Would they Wear That? Dolman tops

I (Major Moma) am reading Tim Gunn's book The Fashion Bible (affiliate link) and am quite enjoying learning the history behind the garments we wear today.  So in the spirit of Mr. Gunn's book, I thought I would share a little history about a style of top I am making for Abi's Back-to-School wardrobe.

Tee shirts are an absolute must for today's wardrobe but I think they can look sloppy or boring so I love it when I can find a tee that has some fun shape to it.  And the "dolman" shirt is perfect for adding that little something special to a basic tee.  Also, the cut is quite comfortable so there is no sacrifice for fashion!

Wikapedia traces the origins of the Doman to Turkish court clothing and describes a woman's dolman top as "A dolman sleeve is a sleeve set into a very low armscye; in fact, the armscye may extend to the waistline, in which case there will be no underarm seam in the blouse. Dolman sleeves were very popular in ladies clothing during the Civil War. They returned to popular fashion in the mid 1980s with dolman sleeves on acid and stone-washed denim jackets geared towards teenage boys and girls. They had the effect of making the shoulders look sloped therefore minimizing the appearance of the waist."

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I am guessing that it is the '80s fashion revival that has brought the dolman back on trend for us today.  See! there was some good fashion in the '80s!

If you are not as interested in the history of fashion but need to know what makes a dolman sleeve a dolman, Dictionary.com has a much less illuminating description:

noun

1.

a sleeve tapered from a very large armhole to fit closely at the wrist,used on women's garments.

A short sleeve version of this top is wonderfully simple because the sleeve is cut onto the front and back.  What that means is that there are only two pieces to the pattern!  (unless you opt for binding the neckline)

The longer sleeve version has a sleeve that attaches to that dropped shoulder and is quite fitted on the arm while the under arm is left loose and breezy.

There are two dolman sleeve patterns on my cutting table right now; Shwin & Shwin's Day Tripper top and Jaile's 3352.  But there are other options if you want to sew this style for your tween.


A pattern I have not tried but have seen good things written about is the Carlie by EYMM.  It comes in sizes into the high tweens/teens and has a trendy high/low thing going on too.

Carlie

Pattern's for Pirates has a woman's dolman called the Pumpkin Spice that comes in an XXS that according to the measurements would fit a size 10 or 12 tween girl.  This pattern has a couple different design options and if it is as good as the other P4P patterns I have sewn, it is sure to be a winner.

Sew Much Ado has two dolman tops in it's shop.  One is for children and only goes up to size 10 and the other is for women and starts at XS.  One of these may work for your tween.  Check out the measurements and see ...

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Jaile's 3352 comes in sizes 2T to 22 Woman's.  So this is a pattern that can really fit all the girls/ladies in your family.

The Day Tripper also is not a children's pattern.  It is designed for women but the XS is an option for the older tweens.  (Plus, you can sew one up for you too just to make the purchase worth it, right?)

And finally, if you are more of a Draft-it-Yourself gal or simply don't have the cash to spend on one more pattern during the school buying frenzy, Becca's Creative Notions has a tutorial on how to use your normal tee-shirt pattern to draft a dolman sleeve tee-shirt.

Sooo,,. Would your tween wear a dolman top?

Back to School sewing plan

It is that time of year again!  Shopping for pencils, pens, paper, and various school supplies; endless hours at the mall trying to not spend all your money on school clothes.  And the nervous excitement about the first day in a new grade.

My daughter is very much looking forward to the first day of 6th grade.  We are in a new town so she is nervous about making friends, but she is ready to not be hanging out with her brother all day.

This year, I am making most of her back to school wardrobe.  In June, we went summer clothes shopping for her and because she has gotten so tall, she is just straddling the children's and junior department and I have noticed the cost of her clothes have significantly gone up.

Making an entire back to school wardrobe is a little crazy if you ask me.  I have done it once before and it was fairly chaotic.  So this time I am trying to be more organized and deliberate about it.

I am choosing some basic patterns and making several duplicates in different patterns in order to get the foundation of the wardrobe established.  And then, during the fall I will had more specialty items to give her basics more character and give her more variety.

My methods are also more assembly line style.  I am following the advice of Melissa from Melly Sews and cutting multiple layers of the same pattern at one time.  And I am stacking all my cut garments in piles according to colors.

Melly Sews

Right now I am in the midst of cutting knit shirts out.  I have a stack of pinks, darks, and greys.  I will then sew them up in that order so that I can minimize changing my serger thread.  What this means is that I spend days cutting and not sewing a single stitch and I have to be careful to keep all the pieces together.  But I think in the end it will be more efficient if not as much fun.  I take great joy in finishing, so this is a serious practice in delayed gratification.

So what basics did I choose?

I have a vintage tee shirt pattern that my grandmother tested for Stretch & Sew in the late 60s that I treasure.  I have a raglan version too that I have been using extensively for my son. (not yet a tween)

The most elaborate pattern I chose is the Mimi top/dress by a French Canadian designer Files a Maman.  I am doing the tunic length with some silly fabric.  Sally shared this dress as part of its debut blog tour HERE.

