Candy Castle Bubblegum Dress and the add ons!

I got to try making the Bubblegum dress from Candy Castle Pattern Co as a brand ambassador for them and it is the pattern of the month this August with the code AUGUST. It is a beautiful wrap dress that can be made with woven and knit fabrics. So versatile!

For this dress I made, I decided to go with the Sarah Jane fabric that I have been saving. This is Children at play and its coordinate fabric with balloons. It's adorable!

The puff sleeves are done with elastic and I suppose if u pull it tighter, it will be closer to the arm but I am happy that it is slightly puffed out so that her upper arms are not "squeezed" - she really doesn't like it when her arms have elastics around them too. So this is great - a puff look without the tightness around the upper arm!

The great thing about a wrap dress is that the kid can wear it for much longer despite that fact that you make it in woven fabric. Cos this little girl has plenty of pretty woven dresses and one thing that bugs me is how fast she outgrows them. Woven clothes don't get worn as much and she outgrows them so much faster too. So it's a nice change that this is a lovely woven dress that she isn't going to outgrow just yet. 

This version is the basic bubblegum dress with an A line skirt that is sweet and simple and really fast to make. 

The recommended fabrics for this in woven include quilter's cotton (which is what i have here, corduroy for something thicker to wear over long sleeves (think winter wear coordinates!) or even light weight denim. For knit fabrics, u can go with interlock or jersey (size down for really stretchy fabric!) and even fleece (again for a cute cold weather coordinate!)

The dress itself can be lined on the bodice or it can also be finished with bias tape all around the wrap. This version I made was lined. 

New information! (added 17/3/2022)

If u like a really poofy swing dress, I tried the bubblegum swing dress add on which is a gathered, full skirt version with a contrast band (Can u see that the bottom of her pretty Hello Kitty dress is in black coordinating Hello Kitty kimono print?)

There's a lot of things I did for this dress to make it "special". Firstly, I picked the bias tape version this time so that it is not so hot to wear - previously the white was slightly translucent hence the need for lining but this fabric is perfectly fine to wear as a single layer. 

Then to add interest to the bias tape and make it uniquely ours, I used 2 different colors of bias tape in 2 different width. The purple is a beautiful dark purple with sheen satin bias that is a double fold 1cm bias while the pink is a cotton bias tape that folds up to about 0.5cm in width. I binded one side of the purple bias then used the combined bias to give the dress a contrast bias collar look. It turned out exactly as I envisioned. I was SO PROUD. The sleeves had just the pink bias and the straps were just the purple one. I think it looks perfect! 

You may be wondering. Where's the puff sleeves? Well, for the sleeveless look, I also used the Bubblegum parade maxi dress sleeveless add on. Hehe. Talk about mixing and mashing! There was so much going on in this dress already that I didn't want puff sleeves to distract from the other stuff like contrast collar. So going sleeveless was perfect. It was also ideal since this girl runs hot! 

Jilly Atlanta Bellaire Pants

Who doesn't love a good pair of bell bottoms?

My little one is rocking her pair of Bellaire Pants from Jilly Atlanta in floral CL!

We paired this with a georgeous cowl neck top from Candy Castle pattern company - Marzipan (which is absolutely lovely!)

Looking stylish! 

And here's a different look:

Now she's channeling flower power 🤣

Goober Pea Designs Quadra Jacket

This little one needed a light jacket for childcare. They finally renovated and the airconditioning is working at long last. 

That means she needed an extra layer at nap times so i thought it was a perfect time to try the new jacket pattern from Goober Pea Designs - Quadra jacket!

This is flannelette from a destash and it's so soft inside and out that, i knew it is perfect for an unlined light jacket. 

It's also super cute with all the kitties ❤

I love how fast it came together even with the separating zipper. She's wearing this over a normal top and there's enough ease to be comfortable.

She's also very capable to zipping herself up properly. Yay to self-dressing kiddos.

Look at that proud face 🥰

The Quadra jacket has pocket and colorblocking options but i skipped all those since it's just for using in childcare for nap times. 

In future though, it will be so useful for jackets meant for wearing in cold countries - when we can finally travel again 😅

Poppy Monroe Roller Romper and shorts

My little one lives in rompers because it is really hot here. 

These Poppy Monroe Roller Rompers looks so promising so I tried them! They are available at sewpdf if u are interested! 

This options for this one is endless and there are many hacks possible. I made the roller romper with straps for both front and back so that they are tied at the top. There are instructions on where to place the straps and also the length of straps. The elastic for the top of the tank was also provided so everything was easy to do. 

I sewn my top elastic so that there is a cute ruffle-y part at the very top and I think it looks really sweet. The top fabric is also 100% cotton with no lycra - that means there is very little stretch but this isn't needed as u can tell! She's very comfortable because the fabric is very light and airy. 

For the bottoms, I opted for pink cotton lycra from Spotlight and used a pre-cut knit binding strip to bind the sides. I wish I had done the binding for the pocket sides too but perhaps in the future! 

Once again, this is available in Sewpdf as part of their sew pdf showcase. You may see all the different sewpdf showcases here!

Sunflower Seams Posy

 I tested for Sunflower Seams Pattern Posy dress which is a lovely vintage length, A line dress for children ages 18 mth to 14 years. 

I really love the flared silhouette of this dress. And the sleeveless version I made here is reversible too! 

There's also the option of a side ruffle, flutter sleeves, puffed sleeves etc. 

I made the side panel in a solid yellow color as a contrast to the unicorn pattern fabric. I used rainbow buttons but unfortunately you can't really see it in the photos. It's an important feature though. She's learning to button her clothes herself so the colorful buttons are useful! 

