Tag: the fabric fairy

Just keep Sewing, Swim

How do you “torture” your children without even meaning to?? You let them pick their fabrics and patterns for their first Mom made swim suits. Then you sew them, but only half of each set, because you have to change the thread color in your machines, for the second half. And they see their amazing first half, waiting, every time they walk by. 🤣

“Torture” aside, my kids both love their new suits and have been wearing them almost daily to swim, since they were done. I shared earlier this week about my Son’s suit, you can read about it here.

My daughter took a little longer to find the suit pattern she wanted, she kept changing her mind on one piece or two, one strap or two, etc. etc. One thing she was adamant about though, was that there be no ruffles, and she didn’t want any “extras”. When she first saw the Roxy from Made For Mermaids, she wasn’t a fan because the rouching on the bottom, belt, and peplum type skirt on the top. But once she saw the line drawings and realized that they were optional, she was sold.

She picked the plain bottoms and the plain bikini top. While it is labeled as plain, it is anything but. The top has a really flattering sweetheart neckline with cute straps that are wider and slightly gathered at the bodice.

Fabric shopping for her was really fast. She saw the Unicorns and Rainbows and was done. She saw the two coordinating options and immediately chose the Plumtastic Kira to go with. Both these fabrics have a matte look, which she particularly likes, and UPF 50+, which I love!

The quality of these two fabrics was really nice. They weren’t super slick, had a nice weight to them, and they sewed up really well. We even had enough left over after her suit, to make two matching scrunchies. Now she can match and have her hair up when in the pool.

I was really surprised with how simple sewing these swim suits actually was. I really enjoyed the process and they both keep telling me how much they like them.

Pattern – Made For Mermaids Roxy (Also available in Women sizing)

Fabrics – All from The Fabric Fairy
Top: Unicorns and Rainbows Nylon Spandex Swimsuit Fabric
Bottoms: Plumtastic Kira Nylon Spandex Swimsuit Fabric
Lining: Light Peach Poly Spandex Swimsuit Lining Fabric

Sewing Swim – For my Son

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen little snippets of the backyard renovation my family has been working on for the past several months. We have gone from dirt, to artificial grass, a pool, yard rock, and once done we will also have a pergola/patio and deck by the pool. It has been a long and very labor intensive process, but we have gotten enough done to enjoy it now.

Of course the kids swimsuits from last year, have either become too small, fallen apart, or melted together, didn’t even know they would do that. With having this pool in and our current temps being in the triple digits already, they needed new suits.

Time to cross another first off my sewing list !!

But have you seen all the swimsuit options out there?? It is so overwhelming to me. So I asked the amazing group of sewists at The Fabric Fairy, to point me in the direction of their favorite pattern companies. That helped immensely and my kids had fewer choices to decide between.

My son’s suit was relatively simple since he wanted a t-shirt and pair of shorts. Nothing fancy. He really liked the Waterburst Black Flow Boardshort Fabric from The Fabric Fairy. The colors are so vibrant and the water droplets look so realistic, he immediately picked it for his shorts. Bonus points in my book, it has UPF 50+, which is so important with our almost constant sun. Something else I noticed right away with this boardshort fabric, was how nice it felt. It didn’t have a crunchy feel, like some other board short fabrics I have felt.

A really cool feature on the Fabric Fairy website, is the coordinating fabrics at the bottom of each listing, it makes it really simple to find matches, when you are trying to make outfits. And if nothing is listed, you can send an email or ask in the Facebook group for matching help.

The matching fabric my son picked for his shirt was the Cobalt Palm Rec. Again with the UPF 50+!! Check out this fabric description – Eco friendly, certified recycled, high chlorine resistance, and UV protection. Smooth, cool hand that does not snag. AMAZING !!

The 5 out of 4 Patterns, Kids Swim Trunks were recommended a few times and when I showed the listing photos to my son, he said they were perfect. The swim trunks have two lengths, long or short, plus optional pockets, drawstring, and liner. We did the long length and optional liner for his pair. It was a really quick sew and the fit was spot on.

We used our go to t-shirt pattern for the top, the Jalie 2918. I have made it in a variety of fabrics and it was great with the swim fabric. The fabric was a bit more slippery, so I just slowed down when sewing, to make sure all the layers stayed together.

He loves it!!!

My daughter loves her suit too, blog post about that coming at you later this week 💕

Patterns:
5 Out Of 4 Patterns, Kids Swim Trunks (available in Men’s sizing too)
Jalie 2918 – pattern comes with boys and men sizing, all in one.

Fabrics, all from The Fabric Fairy:
Shirt – Cobalt Palm Rec 18 Recycled Nylon Spandex Swim Fabric
Shorts – Waterburst Black Flow Stretch Boardshort Fabric (Also available in white)
Liner for shorts – Light Peach Poly Spandex Swimsuit Lining

This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through that link, I may get a % back, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my sewing 💕

New Fabrics, New Pattern, and a Fave

I can’t be the only one that loves to try new fabrics. I have my tried and true bases, that I go back to time and time again. But there is also something fun about trying new types and maybe finding another favorite.

