the bodice pieces in lieu of adding the ruffle to the hem.

There are two back options - straight or gathered. I opted for the gathered back bodice for the extra ease. My booty  appreciate having the extra room. 

My fabric is from Super Textiles. It is a crepe chiffon georgette. It is a gorgeous chevron design is amazingly saturated colors of coral, magenta, teal, navy, and white. 

This print is so fun! I love how light it is. It will be perfect to wear through the summer. I had plans to make another Journey Tunic. I thought Suzanne might post an updated pattern (even though I had no issues with this one) or that I might have found some time to make a second or third. 

I love the neckline detail. The yoke doesn't quite make a v shape, it is squared off  at the bottom. The pattern also includes an option for a high collar with a back opening and an open collar that is the same neckline as I made, but with a collar at the top edge. 

The Journey Tunic & Dress is on sale for $5.95 through June 9th!

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

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 South Shore Romper

I have made an item I never thought I would make - a Romper. I always hated the idea of getting nearly naked to go pee when wearing a romper. Then Ellie & Mac had to go and release the South Shore Romper. Every single tester looked great in it. Then House of Curves did a month of rompers. The only romper that I loved on each curvy blogger was the South Shore Romper. Everyone looked amazing in it. I have to say, they convinced me. And I think I look pretty good in it too!

One other thing that had kept me from sewing a Romper was my belly. I have a medical condition that often makes my stomach swell and I look like I'm about 5 months pregnant. I worried a romper would accentuate that and the last thing I want is people asking me when I'm due. I think the wide legs that gather at the waist along with the wrap style top really help minimize the belly and bring attention up to your face.

The crossover wrap top covers great with no fear of being exposed. I really thought I would need to wear a tank under it to keep from showing too much of my chest. I did originally think about wearing a tank just so I wouldn't feel so bare when I did go to the bathroom. But it's summer in Texas and I like to avoid extra layers if at all possible.

The one thing I had issues with when sewing the South Shore Romper was adding elastic to the waist seam. I could not get it to look decent. I seam ripped once and retried with different elastic. I then cut it off and redid it without elastic. Didn't like it without elastic. Cut it off again and redid it yet again with elastic. Still wasn't crazy about it, but figured it would be covered by my sash and finished it.

I am 5' tall and did make a few adjustments. I had to remove 2” from the length of the bodice so that it would end at my natural waist. I then measured my crotch from my natural waist in front to my natural waist in the back. I found that I needed to add 1” to the front and back rises to ensure I had enough room to prevent the crotch seam to ride up uncomfortably - I probably lost most of that inch redoing that waist seam so many times. I also shortened the legs by 2” then took another 2 inches off before I hemmed them.

I really love my South Shore Romper and have plans to make another. I'm thinking I will add a waist band to my next one and widen the legs to give a fuller look like a maxi dress. I think adding elastic into a waistband will work out a lot better for me. I'm severely allergic to latex and cant have it touching my skin. I will have to be certain to wear high waisted underwear or a long tank under this to keep the elastic away from my skin.

If you have been hesitant to try a romper, I would suggest giving the South Shore Romper a try. I think you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was. All patterns are on sale for 50% off for the month of August. No code needed.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

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 Clara Wrap Top

I have a confession to make. I was a pretester for the Greenstyle Creations Clara Wrap Top. I made my test garment gave feedback and declared - I will never wear this! I then sent the test garment to my cousin who still actively does ballet. She even sent me a selfie of her wearing it to class. It made me so happy to see her enjoying the top.

When the "real" test came along for the Clara Wrap Top, I didn't participate. I don't recall if it was because I was busy or if it was because I had sworn off wearing it and didn't want to waste my time or fabric. Either way - I had this idea in my head that I wanted to make a wrap dress, but I hate wrap skirts. So I thought I need a faux wrap top with a skirt attached. I looked through so many patterns and couldn't find anything that matched the idea in my head. Then I remembered my friend  Sharon's blog post awhile back about making a faux romper and she used the Clara Wrap Top for it.

I received the final pattern for the Clara since I was a pretester and I quickly printed it up and got to work making it. 

Instead of attaching a skirt to the wrap top, I decided to make a sleeveless dress to wear under my Clara Wrap Top. The sleeves on the Clara are quite fitted and I knew I would be uncomfortable trying to wear something with sleeves under it.

I made the Ellie & Mac Sunny Day Dress to wear under my Clara. I wanted a really full skirt and decided to use the full width of fabric for the front and the back. I often make my Sunny Day just using one full width of fabric for the entire skirt. So this one is twice as full as I typically make.

All the fabrics I used came from Zenith & Quasar. The Sunny Day Dress is made from Tactel. Tactel is am amazing lightweight athletic knit. I find that is travels well as wrinkles tend to release after hanging the garment awhile, it packs up super small, it's very breathable, and it dries super quick.

My wrap top is made with athletic brushed poly. This print should be available soon. It's called colorful concrete and it has such a cool looking texture and a mix of beautiful colors. I also love athletic brushed poly for all kinds of clothes. It also packs well and I think I will take this ensemble with me on my next cruise. Here's a closer look at the print.

And it has pockets!

There was one thing that I didn't like about the Clara - that the ties were not lined. I really didn't like how the hemmed edges were visible. And I really didn't think that would look good when using a printed fabric with a white backside. So, I decided to make my ties lined. I unfortunately did not have enough of this print to use it for both side. Okay - I probably did, but did not take the time to lay everything out before I started cutting. I ended up using the Tactel for the lining and I really love how it came out. This was a pretty easy hack and I will probably make another for a separate blog post to show step by step how to do it.

