Wow, where is 2019 going? September already?! It's definitely starting to feel autumnal here in the UK with the winds picking up, temperatures dropping and darker evenings drawing in.  So for most it's time to sew all the sweaters, coats and jeans, of which I have plenty planned.  

​We have just received a wedding invite for a November wedding though, so instead, my sewing has been focussing on making myself an outfit warm enough for cooler weather whilst still looking dressy enough for the occasion, fingers crossed I've managed!  

​With 2 energetic, home educated forest loving children, dresses are often impractical day-to-day so when when it comes to occasions such as Weddings or Christenings, I like to wear dresses whenever possible.  

Looking through the {67 strong!!} Itch to Stitch catalogue to choose which patterns I wanted to sew up for the tour, I came across the Davina Dress.  Davina was released in August 2015 putting it among the first 10 patterns released. I had looked at it several times in the past and had upon checking my account had even bought the pattern in June 2017 but hadn't ever sewn it up..... 

​​Many of you know my love for the Marbella but I had a knit fabric in mind... I realised the Davina had a similar style and shape and could be what I was looking for! 

I think, honestly, I'd always been a little put off sewing Davina due to the bust gathering.  This is not a style or feature I am usually drawn to or have previously worn BUT, as with all other Itch to Stitch patterns I've sewn myself, however doubtful they'll suit me before I start, I haven't made one I don't love wearing yet so I set about preparing to sew it up. 

Fabric wise, the pattern recommends light to medium weight knit fabrics with at least 75% 4-way stretch.  Naturally, I'd chosen a pretty floral scuba fabric which didn't match the requirements (only 50% horizontal and minimal vertical stretch) but I was prepared to adjust a bit to make it work if needed.

Even though it is an older released pattern, it still features the super useful layers function so I could print out just the size 0 lines I needed, tape it together (27 pages) and cut it out very easily.  

​The bodice of Davina is lined which I wasn't expecting {I couldn't have looked at the photo very hard as there is no other way to get such clean finishes and no visible stitching!} and wasn't convinced a double scuba layer would work so used some thin cotton lycra from my scraps box for the lining. 

Originally I was planning to omit the pockets (how to instructions are included) due to fabric limitations and add short sleeves but when I tried the sleeveless bodice on for size, quickly decided I wanted it just as it was {I'd sort a jacket/cardigan out instead} and then had enough fabric to do the pockets as well. 

Sewing it together was actually very straightforward, the "trickiest" parts being the bust gathering, understitching {the neckline, armholes and pockets} and keeping the fabric out of the way of the stitches when sewing the 'burrito roll' clean finish so I would say anybody who is confident sewing knit fabrics and following the detailed illustrated instruction could sew this up.

I love this dress, as does my husband and I keep trying to figure out if it beats my Marbellas but the jury is still out there, obviously I'll need to make more to decide that ;)

Being scuba, perhaps I should have sized up 1 {like the pattern says to if stretch requirements are not sufficient} or put a side zipper in as it would have made it slightly easier to get on/off but that was down to my choice {read....not reading the instructions fully before cutting...oops!} but it is still very comfortable to wear and although snugger to get on/off than others, not impossible with a little wiggling haha!

So, because I decided on sleeveless, I took another look through the catalogue to find a nice smart occasion suitable outer layer.  I toyed with another La Paz, Lisbon and even a bolero style Aveiro but in the end settle for the more formal looking Salamanca Jacket adding just the right amount of formality, warmth and composure to finish the outfit suitable for a wedding.

Salamanca was released in March 2016, as part of a mini capsule with the Seville, Hepburn and Zamora.  It is a fully lined, raglan sleeved, button up cropped jacket.  I chose not to add the buttons/buttonholes as I will wear it open and didn't want to distract from the dress or make it too busy for this outfit.  

I used a slub dupion fabric and opted to use the matt/dull side as the right side and matching anti-static lining.  Whilst a more complex pattern than the Davina, it is not difficult as such for the quality of the finished garment.  For example, I will admit that I procrastinated getting started on the jacket and only bought the pattern Monday evening, the fabric Tuesday afternoon and took the photos of it finished on Wednesday evening after work! As is the case with most Itch to Stitch patterns, don't be put off thinking it is too hard to make as no matter the difficulty rating on the pattern, if you are determined to make it and take your time reading and following each step of the instructions you will be able to make it.

I hope you like my use of the Davina and Salamanca patterns, perhaps it has inspired you to sew these up, perhaps even for a wedding you are going to or maybe motivated you to dig out some of your older sewing patterns and give them a new breath of life?  Please do go look at the other blogs in the tour and our generous tour sponsors.

