Boardwalk Delight Skirt and Shorts

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Cherie

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I don’t blog anymore. You all know that. But when DANA from Made Everyday asks you if you want to sew with fabric that she designed and be part of her blog tour, you blog. It’s what you do. Well, at least, it’s what I do, so here I am!

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Dana’s debut fabric collection for Art Gallery is called Boardwalk Delight and was inspired by all the things that she loves about summer. And it really does encompass the fun, carefree, beachy spirit that I love so much about summer too!

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I knew the bright, festive colors would be something that my daughter would love too, so I took the opportunity to do some back-to-school sewing for my kindergartner. The fabric I used is called Candy Dots and the colorful dots reminded me of all our favorite fruit sherbets. It also screams, “Party!” Dontcha think?

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The fabric is a crisp and smooth quilting cotton that washes and sews really well. It’s lovely to wear too! Though I should have anticipated this, the print is on white fabric so it’s quite light and I wasn’t sure what kind of garment I could make that wouldn’t be too see through. The original plan was a simple skirt, so I figured if I gathered enough fabric, it would be fine. And I think it worked!

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This is the most simple skirt, much like this tutorial I made a ridiculously long time ago. I cut two rectangles the whole width of the fabric (about 44″) and sewed those together. So I ended up with about 88″ of fabric around a 21″ waist! It gives it a very full look and a bit of spinability. That’s a word, right?

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When I tried the skirt on my daughter, it felt a bit too long, so I added a pintuck pleat to shorten it. And I like that I can always unpick it and let it down as she grows taller! And it gives the skirt a little bit of interest as well. A happy accident.

After I finished the skirt, I had some extra fabric leftover and I wanted to make something else. So I cut some strips on the bias to make a pair of Purl Soho City Gym Shorts. This is the first time I’ve made these shorts and I love them so much!

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They are fast and easy to sew, they require such little fabric and the pattern is free! And they are super cute! Yuki has pretty much refused to wear shorts for the last couple of years. I think she fell once while wearing shorts and scraped her knees up, so she thought it’d be safer if she wore leggings all the time instead. The funny thing is, she wears skirts and dresses all the time!

Anyways, she’s coming around to wearing shorts and she loves these so I’m thinking of making a few more.

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This pattern doesn’t necessarily highlight the cute Candy Dots fabric, but it compliments it quite nicely and adds a nice little pop 🙂

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boardwalk-delight-fabrics-by-dana-willard-1 Photo credit: Dana Willard

I feel like this collection is basically Dana in the form of fabric. It’s cheerful and bright, stylish and spunky. She’s done a brilliant job translating her summer fun vision to reality that we now all get to enjoy. Dana is such a pioneer and has always given so much to the sewing/blogging community, so I’m excited to see that she keeps taking on new endeavors like designing fabric. The Boardwalk Delight collection includes 10 prints on cotton, 3 knits and 1 canvas, making it extremely versatile – you can use it for almost any project you can think of! All of the details and a fun video are up on Dana’s site.

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And check back in weekly on Made Everyday for recaps of all the blog party posts, like Anna’s Poolside Tote, Rae’s Ice Cream Dress, and Amy’s Summer Star Quilt. There are a lot of great bloggers and projects coming up throughout August, so stay tuned!

Happy summer, folks! Until next time 🙂

Yorokobi Summer Set

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Cherie

It’s nani IRO month! I’ve already proclaimed my love of nani IRO fabrics before, so I won’t bore you with my gushing about how wonderfully beautiful, intricate, bold yet delicate, and one-of-a-kind each of Naomi Ito’s designs are and what great quality the fabric is and how lovely it is to sew and how it’s even lovelier to wear. No, I don’t need to mention all of the many things I love about nani IRO fabric again, right?

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Small World Backpack

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Cherie

I’m baaaack!

Wow, blogging two days in a row!? Pretty unheard of for me, especially during these days of sloooow blogging. But honestly, I’m pretty psyched about this project and I just couldn’t wait to share it!

