Pattern review: Blaverry - Yves Top/Tunic/Dress

I have several new tween outfits to review, so I will be posting them in the next few weeks.  I haven't sewn a ton for my daughter this summer as both my kids have kept us busy with their sports.  We need to have some back to school clothes, though!


This top is made for wovens and it is made to be reversible.  I made it to have more of a lining, so this not reversible.  The leggings she is wearing are from Blaverry, as well.  She is reworking her old patterns (this top has been redone), so I would hold off on those right now.  Once they have been redone, hopefully I will get to make them up and can give a review on them.

Yves Top/Tunic/Dress by Blaverry 

Pattern sizing: 2T-16Y – I blended 7W and 14L, BUT I didn’t make the armhole as long as the 14. I think it is a little long, so I cut mine a good inch shorter. You might want to compare the pattern with another tank to determine if you think it is long or not.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern when you were finished sewing? Yes

Were the instructions complete and easy to follow? Yes - she uses illustrations and not photos.  The only halfway difficult thing is the shirring at the upper chest (hard to see on my photos), but that is fairly simple to do.

Fabric used: Laser cut woven and a light-weight silver fabric for the lining.  Both were non-stretch.

Did you alter the pattern in any way? I blended sizes and had a shorter armhole. I also used ribbon for the ruching at the shoulder instead of a fabric piece.

Was there anything you disliked or would change? Change the armhole length to a little shorter.

Would you sew it again? Yes.  This is a cute top.  Not sure I would make it as a dress for my daughter, as it seems a bit too young for a tween as a dress.  I think it is very cute as a top or tunic, though.

Would you recommend it to others? Yes.

Do you consider the pattern beginner/intermediate/advanced? Beginner.  It was a pretty quick sew, and fairly easy to put together.

Does the pattern include layers for easy printing? Yes

Seam allowance used in the pattern? 3/8”

Is the pattern cut or no cut pages? Cut

Rating: 

Pattern Review: Hummingbird Dress

Today we have review of a lovely summer dress.  Nell is sharing her tween version of the Hummingbird Dress that she modified to fit her daughter's tastes.

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My daughter Isabella, has a book of "fashion designs" (her words) and I try to make her designs for her. 

She has a tiny waist so it is really hard to find store bought clothing that fits her well. :) She has pretty amazing designs and I need to learn to digitize patterns. She wants to have a clothing line for tweens and teens.  :) She is a pretty cool kid. LOL 

Name of the pattern:  Hummingbird Dress by Rabbit Rabbit

website picture

Pattern Source: Rabbit Rabbit Creations (an Etsy shop)  It is available as a pdf for only $7.00

Sizes available: 1-12

Special materials required:

 - For the EVERYDAY dress, I suggest using medium weight cottons or poly/cotton blends. I used quilting cotton for both the skirt and bodice.

 - For the DRESS UP dress, I used quilting cotton for the bodice and straps and voile for the top skirt, and lawn for the bottom skirt. You will need something light and airy for the top skirt.

 - For the SOMETHING SPECIAL, I recommend a basic satin/silk lining fabric for the bodice (with whatever you wish to use as an overlay on the front) and use the same fabric for the base skirt with chiffon for the top skirt.

Skill level required:  Beginner

It is a really cute pattern that can be sewn for an everyday spring/summer dress to a special occasion by choosing different fabrics and lengths. 

Did you deviate from the pattern?  If yes, how?

Yes.  I added to the bodice width and length to fit my daughter’s chest.  I subtracted 10” to the length to make it look more of a tank dress and added a red grosgrain ribbon.

Good:  It worked really good! Now that I graded the bodice I can make any length skirt to fit the occasion.

Bad: N/A

Ugly: Nothing

Overall pattern rating: 5/5 bolts 

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Thank you Nell for sharing your tips to make this dress even more tween friendly!

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.

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.

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.

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!

pocket lining to front

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.

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.