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 costs you nothing, but helps support my sewing "therapy" and the ability to review and test more patterns.} When you're plus sized there's A LOT of rules that are supposed to be followed so you can look thinner. Last month I joined other House of Curves bloggers to telling our stories of why we test patterns and how we got started.  As we discussed what we wanted to see from House of Curves and the plus size pattern testing community, we really wanted to see us blow the "fashion rules" out of the water.   Plus sized women don't have to be put in a box just to try to look thinner.   It's taken a long time for me to be proud of my body.   According to Medical News Today , the average American Woman is 5'4".  That shocked me a ...

{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 wear skirts and dresses a lot, mostly because it's hard to hide the parts of my body that I dislike the most with pants.   The Knotty Pants have helped me step out of my firmly planted comfort zone. When I signed up for this test I didn't know what the pants entailed.  I just knew they were pants.  Thankfully I trust Halla designs though and knew they would be fantastic! I wasn't disappointed whatsoever.  In fact I'm so enamored with them that I've made FOUR pairs! For a girl that loves dresses, that's a lot of pants! These pants are stretch denim from Zenith and Quasar.  I sized up in these because the stretch wasn't quite enough for my nor...

{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 raise fish  humans that LOVE water.   Thankfully we live in an area that has great swimming options from Memorial Day until almost October.  And even then we have the option of swimming indoors the rest of the year.   So, swimsuits are something we need a lot of...hence my swim fabric collection and the perpetual search for great swimsuit patterns. We really look for suits that aren't run of the mill.  I like to be able to find my kids when we're at the pool or river and not have their suits look like all the other kids! The Girl's South Seas Suit by Petite Stitchery fits the bill. This is the boyshort option with banded legs and a tie back. ...

Swim season is right around the corner.   In our case, we're headed faster than most because we hit warm weather pretty early. So the excitement about the Bahama Mama is real in my house! A swimsuit and rashguard all in one?!?!  Count us in! The Bahama Mama comes in three sleeve lengths, cap, short and long sleeve.  All of which are perfect for playing at the river or beach...or just outside in the sun! The Raglan style sleeve makes assembly quick and easy.   There are two zipper lengths that can be used.  I used a 9" zipper here.  However, a 12" zipper can also be used for ease of access or for nursing moms. At first Miss. Opinionated Teen was a tad worried about the rear end coverage.  (The "opinionated" was a bit understated in this conversation.)  When I was fitting the muslin, I didn't put in the elastic so the fit wasn't quite the same.  However, the coverage is perfect, just make sure to measu...

I have adored Kristi at George & Ginger patterns for a long time.  She is an incredibly talented designer. Come to find out she’s not only talented but has a really big heart as well.   This weekend Kristi is celebrating her birthday and in lieu of birthday presents she is doing a fundraiser for Sandy Hook Promise.  Their mission is to "Prevent gun-related deaths due to crime, suicide and accidental discharge so that no other parent experiences the senseless, horrific loss of their child." https://www.sandyhookpromise.org   All proceeds from the sale of the pattern will be donated to Sandy Hook Promise.   I remember vividly the panic of not knowing where my mom or sister were during the Columbine School Shootings.   At the time no one knew what school it was at and while my mom worked at a neighboring school we didn’t know which school the shootings happened at.   The utter fear of not knowing should never happen to anyone, ...

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...

Sometimes seem rippers are my friends.   Have you ever wondered how much money you've thrown away in wasted thread?  I have.  Especially since I started using nicer thread,  I love Gutterman thread.  It's so much better than other thread which shall remain nameless. As all of the swim suit fabric started rolling out in the groups on Facebook and then cute swim suit patterns started appearing as well, I couldn't help but start buying what felt like all of Zenith & Quasar's swim fabric.  We all know I didn't because let's face it, I don't have enough room in my house nor do I have the disposable income to do so....maybe Heaven will have unlimited fabric storage????  Anyway, back on topic.  I was so scared to sew a swim suit.  About a year and a half ago I had gone to Joann's and bought some swim fabric and the fabric lady scared the sewing fun right out of me.  She went on and on about how difficult it was to sew a swim sui...

We all know when a new pattern is being released, we start seeing snapshots of amazing fabrics and glimpses of tester's creations on Facebook.  I belong to so many fabric and pattern groups that I see a lot of fantastic pictures!  Over the years as I have been sewing, I have often wondered who tests patterns.  Until I started sewing knits at the encouragement of a friend of mine, I had no idea what an Indie pattern designer was or that I could buy a pattern online from a stay at home mom (although not all are), print it out my pattern, put it together and sew away.  I was SHOCKED that I didn't have to go to the store and look at all the same old boring patterns.  Seriously, they don't really change.  Most of the pattern directions in the store bought patterns (in my opinion) are hard to follow.  While I have learned a lot over the past year as I have branched out sewing new fabrics, I would  have considered myself a fairly advanced seamstress eve...