Swingset Skirt Review

I had the lovely opportunity to be a part of the Sew-a-long over at Oliver & s for the Swingset Skirt and what a lot of fun it was!  As a panelist I was asked to sew up the skirt and not only give it a go, but add whatever I wanted.  My plan was to sew up the skirt as part of my girl's holiday outfits...but then my youngest, Clara, got asked to help lead the Pledge of Allegiance for the Veteran's Day Program at the high school. I looked through her closet and realized that she really didn't have any 'nice' red, white and blue clothes (except for the Moto Jacket by Jennuine Designs, which I blogged about here). What to do? Why, give the Swingset Skirt a test run before hitting the fancy fabric, of course!

This is my finished 'patriotic' Swingset Skirt. I pretty much made it as is, except I added a couple of inches to the underskirt, because I wanted the red and white stripes to peak through and I used twill tape for the draw string instead of making my own.  The thing I learned by doing a run through was that I needed to disregard the instruction of putting right sides together to sew the over skirt to the underskirt...by doing this your seams will end up on the outside (the side that will be seen when sticking out) of the skirt, which is not what I wanted. But all in all, I love it, she loves it so it's a win/win!

Up next were there fancy skirts {insert disclaimer that these pictures are not my best...the only day I had to take pictures outside this week was the day it was raining cats and dogs. I put it off and was only able to get quick early morning before the mad rush to school shots} 

They do love how they turned out though and I can't wait to finish the shirts to go with them!

 As for the pattern: Swingset Skirt by Oliver & s  which now goes up to size 14!!!

It is a very straight forward pattern and is quite simple...but the possibilities are endless. People have added pockets, played with the under/over skirt combination, used interesting fabrics and much more. It worked well with the light weight wool I used in the patriotic skirt as well as the fancy fabrics for these 2 skirts.

Materials: Besides the 2 fabrics, you also need elastic...that's it! 

 I deviated a little from the pattern/instructions in that I played with the length of the skirts a little and I used ribbon instead of making my own drawstring tie.  I also added a little ribbon in between the two skirts to gather it up on one side...it turns out the my youngest daughter loves it and the other with the snow flake overlay does not, so it might be taken off that one. I also realized that shear fabrics would not work well with a casing...duh, the elastic would show through...so I had to deviate a little more by creating a pseudo waistband. I just cut the top 3 inches of the over skirt from my solid fabric, attached it to the over skirt and then proceeded as per the instructions...pretty simple fix, really. 

 The Good: Easy versatile pattern that you can buy in paper or pdf form from the Oliver & S website.

It does not require any super sewing skills...just a great beginners pattern. It is easy to make and doesn't take a ton of fabric. But with a little imagination you could make this skirt countless ways! 

 No bad or ugly to report, so I give this one 5 bolts for a great beginner pattern that is VERY versatile!

Swingset Sew-A-Long with Oliver & S

Guess what I have going on...go check out the Swingset Skirt Sew-Along happening this month over at Oliver & s.

There is a fun sew-a-long going on for this very versatile skirt (just check out what the other panelist are doing) and it's perfect for the tweens because it goes up to size 14! There will also be some great prizes for some lucky sew-a-long participants...so what are you waiting for? Go check it out!

Pattern Review: Playground to Palace Dress

Halloween is fast approaching and I have been sewing like mad on my children's costumes hoping to not be doing anything at the last minute this year.  But instead of staying focused and on task, I jumped at a chance to test a new pattern by Ruby and Jack.  I actually had never heard of this pattern maker before, but on a sewing group I answered the tester call because the description of the pattern sounded great.

It was billed as a princess dress as comfy as a tee-shirt.  Well, what tween does not live in tee-shirts?

So I paused on my projects stacking up on the table and set out to test a pattern for a knit princess dress.

Fittingly, the bodice has princess lines and the skirt is a cross between a gored skirt and circle skirt. The skirt can actually be made with knit or with a woven but the woven requires extra fabric and is gathered.

I searched my stash and found the fanciest knit I had and managed to just squeak by without having to purchase more.  I very much enjoyed sewing this dress.  Even in it's testing form, it was an easy sew and the adjustments she made after our feedback really make it a fun pattern.

The dress is called the Playground to Palace Dress because it is a comfortable way to dress up.  If you have little ones that dress up, this would be a great dress for them too because it can be just pulled over regular clothes.  But, for a tween, it can easily be adapted for many a version of princess costume.

