Sew Hard of Hearing

Well, if you follow me over at Instagram you might have seen my New Year’s Resolution last year was to try more challenging patterns. Since then, I have been making a lot of Sinclair Patterns. Their patterns are not necessarily difficult, but they offer a wide variety of techniques and often new ways of doing techniques I’m familiar with. I’ve become a regular tester with them and they offered me an affiliate link. I know the affiliate links are kind of a pain to remember to use. But I’m so grateful when those are used, not just for the commission I receive, but it helps Sinclair Patterns know that I’m out promoting them. I enjoy that community so much, that I would love to get to play a bigger role there.

Unfortunately, I missed the holiday Raspberry Creek Fabrics promotion due to unforeseen circumstances. But I made up for it by sewing up more of the holiday collection than ever before. There are 13 prints represented just with these Sinclair patterns that I’m sharing. The RCF team are always there to support and encourage me. I spent a lot of holidays alone as a teen with a not very engaged family. As an adult, holidays used to make me sad and I’d get caught up remembering. I realized this holiday, with this wonderful sewing community of friends that feel like family, that I haven’t feel that way in recent years. I am so incredibly grateful for that!

My first pattern that I sewed up is the Noon Pleated Sleeves Knit Top. I have sewn up a similar pattern with beautiful statement sleeves. But the bodice didn’t fit me as nicely as this did.

I used the Tonal Hunter Green and Sage Snowflake and Tonal Hunter Green and Sage Patterned Christmas Tree Print Fabric Print Fabric, Beary Christmas by Moshito Design for CLUB Fabrics Rib Knit for this make. It was my friend Ana’s first collection with the Raspberry Creek Fabrics CLUB line and I’m so proud of her I could burst. She is an amazing artist and you see me use a lot of her prints. The big thing with this was the sleeves. They go in a bit differently than I’m accustomed to and the pleats I’ve done before but not too often. The instructions were really straightforward.

I made two holiday dresses. This is the Nyoka knit cross-over dress that I’ve sewn in the peplum before. But this cross-over is still a bit of a challenge. It comes together much easier than other cross-over type garments that I have made in the past.

I didn’t initially purchase this Dusty Blue Sage and Red Holly Berry Print Fabric, Christmas by Brittney Laidlaw for CLUB Fabrics in Rib Knit. But the designer made a dress for her daughter in it and I wanted one for myself. I had not sew it up yet, but my daughter picked this fabric in double brushed poly for her Christmas pajamas I still need to make for her.

When I bought the fabric for the dress the new Rosy Cardigan had not been released but once I saw it I knew that I needed to make it to match my dress. I love it so much with this curved hem. I found the perfect button at Joann’s that looks sort of like a poinsettia to me. I haven’t worn the dress out but I wore the cardigan to a nice dinner that my husband took me and my daughter to and it was the perfect length with a dress. My daughter and I will have a nice brunch in the new year, when I plan to wear this outfit.

This holiday make is so great, because I think it adequately shows my enthusiasm for the season. I was able to work four french terry prints into this from Bri Powell’s Merry Kitchmas collection. She is a very creative designer and I always end up picking her prints. I made the Milly color-blocked hoodie. I tested this pattern and made several as pullovers and zip up jackets. It’s always a fun way to use multiple prints and these pocket are super easy to construct. Also all the points need special care. Sanna includes a new technique that I had not done for her v-necks and points. It is so much easier for me and take a lot of the variability out that I find in sewing v’s.

Here is another print that my friend, Ana with Moshito Design had in the CLUB collection. It’s the Hunter Green Sage Pink Red Rust and Yellow Poinsettia Christmas Floral Print Fabric, Beary Christmas by Moshito Design for CLUB Fabrics. There is also a super cute polar bear print with this collection and a stripe that I didn’t use. I got this print in double brushed poly to make the Betty Faux Wrap Knit Dress. I made this pattern as a real beginner of making garments for myself as a peplum. I had no idea what I was doing. The pleats had gaping holes. Yet, I still wore it to work proudly using lots of double-sided tape. This time it came together so easily. It’s foolproof, so it’s funny that I got it so wrong the first time.

If I had to pick a favorite, it would be this Linnea Color-Blocked Sweater. I made this pattern with some Valentine prints but never wore it, because I’m naturally cold. Well, one of my sewing friends shared this with the Nova Cowl on it. It fits with no alterations to the neckline. I made it in cotton spandex using the Winter Wishes by SarahDCreates for CLUB Fabrics collection and they could not be cuter! For some reason, I like this pattern better in cotton spandex. And this pattern is so good to perfect your color-blocking skills. I had a few pieces that didn’t line up just right, so it was good practice to redo and remember to account for your seam allowance. And if you care about such things, you can practice fussy cutting to get all your smaller pieces to capture exactly the parts of the print you want.

The Selma Knit Top and Tunic was a pattern that I tested after the Holiday Collection came out. I used the Mustard Olive Burgundy and Cream Watercolor Floral Faux Lace Print Fabric, Christmas Florals for CLUB Fabrics in rib knit. Again, these pleats were different than others I’d done. And honestly, I found them easier. They have such a beautiful look to them. I made these Monty Paperbag Waistline Woven pants at the beginning of winter in this Heathered Olive Green Medium Weight Stretch Linen. They really go with everything. The Monty pants pattern was not difficult for me to fit, so they are a joy to make and wear.

And my final garment to share with you is the Loop Drop Shoulder Knit Top. This was great to practice the split hem. This pattern uses mitered corners. I wasn’t really familiar with that technique, but my daughter’s friend likes split hems and I made her two. It was so incredibly easy to do and much easier than other split hems I’ve done. I plan to wear this on Christmas. It’s usually just me and my husband and daughter. Over the year we’ve had neighbors and friends that didn’t have plans, because I cook a ton and love company. I get so hot cooking all day. So, I made this in cotton spandex which makes it a bit lighter to wear for the day.

I’m glad you’ve made it this far! If you are on Instagram and we aren’t connected, I really wish you’d follow me at https://www.instagram.com/sewhardofhearing/. If you engage with my content, I can promise you that I will follow you and connect with you and your posts. I invest a lot of time in that, but it makes me so happy to have that dialogue with sewing friends.

Also, I wanted to share with you some of the earrings that I’ve been wearing from my friend, Jestina at Delta Rise Co. I found her while looking for earrings for my daughter. Then I started buying for myself. We became friends and now she designs earrings to match Raspberry Creek Fabric prints I promote. So, if you buy these prints you might want to look at her shop on Etsy to see the earrings she sells matching the prints. She gave me a permanent 20% off coupon, because I buy so much. She said that I’m welcome to share it with friends, so you feel free to use the NICOLE20 coupon code that gives you 20% off entire shop. I’ve included some more photos of her earrings below that also provide a close up of the prints. Thank you so much for reading my long post! I’m grateful for your friendship and support.