Twinkle Toes and Company

"Black is a favorite color choice because of its slimming effects" Somehow I lived a long time believing I needed to wear black.  I haven't always been "fat", but according to the world's standards I've always been plus sized. At 5'11" and with a genetics playing a strong role, I am not a small woman  by any means and honestly I've never been small.  I remember in early high school when I was one of the tallest if not the tallest girl in my class.  Clothes that fit right were really hard to come by.  I wore men's jeans because women's weren't long enough.  And, after spending middle school being made fun of because I wasn't a size 0; I really wanted to just blend into the background and not be noticed. I must have been successful because years later a previous classmate was doing her practicum at the school my mom worked at as the school psychologist and the classmate remembered me as "the quiet girl."  I...

{Please note that some of these links are affiliate links.  If you purchase something I have recommended, sewn etc. through those links I will receive a small percentage of compensation.  It helps me support my sewing "therapy" and the ability to review and test more patterns.} I could live in long tunic length tops and leggings.  Somehow though without some serious lengthening of a pattern I rarely get the length I love.  Don't get me wrong, I can lengthen a pattern with the best of them because I have come to face the reality that I'm half giant.  Go ahead and laugh, I'm either half giant or my parents fed me miracle grow when I was little.   Regardless of which is true, I have a REALLY long side waist and even longer legs.   So when I had the opportunity to make the Autumn Sweater by Halla, I jumped on it!   I'm a big fan of comfort and this absolutely falls into the comfort wear category! I have several ...

{Please note that some of these links are affiliate links.  If you purchase something I have recommended, sewn etc. through those links I will receive a small percentage of compensation.  It helps me support my sewing "therapy" and the ability to review and test more patterns.} Sometimes pattern testing pushes me outside my comfort zone. Who am I kidding?!?  It pushes me out of my comfort zone on a very regular basis!  Typically I don't wear clothes that are as form fitting as the Sunny Day Top & Dress.   That probably seems a tad funny because truthfully it's not that form fitting.   However, I'm a loose fitting hoodie and leggings type of a gal.   I LOVE how the Sunny Day...Dress in this occasion...fits me!   The fit is fantastic.   I added my typical 3" because the pattern is drafted for 5'5".  I added 1" to the top bodice and 2" to the bottom front; then to the back piece I added a st...

{Please note that some of these links are affiliate links.  If you purchase something I have recommended, sewn etc. through those links I will receive a small percentage of compensation.  It helps me support my sewing "therapy" and the ability to review and test more patterns.} I have SO many pairs of Knotty Pants.  I tried to come up with a word that describes just how much I like them and even looked in a thesaurus.  I finally came upon the word ENCHANTED.    That's how I would describe how I feel about the Knotty pants.   I am ENCHANTED by them.  They are comfortable, they look good and all I want to do is wear them.  I *may* want to wear them  ALL.  THE.  TIME! So, when it was announced that there was going to be Kids Knotty Pants my daughter was extremely excited! Look at how AMAZING these are!     They can be "shorts; full length, wide leg hemmed pant; full length, tied hem pant...

{Please note that some of these links are affiliate links.  If you purchase something I have recommended, sewn etc. through those links I will receive a small percentage of compensation.  It helps me support my sewing "therapy" and the ability to review and test more patterns.} On occasion I do pattern tests for those who aren't members of my family.   When I saw this pattern, I thought of Miss. E.  She is a confident, beautiful girl who does this pattern justice!   The 10K Racerback for Girls by Pickle Toe Patterns spent quite a bit of time in testing being perfected.   I really love how unique the 10K is, and how many options there are! It can be a top, tunic or dress length; tank or racerback; can have bands or bindings; be slim or loose fitting; and it's color blocked! To make it even better, it goes fantastic with the Circle Add-On Skirt (not pictured) I did the dress length for Miss. E. however, I didn't ...

{Please note that some of these links are affiliate links.  If you purchase something I have recommended, sewn etc. through those links I will receive a small percentage of compensation.  It helps me support my sewing "therapy" and the ability to review and test more patterns.} We all have those outfits that we love.  The ones we feel amazingly beautiful in.   Halla's Kimono Top & Dress is one of those outfits for me.   It's not terribly abnormal for me to have random people stop and tell me they like my clothes, but somehow the Kimono surpassing how many times I've been stopped and told how much they like my dress. And, I don't blame them.  It really is amazing!  I'd say it's the flamingos, and while they're amazing; it's not them.  The drafting behind the kimono is flawless.  I am enamored with the ease of how it's put together.  It looks complicated, in reality though the tutorial is well done ...

Emerson and Maya...a match made in sewing heaven! Jennifer Jeremiah with Petite Stitchery did a beautiful job drafting both of these patterns.  As a tester, sometimes I get the opportunity to see glimpses of the process a designer takes in drafting a pattern.  The Emerson is one of those patterns.   Jennifer had a vision for the pattern, and it looked beautiful on her.  However, it wasn't coming across the same way when sewn by the testers.  So she performed some amazing "CPR" and out came a beautiful top!  She worked tirelessly to create the best pattern she could and I truly believe she did an excellent job! I adore the sleeves on this Emerson!  The sleeves can be made with a bell sleeve, a plain sleeve or up to three flounces.  While I really like all of the sleeves, my favorite is the bell sleeve! The fit of the Emerson is spot on and looks fantastic with the "V" in the front and the back of the shirt.  The V lends an ...

Oh Baby! Sewing for babies isn't normally something I do a lot of.  My "babies" are sadly quite a bit bigger than  typical babies.  But Patterns for Pirates gave me the chance to wade back into the baby sewing waters! And, oh how cute they are....the clothes AND the babies! I actually made a few more sets than I have pictures for, but sadly...sometimes disasters strike and ink + fabric not only makes a very sad looking top, but it makes a very sad (and possibly irritated mom).   I'm in the process of re-making that shirt for the sweet little boy. Anyway, back on topic. Patterns for Pirates has FOUR new patterns!  And, because they now have 75,000+ members...WOW!  That's A LOT of Pirates! And, to make it even better...They're FREE! That's right, FREE!                                               ...