The Nina Blouse by Coffee and Thread Patterns

Hi! I'm excited to share my Nina Blouses by Olga of Coffee and Thread. I love the sweet style and the clean finishes!



The Nina Blouse has two sleeve lengths (cap or scalloped sleeves and long sleeves), a peter pan or scalloped collar, six pintucks, and optional bow or tie. It comes in sizes 12 months to 12 years. The pattern can be printed in layers with a home printer. The pattern pieces fit together beautifully (and have notches to help align everything) and the instructions contain diagrams and useful text and descriptions.



I tested the size 9 for Ansley. She measures between an 8 and 9 in the chest. I used this pretty green chambray from The Stash. During the testing process the outer shoulder seam was moved out a little from these pictures. The sleeves went in nicely without puckers, which always makes me happy. I chose to use french seams on this one because I was too lazy to rethread my serger. (it has black thread in it and I had a project planned needing black thread). I love the way the placket is finished! We used simple snaps (that didn't set very well so I might end up replacing them) because the avocado buttons she picked weren't a perfect color match and she wanted to use them for a different item (tbd).







The second blouse is also a size 9 (with the shoulder seam adjustment). Ansley lucked out that there was enough fabric left over from my pockets and her (unblogged triangle pencil pouch) for this blouse. This fabric is from Camelot Fabrics and has been in The Stash since right before Hancock Fabrics closed. She picked the scalloped collar and the cap sleeves. I love the way arm holes are bound on the cap sleeved versions. She also picked these star buttons when we were at Joann. I used leftover bias tape from my Bryce Cargos so this is extra matchy. Haha. I again used french seams.















Ansley's friend was over after her piano lessons and agreed to be in some pictures with Ansley since there is a very small window of light in the winter after school. I love that the blouse matches her shoes!



The Nina Blouse is on sale for $6.50 for a limited time! I need to sew Lisbon one and I'm thinking of sewing Ansley an Alice in Wonderland colored one for her Millionaire Club at school. I also can't stop thinking about the beautiful versions in the testing group!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hey June Bryce Cargo Pants

Hello!



I am excited to share my second and third pairs of real pants! These are the newly released Bryce Cargo Pants by Adrianna of Hey June Handmade fame. They are mid rise, slim fit pants with six pockets (slash pockets at the hips, back pockets with flaps, and side cargo pockets with flaps), a zip fly, and knee darts. They are drafted for stretch bottomweight fabrics and come in even sizes from 2-22. They are designed to hit at the ankle. Check out the Hey June blog post with lots more info and styling for every season!



I have been anxiously/eagerly hoping I'd get to test these after Adrianna posted a picture of the knee and pocket on her instagram (@heyjunehandmade). I have two pairs of Athleta cargos but they are a weird length on me (because I got petite and I'm too tall for petite but not tall enough for regular) and they are flared. And maybe they don't fit. Anyway, it is empowering to be able to sew pants that fit!!!!!



The Bryce Cargos have pieces that fit together well and pattern markings to line up your pockets/pattern pieces. There is the option to print in layers. I love the french seam finish of the hip pockets and the instructions for the fly and the clean finishes and the fit! The Bryce Cargos also include information about how to alter the pattern to fit your unique body. For example my waist measurements put me in two bigger sizes than my hips. The pattern recommends choosing size by hip measurement, which I did. I was able to use the thorough pattern instructions to create smaller back darts and refer to Adrianna's youtube video (for the sandbridge skirt) for how to add width to the waistband. (There is also a sew along in the works!)



It is HIGHLY recommended that one sews a muslin or practice pair for fit, saving the good fabric for after you've perfected the fit. Also it is important to not over fit and attempt to get rid of every wrinkle because most people want to be able to move around in their pants!



So I made a muslin (not pictured) using a mystery stretch denim from The Stash. I discovered that I needed to move the knee darts up so they were at my knee and remove some of the length (about 1 inch) betweeen hips and knee. I removed length by using the lengthen/shorten line on the pattern. I also added the length (about 4 cm but this may have been a tiny bit too much) between the knee and ankle, again using the lengthen/shorten line. I also scooped out the back curve of the seat by about 1/2 inch (the same adjustment on my lianas). In this particular fabric I did not feel like I needed to add more room to the back piece because of my calves. I also straightened the hip curve by about 1/6 inch because I am more rectangular shaped. I straightened the pocket pieces and the pocket facing and the front and back pieces by the same amount.



