Book Club Hacked

Hey, friends! Have you seen the new top from Ellie and Mac? The Book Club top is adorable!! I love the V color blocking and the loose sweater fit of this top. It's so much fun and leaves so many options for customizing. 

Recently I wrote a blog for Ellie and Mac about how to do an FBA on the Book Club top. Tops with color blocking across the chest can be complicated to do an FBA on and I wanted to be sure that everyone who needed an FBA would be able to do it with minimal complications. The blog has not yet been published, but when it is, I will come back with a direct link.

Well, in the process of writing this blog I discovered that I really wanted to hack the double V color blocking into a single V and then I had about 3 million other ideas but I can only make one at a time and even then I'm still learning how to take photos to show how I hack things, so I hope a single photo and some great explanations will get you there.

The first thing I did was trace out the pattern in my size with my adjustments and then I just taped the top and middle sections of the pattern together and treated them as one piece. The photo above shows the sleeve but the back and front pieces are going to be treated the same. Oh, I bet this top would be adorable with the middle and bottom piece treated as one and just the top piece be separate from the others and with a V-neck! See, so many ideas! This technique is also great for making a solid top. The fit of this sweater is awesome. I can definitely see why one would want to make the Book Club in a multitude of styles.

I know, pretty lame pattern hack, but I'm still trying to get a hold of this whole slow-down-and-take-photos thing. I keep forgetting to take it easy and enjoy the process, but I'm working on getting better, I think.

Have you ever used this kind of pattern hack? What is your favorite pattern to hack?

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And the Whole Family

This was my first (that I have photos of) challenge to sew for a whole family that was not my own husband and children. I had so much fun planning and measuring and sewing these shirts! I totally want to do it again!

Thank you, Nathan and Heather, for letting me invade your home and take measurements and photos and plan this all out without your input of what I was making.

You all turned out so adorable! And even if Greyson was a pill, the photos are super cute!

I really would like to try again sometime. When we can get outside in the warmth and sunshine with a good camera that has a fully battery so I don't have to fall back on my phone's crappy camera.

Ahhhh! I seriously have the cutest niece and nephew!

If you're curious as to the patterns and fabric, please check out "Fancy Raglan Hack" and "Like Father Like Son"

I had so much fun! Watch out Kim, you might be next!

The links provided in this post may be affiliate links where I receive a small commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me, my blogging and my sewing!

Like Father Like Son

Sewing for my sister-in-law and my niece was so much fun and their shirts turned out so cute (check those sews out here) that I just knew I needed to get my brother and nephew in on all the fun.

Though I'm not sure how much fun Greyson was having. When I arrived at his house and refused to change his shirt. That was to be expected. He is only 2. Kaylie was able to convince him to change his shirt, but he was definitely not going to consent to me taking his photo. Absolutely not!

My brother tried everything! We had high hopes of him coming around, eventually.

A quick note about these fun shirts. The front is made from a beautiful tie-dye DBP from The Fab Clique the rest are from a variety of other places that I probably can't even place.

Greyson's shirt is the Petite Stitchery Ragtag Raglan. These great color-blocked sleeves come as part of the pattern. There is also a solid sleeve option. The pattern begins at size 2T and goes up to size 12. It has a nice straight cut and a trim fit.

Nathan's shirt is the 5 Out of 4 Ryan Raglan, and it is such a versatile pattern with a hood and round and V-neck. The cut looks amazing on him! The color block on the sleeves is not included in the pattern. I used the color block on the sleeves of Greyson's top as an example to make them look the same. It was a fun process and the results are spectacular.

This next photo is my favorite! Greyson was being a typical 2 year old and didn't want to do anything he was asked. So much stubbornness in this boy! But look at my brother, look at his face. That is the look of patience and love!

He looks just like his daddy did at this age! I love these two! Thank you, Nathan and Greyson for letting me sew for you and photograph you!

Do you have a crazy toddler that you try to photograph? Do you have any tricks or treats that work to get good photos? Please share!! I need to know!

The links provided in this post may be affiliate links where I receive a small commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me, my blogging and my sewing!