Pattern Review - Laura Comfy Hoodie by Farbenmix

I finally found the time to finish the Laura Comfy Hoodie for my 9-year-old. We are both in love with the final product. It really is comfy and cute and she doesn't want to take it off! I used a deep purple organic cotton jersey and mod floral organic cotton jersey from the shop.

I would recommend this pattern for those with intermediate to advanced sewing skills. It isn't that there is anything complicated about the construction of the garment (no zippers or buttons, for example) but the instructions aren't very detailed. I would say that you should have made at least one shirt with sleeves before attempting this.

Here's a little breakdown of the challenging and the easy:

Challenging:

• Squaring up and cutting knit fabrics: they like to move around a lot. It is best not to stretch & pull the fabric too much.

• Adding seam allowances. This was my first experience with it. I used Kwik Trace pattern tracing cloth and added a 1/2" seam allowance. The instructions did not say how much of a seam allowance to add, so I looked for advice from other places & settled on 1/2" because I thought it would be easy to remember. I used this method for adding seam allowances.

• Reading German: the pattern pieces are only written in German. There are English instructions available, but there is no pattern layout or translation of pattern pieces. I used Babelfish to help me out :)

• The instructions expect that you know how to put together a garment. They do not have a lot of details or extensive pictures and diagrams.

Easy:

• Sewing with knits! They're forgiving! Everything matches up! Honestly, I never used the seam ripper - not once! It was a dream :) I used a straight stitch (I do not have a serger) and stretched the fabric slightly ahead and behind the foot.

• The garment was super easy to put together. Everything made sense.

• The garment is easily customizable. The back has 3 pieces, the front has 4 (including pocket) and you can use different fabrics on any pieces to create a new look. You can choose not to line the hood. You can choose to add ribbing to the hood and pocket. You can use decorative stitching for the top-stitching.

 Additional information:

• The pattern runs a bit small. I made my daughter's a size that I thought would have a little room, but it actually fits perfectly. She's really skinny, so I would recommend a size up for children with an average build.

• Cut 2 pocket pieces, even though the pattern says one.

• I marked the front side of each cut out piece with masking tape & labeled which piece it was.

• I added the decorative cuffs myself. I cut them the same length as the bottom of the sleeves and 4 inches wide. I followed the instructions for adding ribbing to the hood.

Thrifty Finds

I made a quick stop at my favorite area thrift store this morning. I was there for "business", meaning I needed some shop supplies, but I couldn't resist this cute decorative cutting board. I was surprised by the origin as well (see photo below). Judging from the typeface and the country, I'm saying this came straight from the 80s, as did many items in the store. Do you find your favorite thrift stores becoming havens for all things 80s? Especially 80s country-style? I guess, the 70s became "hot" and the 80s are what's left. Having vivid memories of the decade, I can't imagine these things becoming desirable again someday, but anything is possible, I suppose! And, I did find this cute cutting board which, to my eye, doesn't seem representative of that decade.

I also stocked up on old postcards, I use these to make tags for the packages I send to my lovely customers.

The "yarn" (below) comes from Etsy shop Eclectic Notions and is made from recycled t-shirts. I like to use eco-friendly and/or recycled packaging where practical and possible.

Happy Friday

I haven't been around the blog much this week because I'm still working on stocking the new shop. Hope to finish over the weekend and resume some sewing and blogging. Have a nice weekend - I'll be thinking thoughts of spring, as represented by a fresh bouquet of daffodils!

Giveaway at The Long Thread

Want to win a $50 Gift Certificate to the new Modern Organic Fabrics Shop? Head over to The Long Thread to enter!

Announcing ... Modern Organic Fabrics Online Shop

Modern Organic Fabrics is now on the world wide web! What does this mean? You can now shop at Modern Organic Fabrics off of the Etsy platform in a stand alone web store. Can you still shop at Modern Organic Fabrics Etsy? Yes! The shop will stay on Etsy as well, this is just another option for shopping. Why? Here's a nice bulleted list explaining the benefits:

• You can order multiple yards of fabric without asking me to set up a special listing. Etsy does not have the ablitlity for customers to order multiple yards of the same fabric.
• You can use a credit card. You also have the option to use PayPal, if you'd prefer, but you have choices!
• Categories are easier to use. You can search by color, type of fabric, designer and more.

PLEASE NOTE: This is what I'm calling a "soft launch", I don't have the shop completely stocked yet. I DO have all fabrics listed. I do NOT have all patterns or any sets listed yet. I hope to have everything listed by the end of the week.

ALSO: All fabrics are listed in half yard increments (this should be clear on the site).

There is a new link at the top of this site that will take you right to the shop, and so will the button in the right sidebar.

Please let me know if you have any questions! I hope you like the new shop :)

Modern Organic Fabrics Shop