Following on from the previous Fun Tee blog tour, I was very excited to hear there would be a Christmas Tour following very soon. I LOVE Christmas, I always have, but I especially love giving and receiving handmade gifts, the time and effort which goes into making them for me is far more special to me than quickly picking something off a shelf to give to me. With that said, I already have several MeMade gifts planned for friends and family so took the opportunity to sew myself a couple of things for this tour, after all, I need to be properly attired for gift giving too!
The Subtitle of this tour is to have some fun with the Fun Tee, so that's exactly what I did! I had so many ideas running round my head that it was proving tricky to settle on one and with the added choice of being able to use lots of fabrics which you can't normally get away with using any other time of the year, I had a lot of fun creating these!
My local fabric shop seemed to have a distinct lack of anything remotely Christmassy in their jersey section so I was left to explore the rest of the shop to come up with a different plan........after nearly an hour I had accumulated some red sequined fabric, some stretch velvet and some lurex knit and with no idea what I was going to make came home and prewashed!
I'd previously had an idea to make something smart and sophisticated and something much more fun and novelty so I began sketching ideas out as to how best to use the fabrics I had to achieve that. I started with the sequined fabric and realised with the addition of nothing else and a nice simple feminine version of the pattern with a scooped neck and short gathered sleeves, I'd soon have something I could wear for those more formal festive occasions covering the 'sophisticated' element.
Next I came to the stretch velvet. I think I originally had a nice dressy dress in my mind for this but the lighting in the shop made it look more of a burgundy colour and when home it was a scarlett red so it didn't take me long to decide I should make some sort of 'Santa' inspired something with it instead! Here we seem to have a tradition of wearing novelty Christmas themed clothing for casual festive events including Christmas day gift giving, and although I had already bought {I know I actually spent money on clothes in a shop for the first time in more than a year!} this years novelty jumper, I had been unintentionally challenged by a friend to make one as well, so here we go, the 'fun' element of my blog!
To make the Santa tunic I used the V-neck bodice with long plain sleeves and simply lengthened the bottom hem of the front and back pattern pieces by 8 inches! To make the front, I sewed a 2 inch white strip of velvet in between 2 pieces of red velvet before cutting the front pattern piece so no maths and colour blocking adjustments needed to be made {although you could if you prefer to do it that way}. When the front, back, sleeves and neck binding were all sewn up, I measured the bottom hem and made a white velvet cuff of that length by 5", sewed up the short ends, folded the whole cuff in half and sewed right sides together all the way around the bottom. The cuffs are done very similar except I sewed them wrong sides together so they could be folded back up my arm without the seam joining them to the rest of the arm showing! The final steps were just to add 3 large domed gold buttons and a gold buckled belt!
The third fabric, the silver kit lurex, was turned into this cropped bolero style cardi. I sadly did not have time to photograph this modelled but my intention is to wear it over a nice black dress for a Christmas meal with my friends.
To make this 'Hack' I made the following adjustments to the pattern. Front pattern piece - cut at the lengthen/shorten line, add 1" to the fold edge and draw a straight line down from the armpit to the bottom. Cut 2 mirror images not on the fold. Back pattern piece - cut along the lengthen shorten line, draw the same line from the armpit, straight down to the hem. The sleeves are unaltered and simply cut on the elbow length line. Neckband - Keep the length the same, sew the short ends closed with a 1/4" seam allowance then attached evenly along the neckline. Construction - Sew the bodice front, back and sleeves as per the pattern. Fold and sew the centre front seams with a 1" seam allowance. Sew the short ends of the neck binding closed with a 1/4" seam allowance then attach evenly along the neckline. To make the bottom cuff, measure the bottom hem and cutting that length by 6", sewing the short ends closed and attaching evenly all the way around the bottom.
So I hope you've enjoyed seeing all 3 ways I've had fun with the Ladies Fun Tee pattern by Sew by Pattern Pieces, please do check out the other contributors and sponsors below and don't forget to enter the giveaway below to have the chance to win yourself a lovely gift in time for Christmas!
Today we have seen amazing gift giving patterns on the market,
which one will you grab hold of and sew for a friend or family member?
Don't miss any of the posts on the
(Note: the links below will not work until their scheduled day, but feel free to click through and check out the rest of their blogs anytime!)
Tour runs from Tuesday 13th- Friday 16th December 2016
Day 1 Tuesday 13th _ Lauren Wernli and Tibeca Yao
Day 2 Wednesday 14th _ Thao Luxa and Sarah Hoggett
Day 3 Thursday 15th _ Anne-Mari Orgla and Angie Kyp
60 Comments
Joy Coster
12/14/2016 01:45:50 am
Awesome patterns!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 02:11:03 am
Thank you! I love how different a pattern can look when the fabric or a small adjustment is made!
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Lauren Hewitt
12/14/2016 01:50:02 am
I love the miss Santa! Its so cute and festive
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 02:23:54 am
Thanks Lauren! I had the most fun making that one!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 04:09:31 am
Thanks Thao! Can't wait to read about what you made from the pattern!
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Emma
12/14/2016 02:23:52 am
I love the post inspires me to see for myself instead of doing it all for the children
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 04:10:41 am
I'm glad I have inspired you to sew for yourself, us Mums need nice clothes too :)
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Fae
12/14/2016 02:41:08 am
I love the sparkly top. I think I need one!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 04:11:24 am
Thanks Fae! I believe everyone should have a sparkly top :)
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Janet
12/14/2016 03:14:31 am
The thing I love the most is finding out about the great designs and 'new' (to me) designers.
