Hello readers! It’s Kelly and I want to welcome to Love Notions Patterns’ new Feature Friday! Each week, we will be having a guest blogger join us to share their Love Notions creation. And of course, we can’t have a feature without special pricing! That means the Featured Pattern will be on sale that day only until 11:59pm CST. I’m kicking off this fun series with The Cartwheel Collection. (affil link) And just as promised, we have a special feature price of $6! And yes, that is for the entire Cartwheel Collection!
This collection is PERFECT for back to school sewing! Super quick, you can knock out a few sets that mix in match in no time! The Cartwheel Collection is composed of a shirt, tunic, dress, skirt, shorts and capris. That is pretty much every pattern you need to sew your daughter’s back to school wardrobe and it’s just $6 today only!
You guys have seen Kate quick a bit around here. She’s all grown now and moving on to seventh grade this year. Sewing for older girls can present some challenges. First, it can’t look homemade. Kate isn’t a fan of patterns on her fabrics, so I use lots of solids. This also gives her clothes a more ready to wear (or store bought) appearance. To make it unique, I add special touches in other ways. For example, I wanted add some sweet girly touches to the Cartwheel Collection shirt. So, I used some stretch lace and some spray adhesive to keep it in place over the solid cotton lycra. Then I just treated it as a single piece of fabric while assembling the pattern.
I carried the lace to the front by adding a pocket using the same technique. A pocket is not included in the pattern. I just drew a pocket, but you can snatch one from another pattern, like The Vanquard Kit, if you aren’t confident in your pocket designing skills.
I did one other thing to change this pattern up to make it more Kate’s style. I sized down the shorts one size to give them a more slim fit. I made French terry shorts with a cotton lycra band. Super comfy!! If you size down like I did, just be sure to take the rise into account. I added an inch because Kate is loooong. Just add it to the top of the main shorts piece.
Now while this set is adorable and super cute. Let’s face it, she’s 12 and not really wearing knit shorts to school anymore. But that isn’t a big deal because this top is awesome with a pair of jeans!
And just like that, we have an outfit perfect for school. Even if it’s junior high.
But, we can’t stop there! Kate is a tumbler. Her fall/winter session begins in just a couple of weeks. And if you saw my post in the Facebook group, you know that I have decided I’m going to see how many Love Notions Patterns I can turn into athletic wear! I already did it with The Tidal and you can see that here. The Cartwheel Collection screamed athletic wear to me! And it totally worked!!!
I used some athletic fabric from JoAnn’s and slimmed down the shorts by down sizing one size. She absolutely LOVES this! Easy to move around in and tucking the shirt in in the front will keep it in place while she does her back tucks and whatever else all those moves are called.
I love how much just fabric choice can change a pattern. Who would have guessed these totally different looks would come from the exact same pattern pieces?!
So now, no excuses! You still have time to do back to school sewing, for even your tween! We would LOVE to see what you create! Be sure you are part of the Love Notions Pattern Support group on Facebook. There, you can ask questions and show off your Love Notions creations. You will also find out about sales and contests! The Love Notions community is a fantastic place and we would love for you to be a part of it!
Have you sewn the Cartwheel Collection? Would you like your picture added to the listing gallery? If so be sure to post it in the Facebook Pattern Support Group or Instagram and tag with #cartwheellove (tag lovenotions for an Instagram post). Every image I add to the listing will get a $10 credit to the Love Notions shop! Post your image by August 19th to be considered.