Here is a look at my Sunny Day Dress I am wearing under the Clara. Ignore all the rippling at the waist seam. I think the shear volume of the skirt is the culprit. I even tried using my sewing machine to sew it together and still ended up with some rippling.

I even topstitched the seam thinking that might help, but I think it made it worse. I'm contemplating cutting the skirt off and  re-attaching it. I definitely do not feel like seam ripping it off. I'm also thinking of leaving it alone. I'm not sure I'll ever wear the dress without the wrap, but I also think I could just make a wide wrap belt with the tactel to wear with the dress when I decide to wear it on it's on.

Something about this dress just made me want to twirl and twirl. Scroll to see what what I mean.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

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.

George + Ginger Mix It Up Dress

Kristi at George + Ginger is always coming up with designs that are so different and fun. They often make me step out of my comfort zone, and I really need that push sometimes. The Mix It Up Dress is no different. The options are-

Front Bodice--yoke, horseshoe, leaf, keyhole and asymmetric

Back Bodice--yoke, square, diamond, keyhole and full closure

Sleeves--sleeveless, cap, short, elbow, 3/4 and long

Skirts--full circle (peplum, mini, dress), half circle (peplum, mini, dress), handkerchief (peplum, mini, dress), hi-lo tunic (short and long) AND fitted skirt to add to peplum, hi-lo or stand alone

I was assigned the asymmetrical front bodice with a full back, short sleeves, and the handkerchief peplum.

I really love how this combination looks. I love peplums and I have never done an asymmetrical front neckline before.

 I used a cotton lycra from Made Whimsy. This is the Spiced Splatter which is currently at preorder.

 This print has a beautiful texture and the weight is perfect for the Mix It Up Dress.

I didn't make just one Mix It Up Dress. Here is the first one I made. This one has the same options and was also made in a cotton lycra.

I've had this fabric so long, that I'm not sure where I bought it.
The print is a bunch of water color-esque dots in a million colors.

For my 5' height I removed 1.5" from the length of the bodice. I really love the length of the peplum.

 These were not the only Mix It Up Dress that I made, but all I will share with you - for now. Here's a look at a few other combinations possible with this pattern.

Not every option is for every person, but everyone is sure to find a few that they love. The options are truly endless. Grab the Mix It Up Dress pattern for 25% off through April 21st!

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

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.

Zenith & Quasar Fabric Technology Round

I always look forward to the technology round every year at Zenith & Quasar. It's usually my opportunity to grab some computer science themed prints to make my son fun pajamas or underwear. I still need to ask him which print is his favorite. My favorite is the Glitch Screen.

I love the mix of colors and patterns. I takes me back to the old days of playing pong on an Atari and having to wiggle all the connections to get the game to show back up on the TV screen. Oh the good old days of signal loss. My tank is the free tank from Life Sew Savory. I did modify this one a tad to make it more relaxed. I'm wearing a pair of Greensyle Chelsea Pants in these first few photos.

As I looked over my stash of Zenith & Quasar fabrics, the yellow mesh grabbed my attention. I loved how it pulled out the yellow and green tones from the print. This mesh is cool to the touch and not super see through. It has holes, but the holes are not really holes, the fabric is just really thin inside the holes. I'm wearing a navy blue bra with the tank I made (as evidenced by my strap showing) and you cannot see the thick back band easily through my tank.

I didn't have a whole lot of this Glitch Screen print to play with. I had about 24" by wof (58"). It's a good thing I am short because I was able to get some stride inserts out of it and added the cross cuff to give them a little more length.

This was my first time making the cross cuff. I had to modify the piece slightly since I did not cut the legs at the cut line for the cross cuffs, I cut mine longer and the opening was narrower. I cut the cross cuff to match the width of the neon red supplex. I then eyeballed the length of the criss cross straps. I only did two sets of two instead of the three sets of two in the pattern.

I really love how the strides make my butt look. I really love how opaque the budget supplex is. I'm wearing underwear with black stripes and you can't see them. You can make out the outline, but I don't care.

The strides have become my favorite athletic tights. They are so comfortable and go together fairly quickly. Maybe not as quick as plain leggings, but the extra effort give such a cool pair of leggings that fit amazing.

I'm undecided if I actually like my tank with my strides. I was really wishing I had bought some of the neon green hybrid athletic knit. It would have looked awesome as strides.

Here's a look at the other prints in the Technology Round.

The Preorder closes on Saturday at midnight! Order HERE!


Follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

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.

Zenith & Quasar American Heart Association Fundraiser

I'm so excited about the Cardiology Flash Preorder at Zenith & Quasar. After starting this year off wearing a heart monitor for 30 days, I've come to appreciate the awareness campaigns that the American Heart Association does. Lilly's kids are participating in a school fundraiser for the American Heart Association and to help them with their fundraising goals, Lilly is offering the Cardiology prints with 20% of the funds going to the American Heart Association.

This is the Burgundy Cardiology print with the Cardiology stripe coordinate.

Here's a closer look. The hearts are anatomically correct drawings.

I made this shirt a few years ago and the fabric I used for the sleeves shrunk when I washed it and was uncomfortable to wear. Last time Lilly ran these designs, I bought a yard of the cardiology stripes and used it to make new sleeves for my top.

This is the Charcoal Cardiology.

I wore this to my last Cardiology appointment and gave my cardiologist an infinity scarf made with this fabric.

I love this print. The Charcoal colorway also looks great with the Cardiology stripes.

Here's a closeup.

This preorder is only open through March 15th! Order HERE!

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

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.