Inspired by Chevrons guest: Sewing Mama RaeAnna

I am super excited to introduce you to today's guest Sewing Mama RaeAnna. 

RaeAnna is a former elementary music teacher and the mama to two of the cutest kids! She is also one of the sweetest bloggers I have had the pleasure to "meet". Though we have never actually met in real life she is just one of those people that makes you think to yourself, "I love this girl!", right away. She has a genuine interest is sharing the love of sewing and helping those who sew. When I put a shout out to find guests for this series I was (am) still brand new; But that didn't stop RaeAnna from saying yes right away. 

You have seen RaeAnna recently on Project Run & Play, on the Edelweiss Dress Pattern Tour, on the Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop Summer Tour, or on her own Romper Week series. This girl rocks! And today she is sharing this darling 4th of July chevron bubble romper. 

The embroidery, the chevrons, the colors, and the ruffle bum...this romper is just perfect! (Swoon!)

So head on over to Sewing Mama RaeAnna to see more now!

Thank you so much for sharing here today RaeAnna!

Inspired by Chevrons Friday Flickr Feature #5

Today I have two Flickr features...well kinda three.

First up is this rockin' chevron tote made by Karen. Since I tend to sew chevron shapes more than sew with chevron fabric this looks like something I would make. And who doesn't love totes, right? I know for me, as a mommy of three, I never have enough bags. I also love the bright contrasting colors here. Thanks for sharing Karen!

Next is this adorable chevron dress made from the Bubblegum Dress Pattern by Candy Castle Patterns. I fell for this dress right away because one, the red and blue colors are perfect right now (think 4th of July, or nautical); two, I love the pattern and just happened to have bought the pattern when it was released recently; and three, these girls are so cute! Which leads me to the third part of today's feature, the sweet chevron Pleated Playsuit. I love it! A perfect coordinating set. 

There is also a pattern review up on That's Sew Kari for this Bubblegum Dress. Great review! Thanks for sharing Kari.

And thank you to everyone who has shared their creations in the Flickr pool. I really enjoyed looking through all the projects and getting inspired!

Sewing Mama RaeAnna will here on June 30th to wrap up June's Inspired  by Chevron series. RaeAnna is super awesome and is sure to please! See you then!

P.S. Don't forget to check out the TWO different giveaways on the blog right now! The Provincial and Prefontaines giveaway (win a copy of each of the patterns), the Bella Bum Boutique giveaway (any 1 pattern of the winner's choice from Bella Bum Boutique).

Inspired by Chevrons guest : Bella Bums and Bellies

I am so happy to have a very special guest, one of our very own Divas, Melissa from Bella Bums and Bellies! Melissa is a mom to two super cute little girls and pattern designer at Bella Bum Boutique.

I need to take a moment to rave about Melissa's patterns. When my daughter was potty training Melissa's Big Girl Trainers pattern was one of my most loved patterns. It is designed to be customizable to the stage of potty training your child is in. As all parents know, a child's needs change quite a bit throughout potty training. The pattern is nice and trim so it fits well under RTW clothing too. Not that I don't just love a fluffy bum! ;) And when potty training is complete they can be sewn as big girl underwear. The cloth trainers were so awesome for my daughter because she could feel when she was wet. Melissa also has a boy style trainer pattern too! How sweet is that?

Melissa made a matching Everyday Diaper Tote and Contrast Tying Wetbag set as part of the Inspired by Chevrons series. She even made a tutorial for how to make each bag!

These bags are so awesome, and functional! They can be used for so much more than just diapers...I am thinking day trips, an awesome mommy bag, the wetbag for storing wet swimwear...and the list goes on! So hop on over to see the tutorial!

It gets even better though...Melissa is giving away a pattern, winners choice. Enter in the rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win one pattern of your choice from Bella Bum Boutique! Giveaway will be open for 1 week starting now and ending Wednesday July 3rd at midnight.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

On Sunday we will have the wonderful Sewing Mama RaeAnna visiting! You won't want to miss it!

And there's still time to enter your pictures in the Inspired by Chevrons Flickr pool for a chance to be featured! I am featuring your chevron projects each Friday in the month of June :)

Inspired by Chevrons: Part 5 - Provincial and Prefontaines Giveaway!

As I was looking through my posts I have made lots of stuff for my daughter but nothing with chevrons. How can that be? This will not do! I just happened to have some lovely knit chevrons from Girl Charlee and some great newly released patterns. So I quickly set to work. What came out was a pretty perfect pink pattern combo; Provincial and Prefontaines. Say that ten times fast!

 (I am feeling little bit like I should have a sign up that says, "Please excuse the yard work!") 

 
This outfit makes the third time I have sewn each of these patterns. Each piece above has some minor alterations to the pattern, but I will get to that. First let's look at the first two items I've made with each pattern. :)

                                 My first Prefontaines...                     My second pair of Prefontaines...
                        no modeling pics, but aren't they cute?                 Ooga Cuteness!

