Mini Rio Trio // Rio Ringer Tee // Sewing For Kids

Mini Rio Trio // Rio Ringer Tee // Sewing For Kids

Friday, April 17, 2020

Hi again! Today I'm back with the Mini Rio Ringer Tees (new pattern by True Bias) I made for my kiddos!

I don't sew for my kids as much as I used to. Haha, hello. They were the ONLY ones I sewed for, once upon a time! My, how things have changed. :)

But I do still very much enjoy sewing for them from time to time. When Kelli shared that there was going to be a mini version of the Rio Ringer T-Shirt & Dress to test, as well as a women's version, I knew I would make one for myself and my youngest, for sure!

As it turned out, the mini version was just so cute and adorable, and I had plenty of fabric to play with, that all 3 of my kids ended up with a new tee!

I made each child the size that corresponded with their chest measurement and the fit was very good! My oldest was just a hair outside the size chart for a size 10, but I decided to go ahead with it anyway, knowing that my daughter could easily get away with wearing it if it didn't fit him.

It is a bit short (The final kids version has been lengthened a tad from this tester version) on him, but overall I was pretty pleased with how well it fit him! He unfortunately has grown a bit since I sewed it a few months ago, so he's not very keen on wearing it other than for these photos, so I suppose Miss O has a new handmade-me-down and can now twin with her little brother. :)

For reference, Evan is wearing a size 10, Olivia a size 8, and Aiden a size 4. I added 1/2" in length to each shirt.

The fabrics were all from my stash. Have I mentioned how much I've been enjoying sewing from my stash this year!? The striped fabric I used for the boys was a surprise add-on in a package I ordered from La Finch Fabrics. Both of the ribbings I used (teal and pink) are from The Fabric Fairy, which by the way, is a great place to check for ribbing fabrics!

The fabric I used for Olivia's shirt is an Art Gallery cotton/spandex. It was gifted to me by Rachael of Imagine Gnats. I love, love, love the geometric print! It is in fact the same fabric that I used for my tester version, which unfortunately didn't fit. I had planned for us to be matchy-matchy, and I'm a little sad that it didn't pan out! But I do think I have enough of the fabric left that I can maybe squeeze out a tank for myself.

The Mini Rio is definitely a fun pattern to sew for the kids! I can see many more happening, since I have quite a bit of brightly colored rib knit from The Fabric Fairy that I bought ages ago specifically for kids' tees! I'd better use it up, ay!?

*This post contains no affiliate links. I will fully disclose the information if affiliate links are used. 💗

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All You Need Jammies - Gathered Top // Sewing For Girls

All You Need Jammies - Gathered Top // Sewing For Girls

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Hi friends!

Today I'm sharing with you a quick, cute, scrap-busting project I made recently for my daughter.

I was sent this absolutely adorable Zarafa Collection Cotton Fabric {affiliate link} by Minerva, and I knew immediately it would become pajama pants for my daughter. But every cute pair of pj pants needs a cute top to go with them!

I used the Gathered Top from the All You Need Jammies pattern last year for her, and since it was a TNT pattern, I immediately thought of it for this project!

I've been trying to use up scraps and leftovers from projects as much as possible lately, so I was very pleased to pull these two french terry fabrics from the scrap pile and be able to make this cute color-blocked top that coordinates perfectly with the pants!

The pink fabric I used for the bodice and sleeves is leftover from this project HERE, and the cream fabric I used for the "skirt" is leftover from my Toaster Sweater #1, blogged HERE.

This top pattern is really adorable, I love the girly-ness the gathered skirt portion adds to the top. Having made this pattern a few times now, and in different types of knits, I've discovered the sleeves are drafted to be quite snug. In fact, I had originally cut the sleeves from the cream colored knit, which does not have a lot of stretch and the sleeves were definitely too tight! So I took them off and thankfully had enough of the pink fabric (which had a lot more stretch) left to cut them from that.

My conclusion to the snug sleeves is that it is very dependent on the type of knits that are used. Using cotton/spandex or interlock knit requires no adjustments, but fabrics with better recovery will need some adjustments to the pattern.

I've made a note to myself and will widen the sleeves according to the fabric I choose. The pattern includes a ton of options for different pajama tops and bottoms, so you can mix and match to create a combo for both boys and girls! However, all the tops have the same sleeve pattern piece, so it's a change I'll need to make universally for my kids.

The pants pattern is the same pattern I used for my Sew Family Jammies project (blogged HERE), and the blog post with all of the details about them and the fabric will be able to be found on Minerva in a few months. I'll be sure to let you know on my IG (@heidi_handmadefrenzy) when it goes live, so feel free to follow me there if you don't already so you don't miss it!

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Sew Family Jammies // Sibling Pajamas

Sew Family Jammies // Sibling Pajamas

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions expressed are honest and my own. If you make a purchase using the links, I make a small commission which helps support this blog. So, thank you!!

Hi Friends!

It's week two of the Sew Family Jammies blog tour, and I'm excited to be sharing the matching sets I made for my kiddos!

