~Flip Vest Pattern~ Review and Giveaway-CLOSED

A few weeks back Dana from Made asked me to test out her newest pattern.  I was so excited to just be asked and then even more excited when I found out it was for a vest.  Not only a vest, but a reversible vest!  I am a lover of vests and I've got 2 kids that love being cozy, how perfect.

Dana gives great tips and fabric suggestions in the pattern and in typcial fashion I decided to push the envelope. I upcycled a sweater for one side and used microfleece for the other.  The vest and pattern are great, but I wasn't thrilled with my initial fabric choices. 

 For my second attempt I used flannel and blizzard fleece.  Much better choices in my opinion. 

 The blizzard fleece and flannel are a little less floppy and gave the vest little more structure.

I cut a 3T/4T for the skinny 4 year old boy, and the sizing is just right.  He's on the taller side too, so I think next time I might make it longer.

 I cut a 4T/5T for the 6 year old, who is also a tall and skinny.  I added a few inches to the length and made the armholes bigger before adding the binding.

 She's all about the pink and was in love with this flannel.  I convinced her the green buttons would be a nice touch rather than pink.  And the fit is great too.

So overall, the pattern is great!  There's one pattern piece, awesome, and the instructions are really easy and clear.  I sewed both of my second attempt vests in under 2 hours!  Including cutting time!  It doesn't get much better than that.

Checkout some other great Flip Vests here and here.  You can read more about the pattern (and purchase a copy) HERE.

So, are you ready to win a copy of your own?  

Leave a comment with your email address to enter to win a printable copy of The Flip Vest pattern (pattern will be emailed).

Giveaway ends FRIDAY, MARCH 1, at midnight Eastern Time.

3 winners will be chosen at random!!

1 entry per person please. 

And, a huge thank you to Dana for including me in this recent pattern launch.  So fun!

Another Beach Robe and a Tip

I have to confess, I'm a little addicted to making these beach robes! I made another for a gift for a friend....

My daughter's robe has been through the wash a few times and I noticed the last time she put it on that the bias tape was coming loose in places. Most likely due to my less than stellar sewing skills. So, when I made this most recent one, I decided to use a wide zig zag stitch for the bias tape.

I think it will be a little more secure, and I think it looks really nice as well.

Especially on the tie, where I like to add some fabric, so a little extra bulk.

Give it a try. Tell me what you think!

Robes for the Beach

Have you seen the new pattern over at MADE? It's for the cutest kid's beach robe made from a towel (or 2). Just in time for summer!

I made my daughter's first. I'm not in love with the towel color, but I'll be honest, I was being cheap about it. I needed 2 towels for the 4T size and these were $3 each.

I pleated the back a bit when I sewed on the tie. Made it a little more girly.

For the boy, I lined the hood with a cute Kaufman train fabric and added a matching pocket.
Perfect for a day at the beach.


Happy Summer!

New Sandbox!

Now that it finally feels like summer, my family has been spending A LOT of time outside which got me thinking about building a sandbox. Then I saw this post over at Made and felt even more motivated.

I bought 2 wood boards that were 1 inch thick, 10 inches tall and 12 feet long. I cut them into 4 pieces each 5 feet long so my finished sandbox is essentially 5X5.

We had some wood leftover from an addition we put on our house last year, so I came up with some pieces to make a bench along one side.

This was a really easy project, the kids had a ton of fun helping paint, and it all cost less than $100 (believe it or not the sand is the most expensive part). Thanks for the inspiration Dana!

Hope you had a fun and productive weekend too!

Upcycled Boy Pants

I had intended on getting this post up while Celebrate the Boy was still happening, but it didn't happen. So, better late than never.

I made some really cute pants for my son using this tutorial/pattern from Dana at Made, and some old pairs of adult pants. The pants above and below I made using some old cargo pants of my husbands. I used the existing side stitching and took off one of the back pockets and sewed it on the leg.

So cute! And even better in action, backpack and all.

I made this pair from some women's capri pants I picked up at Goodwill. For these I used the existing pockets in the front.

They ended up a bit long, but I'm sure he'll grow into them.

Dana's Summer Scarf Tutorial

Here's a tutorial from another one of my favorite sewing blogs, Made. Dana has a great tutorial for summer scarf that is a simple addition to any outfit and also makes a great gift. I played around with different fabric and techniques and did 2 slight variations on her tutorial, mostly because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to turn and sew the sides of the scarf. For the first, I used a green light-weight cotton gauze and sewed a tube, turned it right side out, ironed the seam to the bottom center, and then shirred it up the middle. Very quick, no sides to hem. This only works on a very light fabric because the shirring won't gather up well on heavier fabrics.

For the second, and my favorite, I used a lightweight fuschia swiss dot and finished the edges with the picot edge stitch on my serger with contasting white thread. Then I shirred it up the middle and voila, another great summer scarf. Super easy and very cute. Thanks for the great tutorial!