Showing posts with label Spring Fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spring Fashion. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Polkadot Circle Dress

  Tween Polkadot Circle Dress6
 Bonjour! I am Natalie, a Canadian gal who blogs over at La gang à Nat. In my little corner of the web, I chat about the sewing that I do for my three girls, ages 2, 4 and 11. I am quite excited to have been invited here by Kelli and Sally to show you a garment that I created for my tween Maïan! Ahhhh... the 9 to 13 age group!!! Is anyone else struggling with dressing up a capricious tween! Admittedly, this is a tough age group to sew for... they're not little kids anymore and they certainly don't want to dress child-like. But they're not grown ups either and as parents, we don't want to see them dressed up as women (or even worse, TEENS! GULP!). There will be plenty of time for that, no? Few stores cater exclusively to this age group and compounding the problem is the fact that many sewing patterns only go up to size 8. Tween Polkadot Circle Dress8
What I'll show you today is how to create a circle dress based on a garment that you already have at home, or a basic bodice pattern. So if you'd like, follow me home for a quick tutorial! Tween Polkadot Circle Dress7

Thank you so much Kelli and Sally for having me over today!    

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Spring Fabric Options

On March 3rd, Sally shared images of current spring fashion trends for pre-teens and then highlighted several patterns that you could use to replicate those looks.  I had never heard of those boutique brands but the clothes looked both lovely and easy to play in.   So, I wanted to see if I could find fabrics of similar types and/or colors that could be used to get similar looks.

Below are several images of fabric that I found that I believe in combination with the right patterns could create wonderful boutique fashions for the tween in your life.

NOTE: At this time, Sew Cool for the Tween Scene is not affiliated with any businesses.  Therefore, if you click on any of these links we gain nothing except the satisfaction that maybe your shopping was made a bit easier.  In the future, we may choose a different model, but right now Sew Cool has no commercial ties.

The examples in the inspiration outfits had wonderful geometric and ikat prints.  I personally love ikat and think it is a trend worth keeping around for a long time.  If you think so too, here are some options.  Micheal Levine has some really pretty ikat woven fabrics that I thought caught the spirit of some of the outfits in Sally's post. 

Genuine Handwoven Ikat - ML227910 - Black / White
Genuine Handwoven Ikat - ML228050 - Grey / Yellow

Genuine Handwoven Ikat - ML241955 - Multi

Fabric.com is one of my favorite online fabric stores.  As I searched through their new arrivals, I found several prints that I thought would work for the spring.  Here are a couple more subdued prints.

Crepe Georgette Rope Navy

Palos Verdes Organic Voile Wayfarers Orange/Grey

But what I really loved at Fabric.com were all the beautiful floral prints.  Nothing really says spring fashion like a soft floral fabric.

Stretch Poplin Leaves White/Black

Liberty of London Tana Lawn Jody Gold/White

Liberty of London Tana Lawn Theodora White/Green

Premier Prints Dandelion White/Black

But if your child is more wild and funky, you should check out these fun and wild prints.

Designer Rayon Challis Blurred Lines

Amy Butler Hapi Voile Camel Blanket Cloud


Stretch Jersey Knit Pueblo Stripe

Poly Poplin Cheetah Blue/Cream



And what if your tween would prefer the comfort of knits?  Well, Girl Charlee has some fabulous options.

Green Blue Ethnic Diamond Border Cotton Jersey Blend Knit Fabric

Painted Ikat Cotton Spandex Knit Fabric

Navy Bird Silhouettes on Peach Parfait Cotton Jersey Blend Knit Fabric

Fawn Silhouette on Gray Ridge Cotton Jersey Blend Knit Fabric

Acai Purple Chevron on White Cotton Jersey Blend Knit Fabric

What do you think?  Do you think you could make some boutique spring fashions combining the patterns from our previous post and these fabrics?





Monday, March 3, 2014

Thinking Spring--Looking Ahead to the Trends

If you think it, it will come right?! With the hopes of warmer weather, how about a little looking ahead to Spring-y fashion for tweens, with some suggested patterns as well so that you can achieve these looks. 
First up here are some looks. Sorry, they are all girls. It just seems that boys fashion doesn't change all that much, except maybe for the bagginess of the pants...but I'll keep looking.
Also, all but Bardot are Scandinavian designers. Bardot is Australian. I think the simple designs that rely on the lines of the garment and fabric choices, so common in Scandinavian design, lends itself to being tween friendly. Most tweens don't want all the frills and ruffles anyway.

I tried to pick things that represented current trends, but also would be easy to replicate.  Here's what I came up with. I'll give you the designs first and highlight some of the trends and then at the end give you the patterns as suggestions to get that look.

Check out this exclusively tween fashion line called Frosk. I love the bold but simple patterns, the simplicity of the designs themselves and the fact that they are tween friendly (ie No belly buttons showing and appropriate length)
Trends to take note: Bold, geometric prints paired with white as well as other prints; straight lines of the dresses and skirts; wide sleeves
frosk_wear_ss14

Pale Cloud is another line that I have fallen in love with. They are a little less edgier and a little more elegant/romantic looking, with softer edges and more pastels. Just trying to find something for everyone here.
Trends to take note: Jumpsuits/one piece outfits; baggy up top pants ; yellow, wide sleeves
 Pale Cloud, SS14 Look 9, Spring Summer 2014 Pale Cloud, SS14 Look 5, Spring Summer 2014


 Peit by Sofies Schonoor is definitely edgier, but certainly right on trend
Trends to take note: Jumpsuit/One piece, whether it's pants or shorts; Bold patterns; animal prints; black and white; baggy up top pants
  
Bardot is the Australian design line I stumbled across. 
Trends to take note: Jumpsuit/one piece; animal prints; geometrical prints; baggy on top pants
 
The nice thing about all of these looks, is that they are all totally do-able for you to make on your own. Here's a couple of suggestions to help you on your way:
147_1013_b_large
From Burda Style you can get the simple lines and wide sleeves...the pattern is free, but only goes up to about a size 9. This one wouldn't be hard to add some inches for width at the shoulders and waist if needed as well as length. You could also use this as a spring board for making a wide sleeved jumpsuit, by combining it with a gathered waist pants pattern. Speaking of jumpsuits...
Jumpsuit tutorial from Simple Simon and Co...they are always ahead of the trends over there. It's even in yellow too, which seems to be a hot color for this season, as well as the neon...I keep seeing that in all of the stores (not necessarily in the design lines though).
And Peek-a-Boo patterns just came out with a jumpsuit pattern as well.
Image of Amelia Dress & Romper
There are so many options when it comes to jumpsuits...
This dress pattern is similar to the one in the Frosk picture and we reviewed it here.
The Go to Patterns Anywhere dress has some great simple lines that would work well with the current style and you could pair it with a bold print or even an animal print...or how about an animal stenciled strategically on someplace. I'm thinking at the hem or on the side vs. in the middle.
And here are a couple of shirt ideas...just click on the shirt to find the pattern.
Serephic Raglan by Figgy's
Skipper Top by Sew Much Ado
147_0813_b_star_shirt_large
Burda Style free pattern
  As for the pants, I couldn't find any one pattern that fit the bill, but if it were me I would take a pajamas pants pattern and make them draw string, instead of elastic. Then I would play with the width of the legs, till they were a little more fitted and straight legged. Once again the lovely ladies over at Simple Simon and Co have a great tutorial about drafting your own.

So there you have some Spring inspiration for your sewing!