Can you feel a few twinges of fall weather in your area? This is perfect for the transitioning season and is actually three patterns: the entire Love Notion’s raglan family! The Wrigley, Samson, and Rockford Raglans are perfect through fall, winter and spring for all your family’s needs. And, as our guest blogger shows, this pattern will stand the test of time. Thank you to Tami Peterson for a simply stunning blog post filled with inspiring fabrics, trim tips, color combinations, and neckband instructions. Ok, I’m ready for fall now!
Hi all! Tami from SewSophieLynn here and I’m so excited to be bringing you the Feature Friday patterns this week. I’m sharing a little bit of my Love Notions journey and how they became such a staple in my family’s wardrobe. The Samson Sweater and Wrigley Raglan are just $5 today only and I’m here to share a little about how much these patterns mean to me.
Look at those babies! This picture was taken four years ago. I had just moved into our current house and found myself with a little more time on my hands. I started pattern testing as a way to fill that time and to better what little sewing skills I had. Prior to pattern testing, my sewing projects had been the occasional Halloween costume, minor home decorating projects, and patternless upcycling my old clothes for my kids. Discovering the PDF world was life-changing! My first Love Notions pattern test was the Boyfriend Cardigan and I instantly fell in love with the Love Notions aesthetic. I loved how easy to print and put together the patterns are, the easy-to-follow tutorials, and the classic designs. These two sweatshirts came soon after and the Samson Sweater cemented a place in their wardrobes for many years to come.
The Samson Sweater is one of those patterns I turn to again and again. It’s a bit boxier than all my other raglan patterns which makes it great for cozy sweaters and sweatshirts. It’s also a great base to hack away. I’ve lengthened it for a comfy tunic, sized up for a trendy slouchy look, and even used it for bomber style jacket. The pattern comes in sizes 12 months-14 years and features two different hem choices, an optional hood, elbow patches or a front patch pocket, as well as the choice to do a button or snap front. There’s even a great post on adding a zipper for a classic zip-up hoodie. It’s no wonder I can’t get enough of it right?!
For this post, I turned to Raspberry Creek Fabrics to find the perfect fabrics. They had exactly what I needed for these patterns and to suit these kids and their dramatically different personalities. I used a trio of sweatshirt fleece in mauve, black, and mustard for their Samsons. My kids have dubbed this fabric the softest stuff on the planet. I keep finding little scraps of it all over the house that they’ve claimed as little comfort woobies (tell me my kids aren’t the only ones that do this?). It really is so fluffy and incredibly soft and warm. I need my own Rockford or Sloane this winter out of this heavenly stuff.
The floral brushed poly paired with a solid dusty pink was a great combination for the Wrigley Raglan. Brushed poly is a great fabric for transitioning into cooler weather. Still soft and light without being too warm. I love that they all coordinate without being too matchy.
For the perfect touch to these sweatshirts, I used stretch ribbed trim from Hobby Lobby. I wanted to shout for joy when I found these! I purchased some incredible European cuff trim last winter that set me back a pretty penny. It’s beautiful and a little better quality than the Hobby Lobby stuff but hard to find and so pricey. The Hobby Lobby versions come in classic colors and multiple styles and when on sale are just $3.50 a spool! I used about 1.5 spools per sweatshirt and love the great ready to wear finish it gives them. I used this black stripe (I trimmed the width a bit for him) and this ivory.
The first Samson I made was for my very picky tween. She just started middle school this year and wants nothing to look ‘homemade’. She’s all about the latest trends and styles and was thrilled with her new sweatshirt. I made her a straight size 12 but her chest measurement puts her between an 8 and 10. She loves the slightly slouchy but not too oversized look of this and is counting down the days until it’s actually cold enough to wear this to school.
For my little guy, I did a couple of small hacks. I used the Sloane kangaroo pocket because he informed me that all sweatshirts NEED pockets. I also used the Sloane instructions for adding the hood and skipped the extra neckband piece. He falls right in between the size 6 and 8 and I sized up to the 8. He is extra tall and might need to add a little length next time to the arms and body.
It was so nice to be able to sew up an old favorite. There’s so much comfort in turning to those beloved patterns and remembering all the past garments you’ve made from them. It’s also nice to branch out and try new things and I was excited to use the Wrigley Raglan. It’s easy to get stuck in our same old pattern rut but it’s kind of invigorating and inspiring to try something new.
The Wrigley Raglan is designed for girls and comes in sizes 2t-16 AND 8-16 plus sizing. There are tee, tunic, and dress options as well as three sleeve choices. There’s even an optional hood! A girl’s gotta love all those choices. I went with the tee length and 3/4 sleeve in a size 8 with added length. The sleeves are loose and give it a more sporty look and will work great as we head into slightly cooler days. I did find that I had to use measurements for the neckband as it was a tad too short for my fabric. I think working with different fabrics it’s always a good practice to double-check neckbands before stitching them on. What is perfect for one fabric could be too long or too short depending on the stretch of your particular fabric type.
Thanks for letting me kick off this Feature Friday today! It’s been a pleasure to share with you guys two of my favorite things- Love Notions patterns and my goofy kiddos!
2020 RETREAT UPDATE
If you’ve been following the news about Love Notion’s Sew-cation, we have some exciting news! In order to create an even better experience for guests, the Sew-cation dates have been updated to August 3rd-7th, 2020 at the Blue Gate Garden Inn in Shipshewana. This location and timeframe offers a host of benefits, including more amazing teachers, lots of delicious food, and really lovely accommodations. If you are interested in our previous retreats, check out the recaps from 2018 and 2019, as well as Caroline Gaddy’s review from a guest perspective.
We are so thankful for our featured sponsors (Surge Fabric Shop and Thimbles Quilt Shop) who are already busy creating some exciting opportunities for everyone at the 2020 Sew-cation — bra-making classes (!), lots and lots of fabric, Baby Lock sewing machine rentals, cover-stitch and serger banks, shopping excursions, and many other events and goodies are all in the works as I type. Look for all of the finalized information to be posted to the Sew-cation website on September 13th. There you will find all of the teachers, classes, events, schedules, cost. etc., etc.
So we hope to sew with you next summer at:
Shipshewana, Indiana: August 3rd-7th, 2020
September 13, 2019 Love Notion’s Sew-cation Website opens
October 2, 2019 Love Notion’s Sew-cation Registration opens!
Can’t wait to sew with you!
(In the past, the retreat has sold out within about 24 hours of registration opening. So it is important to sign up right away on the registration date.)