Sizes available:  It comes in sizes 12 months to 12 years and I found it ran very true to my child's measurements.

Special materials required:  The simplest version of the pattern requires knit fabric.  But there are versions for organza over lays, a cape, or a sash similar to the Cinderella dress of the new  movie.

Here are some photos of other versions:

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Skill level required:  I thought this dress was super easy.  It does not have any closures and has no fancy techniques.  If you are new to knits, this may be a good starter pattern.

Good:  I liked how I could make a costume with this pattern or simply a lovely dress.  I think the princess lines were quite beautiful on my daughter.

Bad:  Because it is meant to be primarily for dress up, you may get limited use out of the pattern.  Some our our tweens are quickly leaving the princess phase.

Overall pattern rating:  As a costume or special occasion dress, I would give this pattern 4 bolts.  But as tween focused pattern, I may drop it down to 3.5.  I don't think that is truly fair because not all tweens are out of the princess phase but if you don't have younger girls to sew for, I can't help but think this pattern may be limited for some audiences.  

Until the 10th of October, 2015 it is on sale for only $5!

Having fun with accessories

When your kids are little, they love to have holiday outfits.  At least you may love to make them and they are happy to accommodate.  However, sometimes tweens get a little less enthusiastic.  But, they still are kids and like to have fun.

We did a post with ideas for Valentine's Day that a tween may not just let you make them, but enjoy wearing.  And those ideas could be modified for just about any holiday or season.

So what if you did not want to actually make a real article of clothing?  What if you have some great theme fabric and want to whip up something super easy and super quick that is not meant to be integrated into an everyday tween wardrobe?

Well I say make an accessory!

I wanted to make a bow tie, because I just think they are so cute.  After wondering around on Pinterest, I settled on a tutorial by One Dog Woof.  There are several bloggers that give patterns for authentic bow ties and several quick versions.  I liked this one because it is all rectangles and suited my need for a quick and not fancy project.

Tutorial

Of course, with Easter coming up, you can use this quick tutorial to make a more formal look for your young man or hipster daughter.

During my search, I saw DIY suspenders.  Oh, how fun would that be?  And when my daughter saw them, she flipped!  I was actually surprised how much she liked them and she is excited to wear them.

Coconut Love Tutorial

Lastly, I had a belt making kit in my notions drawer that I wanted to use.  This is actually the accessory I thought my daughter would gravitate too but instead my son chose it.  Have you ever made a fabric covered button?  Well this is the same deal but with a belt buckle.  And then you make the belt in the same manner as you would for the suspenders.

I made all of these with fabric I got out of the remnant bin so I paid very little for the fabric.  Now the notions for the suspenders; that is another story.  But as much as Abi liked them, I am sure we will get some use out of them.  And it would be easy to cut the straps of and use the hardware on a new project.  I probably would have done better to cannibalize suspenders at a thrift store ... and might next time.

Costumes --> Steampunk style

Halloween is fast approaching and I am sure your tweens are trying to figure out what they want to dress as.  I (Major Moma) have never been especially a fan of Halloween as a holiday but I have always loved dress up and creative play.  When my kids were little, their Halloween costumes went straight into the dress up box and were used all year around.

But when the kids get older, it can get a bit awkward.  They still like to dress up and they definitely like getting candy, but they are starting to get too old for trick-or-treating.  And have you seen some of the older/bigger sized costumes?  I think the shortness of the skirts are more scary than the blood and gore.  And that is the beauty of a homemade or semi-homemade costume, you can adjust it to be age appropriate to fit your family's values.

The other issue with kids at this age is getting a more 'grown up' look to their costumes.  I would like to highlight a genre that I think can really help with this dilemma.  It is Steampunk.


According to the Urban Dictionary Steampunk is:

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Star Wars done Steampunk

... a subgenre of speculative fiction, usually set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian alternate history setting. It could be described by the slogan "What the past would look like if the future had happened sooner." It includes fiction with science fiction, fantasy or horror themes. 

Medieval Steampunk: Speculative fiction set during the Middle Ages. 

Victorian Steampunk: A modern Science Fiction work (post-1930s) that is set in the early parts of the industrial revolution. 

Western Steampunk: Science fiction set in the American Old West. 