I think she's really happy in her new dress. Now I just need to convince her that the other side is really pretty too. haha. 

Winter Wear Designs Ma Cherie Top and Stargazer Shorts

Hello again for the Hello Summer Kids Blog tour for Winter Wear Designs. This is Day 3 and I'm here again with 2 kids pattern sews from Winter Wear Designs, this time for my little girl 💓

I've always wanted to make a cute hanbok inspired top for my little girl and the only pattern I had was for knits. But I finally found one that isn't for knits! 

Ma Cherie is a super cute V neck tunic top that has pleated skirts. I made my girl's version with a solid color Kona Cotton from 2quilters and Kobayashi Colorful Dots in double gauze from Nekoneko. 

Doesn't she look adorable? I think this one is a keeper! In fact, I may hack this to be longer so she can wear it as a cute maxi! But since this is a tunic, I needed to match it with a super cute pair of shorts too. And the Stargazer bubble shorts is perfect! 

And as with all her new shorts, the first thing she checked was whether there was any pockets. 

I'm pleased to say that she is pretty happy with her new bubble shorts with the roomy roomy pockets. I made it just slightly bigger so that she can wear this longer and I think she will wear this pretty often too! 

The fabric is stretch twill. Here's the flatlay!

You can get the patterns here: http://bit.ly/WWDMaCherie 

and here: http://bit.ly/WWDStargazerShorts

Make sure to stick with us all week long for sewing inspiration, pattern hacks, and tutorials about how to get the most out of your summer sewing!!!

Monday:

Suzanne of Winter Wear Designs

Tuesday:

Hwee Ke Lim of KeKe Sews

Suzanne of Winter Wear Designs

Wednesday:

Laurie of The Bear And The Pea Atelier

Hwee Ke Lim of KeKe Sews

Thursday:

Kristen Guest Posting at WWD

Rachel of Violets & Jewles

Friday:

Laurie of The Bear and the Pea Atelier

Donnisha guest posting at WWD

Candy Castle Cotton Candy Dream Dress

The Cotton Candy Dream Dress from Candy Castle Patterns is such a darling little dress! It features two amazing options: an everyday play dress and a special occasion dress with tulle. 

I made the everyday play dress in quilting cotton and honestly, I think it's beautiful and not at all just-an-everyday-dress. It's pretty enough to be a party dress! 

This is quilting cotton from handmade fabrics and I used black bias that was slightly shiny for the straps and also the hem for that pretty bordered effect. 

I just love the back of the dress. It's perfect for summer! 

The sweetheart neckline is really pretty too! 

Maybe one day I will try the tulle version! 

Get Cotton Candy Dream Dress at a discounted price with code June! 

Sunflower Seams Lokelani Romper!

Summer Days are the best for Rompers! And since it's summer all year round here, this little one practically lives in rompers. We are always on the lookout for rompers and this is one of the winners in our books! 

This is Lokelani from Sunflower Seams Pattern Co. I made this version out of cotton lycra for the main fabric and DBP scraps for the straps. I just love how it all came together and the very fact that i was able to find scraps that matched the main fabric perfectly was just icing on the cake! 

This is the shorts length but there's also a capri length for those who prefer the knees covered. In fact, I may make some in capri length for when she goes to playgrounds so that there's less chance of her scraping her knees. As we all know, toddlers tend to fall and scrap their knees quite a bit! =p

Here's a closeup of her in her Lokelani. The straps are slightly thicker here than the final version - the final version straps look nicer cos it's thinner but i find this version cute too. 

I think I will be making more of these soon. Though I may skip the middle tie straps since the negative ease is enough to keep the romper up as is! 

Candy Castle's Box of Chocolates Pattern

 Here's yet another Yummy Candy Castle pattern for little ones - Box of Chocolates Crop top, shirt, dress and high-low tunic.

This pattern is chock full of options and perfect for the absolute beginner to knit patterns. She has thorough blending instructions - my go-to instructions for blending! 

My first version of this pattern is a cute crop top made with remnants from my previous sew and it's perfect to pair with a poofy pettiskirt for an ultra sassy outfit complete with an adorable toddler belly 😍

Just look at that happy face. She can't help do a little twirl in her new outfit!

And for the little ones who prefer something sweet and demure, how about the simple yet twirltastic circle skirt version of Box of Chocolates dress? I made this version with an extra sparkly gold speckled cotton lycra and it's stylist comfort at its best =)

There's also the hi-low skirt which I have plans for once she is older - that one is absolutely beautiful especially on the other tester girls. U shld check it out at the link here.

IvL Angel Sleeved Dress

I had an opportunity to test for IvL- Hecho's angel sleeved top and dress tt they were updating to a bigger size range and i made our version in double gauze. Isn't it cute?

For a whimsical detail, i added a metal cat button at the back for my girl who loves all things "meoowwww". It's the only reason she's willing to try it on - apparently the dress is not colorful enough for her toddler aesthetics and sense of style 🤣

Thankfully, after trying it on, she claims it's soft and comfy and the dress has her approval to go into wardrobe rotation 🤣

I used a contrasting thread in the bobbin for a pop of color. Haven't decided if i liked it yet. What do u think?

I feel that the dress is, overall, loose and summery. If u feel like ur kid prefers it fitted, it may be good to make the knit version instead, or simply size down in width! For us, the loose fit is perfect for play and great for the summer heat where we stay. 

I also like how the lace detail on the sleeves add a lovely touch to the dress. The instructions also suggested pompoms! I shld go find some cos the testers who used pom poms had really cute dresses and I'm guessing rainbow poms would be right up this little girl's alley!

She's pretty happy with her angel sleeves. Perhaps i would make a knit version for her once she outgrows this one!