So yesterday I posted a pair of Umbrella dresses that I made as part of the It’s a Small World (blog tour), After All to promote Rae Hoekstra’s new fabric line for Cloud9. Well when I originally saw the fabrics I had such a hard time deciding and a few ideas pop into my head that I asked for 2 fabrics for 2 projects! Clearly I was feeling a bit ambitious and itching to get back to sewing after a pretty long break.

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A Couple of ‘Brella Dresses

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Cherie

Hey hey! I’m here joining the It’s a Small World (blog tour), After All for Rae Hoekstra’s newest line of fabric for Cloud9, Small World. I’m talking about Rae of Made By Rae glory, of course! So when she asks you to check out her incredibly cute 100% organic baby wale corduroy, you say YES! Which is exactly what I did.

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Lounging in Lotus Pond

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Cherie

Rae Hoekstra’s newest fabric line, Lotus Pond for Cloud 9 Fabrics, is here and it is soooooooo cute! It feels so fresh, springy and playful. You can see more pictures of the whole line on Rae’s blog and on the Cloud 9 site, and the fabric is already available in lots of shops! (I’ve included some links at the bottom of this post)

When I first saw the collection, I was instantly drawn to the larger scale prints called Meadow Blossoms. They are so beautiful! But still have that fun and playful vibe. I knew that I wanted to make something for me – maybe a top, tunic, or a Washi dress?

Well, clearly it did not become any of those things. I decided instead on some fun summer pajama pants! The length was really only because I didn’t have enough fabric for full length pants, but I loved these cropped pants for the warmer months.

The fabric is AWESOOOOOOME. The colors are so vibrant. It’s a quilting cotton, but it’s definitely suitable for garments. It’s organic! Probably the first piece of organic clothing that I’ve owned. What a treat for me!

And it’s oh so comfy! I haven’t taken them off since these photos were taken yesterday and I’d wear them all day if I could.

At first I wondered if it was a shame, using such beautiful fabric for something that would only be warn around the home. But they will get soooo much more use this way, than if it was a dress. And they make ME happy, so that’s not a waste!

The pattern is adapted from the only women’s bottoms pattern I own, the Iris Shorts by Colette, which I’ve never actually sewn (but maybe this summer)! I had to do alllll sorts of adjustments and tweaking to make this pattern work as pajama bottoms. I made a muslin because I was worried about messing up this nice fabric on a pattern that wouldn’t fit. I’m still tweaking the pattern a bit, but it’s almost there and now I can make pajama pants for both me and Hideko! I used the pockets from the Washi Dress to add to the PJs, but accidentally put them in too low. My arms need to be about 2 inches longer. Or perhaps I should have just sewn them in 2 inches higher . . .

And because no pajama photo shoot would be complete with jumping pictures (and because I’m a complete dork) . . .

WOOHOO! Rae Hoekstra, you’ve done it again! This fabric is perfect for clothes, both for kids and adults, as well as fun accessories (a toddler backpack would be awesome) or an amazing spring quilt or picnic blanket!! I’ve actually got some of the Fluttering Fields fabric that I think will become a dress for Yuki.

Over the next week, some of Rae’s friends are going to be sharing their Lotus Pond creations in a Lotus Pond Extravaganza! I’m happy to be kicking things off, but be sure to check in with Rae’s blog to keep up with all the posts (she’ll be linking to them every few days). You don’t want to miss a thing!

Lotus Pond is available at many online shops including:
Hawthorne Threads
Fat Quarter Shop
Fabricworm
Fabric.com

Confetti Sparkle for the Holidays (Part 1)

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Cherie

Dear Stella recently came out with a new line of fabric called Confetti Sparkle, cotton in bold colors with metallic gold dots. When I saw it I swooned! And when Dear Stella contacted me asking if I wanted some of their gorgeous fabric to sew with, I may have jumped for joy! Um, yes please! I chose two of their Confetti Sparkle fabrics, Navy and Cream and immediately started dreaming up the holiday outfits I wanted to make.

First up is this dress I made for Yuki that I’m sharing today on the Dear Stella blog. I love that this fabric has automatic glam without having to use a tricky to sew fabric or something that I can’t just throw in the wash. And with the variety of color choices, you’re not just limited to the upcoming holidays – it can be used for any special occasion, any time of the year!

