Delta Top/Dress for the girls

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Hello,

Hope you are all well.

Somehow the girls are back in school and I am trying to get into the new season. I do like Autumn very much indeed however, I have the feeling Summer went by too fast and I am not ready to say goodbye just yet.

Before going on holiday, I still managed to make a couple of things for the girls to wear so, while I am already sewing a dress for Autumn, I want to share those Summer makes before it is too late.

My daughters are 13 years old at the moment and I must confess that it has not been an easy task to find age and style appropriate clothes or patterns. Children’s clothes are not quite their style anymore and grown-up ones are a bit too much or doesn’t even fit. For that reason, I was very pleased when Style Arc released a line especially for teens.

I really like the style! Fabric and pattern worked very well together.

I was very pleased when Style Arc started making patterns for 8 to 16 years old and the first one we tried was the Delta Teens Top/Dress. As the name correctly points out, there is a top and a dress option, the sleeve can be short or 3/4, with or without elastic.

M opted for the cropped top version, with short sleeves (with elastic). She is a size 8 for all measurements except for height and I made a size 10 as I thought she could grow into it and as it has elastics anyway it should be fine. I think it worked out well.

I adjusted the neckline elastic to be used as off shoulder nonetheless, it can be used on the shoulders as well.

As for the fabric, I used a light weight dobby (plumetis) cotton from Minerva that we both quite like. It worked very well for this project and was perfect for the warm summer weather.

Good thing about this pattern is that with the option it is easy to please different styles and F does have a very different style from her sister! She also asked me to make her something, however, she preferred the dress version, again with a short sleeve but no elastic for her.

Her measurements put her in a size 12 except for height, which is a size 14. For the same reason as for M, I opted for the 14. She has some room to grow but the elastic makes the dress perfectly wearable.

I used a similar fabric, light weight dobby (plumetis) cotton that I had in my stash for a few years already. It was about time I put it to good use!

With one single pattern we got two different outfits to fit two different styles. The girls were involved on the process and chose the pattern/options and the fabrics as I wanted to make sure it was made to their personal taste.

I still made the girls a couple more garments but I will share those another time.

Happy sewing!

Maria x

Fibre Mood Minnie Sweatshirt

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Hope you are all well.

Spring seems to be here, finally, although still a bit shy. I have so many sewing plans for this Spring /Summer but, as usual, I am finding it difficult to bring them to life…

It has been in fact a few weeks since I last was able to sew something but, I have a sweater I made for the girls, that I would like to share.

I am not a subscriber of the Fibre Mood magazine and in fact this was the first time I bought one. I have made, last year, a Norma Blouse but got the individual pattern. Nonetheless, issue number 13 had quite a few patterns that I really enjoyed and, for that reason, I bought it. I believe it was good value for money.

The first thing I made was the Minnie Sweater and opposed to the PDF pattern, the magazine ones need seam allowances added. Not really an issue for me, just need to have that in mind when tracing. In the pattern instructions it mentions where the seam allowances need to be added.

According to the size chart, I made a size 12 for both girls, based on their chest measurements. Fit wise, it turned out well and I made no changes.

The instructions are clear but are only images, no text. To be honest, it really is not needed as the images are quite clear and it is a simple make. It has been quite a while since I last made something in knit and I almost forgot how such a quick make it is.

I did not make changes to the size but I did a very small change (despite different) to both sweaters. For M (not shown in the photos), as per her request, I just omitted the waistband. She likes to wear paper bag trousers and it just works better this way.

For F, as per her request, I kept the waistband but not the original one. The pattern one seems to be a bit too narrow in width and F doesn’t like tight clothes. For that reason, I made a new one and just took a couple of centimetres to the bodice width. We both like how it looks and most of all, it is comfortable.

The sleeves are really cute!

Regarding the fabric, I used a gorgeous and soft French Terry from See You at Six Fabrics that I won in a giveaway last summer. Lucky me, I know! In fact, lucky them as they are the ones wearing it. 😊 The fabric worked really well for this project, even with the gathering required for the sleeves.

For the cuffs, neckline and waistband, I used matching ribbing, also from See You at Six Fabrics. It really adds a lovely detail.

No need to tell you that our favourite part of this sweater are the sleeves! In fact, there is a very similar pattern for grownups in this same issue…

Overall, we are happy with this pattern and how it turned out with this fabric.

At the moment, I just started making another pattern from this issue so do expect to see more from it in here.

Have a lovely week and thank you for reading!

Maria x