Sew Family Jammies is a fun new event, hosted by Sew Altered Style. You can keep up with the blog tour and the fun jammies being sewn on Instagram HERE, as well!

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with sewing pajamas for my kids each year. I love the ridiculous cuteness of the outcome, but hate adding too much to my plate at this time each year, as I tend to do!

I've only made matching, or coordinating, sets for my kids a couple of times in the past six years. It feels like quite a job, so I haven't done it as often as I probably wished I would have. 😄 Below is a major throwback blog post! I also included an Instagram post from last year's sets. Click on each photo to be taken to the post!

Oh my goodness, my babies!!!!

Dolly got a matching pair last year too!

I "officially" swore off make Christmas/Winter pjs a few years ago; or so I thought. Then last year I got sucked back into it, and same thing this year! So now I'm just rolling with it and admitting defeat to being able to resist, lol.

This year however, I have truly, truly, LOVED making them their matching sets! It can definitely be attributed to finding a really great, simple and FAST pattern for their pj pants! I also kept things super easy by BUYING a plain t-shirt to embellish with the scraps!

Are you ready for this?? The pattern is available for FREE, y'all! It is the Pajama Party Pants by Peekaboo Patterns, and is available at no cost to newsletter subscribers. How great is that!? The pattern ranges in sizes 3mo - 12 years, so you really can sew pjs for all the kids!

To be honest, I'm always a bit leery of free pajama pants patterns, but I have to say, I think the fit of these is pretty great! It's definitely on the generous side, but I completely am on board with that, because they grow out of them so darn fast!

My oldest is in a size 12, sadly, so I'll have to figure out something else next year! My other two are in the sizes they fit into best, based on their measurements, and they are pretty true to RTW sizing, so if you are making pajamas for children "not" in your household, you should be pretty close by sewing their corresponding RTW size.

Speaking of sewing for other children. Not pictured, because the models were not available, are 3 other sets of pjs I've made for cousins and a friend! I'm not done sewing for this event yet either. 😉 I was really unsure how much fabric I needed to buy and WAY overbought, so my husband will also be a recipient of pj pants this year!

In this "pose" they are mimicking the animals they chose for their shirts! :)

And now; speaking of fabric and matching pants... The fabric I used for the pajamas is from JOANN, and completely picked out by my kids. I was super brave and took them all three to the store with me and let them peruse all the Christmasy fabrics! It took a while, and of course I had to guide their decision making based on available yardage of certain fabrics, but in the end they chose this buffalo plaid. The reason being that I already have a very similar pair that was purchased last year and they wanted to match me! (Cue the heart bursting)

I haven't told you the whole story between my pants yet either. Last year, all of my sisters, my mom, and myself, bought matching pajamas, so this year, we will have quite the matching party on Christmas morning!! Lol.

It will be all of us, plus the five grandchildren. And my husband if he feels like joining in on the crazy matching party. Should be fun, yes!??? 😁

Keeping things simple is the way to go for me, but I hope that I will be able to keep making their Christmas PJ dreams come true in the years to come. 😊

I wanted to quickly mention the appliques on the kids' t-shirts. I made them the old fashioned way by searching Google for free image files; printed them out; traced to wonder-under and then fused and appliqued on to the tees. I made an IGTV all about this process that you can view HERE. I used a different fusible product in the video, but the process is the same!

View this post on Instagram

Sew with me! I'll walk you through the steps to applique letters onto any tee! Outift Details: Handmade Tee (@heyjunehandmade #unionsttee) EZ-Steam II: https://amzn.to/2MbBCK4 Whole outfit, plus links to RTW items 👇 : #LTKunder50 #LTKstyletip @liketoknow.it http://liketk.it/2FvOH #liketkit Music by: Ikson Official

A post shared by Heidi || Handmade Frenzy (@heidi_handmadefrenzy) on Oct 4, 2019

A little tedious, but it really didn't take that long! In fact, I was able to sew all three of these pajama sets in only a few hours after the cutting was done. Such a quick and fun project!

LINKS:

Fabric: Super Snuggle Buffalo Check Flannel - JOANN
**PS, This fabric is currently on MEGA-SALE! It's really easy to sew, the plaids matched up so quickly and easily! I didn't even need to use pins!** ONLY through TODAY 12/10/19

Wonder-Under: JOANN

Pattern: Pajama Party Pants (available for free to newsletter or facebook group subscribers!)

Click the photos below to shop the tees I used for the kids, as well as another buying option via Amazon for Wonder-Under.

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Mommy + Me Holiday Outfits // Cleo Skirt + Caroline Party Dress

Mommy + Me Holiday Outfits // Cleo Skirt + Caroline Party Dress

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions expressed are honest and my own. If you make a purchase using the links, I make a small commission which helps support this blog. So, thank you!!

Welcome back friends!

I'm really excited to share with you the holiday outfits I made for my daughter and myself this year! We will be wearing these every chance we get, but especially to the Christmas service at our church!

