One Thimble Tour: Soaking up the last days of Summer!

Are you still soaking up the last rays of summer as it fades into fall? I know I am! Despite the heat, summer is my favorite time of year, and I never want to see it end! The opportunity to be a part of the official One Thimble blog tour was the perfect chance to do a little bonus summer sewing, before I start to turn toward transitional pieces and cooler weather fabrics.

If you haven’t taken a look at Issue 16 yet, you totally should- the patterns are all amazing, with a beachy, dreamy vibe and plenty of options for boys, girls and women! I had a hard time narrowing down my choices, but I finally settled on the Hally Dress by Ainslee Fox and the Miss Olivia Dress by 1 Puddle Lane. (Don’t forget to read to the end to enter to win a copy of the entire magazine!)

Both these patterns were designed for wovens, and were from designers that I hadn’t sewn with before. If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time you know that I’ve recently gotten into wovens in a big way, and the opportunity to stretch my skills by sewing a woven pattern from couple new-to-me companies was too potent a combination to resist! If you haven’t sewn much with wovens yet, you’re missing out- you can catch my Wovens 101 post here, for help getting started.

The Hally Dress from Ainslee Fox is a girl’s casual dress, in sizes 1-12. I made up the size 1, for Princess, who is 18 months old (how did that happen so FAST?!). It has a few unique features that drew me in, such as side panels, front and back gathering, and little triangle cut outs made from angled bias trim straps.

Looking over the Ainslee Fox website, it looks like dresses with special touches are her speciality, and now that we are well out of the crawling and into the twirling, girly stage (I hope it lasts forever!), these are right up our alley!

The fit was perfect right out of the envelope, and while I did scratch my head a few times at a couple things in the instructions, it all came out well in the end. I used a cat print quilting cotton from my stash, that’s been gathering dust for years. I used to buy quite a bit of quilting cottons from our local store, but when I discovered a love for sewing adult clothing, I had to stop, because there aren’t many garments you can make from quilting cotton for adults that don’t make you look like you’re wearing a colorful paper bag, due to the total lack of drape.

However, this print is really great quality, so I expect it to wear well, and the weight and structure were perfect for this pattern. I’m so glad to have finally found a use for it, and the Princess loves her dress!

She decided halfway through our photoshoot that she wanted to do her OWN hair….with mixed results. I love her personality and independence!

Of course, I decided I needed a dress too, and the Miss Olivia by 1 Puddle Lane was calling my name. I’ve heard amazing things about this designer and her Miss Ruby Tuesday Dress from Ti, so I was keen to give the Olivia a try and see how it fit! The Olivia Dress features a faux wrap front (great for nursing!) and a wrapped skirt with included pockets.

I’m a bit smaller than her drafted measurements in the smallest size, but I was hoping the blousey fit would be flexible enough to accommodate a little extra room. I shortened the skirt by 2″, since I’m 4 inches shorter than the pattern is drafted for, and crossed my fingers. With the way the wrap is hemmed and constructed, length adjustments at the end would have been quite tricky. Fortunately, it all worked out pretty well! I have a feeling she drafts for a larger cup size than I’m sporting after nursing 3 babies, and would take a bit of length from the front neckline next time, but overall I love it!

I used an Anna Marie Horner cotton voile for the top (purchased from the local quilt shop- what the heck was I going to do with 1 yard? I don’t know what I was thinking!), and a matching mint colored linen blend for the skirt from Sew Vagabond.

I was a little concerned that the skirt would be too “heavy” for the top, but the elastic waist does an effective job of taking out some of the weight, and a belt does the rest. The drape on this linen was amazing, and I’d love to get my hands on some more of it for a pair of woven pants for fall. Sew Vagabond has the most amazing wovens- I’m going to have a full wardrobe from their fabrics before you know it!

The length of the skirt after my adjustments ended up just right, and I rolled up the sleeves so they would hit me in a more flattering spot. Flutter sleeves are also an included option, but this baby is a fabric HOG, and I just barely squeaked out my pieces with the 2.5 yards I had for the skirt and the single yard I had for the top. I sewed the entire project using a microtex needle, and it made for some beautiful stitching. Seams were finished with my serger for efficiency, though I could easily have done french seams for a more high end finish if I’d had the time (and patience!).

How about you- are you soaking up the last rays of summer or anxious for fall? Check out the patterns in Issue 16 of One Thimble (aff link), and find something for yourself or your kids- patterns can be purchased individually or you can grab the whole magazine and sew them all!

I’d love to stay connected with you- you can sign up for email updates from my blog HERE, or “Like” my page on Facebook HERE.

Don’t forget to visit the other amazing bloggers on the tour for more inspiration as they feature patterns from the magazine, and enter the rafflecopter to win a copy of the magazine for FREE!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase an item using my link, a small portion of your purchase (at no cost to you) goes back to me and helps fund my sewing and blogging efforts! Thank you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway