Twinkle Toes and Company

{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.} Beautiful.  Stunning.  Gorgeous. These simple yet very meaningful words were uttered from my husbands mouth when he first saw me in my Runway Dress and then he asked if he needed to put his tux on so he could take me out to dinner.  My 16 year-old daughter asked me who I was planning on going to Prom with.  After I finished laughing, I offered to be her date for Prom.  HA! I've had this green Cotton Lycra and Embroidered Mesh for a looooong time.  My dress form  Anastasia got to "wear" the embroidered mesh for the entire time I've had the mesh.  (My kids think it's funny to "dress" her in my fabric).    My husband thought it would...

{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.} Sewing for teen boys is really hit or miss.   I always thought it would be my girls who would be the hard ones to sew for.  They have always been the pickier ones as far as clothing options are concerned. Then my oldest son hit his teen years.  And he discovered girls which lead to the discovery of mirrors and a sudden desire to look dashing and debonair.  The days of clothing him in bowties on Sunday morning quickly flew out the window.  While I appreciate his new found love for styling his hair and smelling good, I'm a tad sad I can't clothe him in cuter boy clothes anymore. It's difficult to find good patterns for older boys who aren't quite big enough to ...

{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.}   This last fall I had the opportunity to do a pretest  for the Perfect Play Henley.  Just the pretest version has become my younger three kids favorite shirt.  *NOTE*: this is the pretest version.   They love that they can "match" and yet not look identical at the same time.  I love that I can add some extra details and make it "girly" for my very girly daughter and "cool" for the high schooler who typically wouldn't be caught dead in mom-made clothes.  He actually wears this top regularly.  When he first wore it to school he kept getting asked what store he got it at because it was so "cool"!  I *may* have been a tad bit tickled that he was ...

The Be Inspired Skirt by Ellie and Mac  is every little girl's dream of the perfect mermaid tail. This skirt and shirt was made as a present for one of her best friends.  Thankfully she's the same size!   The Be Inspired is a great pedal skirt.  And, while it gives the illusion of a mermaid, the actual pencil skirt isn't so long that she can't move in it.  In fact, we had a hard time getting her to stop moving and dancing in it so we could take pictures! She kept dancing and twirling and loves it so much that she has asked for one for herself.  It's a good thing it's already started!  The pedals were really easy to cut out, and the fact that you don't have to hem them makes them perfect!  The tutorial on how to gather them is great and easy to follow.  Then, when it comes time to attaching everything else together, including the shorties under the skirt the sewing goes really smooth! Did I mention those sho...

We live in Washington State. When most people think of Washington State, they think rainy and chilly. That's not the reality we live in though, we're on the other side of the state.   You know, where sunny, dry weather is the standard. While my kids have winter coats because we do get good gusts of wind through here that makes it cold, we just don't get the terribly cold weather.  In fact, I don't own a winter coat.  So, I (and most of my household) prefers to wear sweatshirts and hoodies during the winter rather than their coats.   They provide just enough warmth to keep me/us from being cold when I'm outside. So, I almost feel like an expert on judging hoodies/jackets.   Don't get me wrong though.   I'm only semi-pro, and that's because I've sewn 8 of them in the past three to four weeks! The Go To Jacket s by Patterns for Pirates fits the bill of being comfortable, warm enough to keep us from getting a chill...

Miss. Thang is growing up a lot faster than I’d like to admit. About a month ago she started asking for “bras”.  In reality, she doesn’t need one. But, her big sister is almost 16 and, she really is at the age where girls start wanting to wear something similar to a bra.  In reality, we were looking for a cami or dance type top that is longer and can be worn with a lot of different types of clothes. So, I’ve been in search of something that would satisfy her wants along with something pretty and my need of something that didn’t break the bank and not make her look like she’s trying to be 16. Similar types of ready to wear start at about $9.  In reality though, they don’t have that much fabric on them so it seems silly to spend that much when I can pull the right size of fabric out of my scrap bin. When I saw the Bree by Made for Mermaids, I knew Miss. Thang and the Bree were a match made in Heaven! The Bree is drafted as a Cami, Crop or Tank.  I love that...