Love Notions Cadence Dress

It should come at no surprise by now that I love a good maxi dress. When I saw a sneak peek of the Cadence*, the newest pattern by Love Notions, I was immediately sold. Like all Love Notions patterns, this one is packed with options, but it was that maxi that caught my eye!

During testing, I sewed up a tank maxi with a drawstring waist. I seriously love this!

It's hard to see my drawstring because I made my own using the same fabric as my dress. I love how cohesive it is, but it doesn't show up well in pictures.

The pattern is drafted for woven fabrics and I used a rayon challis from Joann. You could use knit fabric, but sizing down is recommended. One of the testers did end up using knit and it turned out to be a beautiful dress!

This may be the lazy in me talking (ok, I will admit this IS the lazy in me talking) but I love that this dress has no closures. No buttons or zippers? Yes, please.

The dress does have some shaping, with darts and a seamed back. These were actually my first darts, which made me a little nervous, but they were easy peasy. There are also great instructions for adjusting the dart location should you need to customize this. I'm always impressed with Love Notions fitting instructions and this was no exception.

I could go on and on about my new dress (like I could share with you how I recently wore it on a 9+ hour car trip and how comfortable I was the whole time, or how cute I felt wearing it while taking all four kids to the park, or... but I digress, sorry.) Instead of babbling about how much I love wearing my new dress, I'll share the details of the pattern, they really are impressive:

- Neckline (and armscye for tank version) is finished with an interfaced facing. The seam allowance is understitched, leaving a clean finish without top-stitching. I'm very impressed with how nice it all lays.

- Traditional scoop neckline or notch neckline is included.

- Three lengths: shirt, knee-length dress, and maxi. The shirt and maxi both include side vents.

- Five sleeve lengths: tank, short, 3/4, flare, and bishop. Sleeves are asymmetrical (not cut on the fold.)

- Shift style shape. Bust darts and seamed back both add shaping. Optional casing with either drawstring or elastic can add more shaping if desired.

- Bust, waist, hip lines marked on pattern. I appreciate this for both blending sizes and for adding or taking away length.

- Standard and full bust pieces both included. Not that I even have to make a full bust adjustment, but I know this will be appreciated by others. :)

-  Pattern includes layers and no-trim pages.

Did you notice all the options? This means you can make a tank top and a maxi dress with long bishop sleeves and a bunch of combinations in between.

I have been on the hunt for a woven tank pattern for a while, and that will be the next thing I make with this pattern. What's amazing is how many basic woven tank patterns are out there at a similar price point but how much more you get with the Cadence pattern.

My summer has gone by a lot faster than I anticipated and I haven't had as much time to sew as I would have hoped. I really had planned to make some woven tank tops, but summer...

At least I can enjoy what's left of it in this dress...

The Cadence is on sale through Saturday. You can purchase it here*. Or just check out the link to admire all the other tester pics and check out how many different variations there are with this one pattern! 

*Affiliate links are present in this post. Should you chose to purchase this pattern after clicking on the link, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps fund my passion for sewing, so I appreciate it. All thoughts are my own and I do not promote a pattern I do not love. 

Little Loungers

Hey it's Kylie lounging in her Little Loungers, the newest pattern from Patterns for Pirates.

P4P just released two new patterns, the Little Loungers (sizes 3 months to 14)* and the women's version (sizes XXS to 3X)*. Both are a pants or shorts pattern for woven fabrics packed with options:

- Four length options: shorts, bermuda, capris, or full length pants.

-The shorts option can be cuffed (with or without a button tab) or have a curved hemline with a facing. The other lengths have a standard hem.

- Pocket options include patch or slat pocket for the front and a patch pocket for the back. 

- Waistband options include traditional elastic casing waistband or a yoga band. 

- Optional drawstring

I tested the girls version for Kylie, my nine year old. I used a red linen blend from Joann and made a pair of cuffed shorts with button tabs, front patch pockets, no back pockets, elastic waistband without a drawstring. That's a lot of options to mention, I love it when a pattern has so many choices!

Of course, I had to use a wood button. I can't resist them!

Kylie actually loved these shorts so much, she wore them for two days straight including sleeping in them. She is very picky about the clothes she sleeps in, so I know these had to be comfortable.

Hopefully, I will be back soon with more pairs to share with you. I need to start thinking about back to school sewing and a few pairs of capris and full length pants will help me fill her upcoming school wardrobe. 

For now, I'll share a few more pics, but if you want to see more options, check out the listing and all the pictures here.*

*Affiliate links included in this post. Should you choose to purchase the pattern after clicking on the link, I receive a small compensation at no extra cost to you. This helps feed my sewing addiction, so I greatly appreciate it. All reviews are my own, and I do not promote a pattern I do not love. 

