Made Whimsy Gators & Dachs

The newest preorder at Made Whimsy is Dachs & Gators. I asked Mandy to send me some small pieces so  could make my friend Rissa a towel for her crocodile. Yes, you read that correctly. My friend Rissa is a bad ass paleontologist that teaches high school kids, and they raise a crocodile or alligator each year for the Houston Zoo!

Mandy sent me way more than just a few small pieces of fabric. She sent me an adult panel set, a large piece of the Baby Gator coordinate, and some moss green dreamy solid.

I obviously had to make Rissa something cool to wear at school. Her students love that she wears a ton of dinosaur themed clothing items and they challenged her to wear only dinosaurs for 30 days. She had no problem meeting their challenge.

It's about time she added some Crocodilia to her wardrobe.

The Gator panel set is designed to have the halves of the body match up at the side seam. This can be a bit tricky. Mine are pretty close. I also accidentally put the birds head too close to the seam allowance.

I don't think anyone is going to be looking that closely at my work.

If you are wondering - I used the Halla Patterns Essie Cardigan for Rissa. This was my first time making the Essie and I'm dying to make one for myself.

Look at how cute this print is. I love the baby gators. They have so much personality.

I think Rissa looks great in the Essie Cardigan.

And here is the baby crocodile! This is Juniper and she is a Nile Crocodile. You can follow her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/claridencrocs

Since she lives in an aquarium with water, Rissa uses some lightweight towels to wrap her in to dry her off when they take her out. Rissa came over to my house and while I finished her cardigan, she made the towel.

Juniper is weighed and measured on a regular basis and the students track her growth.

Juniper is a bit feisty. Take a look at the green section of towel below. She bit the towel when Rissa tried to move it. I'll take that as a sign that she likes it.

Below you can see Juniper all wrapped up with a little bit of the gator skin print peeking out.

Juniper will be going back to the Houston Zoo soon. The Dachs and Gators round closes on May 27th! Preorder at https://www.madewhimsy.com/dachs-and-gators/


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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.

Winter Wear Designs Traveler Tee

I love Winter Wear Designs patterns, but I always seem to miss the cut off on Suzanne's tester calls. I think she felt sorry for me this time, because she told me she'd make room for me! I was thrilled as I was head over heels in love with the line drawing she had posted of the Traveler Tee.

I am a sucker for patterns that allow me to mix wovens and knits together. This is mainly because I tend to save scraps and have a tendency to pick up amazing remnants in the fabric district that are not big enough for an entire project. I used a mauve poly jersey and a rayon woven (if you recognize it, I've used it for 2 different tops,  both of which are Winter Wear patterns).

The Traveler Tee above was the first one I made and I made a size too big! My bust is 37.5" and the size large stated 38" and I figured my bust was closer to the large than the medium. Suzanne pointed out my mistake, but it was too late - I had already cut out another one. See below.

I used a poly jersey and a satin-y woven for this Traveler Tee. Both the one above and this one I made the cap sleeved version. To get a perfect corner, you must follow the instructions exactly! I love to add a strip of interfacing to my knit piece to prevent it from stretching as I sew it to the woven bodice.

Before I sewed up the Traveler Tee above, I cut out the Medium and sewed both at the same time. I decided to use the same satin-y woven I used above for this Traveler Tee. But this time I used a different portion. It gives it a totally different look. This time I paired it with a brushed nylon knit from Zenith & Quasar.

 

I removed 2" from the length of all the Traveler Tees I made. As you can see, the medium is significantly shorter on me than the large ones above.

  

This one is also a cap sleeve and has the longer back.

The pattern got a final tweak - although no changes were made to the size medium, I still printed it out and made another Traveler Tee.

I made this Traveler Tee with a rayon spandex knit and a cotton voile. This one is the short sleeved version with the straight hem in the back.

The pattern includes an elbow length, 3/4 length, and long sleeve option in addition to cap sleeve and short sleeve. If we were not entering Spring and Summer, I would have made a flannel and sweater knit version with long sleeves. I'm putting it on my fall sewing list now!

I really love the fit of the Traveler Tee and have already worn 2 of the tops I made. I'm debating on trying to take in the large ones or give them to my mother. I did wear the first large one and loved how it felt on. The only problem with it is that the armholes are a bit big and you can see my bra when I lift my arm. I will definitely be making more of these not only for this summer, but I will make a few for this fall & winter.

The Traveler Tee is part of the Winter Wear Wardrobe Builders Collection. All patterns in this collection are $5! They are all great basics that are beginner or adventurous beginner friendly.

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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.

George + Ginger Road Trip Body Suit

Only Kristi of George + Ginger could get me to ever make a bodysuit. The Road Trip Bodysuit is the Pattern of the Month for March and I decided to try it.

I've actually been thinking about making a bodysuit for a while now. I have a couple of semi sheer tops that I love and have to wear a camisole under. My pear shape causes my camisole to always ride up and it ends up bunching up around my waist and I am constantly pulling it down.

So I thought a nude color bodysuit would be perfect to wear under all those semi sheer tops. It would stay put and a nude color would keep it less conspicuous.

Well, it would be hard to show you my Road Trip Bodysuit under a top, so I looked through my closet and found this wrap from Chico's and I'm loving how it looks with the Road Trip Bodysuit.

I love this wrap, but have only worn it once. Maybe I'll be brave and wear it with my Road Trip Bodysuit and these Greenstyle Creations Chelsea Pants for a date night.

The Road Trip Bodysuit calls for a binding, but I did bands on mine.

I'm 5' tall and took 1.5" out of the length of the body. If I make another Road Trip Bodysuit, I'll be taking a half inch off the top of the straps as I find them a little too tall for my petite height.

I love the low scoop back. The back is two pieces which allows for doing a sway back adjustment - which I did. But I still have some extra fabric and I think it's because the straps are a little too long on me. 

The Road Trip Bodysuit is 25% the entire month of March. I'll be posting photos soon of a top I recently made with a lightweight sweater knit that this Road Trip Bodysuit was perfect for wearing under.

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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.