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!

​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!

With well drafted sewing patterns for wovens becoming harder to find as the preferred jersey knit patterns seem to be increasing in popularity, I was happy to see Itch to Stitch's new pattern was another designed for wovens! I have to admit, I was just a little outside my comfort zone on this one as I've never worn a jumpsuit before, so I signed up for testing out the dress version only but a combination of curiosity and trust in the designer led me to trying the jumpsuit too! AND I'm glad I went with it as it's opened up a whole new avenue to explore and create with this Summer! 

From the very first sketch I saw of this beautiful dress in the Love Notions* newsletter, I just knew I needed the pattern! It was my first testing experience with Love Notions* and I was very impressed at how thorough their testing process went. Tami was so determined to get the fit perfect we actually went through 9 versions before getting to the final pattern!  I was also super happy to be able to squeeze the bodice out of the last of the stunning Summer Garden print from Lulus Fabrics, the fabric and pattern just works so well together! 

Double brushed poly, or DBP, as it's often abbreviated to, is a relatively new fabric base available to the UK market, so when I was offered the chance to sew it up and review it I was very excited! I sewed up a sample from a lovely custom fabric company, Lulus Fabrics UK, and as usual, I like to test to the max! I washed it, tumble dried it, checked for colour running, fading and shrinkage and sewed it up into various different garments to test how it sews, stretches, wears and looks! Here are my projects, thoughts and findings....

Here is the Violet! A super pretty feminine pattern which includes a top and dress.  I was actually asked if I'd like to test this pattern and as soon as I saw the drawing, I knew it was definitely for me, totally my style and couldn't wait to sew it up!

I've had the original version of this pattern in my cart for several months, waiting for both an occasion and the time to make it before buying. Then, just as I'm looking for dress patterns for something to wear to my Brother's wedding next month a call goes out to test a new add-on for it which is even more my style than the original pattern, what perfect timing!  I immediately applied and pre-washed some fabric from my stash ready in hope! I'm super excited to show you all the Marbella with the new skirt add on*.......

Earlier this year I found some jersey in a sample sale, there was 3m, in just the colours and pattern I am usually drawn to, so it simply HAD to come home with me!  I knew I wanted to make a maxi dress with it even though I'd never worn one before, it just told me this is what it needed to be! No more than a week later, on of my favourite designers, Sew Straight & Gather, announced in their tester group that they had plans to re draft and re-release their very first pattern, the girls Uptown Downtown.  I instantly went to check it out and not only was the style PERFECT, I could easily fit into the age 14 measurements! It couldn't all have happened more perfectly if I'd have tried to schedule! So here we have my super elegant Uptown Downtown.....

This last week has been another busy one for my sewing machine with the first release being this gorgeous Starlight City Dress and Separates pattern from Lil Luxe Collection.  It was the pretty twist back which attracted me to applying for this pattern test and {unlike the weather every time I tried to get photos} it didn't disappoint!