Just Sew Series at Mama Says Sew

Today I'm over at Mama Says Sew for Terra's awesome Just Sew series, with some news about my upcoming pattern release, the Pleated Playsuit.  Hop over there for some more pics and best of all, the announcement that this pattern will be offered for FREE!!  I've been wanting to do something special since E&E is reaching a big new milestone on Facebook and here, too!  A regular giveaway that benefits only a few readers just didn't seem enough to express the gratitude I feel for the wonderful readers who have joined me on this sewing, blogging, and designing journey of mine.  THANK YOU!

So, once the Facebook likes reach 1500, watch for this new pattern!

More details at Mama Says Sew.

Knock it Off - Melly Sews

New week - new set of knock offs!  Today's is brought to us by Melissa from Melly Sews, the talented designer behind Blank Slate Patterns, best known for the original creations she makes for her two cute boys.  Head over to Melly Sews for a free tutorial and printable for this adorable Snail Pinstripe Tank.

Flickr Group Features and a Winner

Some really amazing knock offs have made their way into the Knock it Off Flickr group and today it's my pleasure to feature a few of them.

House of Estrela made this adorable romper dress.  Make sure to click through to the post and you'll see it really is even cuter than the original.

Love this mini Boden knock off by Handmade Martini...and she made TWO!  What little boy wouldn't want one of these shirts?!

Handmade Frenzy made these super comfy & cute shorts.  Love those stripes!

I immediately recognized the inspiration for this Adore Handmade knock off.  It's this gorgeous gown made by Stefanie (girl.inspired.)

Compagnie M made this beautiful coat and even a free size 2 or 5 pattern to go with it!

I'm a big fan of Tea Collection clothing, and Fish Kopp re-created one of their dresses perfectly!

Thank you for sewing along and uploading your photos.  I'd like to feature even more, so keep the knock offs coming!

Last but not least, one bit of business to attend to.  We have a winner in Sew Pretty T-Shirt Dresses book giveaway...and the lucky lady is:

Thank you to everyone who entered.

Sew-Pretty T-Shirt Dress

I recently had some fun putting together the Ship-shape dress from the Sew Pretty T-Shirt Dresses book from Sixth & Spring Books.  The result is something really cute and casual that will get a lot of use through the coming months.  And of course, I love that I was able to sew it from start to finish during naptime!  

Today is the last day of the Sew Pretty T-Shirt Dresses book giveaway.  

Click below to link to the original post and enter!

Knock if Off - you & mie

Wrapping up this week's knock-offs is the incredibly talented Cherie from you & mie who's re-created this adorable mini Boden top.  As you can see, she's done an amazing job, and given the option, I'd choose hers over the original easily!  Head over to you & mie for more details on how you can make this super cute top!

Vintage May - a little Gatsby

This post is a part of the Vintage May series hosted by Craftiness is not Optional and skirt as top...

The realm of vintage clothing is, by far, what inspires me most when it comes to designing children's clothing.  The textures, the colours, the lines, the construction...all of it speaks to me in a way nothing else does.  The only real challenge for me, was how to decide on a particular era when I'm in love with so many!  I tend to favour the 50s: the femininity of the garments for the girls, and the little gentlemanly features for the boys. But, I decided to take a different spin, into a place & time I've often admired, but never actually re-created: the roaring 20s.

There has been a huge revival of 1920s fashion, most likely having something to do with the new movie The Great Gatsby that just hit theatres.  The stunning costumes for the film were designed by Miuccia Prada.  

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But I also wanted to look further back to the originals for my inspiration and found some real gems.

source, source, source, source, source , source

And from there, I came up with my 1920s, flapper-inspired outfit: a little Gatsby.

The overlay dress is made from a dusty rose coloured voile with a very subtle stripe for the bodice, with an ivory cotton lawn for the drop-waisted skirt.  It's simple design is self-drafted, and often tweaked as I sewed.  One of my favourite elements of the dress happened by complete accident.  When I did my first fitting on Anja, I found the dress a little too tight around her cute, toddler tummy.  My solution was to cut the bodice straight down the middle, and add some of the ribbon that I had purchased for the hat.  The result was a sheer front panel that created an art deco-like shape that was very typical of 20s fashion.  I decided to balance out the use of the ribbon by adding a small piece of it to the back.  It serves a dual purpose, not only decorative, but it also giving a bit of hold to the triangular shape of the back.

The slip is very simple and easy to make.  It's made from the same ivory cotton lawn as the skirt, and is a lengthened version of this tank top tutorial, with a rolled hem.  

This is the pattern I modified for the cloche hat.  I love that it's a restored version of the actual original pattern.  Did I imagine all the mom's who sewed from this same pattern for their little girls decades ago, as I was making mine?  Maybe just a bit! :)  The pattern recommended felt fabric, but I changed that by using chocolate coloured velveteen instead.  It held it's shape quite well, but I chose to also add a felt lining, for even more stability.  

Thank you so much Kristin and Jessica for inviting me to be a part of this amazing series!  Skirt As Top and Craftiness is not Optional is where you need to be to catch all of the Vintage May fun.

Knock it Off - Sew a Straight Line

Here's another fantastic knock-off for you today!  This time, it's made by the amazing Sabra from Sew a Straight Line.  She's done an entire re-creation of an American Outfitters ensemble for boys that's just perfect for summer.  To get more details on how you can make this cool outfit for the little man in your life, head over to Sew a Straight Line.