I cannot believe this. It is SNOWING outside my window right now. What what WHAAAAAT? The Spring Top Sewalong was supposed to end last week (at least according to this post), but honestly now, with real spring weather proving so elusive and my general reticence to don and photograph my own spring tops (can you blame me? it is so cold outside!!), I’ve decided that this year’s sewalong is just going to have to be extended until we can get some REAL SPRING. Is that okay with everyone?
Kids’ Clothes Week (KCW) is also going on right now, so if you need to take a break from the top sewing to sew for your littles, go right ahead. It doesn’t mean you can’t keep adding your photos to the pool or dreaming about new spring tops, right? And if you’re still stuck on what to make for yourself for the sewalong, let’s take a look at some of the new women’s patterns on my radar this year. All are from great indie pattern designers, and I think they would make fantastic spring tops!
First, the Archer Shirt from Grainline Studio is a classic button-up style shirt that would look great in all kinds of fabrics. The Archer Sew-along just wrapped up last week and is a great resource if you want to make your own Archer. Check out the Tiny Pocket tank and the Scout woven tee patterns as well!
This year my friend Meg over at Sew Liberated has released a really exciting pattern collection that includes the new Esme Top (and skinny jeans!!). The Schoolhouse Tunic is another popular favorite that has made regular appearances in the Spring Top Sewalong pool in past years and is another great choice.
Jamie Christina has a new Hi Lo raglan tee pattern that looks super comfortable for those who are looking for a casual, wear-with-jeans pattern, and it has a hoodie option! The Sol Hoodie would also be perfect for layering this spring, and I think the Miz Mozelle dress would look great as a top.
The new spring release from Colette Patterns is Laurel, a shift dress with lots of fun variations in both blouse and dress styles. I love how the back darts create a beautifully tailored fit, and the gathered cuff sleeve is definitely my favorite. Colette has a number of other blouse patterns as well (such as Violet and Jasmine), so be sure to make a thorough perusal through the separates section while you’re over there.
The Briar Top pattern from Megan Nielsen is another favorite this spring; I’ve been seeing tons of Briars in the sewalong pool this year already! I’ve also always thought that the Darling Ranges dress would be so cute in blouse form, and Banksia is another popular favorite from Megan. Note to those who are preggers: Megan also has a great maternity pattern collection!!!
Finally, another dear friend, April Rhodes of Sew to Speak, makes her pattern debut with the beautifully simple and elegant Staple Dress for women. I’ve already printed out my copy and am scheming about ways to turn it into a blouse, and a dress is in my plans, as well. This is a great choice for any sewist; easy construction and forgiving design make for an instant-gratification sewing project!
OK. So realistically, there’s no way I will be able to make each and every one of these this spring, but I’m hoping I’ve inspired some of you so I can live vicariously through you instead! Did I miss one of your favorites? Definitely tell me about it in the comments!
For more spring top awesomeness, see what everyone has been making in the Spring Top Sewalong 2013 Flickr Pool!
I want to talk a little bit today about the new pant pattern I’ve been working on. Introducing Parsley Pants!
{Shown above: quite possibly my all-time favorite version of the pants in velveteen, via emmmylizzzy’s Instagram}
Emily also happens to be one of the testers for this pattern, and is a guestie today over at the Kids Clothes Week blog with a post showing all seven pairs of the Parsley Pants she’s made. SEVEN. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to get that kind of endorsement on something I’ve been working so hard on.
The pattern will soon be available on the Parsley Page and will come in kids’ sizes 2-10. I’m not exactly sure, but if you’ve got a slim kid in the 11-12 size range, you may find that a bit of length added to the size 10 will work too.
The thought process behind this pattern: I love sewing pants for my kids, but I’ve always had to “hack” other pant patterns to get what I wanted. So I went back to the drawing board and drafted a new pant pattern from scratch, and I’ve been tweaking it over the last few months to get the fit just right.
I do realize that one pant pattern can’t be and do *everything*…but that hasn’t stopped me from trying. Essentially, the Parsley Pant is a two-piece pant, so there’s just one main pattern piece. This makes cutting and sewing the pants really super quick. The most basic version of this pattern, therefore, is an easy full-elastic waist pant, perfect for lounge or pajama pants.
