Fabulous and free

I am grateful to the designers who choose to share their patterns with us sewing addicts free of charge. The outfit I am showing in this post was created by using three free patterns. Try saying 'three free patterns' quickly! Fun hey?

Here is another fun activity. Spot one major difference between the first two photos in this blog post!

The tee I am wearing is a rather good looking offspring of Kirsten Kimono Tee from Maria Denmark and Plantain Tee from Deer and Doe. I have made a couple of Kirsten tees two years ago and while I loved the fit around my body I felt the neckline was a little too high. Maria has a tutorial on changing the shape of the neckline. However I am lazy. Actually, no. I am resourceful. Why spend time drafting a neckline when I have a pattern that I know works great for me?

I used black Art Gallery knit from Bebeloush Designs for my tee. I have made a few Plantain tees from cotton/elastine knits and have never had an issue with the neckline. I am not sure if the dye affected the stretch of the fabric a little or I made a mistake on some stage, however I had rather significant puckering along the neckband when I basted it in place. I cut another neckband, a couple of cm longer than I knew I would need and kept on cutting it shorter when it looked too loose after basting it in place. After three goes I was pleased with my neckband.

I showed the tee to my husband and told him about my saga with the neckband. He just said I could have bought a tee like this for $4 from Best and Less. I think he missed a couple of important points. A tee like this at Best and Less would cost at least $5 and I doubt I would get the same quality of fabric.

The vintage inspired pleated skirt was designed by talented Emily from In the Folds for Peppermint magazine. I made a skirt using this pattern last winter and I knew I would want a warmer weather version.

I can't praise this pattern enough. Seriously, if you don't have it yet, go and download a copy right now. This skirt has amazing little details that will make your sewing heart sing. The pleats, the hem facings, the pockets... Mmm!!! 

Speaking of the pockets. If you take a closer look you will see that I managed to stretch them while handling the fabric... This was the last time I tried to cut a corner and did not interface the edges of my pockets!

The zipper is invisible enough I decided hehe

I posted this photo on Instagram recently and shared that my little love is shadowing me everywhere, even while I am on the toilet. Naturally, she was nearby during the photo-shoot. However this time instead of practicing her photobombing skills she joined in and started posing with me. It was so sweet! If you are curious, she is wearing a Tip Top tunic I made her last year. It has a story, too! Check it out here :)

My little love took demonstrating the twirl-ability of my skirt (and her top by default) seriously... which was way too funny!

Cuddles, kisses and tickles concluded the photo-shoot.

Are there free sewing patterns that you think we all need to know about?