How To Wear Puffed Sleeves - Wrapped up with a Bow!

 I've waxed lyrical about puffed sleeved in the past, so there's no need for me to do so again in this blog post.

Suffice to say, my inner Anne Shirley will never not get a thrill from puffed sleeves. Leg-o-mutton, bishop, poet, or gigot - I'll take them all!

However, puffed sleeves do have one slight down side this time of year. They can be hard to fit under wraps. Have you ever tried showing a puffed sleeve inside a non-puffed sweater sleeve? That can be uncomfortable! I've made myself a nice heavy coat with full sleeves perfect for housing my puffed arm covers on the coldest of days, but what about those days that don't require a full coat? What about the days where only a light extra layer is needed (or those days it's so cold you want an extra layer to wear around the house)? Suzanne Winter, of Winter Wear Designs, has devised a solution for this problem!

It's a sleeved wrap scarf thingy - and it's fabulous!!!

It's like a socially acceptable wearable blanket, with dramatic sleeve-ish things. Can it get any better than that?

I don't actually know what to call this thing - but I'm thrilled with it!

So what's the story with this thing? Every December, Winter Wear Designs hosts a 12 days of Christmas event, and releases a couple of new free patterns! This year, one such free pattern is the "All Wrapped Up" collection, including patterns and instructions for two different styles of scarfs with pockets and this sleeved wrap. The coupon code to get the pattern for free is available in the Winter Wear Designs Fun Facebook Group - Just look under the "announcements" tab! 

A stable knit fabric is recommended for the main body of the wrap, but honestly? It really doesn't need any stretch so you could get away with using a flannel if you wanted.

For mine I chose to use some sort of a strange blend of a fabric. This fabric has a touch of stretch, but not much. It seems to have a knit base with soft thick threads woven through it. I acquired it from a church basement a couple of years back, and have no clue what enticed me to bring it home. That said, I'm glad I did because it was perfect for this project! Soft and snuggly, if a bit weird and unidentifiable.

The part of this wrap that really needs stretch is the elbow-high cuffs. I chose to use some sort of jersey knit with spandex in it for mine. (I bought this knit from Joann's way to long ago to have any recollection of what exactly the fiber content is.)

I really like the aesthetic of the long cuffs, but they don't make this wrap entirely practical for all manner of puffed sleeve shirts. For wear over shirts with lots of volume in the lower sleeve, I think it would work to shorten the cuffs a bit, and add the same amount of length removed from the cuffs to the main body of the wrap. I'll have to try it with the next wrap I make! Meanwhile, this wrap is perfect to wear with short, or elbow length, puffed sleeves (such as the poet sleeves included with the Neck Tie Top!), or, one of my personal favorites - leg-o-mutton sleeves!

Yes, it can double as a scarf too!

Coincidentally, WWD just came out with a pattern  featuring leg-o-mutton (also called mutton chop) sleeves! I made it up for myself using the same jersey I used for the cuffs of my wrap!

These aren't the most puffed leg-o-mutton sleeves I've encountered, but they still thrill me! 1890's inspired sleeves in a modern pattern! How could I not be excited here!

The top these sleeves are attached to is the Radiant Rouched - so named because of the fantastic diagonal rouching across the front! 

This pattern come with both the leg-o-mutton sleeves and a plain sleeve option. Along with that, it has two different neckline options - very high neck or the lower asymmetrical neckline. I don't like wearing things with high necklines, and asymmetry in clothing often appeals to me, so I went with the lower option of course! 

And the neckline still felt to high to me. After getting pictures, then wearing the shirt for a day and constantly pulling the neckline down, I fixed it!

I took a scrap of fabric, wrapped it around the rouching on the high side of the neckline, pulled the rouching down a couple of inches and stitched this strip of fabric in place to the body of the shirt.

As a finishing touch, I added a bow made from another fabric scrap.

I tried the top back on and suddenly it went from "meh" to "I love it!!"

It's the little things that make or break a garment - and this is why I love sewing my own clothes! I can adjust all the little thing, and sometimes the big things, until they suit me perfectly!

