Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Pattern Review - Domi Pants

Name of the pattern: Domi Sweatpants



Pattern Source: Sofilantes

Sizes available: 12M – 14Y




Special materials required: Knit about 1yd, drawstring

Skill level required: Experienced beginner (buttonholes for the drawstring)

How you came to choose the pattern: I received from designer for testing another of her patterns, and I got to choose which one I wanted.  This looked like a great versatile pattern for boys or girls. 

Did you deviate from the pattern?  No



Good:

Well, it's knit, so my kid is all over that.  They are comfortable pants for her to wear, and the "jogger" style is pretty popular right now.  It went together very easy.  I added silver beads to the end of the cording to make it look fancy. I made a 12 long and 10 wide for my tall skinny kid.  They have some room to grow, so that is nice.

I used a black cotton lycra knit, and the black/white knit is one I designed and had custom printed.



Issues:
I didn’t have any issues with this pattern.  Make sure you interface the buttonhole area on the knit - that is important.  You also need to watch the ribbing placement on the pocket.  Mine were a little lopsided since my serger cut off one side more than the other.  Try to be more careful than I was.    

Overall pattern rating:

This is a great pattern and can be made for both boys and girls.

  

Side note:  The tops for her outfit are the Cami by The Simple Life Pattern Company, and the crop top is a pattern hack of the Sofilantjes Nivalis pattern.  I lowered the top half of the pattern and added a band that was 75% the width of the bottom hem to bring it in.


Friday, April 15, 2016

Pattern Review: Blaverry Koko Skinny Jeans

We have a guest post today on making your tween skinny jeans.  Yes.  You can make your tween stylish jeans that they will want to wear!  Kristi over at Kopy Kat Kidz has come back to introduce us to a jean pattern by Blaverry.  Thank you Kristi for sharing with us.


Name of the pattern:

The pattern I’m using for this review is the Koko Skinny Jeans.

Blaverry sewing pattern


Pattern Source:

This pattern is from the company Blaverry found at the online store.

Sizes available:

2T to 16

Special materials required:

The extra things I needed were a jeans zipper and jeans needle.  You could also use top-stitching thread and rivets but I didn’t.

Skill level required:

I think this is probably an intermediate pattern to sew up.  I say this because zipper installations can feel a little tricky if you haven’t done them before and sewing jeans can seem overwhelming because there are quite a few steps.  Although now that I’m made several pairs of jeans it’s not that tough if you just go step by step and follow the pattern instructions carefully.

Blaverry sewing pattern
one piece pocket linings!


How you came to choose the pattern:

I chose this pattern because I had been looking for a skinny pair of jeans for my daughter that didn’t
include elastic in the waist (since she doesn’t appreciate that.)  And that truly look skinny and not just slim.  She’s very picky about her jeans, so if I am going to sew some they have to be near perfect in that department!
Blaverry sewing patterns
pocket lining to front


Blaverry sewing pattern
Look at that professional zipper fly!
Did you deviate from the pattern?  If yes, how?

I made them Capri length because that was all the fabric I had left over from my jeans.  Since this was my first pair of them I didn’t want to buy new fabric.  I also didn’t add the penny pocket or the rivets.

You can include button hole elastic in the waistband to make it adjustable, but I just sized down one size and made sure they fit before I finished up the waistband.  I also took in the legs a little (maybe ½”) to get the fit just perfect on her little legs.

Good:

The pocket installation is different than I have ever done but it is so professional looking.  I included a few pictures.  The wonderful thing about having the pocket like this is that it doesn’t pull out or bunch up like some pockets do.  I also loved how appropriately sized the back pockets are.  They aren’t too big or  small, just perfect.  Also you can print only the size you need so you don’t have to differentiate between all the size lines.  I love that feature in a pattern.

Blaverry sewing pattern


Bad:

I think zipper installation is sometimes hard to wrap your brain around in general, but taking it slow and following the instructions carefully made for a great installation.

Ugly:

None, this was a wonderful pattern!

Overall pattern rating:

I am giving this pattern a top score of five bolts because the pattern was fantastic and the fit turned out great.  She has
worn them so much as it’s turning to spring.