Fun Flags Bunting Tutorial

Some weeks, I have the urge to sew but not a lot of time to do it. In order to satisfy my creative itch until I can devote more time to a challenging project, I like to make these cute, little strings of bunting flags using scraps of fun fabric prints. These are extremely easy to make, and you can, too, using my sewVery Fun Flags Bunting Tutorial below that includes the free pdf pattern piece!

The string of Fun Flags included in this tutorial happen to use a variety of Ann Kelle's Halloween themed prints as well as her Remix prints in black and white. Pretty much any print designed by Ann Kelle is ideal to make this tiny set of bunting. I have sets in different Remix prints that are ideal for a birthday party, Spring, or to celebrate the birth of a boy or girl! These always make me smile!

Pattern Anthology Parisian Top

My friends at Pattern Anthology have outdone themselves this time, and I was lucky enough to be a tester for one of the designs--the Parisian Top!

The Parisian Top pattern is a design creation from Andrea at Go To Patterns.  She is one of the four fabulous designers behind Pattern Anthology, and this time, the ladies developed a set of patterns just for women!  It's called Just Add Jeans, and the collection was just released for sale a couple of days ago.

The collection of 4 women's top patterns will be available at a discounted price for just 2 weeks before the designers sell them individually at the pattern's full retail price.  To learn all about the Just Add Jeans collection, be sure to visit the Pattern Anthology website.

Testing for the Parisian Top was a few weeks ago, so I have been enjoying my stylish new top for a while now.  So glad I can finally share it with you all!

This top is made using a sweater knit remnant I bought forever ago at Joann Fabric and Craft Stores, and the collar is sewn from black ponte knit with no interfacing.  The fabrics are so soft and comfy that this has become one of my favorite tops to wear.

The Parisian is so on trend with the peter pan collar, 3/4 length banded sleeves, and loose banded waist. Oh, and it has a few gathers at the top of the sleeve which give it the most perfect feminine touch.

I honestly believe a beginner could sew this with no problems, especially since the Go To Pattern instructions include tons of tips for sewing with knit including how to test the stretch and recovery of your knit fabric.  Also, the diagrams and sketches show you step-by-step how to assemble the top.  Using my serger for almost all of the sewing, I think I finished the top in just over an hour!

It's usually hard for me to finally sew a piece of clothing for myself, but because I'm so happy with the fit of the Parisian, I'll definitely be making a few more for Spring.

Be sure to check out the Pattern Anthology Just Add Jeans collection where you can get the Parisian Top plus 3 other terrific women's top patterns for a steal!

And if you haven't already, be sure to enter my sewVery 1,500+ Facebook Likes--Thank You Giveaway that ends this coming Saturday, March 15th, at midnight!

Have fun sewing!

Philomena Fox Mini-Pillow

Unless you live in a bubble, then you know foxes are all the craze right now.  I'm always so slow at hopping on board such fun trends, but I've finally done it.

Virginia at Gingercake recently asked me if I'd like to try out her re-released Max the Owl pattern which now includes Philomena the Fox!  I knew this was my opportunity to contribute to the fox fad!

Disclosure:  I was provided this pattern and fabric for free in exchange for my honest review.  As always, all opinions in this post are my own.

For my version of Philomena Fox, I decided to print the pattern out at 50% of its original size to make a mini-pillow.  Like me, my children love things in miniature, plus I knew I had enough of this Anna Griffin Maisie by Maude Asbury fabric left over from another project to make a tiny version.  

First, I cut out the front and back pillow pieces using the Ma Maisie Stitch Grape, the face and pocket pieces in Ma Maisie Pearl Watermelon, and the eyes and nose in Ma Maisie Clover Grape.

I just love the colors used in this line of Anna Griffin fabric.  All three colorways are so bright and cheerful and make me want Spring to be here right now!

Instead of cutting out two more main pieces to make a lining, I decided to use some light weight Pellon 44F Fusible Apparel Interfacing to give the fabric a little more structure.  I also used Heat-n-Bond Lite to secure the face, eyes, and nose in place before stitching.

The pattern has simple and clear instructions and lots of tips on how to play around with the construction of the pattern to make it a unique item.  Plus, since the pattern has just been re-released, it now includes instructions for making both Max the Owl and Philomena the Fox!  

For my mini-pillow, I found some tiny vintage baby ric rac in my trim drawer and sewed it to the edges of the face.  I love the little extra detail and texture that the ric rac adds.  

And instead of sewing buttons on top of the eye pieces, I used the print from the fabric as the iris and highlighted the piece by zigzag stitching around it multiple times.

I chose to add the pocket to the back because I thought it could be used for two different things:

     1. to put cute little notes in it for my son and daughter as a game of "what does the fox say?"

         or

     2.  to use it as a tooth fairy pillow (my daughter is now old enough to start loosing teeth)

I also thought about just keeping it for myself and using it as a pin cushion to match another project that I recently finished.  Here's a sneak peak of it.  But as you can tell, I already made a pin cushion (actually 2) to use with that yet to be blogged about project!

So, if you are looking for a fun, fast (took me only an hour to make this cute mini-pillow), well-written project, then I highly recommend you try out the Gingercake Max the Owl and Philomena Fox pdf sewing pattern.  

Have fun sewing!  

The Prairie Rose Blouse

The lovely and talented Anneliese of the blog Aesthetic Nest and Wee Muses Sewing Patterns recently asked me if I wanted to try out her new pattern, The Prairie Rose.  I've followed and admired her blog for as long as I can remember, so I definitely said yes!

The Prairie Rose pdf pattern is actually a set of patterns for an entire outfit or multiple outfits! While I only sewed up a top, the pattern includes a dress, blouse, maxi skirt, and pants for sizes 18 months to 8 years.  You'll be sure to use this one pattern over and over again for years!

The blouse I made for Ella was such a quick sew.  I think it took me only a couple of hours including cutting out the fabric.  And Anneliese's pattern instructions and photographs were clear and helpful guidance in putting the blouse together.

For Ella, I decided to sew a size 5 top, and we are both pleased with the fit!  She helped me search our fabric stash for something she liked, and this pink with daisy flowers was the winner.  As soon as I finished the top, she put it on and wore it all day!  Boy, that sure does make me feel good.

If you are in search of an awesome peasant style dress or blouse, then be sure to check out The Prairie Rose pdf pattern by Wee Muses!

I'll leave you with a funny shot of Ella tasting her honey bee shaped lollipop and then deciding she didn't like it!

Have fun sewing!