Western style Steampunk

Industrial/Modern Steampunk: Science fiction taking place in the late industrial age, early modern age; i.e. World War 1, World War 2

Examples of steampunk: 
Wild Wild West 
Final Fantasy 7 
Van Helsing 
The Time Machine 
Hellboy 
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

You can see from this definition and examples that the Steampunk genre really has a lot of variety.  And, you can take just about any character and make it a Steampunk version.  Like, you could take that old princess costume that still fits and add some gears, make the skirt a bustle and call it a 'Steampunk Princess."

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Here is a tutorial on how to make a gear that can be added to clothing to create a Steampunk look.

gear tutorial

Goggles also are an accessory used quite frequently in Steampunk cosplay.  Here are several examples of DIY goggles that people have put together.  Some are quite elaborate, but you could get some great ideas from looking at them.

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I have added a lot of Steampunk ideas to our Pinterest Costumes board and you could see if any of them work for your tween.  We have other Halloween costume ideas also pinned on that board, so feel free to check them out.  I hope you got some ideas on how to get creative with your tween's costumes this year!

What is your tween dressing as this year?

Easter Dress with a Review

It's 'Design Your Own Fabric' Week over at Project Run and Play, so I thought I'd play along and make Sophia an Easter dress to boot. As for how I designed the fabric, I tried two new things--ombre dying and detailing by sewing down embroidery thread.

The pattern is Simplicity 3510, but it's apparently out of print. 

And it only went up to a size 8...but it is a really easy pattern to alter up a size or two.

Even so it's a great pattern. Easy to follow instructions and lots of options. If you ever have a chance to get your hands on this pattern, it would be one worth having.

Here's my finished look and you kind of see the ombre a little better. It didn't turn out quite as I envisioned, but I do like it. But what I like the best is the thread detail on the bodice.

As for the pattern, it is an easy sew, with no buttons or zippers.  It works great with wovens of any kind and would be a great beginner pattern for someone that wants just a little more detail to follow.

I would give this pattern 5 bolts if it were available...in larger sizes.

 As for the changes I made, I added a little to the side seams as well as to the lengths of the bodice and skirt. And to make it a little less "little girl" like I did pleats where it said gathers. 

To get the detailing on the top, I first drew out my design with water soluble pen. Then I put a little glue (simple Elmer's) on the line and laid the embroidery thread down. Once it was dried, I just did a small zigzag in a lighter shade of green.

 A close up look of the embroidery thread detailing.

 I really like it with this vintage orange trim, tied at the waist. She didn't like it so much.

 What's your opinion?

Fancy Headpieces

In January we shared a round-up of of various accessories that you could sew up for your tween.  But today I thought I would share a non-sewn accessory.  This winter I wanted to make some over the top hair clips for my girls.  They like to wear fancy headbands and barrettes and I was hoping to make something that would coordinate with their mom-made clothes.

barrette version

First, I went to a craft store and picked out a couple blank headbands and metal barrettes.

Then I just went a little crazy.  I picked out items from the floral section, the beading area, and a bunch of feathers.

headband version

I took all that eclectic haul home and warmed up the glue gun.  I just started to arrange various items until I figured out what I wanted it to look like.  And then it was just a matter of gluing it all down.

small barrette

These are obviously winter themed.  But think about all the other holidays out there.  You could make a headpiece that works for Easter, 4th of July, Canada Day ... the possibilities are endless.  And this is a project that your tween can do with you.

What?  You don't like mine; or they are just not your style?  Here are a ton of there tutorials and options:

leather bow tie

I love this bow tie by delia creates.  I think it would be great for a tween boy because leather can look so cool and stylish.

Speaking of leather, what about a leather headband?  Ruffles and Stuff has a neat tutorial for a simple leather headband that would look good on ladies of all ages. 

And if you do not want to buy blank headbands or barrettes, you could make some with scrap fabrics. Some good tutorials for fabric headbands are (link in the comments):

pearls and pleats

Beachy headband

ribbon headbands

Reversible fabric headband

There are lots of no-sew options in case you don't want to get out the sewing machine for your hair accessory project.

Crafting Sarah woven headband

For something a little more understated, you can weave ribbons around a blank headband.

sailor knot headband

This is another no-sew option using old t-shirts or scraps of knit fabric.

fabric feathers headband

I personally love this dramatic no-sew headband.  As you can see by mine up top, I like a dramatic headpiece.

la fleur headband

And here is one more option.  This one is absolutely beautiful and would be lovely on Easter Sunday.

Have fun making accessories and please link your creations up to our parties so we can gain inspiration from you.