Make [Believe] Explorer Hoodie

I really love dressing up each of my two girls - and they love it too! If I weren't constrained by budget and common sense, there are all kinds of crazy ensembles that they would look adorable wearing. With outerwear, practical and neutral are usually the order of the day and even sweatshirts tend to be a little bit understated so that they don't clash with most things in their wardrobe. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it's not always fun. 

Enter the Explorer Hoodie from Pattern Anthology's Make [Believe] Collection. This hoodie is fun! As a true California Girl, I love a great hoodie and this one doesn’t disappoint. Relatively quick and easy to sew, with options for zipper placement and hoodie ruffle, the Explorer Hoodie may have eased me out of my outerwear rut.

When selecting the linen (linen blend?), I chose something that my daughter and I could both love without worrying about something that could be worn with every. little. thing. No regrets! My other daughter liked it so much that she’s requested one of her own (most likely in another fun print). And truly, since we live in Southern California, a lightweight layering piece, such as this, is sure to see its day in the sun.

Disclaimer: Although I tested the Explorer Hoodie in linen, woven fabrics are no longer suggested for this pattern. But don’t let that discourage you - the knit versions that I’ve seen are amazing (and look very cozy).

Testing, testing . . .

This is the second or third time that I've started writing a blog update and probably the twentieth time that I've thought about it in the last week.  I've just been really, really busy.  If you want to keep life interesting, just agree to take on a new project (with a deadline) the week before Halloween.  Cause that's what I did and it was interesting!

I've always thought it would be fun to be a pattern tester and I got the chance when Kate (of See Kate Sew) contacted me to test her Sugarplum Top + Dress pattern.  I love her blog and I love sewing for my girls, so I was super excited to get started.  I tried to avoid fabric stores as much as possible until Halloween was over (because they are INSANE the week before) - and didn't quite succeed - but other than that it was a great project.  The instructions were clear and the dress was fun to put together and my client (ahem, daughter) was happy with her new dress.

The dress has a ribbon closure at each shoulder and I love the collar.  I am a sucker for a Peter Pan collar and has anyone else noticed them popping up all over?  I heart them and they are so in right now - hooray!  I blew the dust off of some of my embroidery floss and added a simple running stitch around the collar before I attached it to the dress, quick and easy.  I also opted to leave off the center bow in the front and replace it with a decorative button to mimic a brooch.  If you use a safety pin or pin back to secure the button, you can easily switch it out.  Maybe even for something funky like this skull.  It's kind of Monster High inspired, I would say, and she loves it. 

I was very deliberate with my fabric choice because I wanted it to feel like a shift from the summer dresses that we've been wearing around here for the past six or seven months. If it weren't still so stinkin' warm right now, this dress would also be great over a long sleeve shirt with some tights or leggings.  The generous fit absolutely allows that kind of layering.  

If you're wondering about the fabric, I *think* it is a moleskin print from Jo-Ann's.  I do remember picking it up on clearance a couple of years ago and loving the rich colors and the soft, brushed texture but it didn't have any more information on the selvedge so that's my best guess.  It doesn't really wrinkle (bonus) but can be difficult to hem (for the same reason) so I used the ribbon hem technique found in Oliver + S's Lazy Days Skirt pattern on the inside of the dress to make hemming it a breeze.  And voila!  A funky and feminine dress for my five year old fashionista.  Now to tackle one for my two year old.