Happy Spring!! It is so exciting to be able to finally say that now! Here in Indiana, it has been a long, cold and snowy winter. The grass is starting to get a little greener, birds are chirping all around and it’s almost warm enough to start jogging again. I am a complete wuss and will only exert myself if it’s between 60 and 85 degrees outside.

Anyhoo, I want to take a deeper dive into each pattern in the 2014 Spring Collection. How easy is it to sew? What are the options with the pattern? Fabric Recommendations? I want to address all of these with you.

The Chloe Pleated Skirt

Let’s start from the beginning! This was my first inspiration for the line. My vision was a pleated skirt with a banded waistline. The band is meant to sit high on the waist. The skirt is fully lined helping add a bit of fullness.

Does your daughter like to twirl in her pretty outfits? This is the skirt for her then!

The skirt is also easy to get on and off with a hook and eye closure at one side. This also helps make the skirt waistline adjustable. You could even add two eyes to help the skirt grow with your child.

My absolute favorite feature are the pockets! These are the easiest pockets you will ever sew and look super professional when complete.

Hannah loves the pockets! Oh, and this picture was taken about a month ago if you are noticing the snow in the background 🙂

The straps are optional. Through testing, we found that the skirt is a bit hard to stay up high on the waist unless the straps are added. Crisscross the straps in the back for an added feature. By this point, I think Hannah was boycotting our photo session. I promise I did not put her in the corner! 🙂 However, it is a great picture to show the backside.

The straps are not sewn into the waistband. The skirt is designed with 4 buttons on the inside of the waistband. This allows the straps to be worn one day, and not the next. The straps have buttonholes on each end so they can be connected to the buttons.

I also love the look of using suspenders instead of the straps. It’s a great way to give the outfit a bit more personality. I am seeing suspenders everywhere this year in children’s clothing wear. This is the perfect outfit to capture what we are seeing on the runway! Here is a picture from the photo shoot. We went for a dressier look and added the suspenders.

This pattern is geared towards advanced beginner/intermediate level seamstresses. I feel this trickiest aspect of this pattern is the pleats. It is important to iron and pin the pleats close to one another and even. Fortunately, we have taken out all the guess work in forming the pleats. We have a ruler that is printed along with the pattern for each size. No measuring is necessary with this pattern. Once you get past the pleats, you are golden. The pattern is really very simple from there on out.

So what about fabric recommendations. There is a wide array of fabrics that can be used in this pattern. Personally, I have experimented with cotton, silk, brocade and suiting material.

Here is a picture of a tester that used seersucker. I love this skirt! Plus, the model is super adorable!!  Please check out her amazing blog for her experience with the skirt: http://www.stitchedbycrystal.com/2014/01/my-little-plumcake-skirt.html?m=1

You can find other great tester photos by following this link to our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.677864952252017.1073741829.417276488310866&type=1

Check back for our next blog post on the rest of the 2014 Spring Collection! Next up will be the Maddalie Spring Dress.

Since I failed you on Monday by not giving you something to munch on whilst you sew, I’m making it up to you today with a recipe review!

I combed our “Sewing Snacks” Pinterest board for a recipe to try and I found these heavenly looking chocolate chip cookie dough bars by The Recipe Critic.  The drool on my keyboard was a clear indication that this was the one to try (and also an indication that I should get a keyboard spit guard).  I bought my ingredients, made pinky promise to myself that I wouldn’t snack on any of them, and made the bars.  Here’s what I think:

They’re pretty good as-is.  I have a pretty strong sweet tooth….we’re talking Hulk Hogan strong, but these were a bit too sweet for me.  I used salted butter instead of unsalted and I’m glad I did or I may not have been able to stomach it all.  Maybe I’ll substitute a little usweetened apple sauce for the some of the sweetened condensed milk next time…and there will be a next time, I assure you.  If you eat them in small bites like fudge, then it’s not overwhelming, but don’t cut yourself a giant square.  Trust me.  Also, I’d double the peanut butter chocolate glaze stuff.  It’s Da BaBomb Diggity fo sho. My kids loved them and my husband did too…I ate more than my fair share, but I’m the chef and that’s allowed.

Anyway, I hope this makes up for my pig out on Monday.  Try this recipe this weekend!  It’s no bake, but YES yum!

-Crystal-

Sewing snacks!

We all know that part of the sewing experience includes munchies during those brief breaks we take to look at our work and say “dang, I’m good” or “it’s missing something” or “Screw it all, I need chocolate!”  Michelle has tasked me with making sure you all have pleasant-tasting fuel to keep you going when the ideas are slowing and the momentum may be dying.  I take this responsibility very seriously, but unfortunately my first attempt at a recipe for you failed.  But I wasn’t going to give up!  I grabbed a bag of chocolate chips popped a few in my mouth and searched through my cabinets for more ingredients to go along with those little morsels of heaven.  I checked my recipe index, ate a few more chocolate chips and then checked the cabinets to see if I had enough of anything to make for you.

Yeah…I didn’t.  So then I though that maybe I could get creative with what I had and make something totally original.  I munched on some more chocolate and thought.   I finally had a recipe in mind and then discovered that I had done this…

Ingredients:

1 bag of chocolate chips

Instructions:

Snack until you have accidentally eaten almost the whole bag and ruined your blog post.  Feel shameful.  Then eat a few more chips to make yourself feel better.

Well, um….there’s your sewing snack for the day.   Sometimes chocolate chips are all you really need.  I hope you giggle a bit at my piglet tendencies.  And I promise that I’ll make it up to you with something awesome very soon.  Until then, grab a bag of chocolate chips and get your snack on.

-Crystal-

Hey all!  I hope you’re having a great day =)  We are! “Why?” you ask.  Well, it’s a pattern tour kind of thing.   The Canaan’s Incredible Blazer was released in December 2013 and the wonderful gals over at Pattern Revolution put together the most amazing line-up of talented seamstresses and bloggers for a pattern tour.  This is a pattern that Michelle is very proud of and that I absolutely loved to sew and my kids love to wear.  Here’s the line-up for the tour.  Make sure you check them all out…it’s going to be fantastic!

Thank you to all of the bloggers that took the time to create such amazing garments and write such kind words.  You are all very important to the My Little Plumcake team.  So much love is being sent your way ❤

If you’d like a copy of the Canaan’s Incredible Blazer, you can pick one up  in the Etsy shop here.

Have a Great Day

-Crystal-