Shorts On The Line - Prefontaine Shorts!

Good Thursday, all!

Have you been following the amazing series that is Shorts on the Line?!  It's an annual parade of awesome, put on by Rachael of Imagine Gnats and Carla of Small + Friendly.  SO much goodness!

So today, it's my turn to show off ma'shorts!  Also posting today for Shorts on the Line is Anna, of Noodlehead fame!  Don't miss that!

Jill from Made with Moxie kindly donated for review her KILLER new pattern (so new, it was released last night!) The Prefontaine Shorts!  I love this pattern so hard.  Let me show you:

I love them!  

They are such a great, classic, retro, comfortable style - ideal for Summer shorts.  And I made each of these during naptimes!  Wicked quick sewing, this pattern is!  Here's the description from Jill's shop:

The Prefontaine Shorts are designed to fit like the running shorts from the 1970s. They are slightly shorter and baggier than typical kiddo shorts. The pattern features front and back pockets as well as retro contrast trim.

These shorts can be made with a wide range of fabrics: Light weight wovens, quilting cotton, jersey knit, flannel, terry cloth, velour, minky, velvet, upcycled beach towels…the sky is the limit here. The retro trim is a jersey knit trim recycled from an unwanted adult t-shirt.

The Prefontaine Shorts are a quick and easy garment to stitch up. They’re prefect for boys and girls alike. They are so comfortable you’ll have difficulty getting your kiddo to take them off.

My polka dot version is cotton, and the crazy fish version is a dollar store towel that I hacked up!  I wanted to make Emmy a pair that she could throw on when she gets out of the pool.  I think these will be perfecto!

Full disclosure: this child was bribed to go out in the early morning for photos with cherries from our tree.  Equitable and just compensation, if you ask me.

The fit of these shorts is fantastic.  I made Emmy the size 2/3 on account of her ittybittyness, and they are perfect.  She'll be able to wear these all Summer long, along with the 10 MOAR PAIRS I plan on making.  :)

Adorable back pocket:

And the best feature for toddler wear?

POCKETS. 

So what do you think, do you love these as much as I do??  

If you DO, Jill has offered a coupon to my readers for the Prefontaine Shorts pattern!  Use code emmyloubeedoo for $1 off your pattern!  Thank you so much Jill!

OR!  Leave a comment here and tell me what one of your all-time favorite sewing patterns is - then you'll be entered to win a copy of the Prefontaines!  Wahoo!  I'll pick a winner Sunday night (6/23/13).

MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS too, if it's not linked to your blogger account!

Aaaaaaand, BLOOPER REEL!

lololololololol.

Have a great day, everyone!  Be sure to check out the other awesome shorts on the line!

6/10 - Petit a Petit and Family and Schwin & Schwin

6/11 - Delia Creates and Buzzmills

6/12 - Cirque du Bebe and Sanae Ishida

6/13 - Fake It While You Make It and elsie marley

6/14 - No Big Dill and Max California and Designs by Sessa

6/17 - girl inspired and Casa Crafty

6/18 - Frances Suzanne and Caila Made

6/19 - Made by Rae and Craftstorming

6/20 - Noodlehead and emmyloubeedoo

6/21 - Siestas & Sewing and Made with Moxie

6/24 - imagine gnats and small + friendly

This post is part of shorts on the line sewalong hosted by imagine gnats and small + friendly, sponsored by Jo-Ann, Pretty Prudent/Pellon®, and Hawthorne Threads.

A Good Dress

I finished my Dress a Girl Around the World dress!

Isn't she pretty!?

I printed out and was planning on using LBG Studios adorable Pillowcase Dress pattern and tutorial, but at the last minute I decided I wanted to make my own pattern.  If I can't make a pillowcase dress from scratch, I don't have much promise as a future pattern designer now do I?  I think it came out SO cute!  Proudface!

It was an easy decision to hack into my precious one yard of Heather Bailey for this dress.  I've been so reluctant to use it, but this was a no brainer.  The best little piece of fabric for the best cause a little piece of fabric could go to.  :)



French seams.  Delish.



Oh, how I love it!

My original plan was to make two of these dresses, but life got in the way over the last couple of weeks - some good life things, like Emmylou turning ONE!, and having family in town, and some bad life things pertaining to the big green ribbon on my side bar :P

And since I have a bazillion new ideas swirling about my head that I want to get moving on, I thought maybe I could pay forward the good.  Here are the bits and pieces of the second dress I was going to make: 

This fabric is a lot brighter in person!  Night time pictures didn't do it any favors...



I'm wondering, lovely readers, would one of yall want to make this dress?  I have the pattern and tutorial all printed out and ready to go.  New thread, new bias tape, pre-washed adorable fabric...

Even the address for where to send the dress when you're done...

 

  

The pattern just needs to be taped and cut/traced.



So, whadaya say?

