Patterns » Lola Pink Fabrics

Sew Serendipity Skirt and Pattern Blowout

Sep 162011

Isn’t this skirt from Joel Dewberry’s new Heirloom collection great? It was made by Jennifer and shared in the Flickr Group. She is a wonderful pastor’s wife and mom of 4 that I have been blessed to get to know over the past few years. The skirt pattern is from the adorable Kay Whit of Serendipity Studios.

By the way, ALL patterns that only have one or two left in stock (there were like 75 that fit that criteria!) have been marked down a crazy 40% off so that I can clear out some space. They are all in the sale section.

Honestly I am fighting off the urge to just un-list every single one of them and keep them all of myself. Seriously – GREAT PATTERNS! There are Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey, Izzy & Ivy, ModKid, Sew Liberated and SO many more. Children’s clothing, adult clothing, bags, quilts – it’s all there. My point is this… GO LOOK. It’s worth it. (And FYI, shipping on patterns starts at only 99 cents)

SALE SECTION LINK

By the way, for the first time ever I have had problems with the Australian post. Trying to get any real answers from the US postal service is worse than pulling teeth – so that is how I’ll get to spend part of my day. Aren’t you jealous?

Little Vicki Redux

Fabric, Fresh Fabric, New Fabric, Patterns, Reviews

Sep 062011

So you know of my love for little vicki? As soon as Haley tried it on, I knew we had to make another – but this time as a shirt.

Which I really really really love. Maybe even more than the dress. Not because the dress is any less wonderful, but because my little girl has so many dresses and skirts. I need to add more shirts to her wardrobe. And it’s so dang cute!!!

Haley picked out the fabric for this shirt. It’s from Joel Dewberry’s Heirloom Collection. She must get her exceptional taste in fabric from her mother. I adore this collection! The shirt is the paisley print and the collar, hem band, and covered buttons are the ribbon lattice print. I love the combination in the citrine colorway too but my little girl chose pink and purple…naturally.

Translating this dress into a top was not hard.

First, I found a shirt of Haley’s that fit and measured how long it was. (from shoulder seam to hem)
Second, I measured on the pattern from the shoulder seam down and saw that her “shirt” measurement was closest to the size 2 length.
Third, I used the pattern I had from making the dress, adding the new cut line for a size 2 length. I folded along this line and cut out the pattern a normal.
I also changed the depth of the hemband to match the size 2 pattern so it would be proportional to the length of the shirt, but did not change the length because I was still making a size 6 shirt! (I actually just cut 2 strips 7 inches x the width of the fabric and sewed them together so I knew they’d be plenty long)
The last change that I made when sewing this pattern as a shirt was that I did not close the middle back until after I had the hemband attached. That was because I didn’t measure ahead of time to know the length I needed for the hemband, so this allowed me to cut any excess off before putting the seam in.

And I think that it turned out soooooo cute!

So that is my Little Vicki Remix! Don’t you love it?!?!? Now I know that this top is still plenty big on her -and I could have traced the pattern and made her a smaller size – but I didn’t because #1: I already had the size 6 pattern ready to go. #2: Going into cooler weather (hahahahahaha not so much here yet) I figured she could easily layer the shirt and it’ll definitely last her through winter. And #3: Did I mention I didn’t want to retrace the pattern? No regrets here. I think it’s just perfect!

Pattern: Little Vicki by Izzy & Ivy Designs

Fabric: Heirloom by Joel Dewberry

(Kits are available!)

Little Vicki Review

Fresh Fabric, New Fabric, Patterns, Reviews

Aug 292011

Trying to gather my thoughts here and make it more than just a bunch of rambling! Okay, so back at quilt market, I saw this pattern at the Izzy & Ivy booth.

Super super cute dress, right? And I saw this fabric over at the Adornit booth and I knew the two were a perfect match! I mean how adorable are these florals? Super super fun for kids clothing! (It’s a the phone pic, but you still get the idea!)

So when Long Live Vintage arrived, I got to work! And I LOVE the dress! Super super love it!

