Who doesn't love thumbholes??

I'm I'll admit it, when they first started popping up on tops I thought it was silly.  Now that I have a few things myself, I have a new outlook... what better way to keep your hands warm on a steering wheel in the winter?  Cause lets be real, who can always find matching gloves when your running out in the morning?

Somewhere along the way my daughter decided she needed something with thumbholes and we bought a jacket that had them.  Now she's obsessed!

Luckily for me, this is a simple addition to any pattern you might already be using :)

First cut your cuff pieces out.  I would suggest making them a bit longer than what your normal pattern may call for.  This one here will make a 4" cuff after its finished and it was perfect.

Fold your fabric right side together and find the middle, in my picture here its at the 4" mark.  Then I made a small mark 1" from the middle in each direction, then another 1.5" from that.  These are your starting and stopping points when you stitch.

Starting at one end, stitch to first dot (being sure to backstitch when you get there) then start stitching at the 2nd dot and stitch until you get to the 3rd (again, backstitching at the start and stop).  Leave the next space open and starting at the 4th dot, stitch to the end of your fabric.  Should look like this when your finished.

Press the seam open and fold the cuff in half, wrong sides together.   This part I will admit is just a bit tricky since we're working with a small piece but its completely do-able.  You will want to just hold the fabric back out of the way as you are stitching.  We're going to stitch box around the open hole, staying nice and close to the edge.

It should look just like this when you are finished

Now just insert it into your sleeve and attach as you would normally.  Just be sure to match up the seam on the cuff with the seam on the sleeve.  

Voila!! Happy girl!! 

This is a free hoodie pattern from Brindille and Twig (you can get it here- 

http://blog.brindilletwig.com/2014/10/free-hoodie-pattern/).  Such a quick sew, definitely check it out! 

U Can't touch this....

Break it down! Stop, Hammer time!

Those of you 80's babies (yes I'll admit it) know exactly what I mean when I say Hammer pants.  Well that was the first thing my husband said when he saw what the baby was wearing.  I had to correct him, even though a sliver of me agrees.  

"No, these are Harem pants.  It's what all the cool kids are wearing these days." (Insert his eyeroll here...)

All kidding aside these are some pretty awesome pants.  They're loose enough for him to wiggle around (and I've heard to fit nicely over cloth diapers) yet have a great wide ribbed waist to stay up on my little peanut.   

These are the Cuff Waist Harem Pants from Brindille & Twig (www.brindilletwig.com).  Easy to follow directions and a super fast sew!  The pattern does call for knit but since they are a baggy fit I took a chance on corduroy and LOVE the result! 

Oh, and speaking of this dreamy fabric.  It's a fine wale corduroy made by Verhees.  The description I was given was "super baby-butt soft" and man she wasn't kidding! 

Verhees is European brand and I'll admit  I have fallen hard for Euro fabrics in my search for awesome boy prints. I am SO excited to have found Mabel Madison.  A fabric store dedicated to bringing fabulous boy options. 

If you've never taken the euro plunge now is a great time to try!  If you go to www.msbelmadison.com now through October 28th you can get 15% off all in-stock inventory, ALL US shipping is free and even free shipping to Australia with orders over $200!!  (No code needed for the 15% or US shipping, Aussie friends use SHIPFREEAU200)

Happy sewing!!!

Rounding out our Cinderella costume - a quick tutorial

I am so excited to be sharing our halloween costumes as part of the Pattern Revolution Halloween Extravaganza!

If you haven't had a chance to check that out yet be sure to head over so you can see all the amazing creations our team has in store for this year!  You can also learn about how to win some awesome prizes just by sharing the costumes you've made, how sweet is that?!?

I know i'm terrible at keeping up here but I really wanted to give you all a quick tutorial on creating the apron and headscarf that I used to complete Ry's costume.  I used the Peek-A-Boo Perfect Peasant pattern for the dress and the sash measurements I refer to are listed in the directions.

First you will need to cut a rectangle for the apron and hem the edges.  I did this by pressing under 1/4" all the way around, then pressing that up another 1/4" and stitching.  You could also use an overlock first and only press one time and hem.

I used the sash measurements from the pattern but instead of leaving just a small section to turn it right side out, I left a gap in the middle of the sash large enough to fit our rectangle.  I laid out the rectangle and marked with pins prior to sewing.

Turn the sash right side out and press.  Be sure to press the open section under to match the seam allowance.

Next fold the rectangle in half and mark the middle, then fold the sash in half and mark the middle.  Line the middles up and insert the unfinished edge of your rectangle into the open section of the sash.  

Topstitch around all edges of the sash which will secure the apron and transform the sash into ties.

To make the headscarf I just used scraps left from the apron fabric - 

Start with a 12x12 square.  

Fold into a triangle with right sides together and stitch around the 2 open sides leaving a 2" opening.

Turn right side out and top stitch around all 3 sides.  

Cut a piece of elastic (I used fold over elastic) approx 5" long.  (this size may vary for a younger/older child)

Attach elastic to each point as shown below.  I use a zig zag stitch around the outline of the elastic.