{Nursery Versery pajama pants. Note that because I didn’t love the fit in the crotch here, it has since been adjusted}
But I didn’t want the pant to stop there. I wanted to add enough “extras” to the pattern to make it fun to customize and easy to transform, something I’ve realized has become a common thread among many of my patterns (like Flashback and Geranium, for example, that people are making so many amazing variations of).
So Parsley comes with tons of options: instructions for making flat-front pants (shown above), a finished hem line to make it easy to upcycle other pairs of pants into Parsleys, kneepads (classic ovals are included, but why not make heart-shaped ones with this tutorial? Or rectangular ones like the brown pair I made for Elliot during Celebrate the BOY with my Kneepads 3 Ways tutorial?), tuxedo stripes, pouch pockets (shown on Emily’s velveteen version), pintucks, and box pleat pockets (as seen previously on the Saffron Pants).
Anyway, I’m really happy with the feedback we got from our testers last week, and this week Elli and I are putting the finishing touches on some last-minute fit adjustments that I hope will make the Parsley Pants even better. This may seem counter-intuitive, but it takes a ton of work to make a pattern simple and easy enough that it becomes a default, an essential part of your pattern collection; but it’s a kind of work that I find thrilling and really gratifying. I think we’ve achieved it, I think you’ll love it, and I’m really excited that it’s almost ready to go!
Stay tuned for the pattern, or if you want you can sign up for my newsletter on the sidebar to get a little email alert when it’s ready.
RAE-dar? You like that? Eh?? Oh, you are in for a world of Rae puns, you guys. You won’t even know what happened. Besides, the only other name that seemed appropriate for this post was “Hey, here’s what’s happening!” and this seemed so much better.
The point is, so many exciting things are going on that I can hardly keep up with all of them (besides the Spring Top Sewalong, which is supposed to wrap up this week — durrr…ummmm…can I have an extension? — and my new children’s pant pattern that Elli and I have been toiling on relentlessly for the past couple months to get JUST right), so in no particular order…
Exciting thing #1: Last week Cloud 9 gave a very exciting little preview of my upcoming fabric line on the Cloud 9 Facebook Page! The line is called “Fanfare,” is due out late summer or early fall, and will be printed on organic FLANNEL! So excited about the flannels. Featuring adorable foxes and elephants, this will be perfect for cozy nursery items and kids’ clothing. And hello, FOX PAJAMAS FOR ME? I think YES.
Exciting Thing #2: Check out my “Trip to Quilt Market” article in Love Quilting & Patchwork, a new magazine from the same people who brought us MollieMakes!
For the article, I picked my top three booths from Quilt Market Fall 2012, pontificated on color trends (hint: blue) and divulged other secret and scandalous information (just kidding on that last part. It sounded cool when I typed it, though).
Love Quilting & Patchwork has a page on Facebook here where you can see what they’re up to; I honestly thought this was going to be just another quilting magazine, but it is TOTALLY GREAT. So many articles about modern quilting, sewing, and fabric…I love it. Print copies are sold out online, but I’ve heard that you might be able to find it at Barnes and Noble here and there, or if you have an iPad or iPhone, you can download the CrossStitcher Magazine app and purchase the digital copy of the Love Quilting & Patchwork magazine for $5.99 in the “for sale” section of the app.
Exciting thing #3: Also just announced: the Briar Rose line from Windham designed by MY FRIEND HEATHER ROSS!!! I am so crazy for these awesome summery prints, four of which will be printed on JERSEY!!! SO excited about the jersey. So excited about Heather’s new designs. And SO excited that Briar Rose is being showcased on the Briar Rose Rainbow Quilt designed by moi (remember Clementine’s Rainbow Quilt?). It will be available as a free pattern from Windham in July to promote the line. Yaaaay!!
Is that enough excitement for one post? I think so! More on my new pattern and spring tops, soon.
For you to sew!
about Rae
Hi! I'm Rae, Head Boss Lady of Made By Rae Enterprises. I love to sew. This blog is a showcase for my crafty stuff.
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