Sofilantjes Down Under Blog Tour

Recently I was invited to be part of the ‘Sofilantjes Down Under Blog Tour’, involving some of us sewing bloggers from New Zealand and Australia. I’d seen Sofilantjes patterns (a Dutch company) before and thought that they looked nice, but this was my first time making one. When I clicked over to the Sofilantjes website I was immediately taken by the Solis dress (and tunic) and knew that was what I wanted to sew for the blog tour. (I mean how cool is the back on it?)



I sewed little Miss Isy a size 5 (based on her measurements) and it fits her absolutely perfectly! There is a pleated skirt option (with either tunic length or dress) and also a circle skirt option. I chose the circle skirt, because my little ballerina loves to twirl!

The sew was so quick and easy! I sewed it up one afternoon (I actually think the cutting out possibly took longer than the actual sew!) I opted to leave the dress unhemmed which made it even faster. The pattern instructions very easy to follow, and I definitely will be making more. In fact, little Miss 3 has requested one exactly the same in her size, thank you very much!

For fabric I used black stroke Elvelyckan Design fabric for the bodice outer, the back strap is a mustard and triangle design from there too, the floral neck strap is a Birch Organic knit (if my memory serves me correctly) and the skirt and bodice lining are a candyfloss pink from NZ made Levana Textiles. (All of these fabrics are knit). A lot of pattern mixing, but I’m really happy with how it turned out!



Thanks so much for having me as part of the ‘Sofilantjes Down Under Blog Tour’

Today is the last day of the blog tour, but make sure (if you haven't already), to go back and check out the other posts by my amazing fellow 'down under' sewers! The schedule was as follows:

 

Monday Idle sunshine
Tuesday Horris And Deedle
Wednesday Little Cumquat, Bartacks and Singletrack
Thursday Tea, Dust and Stitches, Brave Fabrics
Friday While She was Sleeping, Mend and Make New

There is also a GIVEAWAY! You could win a copy of the Nivalis Tunic and Dress Pattern.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

… AND… Sofilantjes is also offering you 15% off for all of their summer patterns (including the Domis and Semper). They have bundles including the Aura.

The code to use is DOWNUNDER. This discount expires on October 16th and, is valid on Summer patterns only.

Happy sewing!

Jenny x

Twig + Tale Blog Tour (Featuring Art Gallery Fabrics)

 

I’m so pleased to be part of the Twig + Tale (formally ‘Big Little) welcome blog tour. For this week long blog tour, myself and a bunch of other amazing sewing bloggers have been busy sewing a few of Twig + Tale patterns to celebrate the launch of their brand new name. (More about the tour schedule, and a giveaway at the end of the post!)

We were very lucky to have the blog tour sponsored by the amazing Art Gallery Fabrics, which meant I was able to pick out some beautiful fabric to sew with!

I made Isabelle the Twig + Tale 'Pixie Shorts' in size 5. The Art Gallery Fabric I selected for this project was 'Dabbling Swan' in Plum from the 'Hello, Ollie' Collection, by Bonnie Christine. (I requested 1 yard and still have quite a lot left over which I’m looking forward to using for other projects.)
This fabric is just stunning. It is 100% premium organic cotton and has the most soft and luxurious feel. I wanted to showcase the gorgeous swan print on the front, with a swan facing in on each leg, so I decided to fussy cut it to achieve this (and managed to do so, while still economically cutting my precious fabric! Phew!)


I’ve made the Pixie Shorts a number of times before and they came together quickly. I omitted the pockets this time, so as to have optimal amounts of swan on display. The fabric was a dream to sew with and I’m really happy with the result. (As is my little girl!)

Twig + Tale  is a celebration of the innocence of childhood and the wonder of nature, and I think that this collaboration between them and Art Gallery Fabrics (with all their whimsical and often nature inspired designs), is a match made in heaven. I also think that my wee girl, Isabelle epitomizes this too – it was hard to get a still photo of her, all she wanted to do was climb trees, feed the ducks and blow dandelions!



As well as these swan pixie shorts, I also made Twig + Tale’s super cute Wild Things Baby Shoes. It was my first time making these, and it was a lot of fun.

We have a couple of babies on the way in our family, so I can see myself making a few of these as gifts! I choose to make a bunny pair in the smallest size (0-3 months). The pattern also contains templates to make other animals, such as pandas, foxes, cats, bears, mice and raccoons, and goes right up to size 12-18 months+.

While on the topic of Twig + Tale's Wild Things patterns, it’s worth mentioning that there is currently a 20% off sale on some of the Wild Things range, including these baby shoes (and just in time for Halloween sewing if you’re into that sort of thing!) (Sale ends midnight Friday, no code required.)

These little shoes are such a great scrap busting pattern, and I just used various vintage bits ‘n bobs that I found in my stash, including grey wool for the outer fabric and mustard corduroy for the soles.
The only modification that I made was adding the little ‘cotton-tails’ on the back – inspiration struck when I opened my sewing draw and spotted some pom pom trim!



Thanks again to Twig + Tale for including me in this amazing blog tour (see schedule below), and of course Art Gallery Fabrics for providing me with the amazing swan fabric to sew with!

Finally, what would a Blog Tour be without a giveaway?!

 

 

 

 

Art Gallery Fabrics is kindly sponsoring 2 yards of Art Gallery fabric of your choice. To make the prize extra sweet, we are also adding a collection of 5 Twig + Tale patterns of your choice.
International entries are very welcome. Our bloggers come from every corner of the world to celebrate the global nature of Twig +Tale too.  Enter using the rafflecopter below. (The winning entry will be checked to ensure all criteria are met).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday: Falafel and the Bee - Handmade Boy - Sew A Little Seam - Sew Shelly Sew

Tuesday: Näh-connection - Khadetjes - Paisley Roots - Vera Luna - Inspinration

Wednesday: Skirt Fixation - Mend and Make New - Idle Sunshine - NZ Green buttons - Candice Ayala

Thursday: Vaahtokarkkimonsteri - Lulu & Celeste - Sprouting Jube Jube

- Life in our busy household - Elephant Dimples

Friday: Pattern Revolution - Milk Monster Momma - Small Steps Big Noises - Fliegfederfrei

Saturday: - Made by Sara - So Popo Sew - Big Little Tales - Needle and Ted

Good luck and happy sewing!

Jen x