I decided to try the Dharma from The Fabric Fairy and since the description sounding highly appealing, I got it in several colors. I mean, doesn’t this sound intriguing ?? Dharma Heathered Jade Green Poly Spandex is stylish, and durable with a soft hand and wicking treatment, fast recovery, and great stretch.  This fashion-forward color has cationic yarns used to create vibrant colors, an ultra-soft hand with excellent moisture wicking management. These high performing qualities make this fabric perfect for yoga apparel, leggings, or any activewear garment.

I got the Jade Green for a top and the Light Grey for a pair of leggings to go with. I was really curious how this same fabric base would act for both a top and leggings.

For the top I picked a pattern I have used a few times, the Tie Back Tank from Greenstyle Creations. Since I’ve made it several times, I was familiar with the fit and felt it would give me a good comparison for this new fabric base.

For the leggings, I chose the Sundial Leggings. I purchased the Sundial leggings when they released, but hadn’t had a chance to sew them up til now. I decided to do the, double crossover waistband.

This fabric was a perfect fit for leggings. It has great stretch and recovery, and it feels really nice on. So nice and smooth, I almost feel like I’m not wearing anything. Since it has such great recovery, the double waistband gave me a lot of tummy support, but I’m not sure how much I will like that when I have a tummy flare. I also noticed that my machine didn’t like the 7 layers in the front.

Using this fabric for the tie back tank, the first thing I noticed was that the fabric had less drape than my usual picks for this top. That translated in a stiffer fit, and a tentish look when worn untied. Once tied up, it looked nice, and the binding was super easy to do with this fabric. I will definitely wear this for workouts and walks, as the moisture wicking feature will be a huge plus.

I really think this fabric would be best suited to a fitted t-shirt, tank top, or sports bra, over a top that needs some drape to keep it from feeling boxy. I’m hoping I have enough scraps left from my leggings and tank, to make myself a sports bra so I can see.

The Dharma is available in 6 colors, and they are all so pretty!

The Tie Back Tank , one of my favorite summer tops, has a low or high neckline, binding or bands, and a racerback or full back. I did the low neckline, binding, and racerback options on mine.

The Sundial Leggings have a V shaped waistband, that can be single or double. It has no side seams and are available in capri or full length. I did the double waistband in the full length, with 1″ added for my height.

This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through that link, I may get a % back, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my sewing 💕

My Lost Blog Post – Unchartered waters

*** This was scheduled to post months ago, due to some error, it never went live. So please excuse the delay and inaccurate dates. ***

If you read my last blog post, you heard me talk about how my daughter is constantly growing. Well, as she is getting older, she is requesting different clothing and her needs are starting to change. When we had a recent talk about some new clothing she was feeling she needed, I had these horrid flash backs to my first shopping trips. I decided right then and there that I would try and sew her whatever I could and make things as comfortable for her as I possibly could.

I recently tested the Made for Mermaids Girls Ruby for their release, and my daughter loved it. So we talked and decided to use some Pinkfire Nike Dry-Fit fabric from The Fabric Fairy, and add an extra layer to the Ruby tank. She doesn’t need a whole lot so an extra layer was just the right addition for now.

I’ve never done anything like this and I didn’t have time to do my usual research, since we had an upcoming trip scheduled, so I just winged it. Of course, my machines all acted up, and I was far from happy with the results, but she loves the fit and the fabric and couldn’t care less about the funky, messed up stitching. Just look at this stitching 😂

To keep it simple, I measured down on her body, how far we wanted the extra front layer to sit, then did the exact shape of the front bodice piece, just at that shorter length, for her “shelf bra”. It ended up being about 3″ down from the armscyse.


I used some 1/4″ soft knit elastic, just a little shorter than the width of the bodice, and zig zag stitched it to the bottom of the “shelf bra” layer. Then I folded that raw edge up and when I serged up the shirt sides, I tucked the sides of the shelf bra layer in, to secure the fold. Since it’s folded up, the unfinished raw edge is against the bodice and she has a smooth comfy finish against her skin.

Once I had the shelf bra layer, serged into the side seam with the front and back bodice, I just treated it as one piece with the front bodice and added the neck and arm binding per the pattern directions.


She absolutely loves it and practically lived in it the entire week we were camping recently. This fabric is amazingly comfortable and the moisture wicking properties are perfect for our weather. She fell in love with the fabric base when her Dad and Brother got a bunch of new shirts from other color ways (you can read about their shirts here). I’m thinking I need to rectify the fact that I’m the only one that doesn’t have a shirt in this fabric 😂

The links in this post are not affiliate links.

But first, photos!