Obviously, you don't have to make this dress... You can do whatever you please!  I just feel the need to do a good thing in exchange for the good that I have in my life.

I'm not even going to call this a Giveaway.  Just a gift between friends. :)

So if you want this little batch of goodies, just leave a comment on this post with a way to get in touch with you if you win!  I'll do that random number thing on Sunday night and announce the winner on Monday!

*THE GIFT-AWAY IS NOW CLOSED*

If you want more info on the cause or to see more finished dresses, head on over to LBG Studios!

   Love to all,  

Some Housekeeping

I got no sewing done this past weekend!  The horror!

We have family coming in this week for Emmys FIRST BIRTHDAY (!!?!) so we spent the weekend [talking about] cleaning.  I couldn't justify sitting down at the sewing machine when I have so sososoo much else to do!  Ugh!  Damn you dust kittens lions!

But, I will certainly try to sew up at least 2 pillow case dresses by the end of the week for LBG Studios' cause.  There's still time to participate, so if you're so inclined, check it out here:

  In related news, I officially get a FAIL in sew-alongs.  Dof!  Let me sum it up: The Marie Skirt:  I'm not totally sure what I did, but the waistband needs to be completely removed and redone.  It's like 3 inches too short around (?).  I would certainly redo it if I thought this skirt was going to be something I'd actually wear.  I shimmied it on to see how it looks and it ain't pretty.  It's not the skirt - I love the skirt - it's just not. ok. on me.  So for now, it's a wadder.  Sorry Regan!  I loved your finished skirts - so inspiring!  Maybe I can get my isht together for your next sew-along. :)And then oh dear lord, the Vintage sew-along.  FAIL x 10.  My progress?  I've picked a pattern (below).  The time line for that sew-along was January through February.  It's now the Ides of March.  So I'm just granting myself an open-ended extension on this one.Do yall think this polka dot stretch cotton would be too much for the long-sleeved version of this dress?  I'm tending to think so...  Maybe I'll go sleeveless for Spring.  That way the polka dotness will be less overwhelming, yes?  I just love this fabric - it's so soft & it wants to be a dress.  This dress.

Thoughts?

 Plus, what a simple pattern!  If I just got to it, I could probably bump it out in a couple of evenings and get on with my life.  Gah.

And last but certainly not least... The Pendrell!  I think I'm putting this one off because I'm just so excited to make it!  Makes total sense, right?!  Plus, the sew-along is very, very over and my first fabric choice is a little too Wintery.  Enter this spectacular firework-ish poly-charmeuse...  Perfect for Summer!

Pardon the washed-out pic

Maybe it's the 80's kid in me, but I love love neon colors on a white background.  Oh, and the real reason I haven't sewn the Pendrell?  I'm still petrified of silky fabrics.  

Anyone have tips?  I'd love to hear them, 'cause I have sewing to do!  Silk needle?  Stabilizer??  Wash-away or tear-away?!??   I'm dying to hear your advice!

K, see yall later!  I may be absent a lot this week and part of next due to my daughters impending ONEness, but I'll still be stalking all your sites.  :D

Love to all,

I need to put more "Sew" in my Sew-Alongs.

Out of the three sew-alongs I'm participating in, I have fabric cut out for only ONE!  Dah!

It's the Marie Skirt, in yummy charcoal tweed.  I bought a hot pink silky material last weekend to line the skirt, so that was my motivation to cut this project first.  Hot pink lining.  C'mon. 

I do have my fabric picked out for my Pendrell Blouse (several fabrics, actually, but this one's first).  I'll hack into it soon! 



Yummy.



I'm still wavering between sizes to cut for the Pendrell, though.  On Tasia's size chart, I'm in three different columns!  EEK!

 If I cut according to my bust measurement, I'll have like, a yard of extra fabric at my hip.  And alternatively, I am in NO way ready to do a full bust adjustment (FBA) if I cut according to my hip measurement - seriously, baby tights are the most advanced things I've made so far [backpat].  So I'm not sure what I'll do there.  Make a FBA, I s'pose.  Doh!

And then, oh dear, the Vintage Sew-Along.  I was going to make this dress:



Source



Swoon.

Unfortunately, I just don't think I'm ready.  I want to and will make this dress eventually, I just can't tackle it at the pace I need to for this sew-along (whose time frame is 2 months, mind you. lol).

So, Plan B:



Source



I got this pattern for a song on eBay a few weeks ago (in my size, eherm), and look!  It says 'EASY' right there on the front!  Plus, I think it's ultra cute.  I'm going to make the long-sleeved version and style it with belts and tights and boots and the like.  Cute, no?  I haven't chosen a fabric for this one yet.  Dark solid?  Fun floral?  For Winter?  Or for Spring?  At the pace I'm going, probably for Spring, eh?  ;)

This pattern seems easy and roomy enough to not have to make a muslin, so that being the case, I'd say I'm right on schedule with the Vintage Sew-Along!  wOOt!

Love to all!