After making the adjustments to my paper pattern pieces and prewashing and drying my fabric, I was ready to begin my first pair. I used a stretch denim I found at Joann (not sponsored). I think the color is so fun!! After constructing the pockets and fly I did a baste fit of the side seams and inseam and back seams. I quickly discovered that this fabric was thicker/sturdier/had less stretch than my muslin! I let out the back pieces as much as I could for my calves and used a 3/8 inch seam allowance (instead of 1/2 inch as the pattern instructs). They are still a little tighter than I'd like but they aren't like leggings tight if that makes any sense? I used my kam snaps for the front and the side cargo pockets. I chose to use the pocket facing and a lighter weight fabric for the pockets. The optional topstitching on the pocket bags is really fun. The back waistband is a little lower on me because I forgot to add back the height from scooping out the seat (oops). The height of the waistbands have been raised a little in the final version. I omitted the belt loops because I never wear belts and because the waistband was plenty snug already. I used premade bias tape for the waistband facing because it was such a good color match.



These pictures are paired with a tester's version of the updated Hey June Union Street Tee. My serger ate the back neckline so I didn't bother hemming the sleeves and bottom. The fabric is a triblend of some sort that I found in the remnants section of Imagine Gnats (not sponsored). And all of these pictures are by Ansley.



After seeing how these fit and realizing I had some grey sateen in The Stash (that I bought because of the sheen and thought I might use for a dress but then decided it might be a little heavy for the pattern I had in mind), I decided I needed another pair but with a different look. I added some width to the back pattern pieces (and I believe a little more room was added to the calves in the final version of the pattern) but could still use a little more. Maybe I'm doing too many squats and lunges and jumps at the gym. HAHA. Anyway, I baste fitted this pair too to decide if I should use the 1/2 inch seam allowance or the 3/8 seam allowance I used in my blue pair and to see if I gave myself enough room in the calves. You can tell there's more room but I can still use more. I also remeasured myself today and found I gained .5 inches in my hips over the last two weeks so perhaps I should size up on my next pair. Or use a fabric with more stretch. And/or eat better.




This is the Sew Classic Bottomweight Stretch Sateen from Joann. I love the sheen and it's super easy to sew up. Plus it's 97% cotton 3% spandex and I'm kind of a natural fibers snob (and a chocolate snob). I again used the optional pocket facing and some fun fabric for the pocket bags. I used some bias tape I had made a while ago that was in The Stash. I also used a non metal zipper.



The biggest change is removing the knee darts. On Adrianna's advice I cut my pattern below the darts and taped it above the darts. I also added the length I removed from the darts back to the pants at the lengthen/shorten line between the hips and knee.



I omitted the topstitching of the pocket bags and the back and cargo pockets and flaps for a sleeker look.





I also learned how to do a blind hem and used my blind hem foot! I think I could've made the hem 1/4 inch deeper but I'm happy with it.





This is the scoopneck version of the Union Street Tee in cotton lycra. It's not one of the recommended fabrics in the pattern but again, I'm a natural fibers snob. I love the fit and comfort of it. The fabric is from Sweet N Charmed on facebook (not sponsored). I actually got out my ballpoint double needles to hem the sleeves and hem.

For my next pair I'm thinking of using a stretchier denim (the same stuff I sewed my Lianas with) and adding jeans styling like a coin pocket and back yokes and different pockets from the Sandbridge Skirt. I will definitely give myself more room in the calves too and am considering sizing up. Be sure to check out the tester versions! I want pretty much all of them. And grab your Bryce Cargo Pants pattern here at an introductory price through this weekend. (aff link if you'd like- no additional cost to you). Congrats on such an awesome pattern Adrianna!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

(Eta- I removed the knee darts on the grey pair because I wanted the grey pair to be sleek instead of sporty. 😘 I did have to move the knee darts up in the blue pair because the pants are drafted for someone taller than me. It was super easy to use the lengthen/shorten line between the hips and knee as described in the instructions).