Decklyn in Denim

Decklyn was the first pattern that caught my eye when I first came across Blaverry but somehow it never made it to the top of the sewing queue.  Until now that is; I was given the pattern to promote for the "Blaverry Blasters" group and sometimes deadline can be a wonderful thing :)

Am I ever glad I had the opportunity to sew this up; my daughter has told me several times (daily) just how much she loves it. In fact last night, she told me that when she outgrows it, she'd like another one just the same.  I was afraid a jacket like this would be frivolous -- depending on the season, my girls either wear a winter coat or go out in just a t-shirt -- but that hasn't been the case at all.  J's worn it everywhere she's been in the past week, under her winter coat and in place of a cardigan or sweater. Only much more fashionable :).

According to her measurements, J. (age 10) would be about a size 8.  She doesn't like things to be too fitted and I thought it wouldn't get worn until spring (silly me!), so I traced off a size 12.  We talked about fabric options and I showed her some different ideas but she had a her heart set on denim.  No contrast, just denim with a matching navy lining, some bright topstitching and two of the fancy buttons we'd just received from a friend in Korea.  Perfect, I had all of that already in my sewing cupboard.

What I didn't have in my stash were the zippers.  My local shop didn't have the right size matching metal zips so I made do with what they did have.  I think it would look so much better if they all matched but my daughter doesn't mind.

My shop also didn't have a 16" navy metal zip so I bought an 18" and then lengthened the jacket by an inch and a half to accommodate it.  It turns out I didn't need to do that since the designer recommends folding the excess zipper at the top to fit the length of the jacket.  My daughter likes the longer length in any event so it worked out for the best.

She was very patient as I tried to get some decent pictures in some not so good light

but this is her "enough already Mom, I have stuff to do!" face :)

Pattern: Decklyn by Blaverry, free in exchange for this promotion

Fabric: stretch denim, used approx. 1m, $8

Lining: stash

Zippers: Fabricland, $7

Buttons: Gift

Total: $15

Princess Anna Coronation Gown

This was one of those ridiculous projects that I convinced myself had to be done.  My daughter is in Brownies and when I first found out the troop's winter sleepover camp was Frozen-themed I vaguely thought about making a dress up dress.  I dismissed the idea though since it was camp after all; not a place for dress up clothes!  But then the week before camp, the leader sent out the itinery: it included a coronation feast in which the girls were invited to wear their fanciest dress!

So I started on Monday night and finished the final steps (the painting on the bodice) just before we ran out the door to camp on Friday.  I work full time and am not a fast seamstress so I was just happy to get it finished.  And now I'm trying really hard to ignore the fact that the sleeves don't match up with the bodice and the pleats are uneven, lol!

Pattern: Vogue 7681, cost $9.03US

Fabric: cotton velour from Fabricland, approx. $20, chiffon for the sleeves $1.70

Zipper, elastic, gold accents: stash

Fabric paint: on hand (Canucks green from a shirt I made for my husband plus some purple and blue)

Total: approx. $30