This is Halloween!

Okay, so technically yesterday was Halloween. But today is when I get around to sharing.

I'm really pleased with how these came out. And so far, they've even held up to being washed. The kids wore them for Cy's Halloween themed birthday party last weekend, and they ended up covered in dirt and smeared with makeup, since we actually did the makeup for the party. The edges of Sally's dress look even more frayed, and while I don't actually know what the fabric content of the suit fabric is, it cleaned up really nice.

The suit jacket is fully lined, and I pieced the inside front so that part of the lining is actually Nightmare Before Christmas fabric. It's also the pants pocket linings, but that was ridiculously hard to photograph, so you'll have to take my word for it. The pants are also fully lined in rayon jersey, so they're super soft and just that much warmer. Halloween gets pretty cold up here in the northeast.

The hand stitching on the Sally dress was actually harder than I anticipated. While I would never claim that I'm an amazing hand stitcher, I do tend to make fairly even stitches. I also have a habit of making my hand stitches reeeaaally small. So trying to do make large, uneven stitches was surprisingly hard. My mom helped with some of the hand stitching when I got tired, since I was finishing down to the wire - her stitches are usually much neater and more even than mine, so it was equally hard for her to make them intentionally messy.

I sewed on the patch by hand - in hindsight, I should have used something to iron it on first, but so far it seems to be holding up just fine.

Thanks for taking a peek at this year's costumes. I hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween

Me Made May - Week 1

The first week of Me Made May was, well, mostly successful. I wore handmade every day, and a couple of days I wore more than one handmade item. There were even a couple of new things since last May! But I didn't manage to wear a whole outfit last week. My lack of me made pants was an issue with the cool weather that decided to come in, and I run so cold these days that I really didn't want to wear skirts. This week, I will attempt to make up for it and have two outfit days instead of just one, even if I have to dig out some tights to do it.

For those who don't follow along on Instagram, here's a round up of this week's photos:

Day 1 - Layered Patterns for Pirates Layer Me Up Tees

Day 2 - Patterns for Pirates Free Spirit Tank and Mouse House Creations Julia Cardigan

Day 3 - Greenstyle Creations Open Back tank and another Mouse House Creations Julia

Day 4 - Patterns for Pirates Free Spirit Tank and my trusty (second) official N7 hoodie

Day 5 - Golden Rippy Cinnabar Sky top

Day 6 - Patterns for Pirates Raglan with hood and thumbhole cuff add ons. Plus a matching one in Ellie size!

Day 6 - Gratuitious second photo, not because it's a great one, but because look at that adorable dimple!

Day 7 - Patterns for Pirates Layer Me Up under a RTW Batman tee for Free Comic Book Day

Overall, I'm pretty happy with week 1, even if I didn't quite make my goal. It has already highlighted some of the holes in my handmade wardrobe, and I need to tackle fitting pants. Especially since I actually wore the same pair of pants all week, as even my store bought pants wardrobe is pretty darn small. Does anyone else only have a couple of pairs of pants that fit?

As an extra goal for this week, I will commit to at least muslining a pants pattern. I also need to do something about my selfies, because that mirror is in really terrible shape! Those pictures are after I washed it...

Are you participating in Me Made May this year? Have you made any revelations about your wardrobe, or were you totally prepared?

Momma Quail Billie Jeans

As promised, I recently was lucky enough to test the next jeans pattern from Momma Quail Patterns - the Billie Jeans! These have all of the same amazing details and easy to follow instructions that every one of Amy's patterns has. The Billie Jeans have classic five pocket jeans styling in a slim and skinny fit, meant for stretch bottomweights, and seven(!) length options - short, mid thigh, knee length, below the knee, capri, ankle, and cuffed. They have a working fly, back elastic for an adjustable fit, and a tutorial on how to modify the rise. With a size range of 12m - 14, this is an amazing pattern that will last a long time, and is great for both boys and girls.

I tested the skinny fit, and did two lengths. These are the first pair I made, in a stretch fashion denim from JoAnn's. This is the mid thigh shorts length. They were perfect for riding the old fashioned merry go round at a nearby park.

The second pair is also the skinny fit, knee length this time. These are a stretch denim from my stash, and the top stitching came out much more visible on these due to the contrast. I think for the next pair I'll make sure I do two lines of top stitching, unless I use a twill.  I love how these came out, and she loves the contrast coin pocket with the kitty peeking out.

Now it's time to run over and pick up your copy! Plus, in celebration of spring, for this release Amy is offering the code HAPPYSPRING for 25% off of the whole shop until 4/24.

