Time to Sew - Itch to Stitch Blog Tour

I was so excited when I found out about the blog tour for Itch to Stitch*! I feel so honoured to be amongst some amazing bloggers to be part of it! If you've read my blog before you know that I'm a huge fan of Kennis Wong's designing.  I've done loads of pattern tests for her over the last few years as well as sewn plenty of her patterns I haven't tested.  I know how much attention she pays to details and fit, so if I want a pattern I don't have to worry about fussing a lot with I often choose an Itch to Stitch one.

This fall's blog tour theme was sewing up something we'd been meaning to make, but hadn't got around to yet.  Itch to Stitch has so many options to choose from, and although I've made several of the patterns, there were still a few I've not had the chance to do yet.

Because we're well into football season here (man those evening practices are getting chilly to watch - brrrrrrr) and hockey season will be well underway in a few weeks (and I'll be shivering in the stands of the local arenas on a regular basis), I decided that cozy and comfy should be my go to.  I want to wear all the warm and soft fabrics! With that in mind, I chose to sew both the Newport Top and Tierras Woven Joggers.  To be honest, I hadn't thought that I'd be at all interested in the Tierras.  I'm not a joggers person... I'm definitely not a jogger either!  LOL)  But once I started seeing the tester versions, and then they popped up a few times randomly on my Facebook feed I was definitely feeling my interest piqued.

First up is my Newport Top.  I chose a snuggly soft baby french terry from Sly Fox Fabrics, who is one of our blog tour sponsors and very generously sent me the fabric. Let's talk about my fabric for just a second.   It's got just the right amount of stretch for the pattern and the recovery is really good so it's not going to get saggy or baggy with wear but because the Newport is a boxy silhouette I wanted to make sure my fabric had a nice drape to it as well.  The print is on the loop side of the fabric giving it a bit of texture for interest. After looking at a few different choices there was no doubt that this fabric checked all the boxes for me and of course it's a floral so that made it absolutely irresistible to me and when it arrived in the post, I was not disappointed.

As for the pattern?   Comfort - check! Cozy - check! Dress up/Dress down - check!  I love the fact that it has the lapped neckline and while I'm usually definitely not a fan of a high low hem, I really like this one (and the fact that it'll be a bit more warmth when I'm sitting on cold arena benches this year is a definite drawing point!!! Is it just the arenas that my kids play in or do all arenas steadfastly refuse to turn on the heat over the benches in the dead of winter???). Plus it's so quick to make.  There is nothing I enjoy more than a pattern that I can whip up in a short time frame!  All I needed to do was my standard adding length - on this one I didn't add quite enough length and ended up feeling it was going to be too short for my liking if I hemmed it as stated in the pattern, so I just made a facing pattern by tracing around the bottom of the actual pattern pieces, then stitched it on, turned it up and topstitched it down.  I am super particular about the length of my tops and I'm ridiculously long waisted.  While you'd never know if I hadn't told you, it was a quick but necessary rescue.  I've already corrected my pattern for my next one (I'm looking at you blush pink and navy striped french terry sitting in my stash!)

Onto the Tierras!  I had a hard time deciding on fabric - I wanted to stay away from anything that might be construed as pj pants given the elasticated waist and jogger silhouette - but I wanted something with some drape that would also be a bit warmer feeling.  I ended up choosing a rayon blend twill that was just from my local fabric store.  Its super soft with drape, but not so much drape that it feels flimsy.  It's got a bit of weight to it too, which will make it warmer in the cooler months.

For the pattern, I did do a few minor modifications.   The rise on the front of these joggers is pretty low, but the pattern gives detailed instructions how to change that up to give them a higher rise.  I measured both front and back and decided to just adjust the front because I knew if I did both, the rise would then be too high on my back so I slashed and spread the pattern at center front to my desired amount (in my case 2") and then I tapered that to nothing at the side seam.  I had to re-draw the side seam and smooth everything out and re-angle the center front seam back to the proper place, but it all worked out nicely in the end.  I also scooped out the back crotch curve a bit to get a better fit there. (I just followed the instructions on the Itch to Stitch Blog from the Liana Stretch Jeans sew along to figure out exactly what I needed to do!).  Unfortunately with all my concentration on perfecting the fit of the top part of my joggers, I forgot to add some length to the bottom part, so I did the straight hem rather than the elastic one, and unfortunately I feel like these are just on the verge of being a bit too short.  Note to self for next time...

I really like the comfort factor of these pants with the slightly looser fit and elastic waist (I left out the drawstring), but the slash front pockets lend themselves well to making this a pant that is easy to dress up or down too depending on fabric choice.

I'm super pleased with my end results and glad I took the time to finally try out these two patterns!!

Before you head off though,  there's more fun for the tour!  First of all be sure to check out all our incredible sponsors.



Next you'll want to keep tabs on all the tour stops.  Click on the links below for that.



As an added bonus, for today only there is a flash sale on the patterns that have been featured today on the tour!!!!

Anza Jumpsuit and Dress
Chai Shirt and Dress
Chirripo Top
Havar Jacket
Idyllwild Top and Dress
Newport Top
Tierras Woven Joggers

Just click on the pattern names to  check out these great deals today!  You don't want to miss out!!! (*hint* you will want to be checking out all the tour posts as there's some great deals to be had each day.  I know I will be definitely adding to my pattern stash!) 

Last but not least,  remember those sponsors I showed you up above? Not only does Mabel Madison have a fantastic offer for our readers - $10 off a $50 order using the code ITSTOUR until September 30, 2018, we've got a contest going on as well, with lots of great prizes to be had so be sure to enter using the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and I hope you enjoy today's stop on the tour and get a chance to check out all the other stops as well!