so-cal sewing mom: Elegance and Elephants

Have you been looking for a couple of super easy, well put together, perfectly sized, girl approved patterns for your daughter? Well, you can thank me. Well, actually, you can thank Heidi at Elegance and Elephants.

Seriously cute. The Hemlock Top has a great sleeve ruffle detail - easy to insert as it's not "too" ruffly. You can make it in long sleeve or short sleeve. For this top, I went into my husband's closet and grabbed one of his multitude of white t-shirts. I worked with Julia on my first ever freezer paper stencil. We traced the flower together, I cut it out, and Julia applied the paint. Part of my on-going plan to engage her in the clothing making process to ensure that she will actually wear the things I made.

The Magnolia Skirt comes with two options - one for a knit, and one for a woven. How smart is that? The knit is a bit wider to allow for even more "spin" - my version is made out of a very nice soft corduroy and even though it's fairly narrow fitting at the waist and through the hips, the bottom flares out - perfect for the girl who likes to spin. Like mine.

More photos of the kid - seriously get the pattern. It's releasing later this week. And, if this isn't cute enough for you, check out some gorgeous photos of Heidi's daughter, and her other September release pattern in her very cool E&E Patterns Fall 2014 Look Book.

Thanks Heidi for letting me test your patterns!

I was lucky enough to be selected to test the newest pattern from Elegance and Elephants - the Bohemian Babydoll Dress. I first saw pictures on Instagram and knew that this was one that would be a hit with my kid.

The pattern is a no-closure, breezy, over-the-head, tunic or dress. All features my kid loves.

The sewing took maybe a couple of hours. The fabric and embroidery selection - well, that took WAY too long!

When I saw the pattern, it just reminded me of summer. I wanted to use something that reminded me of summer on Cape Cod....well, this plaid that I had in my stash from long ago totally worked. I believe I used it to make a shirt from my son back in the day. I had a teeny bit of lightweight denim leftover from the first dress I made Julia when I finally got a new sewing machine - I think she was about 18 months old. Then, the embroidery choosing.....I went back to the Urban Threads website - my new absolute favorite source for designs (now that I've figured out how to download to my machine).

This is a size 4 with 5 length. According to the pattern release, she made some tweaks to the bodice size and neckline size. My kid loves the way it fits, but I may try it again with a size 3 bodice (and the same length).