Don't forget to check out the other tester versions, too.

KopyKat & Kidz

Me-Made May '16!

It's time for signing up for Me-Made May again!



This was a great challenge last year - the beginning of the month was pretty easy, but by the end I struggled a little to choose Me-Made every day. I'm honestly not sure that I've done very well at filling some of those holes - I've yet to take the plunge on making more pants or shorts, which was one of the hardest parts last year. However, since I was  able to complete last May without too much trouble, I felt like I should increase the difficulty a bit this year. Otherwise it's not much of a challenge, right?

I, Kate of TheFairyDustBin.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '16. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade item each day for the duration of May 2016, and at least one full Me-Made outfit each week (and photograph daily).

For accountability, I'll be posting daily shots on Instagram. There are still a lot of pieces from last year in my wardrobe rotation, but there should be some new things that are yet to be blogged as of now. While there isn't supposed to be a panicked rush to get ready, I'm planning to participate in the Back to Basics sew along next week to help round out some of the places my wardrobe is lacking. (But Shhh! I haven't managed to actually make a plan for what I'm making. I guess that needs to go on tomorrow's to do list!)

In honestly, lately I've felt a little bit lacking in creativity and drive to sew. I've been really struggling to get out of my own head, and in spite of the onset of spring (finally!) I haven't felt like doing much besides hiding on the couch in my favorite sweatshirt. I had a much needed kick from pattern testing (post coming in a day or two!), and this week has been better so far. Hopefully this will help give me the push I need, and I am looking forward to focusing on myself a little bit before I need to start in on the (long) list of things for the kiddos. So tomorrow I will aim to get myself back on track to be successful in these upcoming challenges! But tonight, I think I'll head back to the couch until bed time. ;)

For the Love of Legends: King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake

Today, I'm one stop on a blog tour hosted by PhatQuarters and CraftingCon, all about the Love of Legends! When I was invited to participate, I signed up right away. As I'm sure anyone who has read much of my blog, I love to participate in anything and everything from CraftingCon, and usually I have no problem coming up with ideas. Legends are awesome, but this time...? Nothing was igniting that spark of inspiration. I sketched, I googled various legends, and simply "legends", and nothing hit. Until I saw a quote pass by from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and suddenly I just had to do King Arthur! So now I present, King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake.

I redesigned the Lady of the Lake dress several times before deciding what I wanted. Initially I tried to come up with a slightly more casual inspired look, but I just couldn't. Since Ellie loves her fancy dresses, I decided to just go for it. I used the Made for Mermaids Grace Dress, and some cotton voile from my stash (bonus for using at least one stash fabric!). It was too light, so I unearthed some darker blue dye that I had laying around and dyed it darker, and I love how it came out. For the sleeves and overdress I bought some iridescent, sparkly netting. There was no sun for days, so the pictures really don't do justice to the sparkles and colors.

You can't have the Lady of the Lake without King Arthur, so Cyrus got his first ever Charming Doodle Knight Hoodie. I used light gray sweatshirt fleece to invoke the look of polished steel plate or chain mail. This is such an awesome pattern, and comes out looking great with the armor details. After the Lady bestows it upon him, with Excalibur in his hand, he looks armored and ready for battle!

The Lady of the Lake is heading back into the water, and Arthur is running off to fight for good in the world. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed my King Arthur inspired looks! Don't forget to check out the rest of the bloggers on this tour, and enter the amazing giveaway!

3/14
The Wholesome Mama•Skirt Fixation•Amazing Adventures Of Bubba and Bug•Bella Sunshine Designs•From-a-Box
3/15
Wild + Wanderful•The Fairy Dust Bin•GYCT Designs•The Kisses Co.•Call Ajaire
3/16
Handmade Boy•Mae & K•create3.5•Pear Berry Lane•Sewing Mama RaeAnna
3/17
The Inspired Wren•Rebel & Malice•Sew Starly•XO Jessica•Falafel and the Bee
3/18
PenSeb&Rox•Knot Sew Normal•Beatnik Kids•Lulu & Celeste•Swoodson Says•Friends Stitched Together

And be sure to check out our giveaway sponsors and enter below!