The Day Tripper top by Swhin &Shwin designs.  This top is designed for women but and XS is just a little big on Abi and looks good as an over-sized top (previously reviewed HERE).

Next up is the Jalie dolman.  I am so excited for this top.   I have always wanted to sew a Jalie pattern and see what all the fuss was about.  And this pattern comes in child and woman's sizes so once I have made Abi a couple, I will make one for me too.

Just about every tween girl loves leggings so I am adding a couple of those.  I am using Dressage legging without the panel to make a neutral and a wild print pair (reviewed HERE).

Finally,  I am sewing another Jalie pattern, the Drop Pocket Cardigan.  Again, I think this will be on my sewing list for myself.  But first I need to get all the back to school sewing done!

Are you sewing a wardrobe too? or are you creating special items to fill gaps in store bought fashion?

Making Colored Fur Coats

Now that you have decided whether your tween would wear colored fur, how are you going to make it?

Pale Cloud

Fur is not hard to sew, but it does have some special considerations.  One is all that fur.  What you will need to do in order to reduce bulk, is to trim the seam allowances down.  That way, you can sew without all that fur in the way and your seams will not be too bulky.  Second after sewing, you will need to take a small tool, like a stylus, and gently pull the fur on the right side out of the seam.

For more tips on how to sew fur, you can go to this Instructables post or Sew 4 Home.

Several stores carry colored fur and minky is a nice alternative to faux fur.  Here are a couple fabric options that caught my eye on Fabric.com.

Minky Crushed Cuddle fabric

Minky Soft Lattice Cuddle fabric

Minky Crushed Cuddle fabric

There are several jacket patterns out there, many that we featured on our "Making Moto" post in September.  But as winter is coming around the corner, I thought I would also point out some great heavier jacket patterns.

Burdastyle Long Dress Coat

Burdastyle Girl's Asymmetric coat

Peek-a-Boo Pattern's Dowton Duffle (affiliate link)

Peek-a-Boo Pattern's Alpine Wonderland (affiliate link)

Peak-a-Boo Pattern's Great Outdoors Reversible Vest (affiliate link)

And if making a whole coat is not on your list, then what about a hat, scarf, or some mittens.  Then your tween can follow this trend without you giving up a couple weekends.  Here are a few tutorials you may find useful.

Sew Creative

Flamingo Toes

How to Sew a Fur Hat video  

If you make something with fur, colored or otherwise, we would love to see it and hear about your experience.  You can link up to our monthly party or shoot us an email and maybe we can have you guest post!

Would they were that? Colored Fur

It is time for another installment of Would They Wear That?   And this time I am featuring a very fun and wild trend ... colored fur.  I know that tweens can be very self conscious and not want to stand out, and this is definitely a stand out kind of trend.  But, I also think when you are young, you can really have fun with some of these crazy trends.  When you are young, you do not need to worry about looking 'professional' or being taken seriously.

So here are a few takes of colored fur that are on the runway for this fall:

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And the colored fur trends are not staying on the runway or in adult fashion.  Several boutique children's designers are using colored fur in their lines.

Pale Cloud

Mayoral Girls Pink Gilet

Super Trash girls jacket

I love how different designers are using the colored fur to create accents or go all out bold and rocker. This is a style that I think my daughter would love because she has always enjoyed a little bit of edge or something different in the clothes that I make her.

So what about your tween?  Would they wear colored fur?

Making Moto

We asked if your tween would wear the fashion trend moto.  So now that your tween said "YES, I would wear moto," you need to go find a pattern.

On 8 September we showed you that motorcycle inspired jackets were hitting the runway for Fall 2014 and the children designer stores.  But how to make one?  That is just a little bit harder.  There are some great zip up jackets out there, but not a lot with the signature asymmetrical zip that a moto jacket is famous for.

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So I have gathered some pattern options and a tutorial that should help you in creating your own moto jacket.

This first pattern is a hoodie, but it has a great asymmetrical zipper.

EYMM

And I think this jacket is just about perfect!  And it goes up to size 16.  WHAT?

Terra's Treasures

Over at Burda Style they have a how-to video for this look

The following patterns do not have the asymmetrical zipper but are a more traditional jacket pattern.  If they suit your child more, they could be modified to creat a moto look.

burdastyle blouson jacket

burdastyle zippered blouson jacket

Burda Kids 9484

I think all of these jackets have a nice shape.  They may be a bit boxy for a true moto look, but I think with some adjustments to the side seams you could manage to tailor them down.  The next step would be to modify the front opening.  Here are tutorials that look like they would get the job done using these, or similar patterns.

ana evers tutorial

Sew What tutorial

After modifying the opening, then you just need to add all the cool hardware.  I think zipper welt pockets and a few rivets and buckles should do the trick.

If you give this pattern alteration a shot, please share it with us.  And if you know of a better tutorial, or you make one, let us know!