Sew Yourself Some Love (Round 2)

Me again!  Back at it on the Sew Yourself Some Love tour, and I'm super excited for this one!  If I'm being real, 95% of my life is spent at home with my kids.  I'm usually barely awake, drinking coffee, gathering books and activities, reading to my kids, homeschooling, potty training, cooking, cleaning, and doing all the other glamorous mommy things every single day of my life.  Mostly, I don't wear real people clothes.  That said, I'm tired of the same pair of black lounge pants and random 5 year old t-shirt so super worn with holes and stains from painting the house.  I'm convinced that it's entirely possible to wear lounge clothes and still feel like you're making an effort.  I want my husband to come home to the woman he married rather than some shriveled existence of her.  So, I decided to do something about that frumpy "mom wardrobe" and I challenged myself to make something comfortable and cute.

I knew Patterns for Pirates Boyfriend V-neck Shirt was going to be an awesome foundation.  I have a gazillion other Patterns for Pirates sewing patterns so I already know what to expect as far as fit and how her patterns are put together.  The first v-neck I made was actually my muslin.  I always need to add about 2'' to shirt patterns, and I never know how it'll turn out.  I'm 5'8'', so I'm taller than the average bear.  I used some super thin (i.e. cheap) random navy jersey I found in the sewing room thinking it would be a throw away.  I was wrong.  I love the loose fit of this shirt, and how it drapes!

So, I went even further and decided to personalize my top even more.  I designed this graphic and used my Silhouette Cameo to cut it out and iron it on!  Now, I've got a snarky little tee that makes me happy whenever I walk by the mirror.  I can make my hundreds in my sewing room while wearing this tee and maybe one day I'll be able to upgrade to the "thousandaire" shirt. :)  And guess what?! I made a coupon code just for the SYSL blog tour readers so you can make your own snarky tee shirts.  Head to my Etsy shop where you can get 20% anything at all using the code "SEWLOVE."  Yippee!

I loved my first v-neck so much that I made another one.  This time, out of some Ponte Knit from Girl Charlee.  I'm a sucker for every single floral fabric I've ever seen, and this one with the coral and black is so cute!  I'm dreaming so hard of spring right now, and I can't wait to wear these colored jeans for real.  The pattern includes two different neckband techniques, and I tried them both to see which one I liked better.  I also love the sleeve length options, and the option to add a cute little pocket to the shirt too.

I paired my navy bf v-neck with these FANTASTIC Terra's Treasures Portlander Pants.  In my opinion, all of Terra's patterns are seriously underrated.  She creates high quality patterns that result in such wonderfully fitting clothes.

These pants have an option drawstring that you can add (I skipped it because I didn't have anything on hand).  The waistband is a simple fold over (or not if you want more tummy control).  I made no mods to these pants at all.  The fit is snug around my booty and upper thigh with an awesome flare out down below the knee.  I made mine out of a french terry for optimum comfort, and I just love the way they're fitted and not sloppy looking.  I've got plans for more Portlanders ASAP.  I can totally see them at the pool or even in a stretch linen-look fabric for the spring and summer.  Nothing like some easy pants to round out your closet.

Here are all of the pattern details

Patterns for Pirates Boyfriend V-Neck

• XXS-XXXL
• Semi-fitted
• Short Sleeve, 3/4 roll up with button tab sleeve, and long sleeve (with or without cuffs) options
• Shirt and tunic lengths
• Shirt pocket option
• 2 different tutorials on doing the v-neck band
• Tips and tricks for sewing with knit fabrics

Terra's Treasures Portlander Pants

• XXS - 3X
• Fitted through the booty and upper thighs, flared at the knee
• Tall control panel waistband (can also be folded down like a yoga waistband)
• Drawstring option
• Lengthen and shorten lines and tutorials
• If you join Terra's Facebook Group there's a special code for $3 off!

Silhouette Vinyl Projects

So, I've conquered the heat transfer vinyl cutting and heat pressing and all that good stuff, so I figured it was time to conquer a different kind of vinyl.

I was doing the dishes the other day and I broke a glass.  I'm notorious for that, and I'm the reason we don't have nice things.  I'm a glass/bowl/plate breaker.  No joke.  Turns out the glass I broke was one of my husband's favorite from college.  Perfect.

So, when we were grocery shopping the other day, I found these giant red "party cups" in the college dorm section (we live in a D1 college town) for only $.88.  I figured I'd use it for my first vinyl project and try to save face at the same time.

I had my kiddos write their names in black marker on a white sheet of computer paper, then I scanned the images in and traced them in the Silhouette Design Studio.  I created a cute "Best Daddy Ever" image and cut it all out with my machine.  Cleaned the cup with rubbing alcohol so it would be lint and dirt free and slapped it all on there.  Pretty easy!

I was feeling brave and decided to try a project for the house next.  I downloaded this arrow circle frame thing from the Design Store, and added the text and another arrow in the middle, and I put the whole thing on our front door.  It might be obnoxious, but hey, we're awesome AND obnoxious.

Now, I need to #vinylallthethings in my house!  What to do next....

I'm Sew Fancy Silhouette Raglan

I'm sew excited to share this project with you! (See what I did there?)

A couple weeks back, Zulily had a sale on the Silhouette.  (There is actually another sale going on for 2 more days!)  I called the hubs, told him, and he gave me the green light to buy whatever model I wanted.  Say what?!  I got the smaller Silhouette Portrait for a fairly deep discount, added on some heat transfer vinyl, and I waited very impatiently for it to be delivered to my door.

Before it even got here, I knew what I wanted to do for my first project.  I've always wanted a shirt that professes my love for sewing in some awesome way.  I just never wanted to spend all that time hand cutting some freezer paper to make a stencil because I'm lazy and I need sewing projects with instant gratification.  Obviously.  Insert Silhouette.

First thing's first, I'm the realest.  Drop this and let the whole world feel it. 

My Silhouette came with a $25 gift card to the Design Store so I bought this sewing machine image for a whopping $.50 and designed this shirt in the Studio software.  It was superbly simple.  Then, I used the GreenStyle Centerfield Raglan pattern and cut out a panel for the front of the shirt. (I need to review this pattern soon, it's my absolute favorite fitting women's raglan).  I weeded out all my heat transfer vinyl, ironed it to my shirt and then I promptly realized I had no more white on hand for the back of my shirt.

Excuse the grainy cell phone pic.  It was the only progress pic I took.

So, I got a little crazy with the back and used this awesome Girl Charlee fabric from the March KnitFix.  Disclaimer: I didn't actually buy the KnitFix but when I saw everyone posting this fabric in the Facebook Group, I decided I needed it and bought if from someone else who didn't love it as much as I did.

It's a brushed cotton spandex knit that's super soft and super bright.  I LOVE it!  I also added a band to the bottom of my Raglan because I'm a rebel and I like to do things like that.  (And because I'm taller than the average woman so I usually have to add 2 inches to all my tops anyway.)

Are you dying over this shirt yet?  No?  Maybe it's just me.

Do you also have a fancy Silhouette?  Do you want to sew your own fancy shirt?  Click here to download the Silhouette graphic that I designed and you can make one too!  Happy sewing friends!