Prize Package 1:
Phat Quarters: $20 Gift Card
Momma Quail Patterns: 1 Pattern of Choice*
Bella Sunshine Designs: 1 Pattern of Choice*
Handmade Escapade: 3 Digital Downloads of Choice
Sewing Mamma RaeAnna: 1 Pattern of Choice*
XO Jessica: 1 Custom Shirt
Knot Sew Normal: 1 Pattern of choice*

Prize Package 2:
Phat Quarters: Legendary Pattern with 3 piece FQ Bundle
One Thimble: 1 Magazine Issue
Modern Yardage: Paul Bunyan FQ
Love Notions: 1 Pattern of Choice*
Beatnik Kids: 1 Pattern of Choice*
Swoodson Says: 1 Pattern of Choice*
GYCT: 1 Pattern of Choice*
Call Ajaire: 1 Pattern of choice*
Skirt Fixation: 2 Yards of Fabric

*Excludes bundles

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We will draw a random link-up to win an issue of One Thimble Magazine!

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Momma Quail Walker Jeans

I've been pretty busy, but I'm so excited - I made jeans!! Lucky me got to test Momma Quail's new pattern, the Walker Jeans. As full disclosure, that means I get the pattern for free, but I'm pretty sure I'd love these jeans even if I'd paid for it. Amy is an amazing designer, and I have and love several of her patterns. Each pattern has clear, detailed instructions that are easy to follow, and she is responsive and helpful if you have questions or issues arise during construction.

This pattern is for a slightly relaxed pair of jeans. It has traditional 5 pocket styling, an adjustable elastic back waist, and professional finishes - that means there is a whole lotta topstitching, but every moment is worth it. (I've told my husband that I need a second sewing machine that I can use just for the topstitching details on Momma Quail pants patterns so I don't have to keep stopping to change my thread!) There are two leg options, straight and a narrow boot cut. There's also a shorts option for both styles, which is great since spring is finally showing signs of coming, which around here means that summer won't be far behind. I used stretch denim that I bought ages ago for a project I didn't do, and made the boot cut option. This is also only my second ever zip fly, and I'm not sure why I never did them before, because it came out great.

Don't be intimidated if you've never made jeans. I've been sewing for years, but I'd never made jeans before. Can you tell?

The Walker Jeans release today, and are 20% off until 3/14, so go grab them and make your kiddo some really awesome looking jeans!

Also, Batman commands that you go check out what some of the other testers made! All of them came out great!

Knot So Normal

Cindy Parrett

Jungle Pearl

TinkerandStitcher

Project Run and Play: Cosplay Challenge

After a bit of a blogging (though not crafting) hiatus, I'm back to sew along with Project Run and Play again! This competition/sew along is the one that finally prompted me to start blogging a couple of years ago (whoa, couple of years??), so now that it has returned after its own break, it seems fitting that I should sew along to end my own. I missed playing along for the first week, so here we are at week two, which is a cosplay challenge! Not really cosplay, but an "inspired by" sort of challenge. As a frequent visitor over at Crafting Con, this is exactly up my alley. This also counts as a sew my stash project - not a scrap of anything was purchased for this! It all came from my current stash.

Initially, I really wanted to do something inspired by the Amity faction in the Divergent series. While Ellie is definitely not an Amity, the style suits her, so I went on the hunt for the perfect boho style little girl's dress, since I have somehow managed not to own one yet. I finally settled on Simple Life Pattern Company's Bella's Dress as the right one for this. After I got started, of course my tiny diva had her own say - no, mom, I don't want to do that, I want to be a princess. Well, okay then. With half of a yellow sundress, it's lucky that her two most recent princess obsessions are Snow White and Belle! Perfect.

This was my first SLPCo pattern, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I use a bright yellow cotton voile and made a 4, since she was between a 3 ad 4 for chest measurement, and it turned out perfect. I used the strappy back option, since at the time I was going for a boho style. And I have to give a mention, I LOVE that the pattern calls for understitching the bodice instead of topstitching. It gives it a really nice, professional finish.

I could let that be, though, and had to make this dress work extra hard, so I hacked the PAB Hangout Hoodie (again) to make a quick Snow inspired cardigan. I cut two backs, and just split one down the center to make a front. Added a band of yellow down each front piece, bound the neck with white, and hemmed the bottom. I even got crazy and fussed with my double needle for the finishes, even though we typically don't get along. Since all of the fabric was on hand, I'm also really impressed at how close the yellows are!

My only disappointment is that I wish I'd had time to put an apple decal or applique on the cardigan, and I didn't get the red hair bow going on in the styling, but I forgive myself since I was sick. We got a pop of the red in with the shoes! Snow White, of course, has all of her photos with her animal friends. She had an apple, but ate it while I was trying to figure out how to take semi-decent photos of a sundress in below freezing temps. At least it wasn't poisonous!

And now she's off before the evil queen finds her! I hope you enjoyed my double princess look!