My first two Provincial Tops...Don't you love them?

Now on with the show!

For this Provincial Top I modified the sleeves a bit. I took 3/4" of the bottom of the sleeve and left the shirring off. A super quick modification and I really like how it turned out. It just shows you how versatile this pattern is!

I love the color blocking with the chevrons. And speaking of chevrons...a member of one of my Facebook groups shared a great tutorial on how to match up your chevrons. I found it very helpful. My chevrons on this shirt were at such and angle that I couldn't get them looking ad perfect as hers but close enough that the lines stayed consistent.

To coordinate my Prefontaine Shorts I added a lettuce edge ruffle instead of binding. It gives it quite a girly feel! :)

And now for the BEST part...a discount and a giveaway!
Pick up your copy of the Prefontaine Shorts for $1.00 off using discount code INSPIREDBYCHEVRONS.

Also, enter in the rafflecopter widget below for your chance to win a copy of both the patterns featured today! Giveaway is open for 1 week and will close Tuesday July 2nd at midnight.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Provincial Top

Have you seen the super cute Provincial Top pattern by Terra's Treasures yet?

The pattern just released and can be found in Terra's Treasures Etsy Shop.

*Disclaimer: I was a tester for this pattern, but all opinions are my own. I do not receive compensation for sharing with you*

The top is so cute and really quick to sew up. The sizes run from 6m-10! It features on adorable peasant style neckline with lettuce edge hems and shirring at the neck and arms. There is an option for a two piece decorative front with buttons (no button holes required! They are simply decorative). That is the option I chose ;) It was the perfect opportunity for color blocking! Who doesn't just love color blocking, right?

If shirring and/or lettuce edge hems is new to you don't fret; the tutorial guides you through how to do the lettuce edge on a serger or a regular sewing machine as well as how to do the shirring.

Also, Seamingly Smitten has a nice tutorial on shirring here. If you have a sewing machine that requires you to adjust the bobbin tension in order to shir there are lots of tutorial out there to help. Here is one from Sewn Studio that I found helpful. The thing to remember about shirring is that it will appear more "shirred" after making a few rows AND it tightens up after steaming. Don't expect your first row to appear super tight.

For your lettuce edge on your serger you will want to make a rolled hem and slightly stretch your fabric as you sew. This tutorial from LBG Studio shows you how to set up your serger for a rolled hem. I use the same settings as in this tutorial except for the lower looper, which I set at 7 instead of 8. I find that my thread likes to break at 8.

These are just a couple tutes that I have found helpful but there is LOTS more out there if you need extra help. These techniques are really quick and easy to do once you know how to set your machines, I promise. And the results are fantastic!

 Don't forget to check out the new Provincial Top pattern! My daughter loves these top so much that wanted them on right away...and didn't want to take them off, not even for bed.

Inspired by Chevrons Friday Flickr Feature #4

Today's Friday Flickr Feature is going up just a little bit early. Why? Because the talented feature today is from Ali's Cottage who happens to be releasing a new pattern. The new Ophelia Dress will be 15% off on Friday!

Isn't this dress just adorable? I love the color combo.

Go check out Ali's Cottage on Facebook for pictures of the new dress pattern. Don't forget to like her page while you are there. This is just he first in many more beautiful creations I'm sure. 

Thanks for sharing Ali!

One Friday left! Please come and share your chevron projects with us in the Inspired by Chevrons Flickr group. You could be the next to be featured! Any kind of chevron project is welcome...the only requirement is that it is made by you!

Ruffle Dress is now a romper!

Its Romper Week at Sewing Mama RaeAnna!

To celebrate I made this pattern from Elegance & Elephants...the Ruffle Dress romper :)

Yes, another pattern flip! I just couldn't resist.

I love how it still almost looks like a dress...you kinda have to do a double take to notice it isn't. This romper is great for summer fun; super girly, yet play friendly!

Paper bag waist Bubble Pocket Shorts

I have another Bubble Pocket Shorts pattern flip; sewing along with the Flip this Pattern series at Frances Suzanne.

See my other Bubble Pocket Shorts pattern flip here.

 

Again I took advantage of the versatility of the classic style option to make a new creation.

I really love this one!

 

I added a little unicorn tag to the left pocket that matches the flowers colors in the sash. I think it gives it a nice handmade feel. 

Another modification was the pockets. I chose not to use elastic across the top. The material is a stretch twill and was perfect to make a flat band across the top of the pockets. Since it's stretchy the pockets open up well when needed :)

 

It was difficult to capture the beautiful purple color of the fabric. It's less blue in real life.

The shorts are even more cute on a body. I don't have modeling shots just yet but I will update this post when I do! If you are seeing this before the update please come back to see the modeling shots :)
***updated with modeling shots***

 

I am adding this too to the shorts on a line series from Imagine Gnats.

Thanks for visiting!