Ever since I started sewing, I would take pictures of my makes and log the details in a notebook. It is fun to look back and see what you have made and how you have improved over the years. It’s also crazy helpful having details written out when they request the “exact same thing” a year later. Since this is my norm, my family knows, I will request photos of whatever I make for them, before they can have them. Cruel I know 😂.

I made the “mistake” of making my husband new shirts for him to wear under his work clothes, and he loved the fabric so much, he requested several others, in his favorite regular t-shirt pattern. For his work under shirts, I recreated his old store bought ones and saved a bunch of money. (You can see the full video tutorial here ). The work undershirts, are a much tighter fit, but for these new ones, he wanted a traditional, relaxed, t-shirt fit.

I pulled out our trusty t-shirt pattern, the Jalie 2918. Not only is this our most used mens t-shirt pattern, but it is also our most used t-shirt pattern for my son, yes, it has both mens and boys sizes included in one pattern! Naturally, my son wanted to have a few matching shirts with my husband, so they picked a few fabrics together. Not gonna lie, watching my guys fabric shopping together was amazing 💕

This is such a quick sew (you can see a time-lapse video of me sewing up one of these here), and with the large size range and pattern options, it really makes it cheaper than purchasing store bought.

First up was this University Red dry-fit from The Fabric Fairy. This is the same fabric base I used for my husband’s black undershirts. I purchased 2 yards and was able to get both a shirt for my husband and son. My guys love how smooth it feels and the moisture wicking properties are a major selling feature for them, especially since they are always outside doing something active and we live in the hot desert.


They also chose the Royal colorway of the same fabric. There is a slight difference in the feel between the red and blue, but nothing significant and they didn’t even notice it.


My husband wanted a few more tops and picked out two other fabrics from my So Sew English stash. First up was this Sage performance. It feels a little slicker/stiffer than the Nike dry-fit, but again, it’s so minimal, he didn’t notice it.

And the second stash pick, was this Silver Yoga performance, with added HTV. I’ve only done HTV a few times and this one was a learning experience for me. Plus all the weeding! But seeing him wash, wear, and repeat, was totally worth it.

Because of my “Photo First” rule, they were not able to wear most of them for a few weeks. It was such torture, but they finally gave me some pictures when we went camping a few weeks ago. Then proceeded to wear the shirts the entire time 😂


Since there are a couple other color ways of the Nike dry-fit in stock at the Fabric Fairy, they have requested a few more shirts. My daughter fell in love with the feel of the fabric too, so I used the pinkfire colorway for a new tank for her. Which you can read about here.

I went Pinterest “shopping”, again

Pinterest scrolling led me to this fun outfit and I just knew I needed to recreate it.

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I already had a similar looking fabric in my stash for the top, but nothing for the leggings, so I went fabric shopping. My shopping led me to The Fabric Fairy and their supplex category. I know people commonly use supplex for workout clothing, but I have found it can also be great for other things. Some supplex I have used in the past, has a kind of slick feel to it, but this was a little different. It had a smooth side and a slightly brushed feeling on the other side. This one is called Beyond Cream Supplex Lycra Jersey, and the description on their website says it is high wicking with a microsuede back. It sounded intriguing so I decided to give it a try. The fabric shipped pretty quickly ( I even got a fun pen! ), it washed up well, and sewing began.

I used the Patterns for Pirates Peglegs for these leggings. I like how quick they are and they had the right look for this outfit. Bonus, they are free. I like using the low rise on the pants, with the contour high rise waistband, from their add-on pack (also free). They keep things secure, I get no rolling, and they aren’t so tight that I get uncomfortable when I have health flares. I made a time lapse video, sewing up this pair, that you can see on my youtube.

Something to note, the Pegleg pattern, has negative ease like most legging patterns. I wasn’t sure how see through these would be, with that negative ease, but I figured with the longer sweater, it would be okay. I will definitely not be wearing these with anything other than nude underwear, ha ha ha, but even with the stretch, things stay G rated.

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To make the top to wear with them, I used the Nora from the DIBY Club. I was fortunate to have tested this pattern when it first came out a while ago and I still wear the two versions I made then. I knew one of the options it had was the split hem I wanted for this look, and with a little tweak to make it more of a high low split hem, it was perfect. I measure in a few different sizes, but since this has a bit of ease and I was under the finished measurements for the SZ 8, I just made a straight 8 for this look. I picked the 8 based on my upperbust measurement. I did my usual 1″ addition, for my 9″ sidewaist, and then added an additional 4″ to the back hem.

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I used some Burgundy Honeycomb Sweater Knit from So Sew English Fabrics, that I got last year. It is super soft and has that almost heathered look to it, that was like my pinspiration picture.

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Another pinspiration, made mine, and now I need to find some calf high, grey boots, and maybe a few more colors of that supplex 😉.

This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through that link, I may get a % back, at no additional cost to you. Let’s be honest, we all know it goes right back to adding to my fabric stash. All opinions on this blog are my own.