Having High Hopes

I am a rule follower. I just am. You tell me something and say it's a rule, I just automatically find myself doing exactly what I'm told. I don't always love this about myself, but it's just who I am and I've learned to live with it.

I have also learned that there are some rules that have work-a-rounds. Should you flat outbreak rules? Absolutely not! But if you know what you're doing, you can make changes that may seem to follow and yet at the same time completely break the rules.

Yes, I am that kind of sneaky!

Take this top, for example. It's brand new over at Ellie and Mac. And, yes, I tested it! I love testing for Lindsey and making such amazing things! The testing process is a fascinating one! To see a pattern go from a really good basic idea and turn into something nearly perfect is extraordinary!

Lindsey knocked it out of the park again this time! There aren't a whole lot of options to the High Hopes Dolman , but the off the shoulder option is so beautiful! But with this pattern, fabric choice is going to bring a whole lot of variety. I used a pretty striped sweater knit and the striped do some very fun things with this style of shirt. Some people used lace to make a fun layered look, other people used rayon spandex to get that gorgeous drape! One person even used a glorious silk and a knit material for the bands and cuffs!

Speaking of breaking the rules by using a fabric that doesn't meet the stretch requirements. See these beautiful faux leather from Mily Mae cuffs and band? Yeah, they don't even come close to meeting the stretch requirements for bands and cuffs. But, knowing how much stretch I had and how much I needed, I adjusted the length of the band and cuffs so that they would still be snug but not overly tight and used those to make the bands and cuffs!

The result couldn't have been more perfect!! I am so pleased with how this turned out!

I felt so pretty wearing this top! The faux leather made up a good part of that! I am so thrilled with the results of my rule-breaking! What rules have you broken that turned out having beautiful results?

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Cape Cod Swim Cover Up

You may have seen me talking about the Cape Cod swimsuit here, which was my first attempt at sewing swim EVER and was totally scary but oh so worth it! The finished results were so satisfying and beautiful and make my tween child so happy! Well, there is more to the Cape Cod pattern than just a super cute swimsuit, there is also a swim cover-up.

Say what? Tell you more? Totally!! There are options with this one! Options I tell you!! The first being that this doesn't have to made with knit! That's right, the Cape Cod Swim Cover Up can be made with woven. It is drafted for either!

We chose to use this super cute and thin Rayon Spandex from Mily Mae. It is crazy adorable! Kaylie is a little bit in love with the romper option. I really wanted to try the dress option. Say What?!? Dress option? That's right, there are more than just one option for this cover-up!! There is also a dress option and a 2 piece option!

That is a lot of options for a simple swim cover!

Woven Romper
Knit Romper
Woven Dress
Knit Dress
Woven Tank
Knit Tank
Woven Shorts
Knit Shorts

AND...

Swimsuit

Unfortunately, I can't show you any other option other than this one because this is the only style Kaylie wanted to wear. But maybe I can convince her later this summer to try a little bit different style. I guess we will wait and see what happens.

Because you can totally use this pattern to make all kinds of great summer outfits and not just use it for swimming stuff. What kind of stitch witchery is this? So may options with just one pattern? You really should go check out the pattern to see all these beautiful options, there are a lot and they are so cute!

What option do you think you're little would pick out first? Is your child a dress, romper or separates kind of kid?

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Sewing Goals and the Cape Cod

So, way back in January of 2018, I decided that I really wanted to make my own swimsuit! I bought this super cute pattern and some really pretty fabric and swim lining. I even made sure to have enough fabric that I could make a muslin (practice suit) and make a coordinating suit for Kaylie. I even had her pattern figured out and ready to go. But then I chickened out! I totally freaked out and bought a swimsuit for both of us.

I guess I just figured that there was no way I could actually make a swimsuit and that there is no way it would even look good. I was so nervous!

Now that it's March of 2019 and I have sewn so much more than I ever thought possible, from jackets (don't have a post on that one yet) to deck chairs (here) and a million pairs of jammie pants (need a post for this one too) and so so many things I never even knew were possible to sew I decided that my skills could probably handle a simple swimming suit.

Enter Ellie and Mac and the adorable Cape Cod Swimsuit! Testing for Ellie and Mac pushes me to try things I might not have been willing to try before and I'm super grateful. Like a swimsuit that has been terrifying me for over a year! And I made two!! Only one of which is posted here at this time. Maybe I'll share the other one soon, it's pretty cute!

A little about the Cape Cod: It's a halter style one-piece suit with 3 adorable keyholes at the neck. The sizes range from a super cute and tiny 6 months to a nearly full-grown size 14. Kaylie is still a size 12. She is only 11 and still has room to grow. Thankfully this suit will fit for this summer and then all bets are off to her size for next year!

Just a quick tip when sewing this one, be sure you tack down the top edge of the neckline to the strap. I forgot to tack it down and we had a really hard time getting the keyholes to stay open. And we honestly found that we like the look of the wider front with the keyholes open than when they bunch together. It also gives more coverage to the front of the pattern, which is also something we like about the Cape Cod.

I was really worried about Kaylie comfort in a halter, but where I could adjust the width of the strap just a little myself, we were able to make it wide enough to still pass through the front and not feel super thin and tight around the back of her neck. We made this suit out of a gorgeous coral swim from The Fabric Fairy, and we were going for a definite solid only look, but there were a lot of testers that put pony beads before the knot at the end of their ties. We loved the idea, just didn't run with it this time around.

Also, I wanted to mention that Lindsey worked really hard to make sure that the back of the Cape Cod was high enough that the coverage at the side was modest for all sizes. There is also elastic in the back to help keep it up and snug. Be sure to use a swim elastic! Other elastics aren't made to hold up to all the chlorine and saltwater they could encounter and will eventually degrade and fall apart. Which would be super sad to have something this adorable fall apart!

Photographing a swimsuit in March in Idaho can be a bit tricky. Thankfully my sister-in-law manages the local Best Western and we were able to tuck away in her hotel for a few hours to snap these great shots! The water was warm and the lighting was pretty much perfect! I let Kay take a dip in the pool so we could put this suit to some actual use! She LOVED it! She was doing flips and spinning in the water. Unfortunately the pictures of her floating didn't turn out. But that's okay, because getting out of the pool we got some great shots!

Remember how I said that I didn't tack down the key holes? Yeah, well this shot was a lot harder to take then it looked (for Kay, I didn't have an issue with the camera, haha). Every time she would start to come out of the water I would make her fix the key holes! The water is 8 foot deep here, so it wasn't exactly easy for her to have one hand on the bar and one fixing the key holes while trying to hold herself half out of the water! But she did great!! She even smiled!!

She even got to hang out in the hot tub for a few minutes. This girl! She got some amazing photos! She is getting so much more comfortable in front of the camera and has had a great time getting so many new clothes!

She is a typical pre-teen though. At one point this last week she was being a pill and was mad I was making her pick up the clothes from off her bedroom floor (75% of which I had made her) and I threatened to stop sewing for her! There were immediate tears! Apparently she likes that I sew for her! That makes my heart very happy! So maybe she isn't quite as typical as I was thinking. Even if she is on her phone during ALL of her down time, and even when she doesn't have down time!

BTW, that's my phone! And this pose was my idea! We thought it would be good to see exactly how an actual tween would look in the Cape Cod at the pool! 😂

What fear have you had that, once conquered, surprised you in that it wasn't nearly as difficult as you originally thought?

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!