New Horizon's - Swiss Army shirt with heat transfer vinyl

July 19, 2017 Jody Kappas

I've been asking for a Silhouette Cameo machine for a while now, and I was pleasantly surprised to receive one from the hubs this past Mother's day! I know the sky is the limit with the projects I can do with this cool machine, but my main objective in wanting one is for Heat Transfer Vinyl. I love the idea of further customizing my handmade garments with images and words using vinyl. I was especially pumped to use it for clothing for my son. I feel like my little guy does not get nearly as many handmade garments for several reasons, the main one being that great fabric and patterns just aren't as prevalent for boys as they are for girls. Finding boyish print fabric that isn't too expensive, too childish, or too plain is a challenging task! Stripes and solids, albeit boring, are often what I am drawn to for my son. Enter, heat transfer vinyls and the ability to make unique and interesting shirts for my son without having to hunt for the perfect boy print fabric!

I knew the Swiss Army shirt (from New Horizons Designs) would be a staple pattern for my Heat Transfer Vinyl projects for my son. I already adore this pattern since I could use woven fabric for the front and back, which also opens up lots of options for boy prints! I also really love that it has side and shoulder knit fabric panels that I can use an accent or coordinate fabric to add more interest instead of just a plain basic tee. For this version, I opted for a stripe main shirt with light grey side and shoulder panels, all knit fabrics. These black and white stripes are one of the club line of fabrics from Raspberry Creek Fabrics that I use ALL. THE. TIME. because they are so perfect! I let my son choose the vinyl color, although I suspected it would be either this neon yellow or neon orange. I LOVE how the neon yellow pops against the black and white stripes!

After searching high and low for the perfect cut file of a tower crane, I finally gave up and created my own using a vector file I purchased. I learned so much with this process, but still have a ton left to figure out!!! I love that when I can't find exactly what I want, I know I can somehow create it!

I'm starting to plan my son's wardrobe for the fall, and so far there are a bunch more Swiss Army shirts planned! He's starting Kindergarten this year, so really want to make some awesome stuff for him to head off to school in! The Swiss Army shirt also has a bunch of other awesome options like a button placket, polo collar, long sleeves, etc, so its pretty much the only pattern I'll need for him! Its the perfect canvas for all your boy sewing needs!

Please note that this post contains links. Some of these may be "affiliate links" which means that if you decide to make a purchase I get paid a tiny portion of whatever is purchased, but at no additional cost to you. Affiliate payments go directly to my fabric fund to continue the cycle of sewing up or testing more patterns so I can share the love with you!

Portlander Pants

March 9, 2017 Jody Kappas

There are a bunch of beautiful, floral wide leg lounge pants that show up in my Pinterest feed several times a day.... I have been absolutely swooning over them, so I took a little bit of time and fabric from my stash and made myself a pair using the Portlander Pants pattern from New Horizon's! (It was released prior to the name change, so you may remember it being from Terra's Treasures before she changed the pattern company name, just an FYI!) The one thing missing from the "Pinspiration" pants is POCKETS! If you've been following me for a while, you know that pockets are life and 90% of the time I will pass on a pattern if it doesn't have pockets..... Thankfully, there is a blog post on the New Horizon's website with a tutorial and extra pattern piece so that I could add some patch pockets to the front of the pants, therefore making them EVEN BETTER than the "pinspiration" pants! :)

For my pair, I used a couple of amazingly soft rayon blend French Terry fabrics to make sure they are the most comfortable lounge pants around! The floral print is from So Sew English, and comes in a couple other color ways as well. The solid waistband is very lightweight, and ultra soft. It is the perfect true "oatmeal" color I have been searching for! I found it at Love Adore knit fabrics, and also grabbed a royal blue and black because one can never have enough solid color french terry's on hand! (or so I like to tell myself...) These pants came together very quickly, and are exactly what I was looking for! If you want to recreate these popular pants for yourself, you can grab the copy of the pattern here, and don't forget to check out the blog post mentioned above for adding the pockets!

New Horizon's Dublin Dolman Patterns

September 30, 2016 Jody Kappas

A month or so ago I tested another pattern by Terra for New Horizon's patterns. (Formerly called Terra's Treasures, this is also the designer of the awesome color-blocked Elevation Hoodie I wrote about back in February!) The pattern was for a Dolman top with loads and loads of options! I made a long sleeve version that included a gathered back and POCKETS! I have a mild obsession with pockets. When picking out store bought clothing, I always check to see if tops have pockets or if its a top I would pair with pants that have pockets instead. Either way, I ALWAYS gotta have pockets in some way, shape or form!! Its definitely a deciding factor in whether or not I purchase store bought clothing. The good thing with sewing my own garments is that even if a pattern doesn't include pockets, they are fairly simple to add! Well just my luck, I simply suggested to Terra prior to testing that she include pockets in the pattern, and lo and behold she did! Hallelujah! There are a lot of Dolman patterns from various designers out there, and I've tried a handful of them, but I just have to say I LOVE the way Terra's patterns are drafted and all the options this one in particular includes! I was excited when she came out with the girl's version as well! I knew this would be a style I would make a lot for my daughter with the various sleeve lengths and hemlines! I opted to also make a tunic length for my daughter, but with a straight back instead of gathered like mine. I love that we can have similar shirts, but with slight differences to keep it interesting! And the icing on the cake of these patterns: The girl's version includes and 18" doll size pattern as well! So, OF COURSE I had to make Sienna a matching outfit as well! :) Now, just LOOK at all of the variations these patterns have!

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And, take a peek at some shots of our versions! Yes, my husband thought I had gone crazy when I sent him the picture of us matching, but you can tell by my daughter's smile that she's in heaven!

You can find these patterns for sale on the New Horizon's Website. They can be purchased individually, or as a bundle as you so choose! There's the Women's version, the Girl's and Doll version, and the Bundle!

All fabric is from So Sew English. The leggings are made from a luscious Double Brushed Poly, and use the (free) Peg Leg and Bonny leggings patterns from Patterns for Pirates and Made for Mermaids! Codes for these legging patterns are available in each designer's respective facebook group! The dolman tops are made from a couple different rayon spandex cuts I've received in various bundles from So Sew English!

Please note that this post contains links. Some of these are "affiliate links" which means I get paid a tiny portion of whatever is purchased. Affiliate payments go directly to my fabric fund to continue the cycle of testing more patterns so I can share the love with you!