McKenna and Stylish Sprouts contest

I just had to share this wonderfully creative entry for our Sweet 16 contest by Charla McCaw.  Don't you just love the mix of fabrics and rickrack, and the applique just makes it all come together!   Of course, the model is just as cute as she can be!  This came from Charla:

Hi!  This was the first outfit I'd ever made for my daughter & I found it surprisingly easy (which was good since I started making it 48 hours before the birthday party- LOL!)

I used the McKenna Pattern by Bonnie Blue Designs & since the birthday was in October, I made the ruffle pants from the Twirl Top and Pants Pattern designed by Susan Huberty for SewBaby. 

I felt like I had a boutique looking outfit & the ability to say- "I made it for her myself!"  My friends were so surprised and impressed.  :)  (So was I.)

Thanks!


Other big news!  We are teaming up with Sandra Betzina for a children's clothing contest!  Enter your children's garment and description for the Stylish Sprouts Contest. The garment with the most comments wins a $30 Gift Certificate to SewBaby and a 3-Month Gift Certificate to the Power Sewing WebTV Show! The last day to enter is April 4th, so get your entry in soon!  Power Sewing WebTV will soon be coming to SewBaby! You'll love these entertaining and instructional how-to sewing videos. 

Pendleton Wool Love at First Sight

I went to the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA a few weeks ago.  One of the things that I look forward to at the show is the Pendleton Woolen Mills booth.  When I was learning to sew (back in the 70's!), Pendleton sold yardage in the best fabric stores.  It was expensive, but you knew that you were getting the absolute best wool fabric available.  I haven't seen it available in fabric stores in my area for many years, so being able to buy it at the expo is a real treat.

So, this year, I came home with this beautiful jade and cream houndstooth from their booth.  I purchased three yards, and tucked it in a basket, not completely in view, but not hidden either. Two of my three daughters saw it immediately, and let their desire for it be known.  I had originally thought I would make something for myself out of it, but just let it sit there for a few days, contemplating it's fate.  Then one day, oldest daughter came into my office, telling me that she had been dreaming about this fabric.  Yes, DREAMING!   I asked what form it took in her dream.  She said that she saw a belt in the dream, but couldn't pin it down any further.  Her dream sealed the fabric's fate- it was hers. 

In searching for the perfect pattern, she said that she didn't want any buttons or zippers, just a belt, so I pulled out Butterick 5255, which is a Chetta B design.  It was perfect- not a lot of seams to match the houndstooth plaid.  We lined it with a light weight cream charmeuse.  After it was made, however, my daughter lamented the fact that she thought it looked like a bath robe.  Since I left off the epaulets and sleeve bands called for in the pattern, the basic could have easily been the same as a bath robe.  I told her that I could easily add in some buttons to make it double breasted, but she really didn't want to fiddle with buttons, so she opted to keep it as it is.  Here is a back view:

The pattern drafting is excellent and the directions straightforward.    It would be a reasonably good project for a new sewer who wants to tackle a jacket.  The hardest part would be the collar.  The front pockets are roomy, lined and interfaced, so they should hold up nicely.  I'm happy with the results- it's definitely a Spring coat, that she should be able to wear for years.

Green Trenchcoat McCalls 5525

This is the second time that I've made this trenchcoat- last year I made a red stretch denim one for my middle daughter.  Youngest daughter kept wearing it as if it were her own, until the car that it was stashed in got stolen, and then no one could wear it but the thief.  Of course, we missed the convenience of the car, but I think the red trenchcoat was missed the most!   Luckily, the car with the coat still in the trunk showed up a couple of months later.

Anyway, I knew it was time to make her her very own, and since she is a ginger, green is her color.  This pattern is Mccall's 5525 which has both classic trench features and some more trendy features if you prefer like bell sleeves and a round collar.  I made the classic double breasted trench with all of the bells and whistles- front gun flap, epaulets, sleeve bands, pocket flaps and back storm flap. 
My favorite part of this coat however is a surprise- you can't see it, but it is a gorgeous scarf panel lining.  I had 8 scarf panels, and used 6 of them for the lining, and the last two to make a matching scarf.  The fabric is a Vera Wang Techno Taffeta that is unfortunately, not waterproof, even though it looks it.  It is very silky soft, and really a great fabric, although it does wrinkle as evidenced by these photos.  Wrinkled fabric, however, can be a design element, so that is what we will call it.

This isn't a hard pattern, just tons of pattern pieces- 21 to be exact! You need a lot of buttons too.  This one took 13, which can break the bank if you are buying them full price at the fabric store.  I got these on e-bay for about $3.  Such a deal!
For an estimate of the cost- I spent $8 on the fabric ( 4 yards at $1.95), $3 on the buttons, $8 on the lining, $5 on the interfacing and $1 for the pattern, for a grand total of $25.  We probably could buy one for $50, but it wouldn't be nearly as fun.

Terrific Teepees!

People always tell me how much more fun it is to sew for girls, than boys.  But, you can find things that boys like too!  As evidenced from this Sweet 16 Contest Entry by Regina McGowan.

She used our Terrific Teepees pattern and boy does it look like her Grandson his having a ball!  How fun!  Thanks, Regina, for sharing these adorable photos. 

Regina says:
This pattern was fun to make! Make sure you have a large cutting table or plenty of floor space. I also made openings in the teepee. I used denim for this teepee and personalized it with embroidery. I found that the rubber tips suggested in the pattern were only available in black and were pricey. I used rubber tips for chair legs. They were cheaper and came in white! Perfect!

This teepee is large enough for small children and a few adults! I can't wait to make it for a princess!

This pattern, along with other toy patterns are all 20% off until Monday March 22nd.  If you have a project that you'd like to submit in our contest, see this post for all of the juicy prizes and details!  You still have lots of time- the contest goes until April 30th.

Twirl Top and Pants

We've been receiving some wonderful entries for the SewBaby Sweet 16 contest.  Here are three entries that Kathy Hood made from our Twirl Top and Pants pattern.


Don't you just love her fabric selection for each one?  I can see that there is a very lucky little girl in Kathy's life!

You can see all of the entries submitted so far on our Facebook Sweet 16 Contest album.


For more contest information, see this post.

SewBaby Sweet 16 Contest!

In April, we will be celebrating SewBaby's 16th year in business!!!  It's hard to believe it has been 16 years since we printed our first pattern.  Time flies when you are having sew much fun!

To commemorate, we are having a SewBaby Sweet 16 Contest during the rest of March and all of April.  To enter the contest, you need to:
1.  Make something using either a pattern or fabric purchased from SewBaby.
2.  Send us a picture of the project along with your name, e-mail address and the product that you used. 
3.  Write a review of the product(s) used on our website-just go into the product page, click on reviews, and you can add your own.  
4.  You can make as many entries as you have time to make!


Please e-mail your entries to emily@sewbaby.com
All entries can be seen at Facebook Sweet 16 Contest Album

We will be featuring entries on our blog throughout this time.  Shirley, Emily and myself will choose the winning entries and will announce our selections the first week of May.  We are looking forward to seeing lots of great projects!

Prizes:
First Prize- $100 SewBaby gift certificate
Second Prize- $50 SewBaby gift certificate
Third Prize- $25 SewBaby gift certificate

Good luck and thanks for entering!