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 04:14:23 am
The 'Indie' pattern designer scene is rapidly growing, it's great for us to have so much choice now! I love discovering 'new' designers too :)
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Whitney Crosby
12/14/2016 03:29:22 am
Such a fun giveaway!! And I love the sparkly top!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 04:15:26 am
Thanks Whitney! I think everyone should have at least 1 sparkly top in their collection, good luck for the giveaway!
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Shawna Henderson
12/14/2016 03:38:59 am
I enjoyed reading about the variety of different ways you used the Ladies Fun Tee pattern.
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 04:16:10 am
Happy to hear you enjoyed my blog, good luck for the giveaway!
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Ashley Shaffern
12/14/2016 04:23:52 am
I am excited about this tour. I am most excited about... well.. everything. I am new to the sewing world and have a lot of drive and motivation. I want to become and expert seamtress!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 04:32:56 am
Welcome to the sewing world! There is an amazing wealth of knowledge, patterns and encouragement within, don't be afraid of asking for help or recommendations! Be sure to enter the giveaway to have a chance of winning a pattern bundle to get you started :)
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Phoebe
12/14/2016 04:26:23 am
I love that sequin top! So fun!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 04:34:18 am
Thanks Phoebe! Was so easy and quick to make with the fun tee pattern :)
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Suzy
12/14/2016 04:38:16 am
Love the sequin top. Very simple yet elegant for the season!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 09:39:07 am
Thanks Suzy!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 09:41:49 am
Thanks Christie!
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Jamie
12/14/2016 05:34:02 am
I love how different one pattern can look with only a few adjustments!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 09:43:04 am
A little adjustment opens up so many more possibilities! Glad you liked the post, good luck with the prize draw :)
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Shayna Steve s
12/14/2016 05:57:37 am
I am excited by all of these awesome patterns. I'm always looking for new things to try! I get bored easily.
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 09:44:14 am
There's certainly several brilliant patterns to keep your boredom away with all the designers sponsoring this tour! Happy Sewing :)
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Virginia Hooper
12/14/2016 06:33:04 am
I love all of these Patterns, especially the Noelle
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 09:41:19 am
The Made for Mermaids Noelle? Isn't it beautiful?! It's patterns like that that make me wish I had a little girl to sew for!
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Lindsey
12/14/2016 07:08:23 am
Love the sequins!!!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 09:45:19 am
Thank you! I love how I can use different fabrics for the festive season, I think everyone should have a sequin top hehe!
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Ciera
12/14/2016 07:12:42 am
Beautiful! I love the sequin top.
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 09:56:00 am
Thank so much! It amazes me how using a different fabric can completely change the look of a pattern!
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Anna
12/14/2016 07:24:06 am
I love the range of styles, I just like to try new things
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 09:58:19 am
Trying new things is great, helps teach you new skills. There are so many amazing styles shown throughout this blog tour and its sponsors :)
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Courtney
12/14/2016 07:32:56 am
I love getting some inspiration from others!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 09:59:11 am
Glad I can help inspire you :)
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Briana
12/14/2016 07:39:40 am
I love the exposure to lots of new designers and shops!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 10:03:27 am
Blogtours are great places to learn about further talent/designers/shops, glad you enjoyed discovering some new ones :)
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Jana
12/14/2016 08:40:23 am
I am so excited to see what everyone comes up with and get some inspiration!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 10:04:21 am
Me too! there are several more posts scheduled for this week, be sure to check them out too!
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Ruth Stark
12/14/2016 09:01:28 am
Your customizing of the patterns are remarkable!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 10:04:54 am
Thank you, I had a lot of fun doing them!
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Rita
12/14/2016 09:26:05 am
What appeals to me most is all the 'new to me' pages and fun designs! (and that Santa hack is awesome!!!)
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 10:06:19 am
It's always great to learn about more designers, the sewing world is a fun one! Glad you like "Santa" I can't wait to wear it properly!
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Becky
12/14/2016 09:37:43 am
I love this Santa outfit, what a clever idea
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 10:06:44 am
Thanks Becky! I had so much fun making it!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/14/2016 10:07:23 am
Thank you! I'm loving reading all the other blog posts in this tour too :)
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Sarah - MeMade
12/15/2016 10:13:11 am
Thanks Jennifer!
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Heidi
12/14/2016 04:11:48 pm
Love this!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/15/2016 10:13:44 am
Thank you!
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Nicole Beale Cleaver
12/14/2016 06:19:42 pm
I love finding new blogs/ websites
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Sarah - MeMade
12/15/2016 10:14:46 am
Me too - I like seeing the variety of styles everyone has as well as reading about new patterns to try!
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Bethany B
12/14/2016 08:02:47 pm
So cute!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/15/2016 10:15:17 am
Thank you Bethany!
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Courtney
12/14/2016 08:38:57 pm
Cute santa sweater!
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Sarah - MeMade
12/15/2016 10:15:53 am
Thanks Courtney, was fun to sew for sure!
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AuthorHi! I'm Sarah and I live with my 2 boys and my Husband in East Anglia, UK. I enjoy sewing for my family and it is my aim to have a completely MeMade wardrobe for us all! Archives
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