So head over to the Dear Stella blog for more pictures and details of this dress and then next week I’ll be sharing the dress I made for Kaya and top that I made for ME! Confetti Sparkle all the things!

*EDIT: Ooooh, I’m totally in love with this gorgeous Confetti Sparkle Geranium Dress that Kristin at skirt as top made! Check it out!*

Dear Stella Confetti Sparkle can be purchased at Drygoods Design, fabric.com or Hawthorne Fabrics.

Are you making any special holiday wear this year?

Fanfare Baby Blanket

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Cherie

Hiya! Thanks so much for all your sweet comments about Kaya’s arrival! I really appreciate all your warm wishes and your support – it’s good to know that so many people also struggle with the transition to 2 kids and that it does get better! Things are already feeling like they are falling into place more and more each day.

I just made my first real sewing project for Kaya and I’m soooo excited to share it with you! Rae Hoekstra, of Made by Rae, recently released a new line of fabric called Fanfare, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on some a little early. THIS STUFF IS AWESOME. I know that when bloggers do reviews, it always sounds like gushing, but trust me when I say that this fabric is really amazing. It’s adorable, suuuuuper soft and cozy, and wonderful to sew. The fabric is brought to us by Cloud 9 Fabrics which is known to be of great quality AND it’s organic! It makes me so happy to know that I’m wrapping up my little ones in organic fabric, especially since this fabric is so wonderful to snuggle.

After seeing the prints, I thought it’d be perfect for a project for my little newborn. I wanted to make a baby blanket, to take full advantage of just how soft and cozy this fabric is.

I was inspired by the triangle bunting print and decided to piece the fabric together to create a “string” of bunting. I used the solid white flannel as the background.

The back of the blanket is made of strips of fabric. I just love these prints so much, I wanted to showcase them as much as possible.

After piecing together the front and back of the blanket, I basted the mini pom pom trim to one of the layers. I put the front and back right sides together and then added a layer of cotton batting and sewed the layers together leaving and opening to turn the blanket right side out. I sewed the opening shut and then sewed along the inside of each of the triangles to hold all the layers in place.

I really can’t even tell you how soft this fabric is. The best part is that it gets even more heavenly after you wash it. You guys have got to get your hands on some of this fabric . . .

Oh, little baby fingers and toes! And how Kaya loved this cozy blanket! This fabric is perfect for little ones, but honestly, I’d wrap myself up in this fabric if I had enough!!

Since I planned on making a small pieced blanket for Kaya, I had only gotten about a 1/4 yard of each print, but Yuki found the fabrics and immediately wanted them for herself. She was really drawn to the pink elephant print and begged me to make her something with it, but after explaining that the little strip of fabric was not big enough to cover any part of her body, she settled for snagging every little scrap that I cut and keeping them for herself. She started taping the scraps of fabric up around the house and made a pile with the rest – it was really hilarious! So of course, I went and ordered more fabric and as soon as I get it I’ll be making something for her as well. Only seems fair . . .

If you’re wondering where you can buy the fabric, Rae has made a list here. Also be sure to check out all the other fun projects that people have been making with this awesome fabric. There is also a Fanfare Fan Flair flickr group, so if you’re looking for more inspiration or you want to add your own Fanfare projects, definitely go check it out!

Thank you so much to Rae and Cloud 9 for the amazing fabric and letting me be a part of the Fanfare Blog Tour! And congrats on a truly wonderful line of fabric! One of the things I love about Rae is that she is a perfectionist. She really really cares about putting out high quality products – I’ve seen it with her patterns and now with her fabric, she puts a lot of work into getting things JUST RIGHT. And she’s done it again with Fanfare – this fabric will not disappoint you!

*The Fanfare fabric was generously given to me for this review, but all opinions are 100% my own.*

you and mie

let's make things

Category Archives: fabric review

Boardwalk Delight Skirt and Shorts

Yorokobi Summer Set

Small World Backpack

A Couple of ‘Brella Dresses

Lounging in Lotus Pond

Confetti Sparkle for the Holidays (Part 1)

Fanfare Baby Blanket