Zenith & Quasar Stretch Velvet

I have a weakness for the stretch velvet from Zenith & Quasar. I think I made 6 tops with it last year. I just made two more! The Zenith & Quasar velvet has amazing 4-way stretch and it's a nice heavy weight at 420 gsm. It works great for so many things - leotards, leggings, tops, dresses, and pants!

I love the navy stretch velvet and just couldn't resist buying more this year.  I already have another top and a dress made with the navy.

The Itch to Stitch Bellavista is one of my favorite fall & winter top patterns.

I love the 3/4 length bell sleeves on the Bellavista and decided to lengthen them to make long bell sleeves. The pattern does come with a long sleeved option, but it's just a plain straight sleeve.

 What I really love about the Bellavista is the big drapey cowl. The Bellavista can be made without the cowl, but I've never made one that way.

 The Bellavista has a center front panel, but I was afraid those extra seams would take away from the elegant velvet of the top. So, I made the front as one piece and omitted the front panel seams.

 The Bellavista has a swing bodice that is comfortable and helps hide that extra dessert I ate.

Green is my favorite color and I'm constantly asking Lilly to get more green fabrics in. When she first started planning for winter velvets, I asked for a dark green. Lucky for me, she was able to get it!

This dark green velvet has made my dreams come true.

I made the Patterns for Pirates Tulip Tee with my lovely dark green velvet. This pattern is free and I really love it!

 I decided to add the Bellavista cowl to the Tulip Tee and love it! I'm a sucker for a big slouchy cowl.

I wore a loose black cami under my Tulip Tee for these photos, but will likely wear one that's more fitted so it doesn't hang down funny.

Stretch velvet is so comfortable to wear. It's not hot, but does provide a bit of warmth. It can be dressed up or down. The best part is that this can be thrown in the wash on hot and dried on hot. It resists wrinkles and is so easy to pack. I feel put together when I throw on a velvet top with a pair of jeans. It's effortless. Be sure to check out all the gorgeous colors of stretch velvet at Zenith & Quasar.  The prices are great and shipping is only $5 no matter how much you order.

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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.

Friday Feature Freebie Sewing Patterns

I recently sewed up two free patterns that I think are pretty great. I love free patterns and know everyone else does too - especially when they end up being pretty great. So I think I'll try to do a featured freebie one friday a month. How does that sound? For this first installment you get 2 freebies!

First up is the Greenstyle Creations Green Tee. This pattern is free with a code from the Facebook Group. You can then find the code in the Announcements HERE. The pattern comes with a v-neck and a scoop neck option and only includes short sleeves. However, there is a free long sleeve add-on that can be found HERE.

I ended up with very few photos in focus - so these two are all you get to see. Plus, I need to grade out a little more for my belly and hips next time. I'm sucking in big time in that photo above. I made this Green Tee with a blue wood gain athletic brushed poly from Zenith & Quasar. I'll be making a long sleeved Green Tee soon. 

 Next is the Patterns for Pirates Tulip Tee. This is free on the website - no code needed. There's also a kids version - also free. The Tulip Tee pdf pattern does not include the cowl I added below. But - the information to add a cowl like this is found on the Patterns for Pirates Blog HERE. The Tulip Tee also includes a nursing friendly underlayer option as well.

I did not have the add-on pack that the Patterns for Pirates Blog refers to for the cowl, but I just drafted my own. I measured the neckline and cut a rectangle that was the width of the neckline and 10" tall. 

I made this Tulip Tee with a lightweight sweater knit I bought at Wherehouse Fabrics from the remnant table. I threw it on over my Green Tee. You can see a lit of the blue Green Tee peeking out.

The Tulip Tee has a slightly curved hem in the back. I highly recommend ironing the hem before topstitching it. You hem the entire top in one fell swoop and ironing first will make it much easier to ensure you get an even hem all the way around.

I love this top more than I had thought I would. I did take a bit of length out of the Tulip Tee for my height and redrew the tulip front to account for the removal.

Grab both of these Freebies and try them for yourself. I think you will love them too.

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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.