Haley was at school when I started this and so I didn’t measure her. Since she is 7 years old, I made her a size 6. The dress is plenty big and will easily be worn with a long sleeved shirt under it for winter and beyond that. After measuring her, she fits more into the size 4 range for this pattern. BUT I’d much rather have room to grow than be too small. The pattern goes up to a size 6…but obviously worked for my 7 year old. Now I tell you this so if you have an older child, you know that you may be able to make this for her as well. Remember that sewing pattern size ranges are NOT the same as store bought clothing. Look at the measurements! (And maybe I should write Haley’s down for the next time I sew while she isn’t here!)

As far as sewing the dress, I have to admit that I did freak out at one point. You sew the lining and dress together around the arm holes, neckline and back opening. (making super nice finished edges!) I sat there and looked at it thinking, there is no way I will be able to get this right side out. BUT you really can! (Thanks, Jana, for calming me down!) You just reach up through the opening (between layers) and pull the back through – and wa la – it works. I have moments like that occasionally.

The collar was super easy and fun but is also optional. And I just love the covered buttons! (Has one on the back also) Inspired by this version, I added a striped trim in between the hem band and the dress. I love the accents she added! (Not part of pattern, just extras.) I didn’t have any cording on hand which was good for me because I did not feel like messing with piping for the collar, although it’s super super cute.

And so without hesitation, I absolutely recommend this pattern. I love it so much, I even made a kit for it (with multiple fabric options of course!)

Pattern: Little Vicki by Izzy & Ivy Designs

Fabric: Long Live Vintage by Adornit

Kit available here!

Later this week, I’ll share a little more about this pattern and what else I did. LOVE it too!

Haley stole my lunch bag

Fabric, Fresh Fabric, Patterns

Aug 182011

I’ve wanted to make Heather Bailey’s Jack & Jill Lunch tote with some of the laminated fabrics so I could blog more about sewing with laminates (not scary, by the way! The new laminates are so great!) And then Jennifer sent me a yard of her beautiful laminated fabric! And I thought “Oh goodie! (yeah, I stay things like that in my head) I can test out the pattern by making myself a lunch tote with this beautiful sophisticated fabric.”

You know what happened? (well the title gives it away!) Haley stole my lunch bag. (I had planned to make Haley one with some of the super cute Riley Blake laminated fabrics.) She loooooooves this one so much she begged me to let it be her lunch tote this year. I can’t really resist that little girl. So off she went with the lunch tote! And all her friends loved it too. So she told them I can probably make them one too. Ha!

I will be making some more of these with the laminated fabrics. I used laminated for inside and out. Since there is no interfacing or fusible fleece on the laminated version (can not use an iron-on with the laminated fabric) it doesn’t hold it’s shape as well as I would like. I was thinking about sewing Insul-bright into bag….which would not only help insulate (we also put an icepack into the lunches daily) but maybe also give it a bit more shape. What do you think?

I’ll let you know what I figure out! The bag really is cute with fun gathering and a rolled top. I like it. Now the question is, if I make another, will Haley steal it too? Maybe she’ll give me this one back!

Family Reunion Dress Sew-Along – Random winner!

Fabric, Patterns

Jul 202011

Thank you so much to all of you who sewed along! It has been such fun to see all the beautiful Oliver + S Family Reunion Dresses (and blouses) pop up in the Flickr group!

Now it’s time for the drawing of the $20 gift certificate to Above All Fabric! I looked though the Family Reunion Dress Sew-Along Flickr group and marked everyone’s name down who had uploaded a photo of a completed dress or blouse. I dressed my girls up in their Family Reunion finest for the drawing.

And the lucky winner is wendyls1!

Wendy, send Melanie an email to aboveallfabric @ gmail.com and she’ll set your gift certificate up once she gets to a computer. In the meanwhile, why don’t do you a little window-shopping at http://www.aboveallfabric.com/ !

My Family Reunion Dress

Fabric, Fresh Fabric, New Fabric, Patterns

Jul 082011

Okay I finally got some pictures of the family reunion dress! And this is the first time that I have sewn the buttons on with a machine! It was my mom’s new machine (a Janome) – we were testing it out. Pretty snazzy! I know my machines at home will do it too – I just figure it’s easy enough to do it by hand.

It’s a sweet sweet dress. And I do love the fabric that I used (Hoo’s in the Forest). I’ll just share a few more photos and remind you that there is still time to put your photo into the flickr group for the gift certificate. (And there are a few of the patterns left in the store too.)