Sew Yourself Some Love

I am so super excited to be a part of the Sew Yourself Some Love blog tour this February.  Honestly, I use every opportunity to sew new things for myself, and my closets show some serious evidence of a fabric and sewing addiction.  (Please tell me I'm not the only one).  I just love sewing things for myself.  I feel accomplished and new when I'm wearing the things I make, and as a homeschooling mommy, feeling clean and fresh is something that is to be cherished.  I'm a wife to a military man who is gone often, and giving so much to my kids' education and basic needs everyday is e.x.h.a.u.s.t.i.n.g.  I often find myself saving that perfect fabric for my kids or for some future just in case project and I've really been giving myself permission lately to just use those prized fabrics on myself and stop staring at them sitting on the shelf getting no use.  I might not need new clothes (not even close), but I want them and they make me feel like an actual person, so darn it, I'm sewing me!

This is my first of 2 posts on this blog tour!  For my first stop, I chose to make the Denver Tunic & Dress by Blank Slate Patterns.  This is my first Blank Slate pattern, and really I'm not sure why I waited this long to try one.

I found this black jacquard fabric in the red tag section for 50% off.  In the end, I got it for around $5 a yard.  It's got a pretty awesome texture (almost quilted but not) to it and it's really warm.  I kind of love it.  I went back and forth on going simple and classic for the Denver or going with prints and color.  In the end, I chose a more streamlined look because I need more basics in my closet, and I wanted the shapes of the pattern to really shine here.

I think the stars of this pattern are clearly the princess seams and the fabulous pockets.  I did the fitted tunic length here and sewed up the XS according to my measurements.  I'm 5'8'', and because I didn't add length, this one fits more like a longer shirt rather than a tunic.  It fits exactly how I wanted it to.  I actually bought enough fabric to make 2 in case the first one ended up being more of a muslin, but I didn't need it.  This is the first time I've sewn princess seams for myself, and I really love the way they fit my shape and make me look more feminine.  I just slapped some booties and some skinny jeans on and wore this out looking way more put together than I actually ever am.

For my next Denver, I'm going to use all those awesome panels and seams to my advantage and do some cool colorblocking.  I also love the casual spring/summer looks you can create with this one, and the fact that there are plenty of sleeve, length, and fitted or flared options.  This is seriously a great staple piece in my wardrobe now, and it's easy to dress up for going out with the husband or dress down for schlepping kids around town doing errands.  And who doesn't love pockets?!

The Denver pattern is very professional and well written.  There are plenty of tips and instructions on altering the pieces to get a custom fit if you're in between sizes.  There are also sewing tips when working with more challenging knits, and even a couple of different options which have you ending up with enclosed seams. The PDF file also has bookmarks embedded it in so you can quickly jump to different pages.  In fact, there's so much stuff in this one pattern that I wasn't expecting, and things that I haven't seen in other patterns I've used.

Denver Tunic & Top Pattern Details:

• Tunic/Dress Length
• Cowl Neck/Flat Neckband
• Fitted/Flared Dress or Peplum
• Princess Seams
• Pockets
• Instructions on a Full-Bust or Small-Bust Adjustment
• Lengthening and shortening instructions
• Adjustments for waist/hip measurements
• Tips for sewing with knits
• Different finishing options

You've gotta check out all the other stops on the Sew Yourself Some Love tour, and make sure you come back here again on February 11th and see what else I've made for my second go around!

Join us through the whole blog tour and don't miss a day!!!