Good luck with the prize draw and happy sewing until next time :) 

​Itch to Stitch is offering 25% off for the patterns being highlighted in the blogs each day. There is a daily discount code for this offer. The code will be valid for 24 hours 8am-8am Eastern Time. If a code is used outside the 24 hour period, it will reflect a $0 discount on the order. Here is a breakdown of the code and the patterns included for each day.:

1. Monday Sept 16th: 916itsblogtour25
   1. Hepburn, Mila, Vientiane, Aveiro, Davina, Newport, Medellin
2. Tuesday Sept 17th: 917itsblogtour25
   1. Busan, Anza, Emily, Jacqueline, Liana, Nottingham, Sequoia, Medellin
3. Wednesday Sept 18th: 918itsblogtour25
   1. North Point, Irena, La Paz, Jacqueline, Mnt View, Paulina
4. Thursday Sept 19th: 919itsblogtour25
   1. Carey, Zamora, Samara, Idyllwild, Orono, Davina, Salamanca, Envigado
5. Friday Sept 20th: 920itsblogtour25
   1. Tierras, Mnt View, Samara, Marbella, Liana, Zamora, Salamanca

​Affiliate links are included throughout this post marked with GREEN TEXT it costs you nothing extra but means I get a few cents if you buy the pattern after clicking through.  I would love it if you could use them if this post has inspired you but feel free to navigate there yourself if you prefer! All opinions expressed on my blog are entirely my own. Thanks, Sarah

Welcome to the final day of the Itch to Stitch Love Blogtour.  Like many others when the news hit that Kennis, the designer behind Itch to Stitch had been burgled whilst away on holiday, I was deeply saddened and felt like I needed to do something to help.  I am always in awe of how the sewing community and bloggers pull together in times of need and this was no exception, before very long a blog tour was arranged and here it is, I'm so glad to be involved in this tour and do my part to help, as such this post contains NO AFFILIATE LINKS.

When considering what to make for my post of the tour, I was torn between sewing one of the few ITS patterns I hadn't yet sewn or going back to my ever faithful, favourite pattern of all time, the Marbella. Guess what won?!

I'm really enjoying taking part in blog tours this year, they are pushing me to create and try sewing some things I probably wouldn't have thought about before.

​Today I'm excited to be included in the Lulu & Celeste, Sprouting JubeJube Productions Back to School Tour now I hear you saying, "but don't you home educate?!" and yes, yes I do but we still have several groups which take a break over the summer and restart in Autumn time along with the need to change wardrobes for the new seasons weather.

Here in the UK, the Autumnal weather is wind, intermittent and unpredictable rain and temperatures. We spend a LOT of time outdoors so waterproofs and layers feature heavily for us.

I'm super excited by this outfit, It's just perfect for going to his forest group, walking through the countryside or even just playing out in the garden and I can't hide it from you any longer so here it is!

Welcome to my stop on the Sew Long Summer Blogtour hosted by Melissa of mahlicadesigns, it couldn't have come at a better time for us here in the UK as we've definitely seen a change in the seasons in the past week or two! 

As we say SewLong to Summer, my thoughts are turned to Autumnal sews and keeping the cold, wind and rain at bay whilst being able to remove layers on those days where the weather can't make it's mind up!  (Yesterday we had everything from 23°C bright sunshine to 11°C with thunderstorms and gale force winds!) 

Whilst I've been keeping up to date sewing cardigans, sweaters and hoodies throughout the Summer, I now need to think about heavier, warmer and drier functionality garments so where better to start sewing for Autumn than a coat!? 

This Summer one of my sons broke his arm and needed it cast almost to his shoulder, this made getting tees on and off very tricky.  Inspired by the port access placket of the Pickle Toes Pattern Hope, I added a snap up placket to the shoulders of some of his tees.  I hope you never need it but I've put together a little tutorial for you just in case! A snap placket can either be done on ready made tees or as you are making a new one, this tutorial covers adding one to a new tee and I used the Pickle Toes Patterns Fried Pickles which is FREE with the code from their Facebook Group 

I'm loving being involved in blog tours at the moment, here is my stop on the first Sewing by Ti tour I've been involved in! I've followed Ti's blog and tours for quite a while now so it's a little nerve wracking to be involved myself this time! Ti's blogtours are all themed but what that means to us is up to our individual interpretation! This tour is themed "Dress up this Town" and my immediate thoughts on that were dresses for occasions, not just for Weddings, Christenings and evenings out but for the lunch dates with your girlfriends, for attending Church, for any occasion where you want something a little more than an everyday casual dress. What I came up with may not surprise those of you who know me and know what a HUGE fan of Itch to Stitch Designs I am, so here we have 3 dresses all from ITS all very suitable for occasion wear when sewn in the right fabrics whilst still working brilliantly as casual everyday dresses in others. PS. make it to the bottom for the great giveaways!

 ​Thank you for joining me on my stop of the Swimsuit Edition blog tour, I'm really excited to be in my first Lulu & Celeste, Sprouting JubeJube Productions blogtour! This one is full of fantastic seamstresses and bloggers focused on inspiring you with all things swimwear, be sure to check out all the stops and enter the giveaways as well for your chances to win some fab prizes from our blogtour sponsors! 

For those of you who read my last swim post, you'll have seen I was making a swim capsule for my boys, not long after the tour we went camping during a mini heatwave and they wore their swimming suits so much that I quickly realised they were both missing a few things from their capsules.  They both needed a hat which could go in the water with them and a complete spare swim outfit which they could switch into after the sand and forest debris had become to much in the first suit or for when they didn't want to be in a wet suit any longer! So here, I've tried to fill those gaps!

​I am SO excited to be part of this blog tour celebrating the Bluezette's 2 year anniversary! Released by Love Notions in both Ladies and Girls sizes, this is a dress pattern I've not tried before but have seen so many gorgeous versions of and hadn't realised quite how many variations could be made from the pattern and blog add-on! So many, I couldn't decide on just 1 version to make so made 2!