Dress Up This Town

I'm back with another "Sewing with Ti" blog tour.

This month's theme is "Dress up this Town" and you don't want to miss it! Not only will there be a whole month filled with inspiration for fun and pretty dresses, but there are PRIZES! Each week has new prizes up for grabs. I'm here for week 2, where one lucky winner will receive:

$20 store credit to Made For Mermaids

3 Patterns from Peekaboo Pattern Shop
2 Patterns from Seamingly Smitten
3 Patterns from Sew House 7
$15 store credit to Tie Dye Diva

I'm a little jealous of whoever will win. That's a lot of patterns! To enter, simply fill out the rafflecopter which can be found at the end of the blog post.

I'm also equally excited to share the dress I made for this blog tour. Our youngest baby just turned two and I thought she needed a new dress to celebrate the occasion. Honestly, she really didn't need a new dress and I didn't even make it in time for her birthday, but I'm happy I had the excuse to sew for her.

The dress details

• Pattern: Flutterby Dress and Top by Peekaboo Pattern Shop (aff. Link)
• Fabric: Liverpool print and solid both from Pretty Posh Prints
• Size: 2T, shortened by 2" for my short little girl. After four kids, Mabel is the first one I have had to shorten anything for. It feels like I'm making a huge mistake. No other mods, except for a small detail in how I applied the binding, details below.

When I gave Mabel the dress and told her I made it, she said "Oh thank you mommy! Oh flowers!"

My heart melted, I should sew for her more often. Then when her dad came home, I told her to go show her dad and she said "No, it's my dress! No!" She's so funny.

I do have to agree with her that I love the dress. It's a very sweet and simple design. The pattern includes a top and a dress in size 3 months all the way up to size 12.

The sleeves are gathered and feature a double ruffle. I love how it keeps the sun off the shoulders, but is still light and airy and not a full sleeve, perfect for hot weather.

She's our beautiful green eyed girl!

The neckline is finished with binding. Since I used liverpool, which is heavy weight, I wanted to reduce the bulk of the neckline, so I did not double fold the binding to tuck the raw edges on the inside.  I simply turned the binding to the wrong side without tucking in the raw edges. I simply cut off the excess binding on the inside as close to the seam as possible.

Of course if I hadn't been using liverpool or a similar weighted fabric, I would have tucked in the raw edges in the inside as the pattern instructs.

Although liverpool is not considered an ideal fabric for binding, I have been able to get a lovely finish this way many times.

This is not my first time making this pattern, though it is my first time blogging about it. I actually tested this pattern back when Mabel was a much smaller baby.

Awww... baby.

This was the top view, in cotton lycra for the sleeves and binding and two way stretch cotton jersey for the body.

And now here she is, two years old.

She's little miss personality and she continues to make us laugh every day.

Taking pictures of her in her new dress, I was able to catch her signature mischevious look. She gives me this look all the time:

And then when she has my attention with the first look, she will close her eyes and give the tiniest smile. I think she does this because it made me laugh once, so now she thinks she needs to do it constantly to make me laugh again. It works.

That's my girl! Those looks are so her!

And now my girl is ready to "Dress up this Town" and take on the world.

I hope she is always this happy to have her mom sew a dress for her.

Be sure to enter the giveaway to win some patterns so you can make lots of dresses for yourself too! Sign up using the rafflecopter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don't forget to check out the other bloggers on the tour for more inspiration and weekly prizes:

Week 1: July 1st-8th
1- Sewing By Ti (Intro) and Stitching At Night
2- Me Made
3- Tenille's Thread
4- Sewing By Ti
5- Seams Sew Lo
6- Anne Mari Sews
7- Sea of Estrogen
8- Lulu and Celeste

Week 2: July 9th-15th
9- Living in Twinado Valley
10- Ma Moose
11- My Heart Will Sew On
12- Seams Sew Lo
13- Kate Will Knit
14- Creative Counselor
15- Sewing With Sarah

Week 3: July 16th-22nd
16- Stitching and Making
17- That's Sew Lily
18- Sprouting Jube Jube
19- Auschick Sews
20- Anne Mari Sews
21- Lulu and Celeste
22- On Wednesdays We Sew

Week 4: July 23rd-31st
23- Stitching At Night
24- Sewing Curves
25- My Heart Will Sew On
26- Indulging Mum
27- That's Sew Lily
28- Adventures With Bubba and Bug
29- Capture, Craft Cook
30- Sewing By Ti
31- Sew Like a Sloth