I LOVE that my 8 year old thinks it's cool to match with me. I'll ride that train for as long as I can. 😊

The matching fabric I used for our skirts is from Minerva, John Kaldor Floral Print Slinky Satin Dress Fabric. This is a really gorgeous print, and I'm so happy with how our outfits turned out!

When I finally got this fabric in my hands, my original idea went out the door because it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I ended up pondering long and hard about what to make before settling on this outcome! I've shared the whole story in the Minerva post, so you'll have to stay tuned for that in the new year! 😊

The fabric is really lightweight and is perfect for gathers, like on both of our skirts! It's also pretty sheer to wear on the bottom, so I lined both Olivia's dress and my skirt with Posh Lining Fabric in Black from JOANN.

The patterns I used are the Caroline Party Dress for Olivia; the Sheridan Sweater by Hey June Handmade for my top, and the Cleo Skirt for my skirt.

I made this Sheridan Sweater before the pattern was completely done testing, so the "hacks" that I did to it are actually now pattern options. YAY!!!! for having all the work already done for you!

For this version, I sized down one from my original tester version and since the fabric I used doesn't have as much stretch, the fit it a lot more slim and for this outfit it's perfect!

I decided to crop the sweater so that I could tuck the band into my skirt waistband and I just love how it all turned out!

The fabric for my Sheridan Sweater was rescued from my stash, but originally came from JOANN as well. I held onto it for several years just waiting for the right holiday make to come along, and I'm so glad it finally did!

I love the bit of sparkle in the fabric, and the base color couldn't have been more perfect to pair with my Cleo Skirt!

I made a size small in the Cleo Skirt with no alterations at all. I chose the midi-length and inseam pockets. To line the skirt, I simply made a second skirt using the skirt panel pattern pieces, shortening at the bottom a few inches, then gathered and attached both the main and the lining skirt pieces to the waistband and hemmed both skirts individually.

The fabric for the bodice of Olivia's dress is from JOANN, Casa Collection Super Shine Metallic Fabric in Gold. It was such a good match to bring just the right amount of sparkle to her Christmas dress!

This is the second Caroline Party Dress I've made for her and we both love the pattern so much! The full lining makes it feel very luxurious, both to look at and according to her, to wear!

Her measurements put her exactly in a size 8, but I sized up to a 10 for longer wear. I made a size 8 for her last year Christmas and it fits like a glove this year, so I wanted her to be able to wear it for more than just a month out of this year!

LINKS:

Caroline Party Dress
Cleo Skirt
Sheridan Sweater - Hey June Handmade

Floral skirt fabric - MINERVA
Sweater fabric - JOANN (no longer available)
Dress bodice fabric - JOANN
Lining fabric - JOANN

Shop the pics below for similar shoes, necklace and hair accessories!

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MNMini Eucalypt // Sewing For Girls

MNMini Eucalypt // Sewing For Girls

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Hi friends!  Megan Nielsen has just released a pair of Mini patterns, and I was a tester for the Mini Eucalypt Tank.

I love the mini-me versions of Megan's grown-up patterns! It provides for some seriously fun opportunities for mom-and-me matching!

I had already sewn a Eucalypt Tank of my own when Megan asked if I'd like to test the Mini version, so of course I had to take advantage and sew us both one because I knew I already loved the pattern!

And as luck would have it, I had a piece of fabric hiding in my stash JUST big enough for me to squeeze both of these tanks out of it. I had to use some contrast bias binding on Olivia's tank to make it work, but it was so worth it!

The Mini Eucalypt Tank is exactly a shrunken down version of the adult pattern. It includes all the same features, including a curved hemline, bias bound neckline and armholes, an option for center front and/or back seam, and the options of a tank or dress length. The seam allowances are also generous enough to allow for french seams, which is such a nice touch on children's garments!

For both of our Eucalypt Tanks, I sewed the center front and back seams. This allowed me to get both tanks from the same piece of fabric. So it is a great stash buster!!

I sewed a straight size 8 for my mini-me, in correspondence to her chest measurement. I think the fit is really great on her! For the final pattern, the neckline was raised slightly for more coverage. But even in the tester version, this tank offers more coverage than the few she has from rtw, so this pattern is a wonderful option to have on hand!

The other pattern Megan just released is the Mini Cottesloe Swimsuit. EEK!! Stay tuned for that post soon! It is the tail end of summer here, but my girl is definitely going to get a new suit anyway! 😄

I sewed the tank at the very beginning of summer, and it has gotten a ton of wear! I can see making this up in some fun fall/winter fabrics to layer under cardigans or over turtlenecks, wouldn't that be so cute! And of course she'll need a dress version too. 😉

The fabric is a cotton shirting that I purchased from JoAnn, YEARS ago. I made myself a top from it then, and I'm thanking past me for having bought enough for this project as well!

   My tank is blogged HERE.

Thanks for stopping by! We are loving our twinning looks! And I'll keep making them as for as long as she thinks they are still cool. 💕

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