Back 2 School With Winter Wear Designs

Oh My Goodness—-where to begin with this back to school post! This week has been ridiculously busy trying to get the final coordination of our move settled while my son enjoys his last few days playing with his friends before their school days start and our move officially begins. But since the preparation for this tour actually began at the beginning of the month, all of my sewing was completed the first week of August so during the chaos I just had to photograph the Sweet Pea and actually get this post written (nothing like having a quick deadline approach).

Lately Sweet Pea has been all about going through Baby Bear’s old t-shirts he is outgrowing and asking for a variety of them to be upcycled to fit her. Her most recent acquisition from her brother’s closet is a Batman t-shirt he has worn since he was her age. We talked about this tour as we usually do and she told me she wanted “Rock N Roll” pants and a sparkly jacket to go with it so I thought it would be perfect to create a “Rock N Upcycle” mini capsule. And it was the perfect opportunity to make another pair of Phresh Jeggings and hack them into moto jeggings. And Winter Wear Designs has the perfect Back to School Bundle currently on sale for $20 (down from $36.50) which included the perfect patterns for an amazing mini capsule. I left out the All the Bells and Whistles because I made one of those in an earlier post (check it out here Week 17: Sew Something with a Pocket) and added to it a pair of basic Aviator pants made with a cuddly brushed French terry because Sweet Pea said she needed that fabric used.

To make the Phresh Jeggings into moto jeggings, I started with measuring my daughter’s leg for the knee placement, then marked the knee placement on the pattern. I, then, drew the knee patch shape that I wanted (you can see I drew the shape several times until it was the shape I actually wanted.) Next, I used a piece of fabric 13 x 11 (as a side note Lolli is 38.75 inches tall, I used a size 3 width with 4 length so she will be able to get all the way through the winter with the pants. I would recommend that you cut your piece slightly larger for this than I did. I have made moto jeans a bunch and knew what I wanted for the pleat width but if you are new to pleating, cutting this piece big will allow for room for error).**** Don’t forget to add your seam allowance to the pattern pieces so that when you sew them together, you have the appropriate size. I used 1/4 inch for mine because I am used to eyeballing adding that with a rotary cutter. ******Additional tip, keep your upper and lower left leg together but away from your right upper and lower leg pieces.

From this point, you can proceed a couple of different ways. A beginning method is to fold, press then sew your line. For this pair I folded down 1 inch (wrong sides together) then press, then sew 1/4 inch from the fold, fold down from that line 1 inch and press, then sew; continuing down the fabric. Some may find this method easier because you press your pleats down as you sew them keeping them out of the way. My method I like is to fold down and press and pin, continuing down the length of the fabric. Then, I go to my machine and sew 1/4 inch from each press line. I find this construction method easiest for me because I am at the iron then at my machine which is across the room from the iron, rather than up and down.

Once your moto patches are completed, you’ll cut each pattern piece (make sure you cut mirror images so whatever curves you have line up correctly and that you keep your left leg pieces together and your right leg pieces separate, if you don’t you may end up having to pull out your seam ripper.) Attach your patches to the appropriate leg piece and top stitch around your patches. Then proceed with the instructions as written.

I love that this bundle gave me the chance to really play with my daughter’s wardrobe and that she is such an out of the box thinker with her clothing.

Next up is the Phresh Blazer, again I went with the size 4 option. I used a midweight knit and did not apply a button or snap per the tiny human’s request. If you remember I mentioned she also request it be sparkly and decided last minute it needed stars. Because of the design of the blazer, it was easy to squeeze the stars she picked into it!

The photos do not do justice to the sheer amount of sparkles on this blazer! This sew like all of Suzanne’s has clearly written instructions with multiple options for ruffles or no ruffles, puffed sleeves or not and different lengths of sleeves, making this a great transition piece to add to you or your child’s wardrobe.

The final pieces of this mini capsule are the Tutu Twirl Tunic. We went with a sleeveless and no ruffle for a panel I had been saving for a while AND that amazing Batman tee she just couldn’t live without. I was a bit surprised she wanted the ruffle with it in a bold white but I love how the hemline looks on this one soo much I am going to making these frequently I imagine for her. She loves the ease of the tee combined with the frilly aspect of the tutu and is the perfect combination for her, I love the fit of the tank version and I imagine it and the Aviators I made (so sorry no action shots of those because they are a thick French terry and it was 90 degrees out) will end up being favorites during the cool New Hampshire evenings because she can layer the tank and the pants are cuddly.

So this was a super long post but I loved every piece in Back to School Bundle and I am sure you will too!