All tied up with a bow!

Thanks Suzanne for inviting me to try out and blog about some of your newest patterns! They're both winners in my book!

Check out the Winter Wear Designs Fun Facebook Group for all sorts of 12 Days of Christmas gifts and deals!

A Ruffley and Bright "Hooverette"

Ruffles are fun! Occasionally clown-like, or reminiscent of 1980s fashion perhaps, but oh my goodness are they fun to flounce around in!!

Honestly, this dress is a lot. A lot of color. A lot of ruffle. A lot of sleeve poof. A lot of things going on. But have I mentioned it’s also a lot of fun? A lot of fun!

A year or two ago I fell down the rabbit hole of 1930’s wrap dresses, in particular the house dress style called a “hooverette”. I hacked a simplicity pattern and made myself a hooverette inspired dress. 

Shortly there after I discovered that the Vintage Pattern Lending Library actually had a 1930’s hooverette pattern in their collection. I was severely tempted to get it. However, it was technically a size or two too small for me, so, as I’d already hacked another pattern to more or less get what I wanted, I decided against it at the time.

Then I saw an Instagram post from Dierdre, owner of the Vintage Pattern Lending Library, sharing pictures of the Hooverette she made from the pattern I'd been admiring. It was beautiful! So much fun! A dress I wanted to have!

I asked Deirdre a few questions about the sizing of the pattern. When made up, what size did it actually fit? The size charts aren't always accurate on vintage patterns.

She told me the dress fit her pretty well without alterations and shared her measurements with me. Her measurements were pretty close to my own, so I figured this pattern would probably work for me without too much trouble. It went on the long list of "Patterns I'd like to buy sometime".

Fast forward to this summer, and I helped Deirdre look over, decipher, and test an 1890's pattern she'll be adding to her catalog at some point in the future. As a thank-you, she offered to send me the hooverette pattern, knowing I'd been admiring it, and I happily accepted.

Proving what I already suspected, that Deirdre is incredibly sweet, my pattern arrived wrapped in one yard of an incredibly soft, pretty quilting cotton. After considering a few different options for this fabric, I decided that I just had to use it for the accents on my hooverette. Now to pick a main fabric from my stash to go with it!

I decided to make the ruffley version of the hooverette, which takes a surprising large amount of fabric, somewhat limiting my main fabric options. First, I intended to use an orange pin-dot fabric, but after I tore off all the strips I needed for the ruffles, there was not enough left for the main body of the dress, let alone the sleeves as well! So, that idea got scrapped, I turned the orange cotton into a very ruffley sundress instead, and continued scouring my stash for this project. 

After finding and rejecting a few more options because they either didn't look quite right with the accent fabric (which I'd already cut out by the way, so it was too late to change that), or they didn't have enough yardage, I finally found an incredibly busy, incredibly colorful, incredibly floral, quilting cotton in my stash. My mom and I picked up this fabric last fall to use as a table cloth for my sister-in-law's bridal shower. Having served that purpose well, it went into my fabric stash. Where it lurked. All four yards of it. Just waiting to see the light of day again and become an incredibly bright and busy something.

As this fabric happened to look pretty decent with my accent fabric, here is that something!

Honestly, 4 yards (+1 yard of accent material) was just barely enough fabric for this dress! That bottom ruffle is a little skimpier than I'd prefer. The top ruffle is 3 full widths of 44" fabric, which is perfect. That bottom ruffle should be 5 or 6 full widths of fabric for prime ruffliness, but I was only able to manage 4 widths from the fabric I had - and just barely that! One of the bottom ruffle strips is pieced in a couple places!

I could have saved a bit of fabric, and probably had enough for the full bottom ruffle, if I'd made my dress with flutter sleeves, as shown on the ruffley version on the pattern envelope, rather than the puffed sleeves I used, shown on the simpler version on the pattern envelope. 

I chose to do the puffed sleeves because, well, I have a weakness for puffed sleeves. I kind of regret that decision, not only because of the fabric shortage situation.

