Lil Blue Boo Recycled T-Shirt Sienna Dress Pattern Review

Before I tried my hand at the pattern in the last post, I thought I'd try the Recycled T-Shirt Sienna Dress by Lil Blue Boo, especially since I could chop up some of my old t-shirts and not worry I was wasting good fabric.  Let me say that as a beginner, I found the pattern to be very straight forward. The pattern includes lots of photographs which helped me immensely. I LOVE when patterns include photos.  The only thing I did not attempt was the neck line - I opted for a peasant neckline instead - which looks great and was super easy.  This was the first time I had sewn any type of top or dress so I was a little nervous about the sleeves.  But, once I saw the pattern and put everything together, it all made perfect sense.   Little K doesn't like long sleeves, so I tried to do a 3/4 length sleeve.  They ended up at kind of a weird length, i.e. elbow length (I'm to blame here, not the pattern) - they should either be a little longer or a little shorter - but it will do.  The best part, the fabric is super super soft because those shirts had been washed so many times. 

I used 3 old t-shirts of mine - they were super thin knit and if I hadn't been in such a rush, I would have run out and gotten a ball-point needle.  I honestly have no idea what needle I used, but it worked fine.   All and all I would consider this to be a successful project and I will certainly make more.  The only downer was that my little one doesn't like it (which I had a feeling going into it because of the colors).  When I showed it to her, her reply was a simple "Nah".  Oh well.  She wasn't being too cooperative for her photo shoot - so this was the best I could do.

If you have a little girl and haven't tried this pattern, definitely give it a go!

 

For my fickle five year old....

I absolutely love this little top...love it.  I only wish I could make it.  I do like me a challenge, so I ordered the pattern and hope to make this for my 5 year old.  Our clothing battles are well...draining.  I was so spoiled with my oldest and can pretty much still pick out her clothes.  K has been fickle since she was 2 - and very particular about what she does and more importantly does NOT like on her clothes.  No hoods, no buttons, no pockets, no brown, no long sleeves...the list goes on.  I can't even buy her anything without her with me and even then, there is no guarantee she'll wear it.  Target is going to ban me from returns pretty soon. She does love her fancy clothes though, so my hope is the I can try my hand at some casual "fancy" clothes for her.  Has anyone made this pattern?  I have made ruffled pants before but never a top - so, I'm a little nervous about how that's going to work out.  Feel free to leave me lots of encouragement so this darling pattern doesn't find it's way to the bottom of the pattern drawer.

On another clothing note, I have been so intrigued by the recycled t-shirt dresses.  I did try one of those the other day without a pattern and let me just say that there are patterns for a reason.  The dress was a little too snug in the bum, but I'm thinking that this is something I can accomplish.  K has all these t-shirts that she doesn't like to wear because she prefers dresses - so I'm hoping I can convert some of these to add to her wardrobe (which is scarce I tell you, and will get even more scarce as I make yet another return to Target today). 

Hope you all are having a great week.  What are you working on?

Needles - Do you have a Preference?

Being fairly new to sewing, I really didn't think there was a difference in the BRAND of needles I used for my machine.  I don't have a fancy machine (Baby Lock BL40) and I typically buy the Schmetz needles.  I've been having some trouble lately with top-stitching the wallets - the seams are rather bulky and I was finding myself ripping out stitches constantly and still not being completely satisfied with the results.  I tried all different needles from denim to quilting to univeral 90/14 (really, anything that was rated to go through bulk!).  I still had the same results and  nearly convinced myself I needed a better machine.  Then, while looking for a new needle the other day in my stash, I came across a pack of Univeral BERNINA needles.  So, I pulled out the 90/14 for my top-stitching.  WOW!  No problems. No skipped stitches.  Did you hear that - NO SKIPPED STITCHES!!  You have no idea what a breakthrough this was!  I was even able to do the double top-stitch that I've been wanting to do in no time at all.  (don't look at the messed up stitches on the flap...that was me stitching around the snap...not the needle's fault!)

What about you?  Do you use a specific brand of needle that you swear by?  Do you have any needle tips you want to share?  While I will more than likely still use any old univeral needles for regular stitching, I have definitely found my new top-stitch needle.

Hope you are all having a great week!  It's a nice rainy productive day here!

Susan