Have you ever seen a pattern and was like, “I need this and I need to make this now”? Well that has happened to me! It really couldn’t have happened with a better or cuter pattern either! Perfect timing too with Easter right around the corner and supposedly spring too. This pattern suits both! Let’s take a look at the Chic Cocktail Swing Coat by Heidi and Finn.

I recently got this pattern while it was on sale. I just fell in love with the bunny ears! If you don’t know from my previous posts (you should really check them out!) my girl’s animal is a bunny! Needless to say, she needed this in her life. Bunny ears aren’t the only option though. There are many with the pattern. You can make it hood or collar, plain or eared hood (bunny and bear included), and button or tie closure. Make it with heavy material for the cold months or lightweight for the warmer months! It comes in two size packages which are 12mo-5T or 6y-12y. Oh, did I mention this is fully lined with no expose seams? This is a perfect pattern for a beginner too as the tutorial walks you through every step and there really are no tricky parts. Well except perhaps sewing through thick material. I may have broken two needles on this project! It didn’t take too long either. About 3-4 hours total and that included lunch time!

For my coat I sized up and made a size 18mo to make sure this would last through not only the spring but also the fall for my little peanut. I choose a heavy weight material for my main fabric and a flannel for my lining. Now my main fabric is nice and fuzzy. Feels like velour but has weight to it. I think it’s actually upholstery fabric! I don’t really know as I got it at a tag sale last summer. I just love how this turned out! I see more of these in my future once she outgrows this one. I wonder how I could turn it into a horse… I will have to think on that!

Now the pattern isn’t on sale anymore but it is worth every penny to get it! When you do get it and sew it up don’t forget to show off your creations in the Heidi and Finn group too! Can’t wait to see what you create!

Are you busy sewing up those Easter dresses yet? Perhaps you are ahead of the gang and have those all finished? Or are you like me and usually wait till the last minute? Well if you are still looking then I have the perfect dress for you. This one is another awesome dress from Mandy K Designs! You ready?

Take a look at the Bon Bon dress! When she first shared this design with me I instantly fell in love and couldn’t wait to sew this up. I knew this would be baby girl’s Easter dress right away! This dress features a scoop like neckline that encircles all the way around to accent the front and the open scoop back. The skirt is a circle skirt with all the twirl power a girl could want! Do you see Ruth is learning to twirl?! Seriously cute, and I’m not just saying that because I’m her mother. That is part of it, don’t get me wrong, but seriously it’s so so cute! I digress again; let’s go back to the dress now. There are no closures to worry about as the bodice has enough room to slip this beauty on. Whether you are looking for a sun dress or special occasions dress this is perfect for any girl coming in sizes 12mo-14. Don’t forget that this also includes an 18″ doll size for your little ladies special friend! Want to add a little something to define the waist? You can make a belt to accent it as that is also included in the tutorial. With all Mandy K’s patterns the tutorial is well put together to walk you through each step without any issues making this perfect for the advanced beginner and those of more advanced sewing years!

Guess what? I learned something new with this pattern! Don’t you love learning? I have never heard of horse hair braid. Well, except when I braid my horse’s tail! Somehow I didn’t think my horse had anything to do with this though. No, horse hair braid is a type of netting that is used as a stiffener to give body to hemlines. You can get the look of a poofy skirt without the extra skirt underneath! This is amazing stuff. Wish I had learned about it before. Mandy walks you through how to easily use this to hem your skirt and give it that extra oomph! Gasp, I love the poof!!

My girl is twirling around in a size 12mo dress. The fit is perfect on her! The doll dress also fits perfectly on her doll. For added ease of dressing her doll the straps are made differently than the girl’s dress. For the doll the straps are not sewn on the shoulder seam. Rather they are finished and Velcro is attached. I think it may work with snaps as well. I know I do want to try snaps instead of Velcro next time. To make the dress even a little more extra special, I added eyelet to the collar by sandwiching it in between before sewing. With just barely enough eyelet left over for the hem as well (alright, I’ll fess up. I technically didn’t have enough and had to add an extra 4″ of another eyelet to finish it!). I couldn’t be happier with the end result. It really came out as I was hoping it would!

Ready to make your own? Head on over to the Mandy K shop and pick up your copy. From one fan to another, you won’t be disappointed!

As you know I am a big fan of indie designers. Now if you don’t know what an indie designer is, don’t worry, it took me a bit to figure it out too! Indie stands for independent. So indie designers are independent designers. For the longest time I thought it had to do something with India! LOL, yes I do have my moments! One of my favorite indie designers is Sofilantjes! She is taking the PDF world by storm and already has made her mark by influencing other designers. She is a trendsetter in the PDF world for sure!

Today we are looking at the Gemini Skirt bundle that was just released! I was lucky enough to test this one. Let me tell you that this is now one of my favorite skirt patterns. There are two skirts in this bundle. One for the sporty type and one for the girly type! The sporty one features a kangaroo pocket and is more fitted. The girly one is a double circle skirt for twirling fun! Both come in sizes NB-12y. This is a very easy pattern and perfect for a beginner. The instructions are very clear with illustrations and you can even print just the size you need with the layer option!! Oh, did I mention how fast this is to sew? Super fast!!

Perfect for running and jumping!!

During the testing phase I made three skirts. Two circle skirts and one sporty skirt. The circle skirt I made out of knit and woven! This pattern is designed for knits but I took a chance and tried it out in woven. It worked! I didn’t even need to size up either. This wasn’t tested in woven for each size so I don’t know how it would work on the bigger sizes, but it worked in the size 9-12mo which is the size I tested!

Now I knew I wanted to make more of these skirts so as soon as I got my new knits washed I made two more!! I made these ones bigger than what my girl wears as I want them to last awhile. She has so many clothes that fit now I am making more in bigger sizes so they are ready when she grows, which is happening every day! The Tinkerbelle skirt is a size 18-24mo and the pink skirt is a size 12-18mo. Now the pattern doesn’t come with size 12-18mo (it has 9-12mo and 18-24mo). So an easy way to create the 12-18mo is to just draw a line in-between the other two sizes! Easy peasy!

Are you in love with this skirt as much as I am? You want a copy for yourself? I know silly question as I know you do! You are in luck my friend as this is on sale through February 10th for $6.25. You really can’t go wrong with the Gemini Skirt by Sofilantjes and it will surely please your girly or sporty girl for years to come!!