The large puffed sleeves are a bit much with the ruffle collar. I think the overall design would look much more balanced if I'd gone with the flutter sleeves instead.

I don't like tight elastic in sleeves, or tight sleeves in general, so I finished my sleeves with bands made from my accent fabric rather than elastic as the pattern recommended. I made these bands a bit too big, which didn't help my overall feelings on the suitability of the style.

That said, these elbow length puffed sleeves are actually supremely suitable to fall weather, giving just the right amount of arm coverage to keep one from being cold. Having worn this dress a couple times since I finished it two weeks ago, I'm actually very pleased with the dress overall, and no longer regret my sleeve choices like I did when I first tried the finished dress on and went "Woah! That's A Lot!"

The comfort of not being chilly on crisp fall days and the fun of all the ruffles outweighs my initial style hesitations.

I wore this dress to help make - and eat - Thanksgiving dinner with my family. It was an absolute delight to swirl about the kitchen in as I made pies - alllll the pies!

The more I wear this dress, the more I love it. It's an amazingly practical house dress, and a ton of fun!

I'm very pleased with the overall fit! I added a little extra room at the hips when I cut the dress out. I'm not sure if this was necessary, but I didn't want to risk the dress being too tight through the hips and falling open whenever I walked or sat down. I have one wrap dress with a straight skirt that does that and it's not fun! This one, however, has no such issue and stays securely wrapped no mater what I do!

The other alteration I made was to make my patch pockets a bit bigger than the pattern piece suggested. I like big pockets and I cannot lie.

Beyond that, I made zero fitting alterations. The pattern claims to be for a 34" bust, I have a 36" bust, and it fits very well.

No gaping or need to adjust what so ever! A very secure, easy to wear, wrap dress!

I will certainly be using this pattern again!

Perhaps with less ruffle or a more subdued fabric choice next time.

But I don't know about that. The over-the-top-ness of this dress has certainly grown on me!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Deirdre for giving me this pattern!!

*This pattern was a gift. I was not required to share about it in any way, shape, or form. All thoughts and opinions here are my own*

No Armor, Only Cozy Camo

Well, my brother was supposed to be the recipient of two new hoodies last month when I tested the newest Mother Grimm pattern. But things changed. 

My sister now has a new favorite hoodie. 

It doesn't have armor, but, judging by the amount my sister has worn it in the past month, it is super cozy.

When I signed up to test the Sir Gwalchmai Knight Hoodie, I agreed to make two different versions of it. One with armor, and one without.

First, I made the armored version for my brother. He loved it and I immediately got pictures of it. Then, my brother got quarantined at school. He would not be around to model the non-armored version of the hoodie.

After talking with my brother on the phone, asking how he was feeling, inquiring about how quarantine was going and if he needed anything, I mentioned the hoodie I was supposed to be making him. I asked if he really wanted a second hoodie. He told me he was beyond pleased with his armored hoodie, and didn't think he needed a plain hoodie right now. After an armored hoodie, everything else kind of falls flat. Thus, I moved on to my next sibling.

I told my sister all about the hoodie I'd been meaning to make my brother, and asked if she wanted it instead. 

That was a yes.

The body of this hoodie is made from a lightweight camo french terry I found in the remnant bin at Hobby Lobby a while back. 

The top of the hoodie, including the hood, and the sleeves, is made from an olive green interlock, bought as a pre-cut at Wal-Mart and left over from the Mahina Cardigan I made myself last year.

The piping, hood lining, pockets, cuffs, and bottom band are all made from cotton-spandex jersey. I ordered this "Olive Green" solid with a lot of other solid colored jerseys to make baby clothes from. When the fabric arrived it was a lot less green, and more brown, than I was expecting. This green-ish brown did not at all appeal to me for making baby clothes. Thankfully, it looked pretty decent with the camo french terry I was using for the hoodie, so I was able to use it anyway and keep it from lurking too long in my stash.

And that is the story of my sister's newest hoodie.

Things didn't exactly go as planned, but I think they turned out even better!

My sister loves and wears this hoodie way more than my brother would have.

And, she looks absolutely adorable in it!