Horris and Deedle: A Sofilantjes Summer

It's Spring here in Sydney, and today is an exciting day for a couple of reasons. The first is that my boys are back at school today after end of term holidays (yay - I may actually get some sewing done this week), and the second is that today I am the second blog stop on the Sofilantjes Down Under Blog Tour.

Due to a serious lack of time, I don't get around to blogging very often - and I tend to blog more over at Pattern Revolution, where I am a member of their team. Those that keep track of where I blog (and I may quite possibly be the only person) know that I love Sofilantjes patterns. They are well drafted, easy to follow and the sizing is spot on. They are also packed full of options which makes most of them appropriate for year round use. Zoe has loads of Sofilantjes items in her wardrobe and today I'm showing how some popular patterns can easily transition into the warmer months.

Zoe is an active little girl. Her older brothers do lots and lots of sports, and she has watched them ever since she was tiny. As a result, being active is second nature to her. She loves to run, swim, climb, bush walk, play basketball (well attempt it anyway) and loves riding her scooter and her bike. Whilst I love sewing pretty dresses as much as anyone else, I like her wardrobe to have a mix of dresses and shorts and tees too, which are often far more practical for the days activities that she has in mind.

I've made the Domi Sweat pants in the cropped length, and paired them with a plain Hibernis Tee with the cap sleeve from the Nivalis Dress. The Domi Sweat Pants are hands down my favourite knit pants pattern. The fit through the crotch and around the waist and hips is fantastic. I use it for trackies in the Winter (Australian for tracksuit pants, or sweat pants), pyjama pants for all the kids (yes the boys too because it goes all the way up to a size 14), shorts in summer, and I love the cropped length for the months when the seasons are shifting.

Spring tends to arrive pretty quickly here - the cherry blossoms appear early August when it is still cold, and signal to me that there is not long left of Winter - those blossoms are all that get me though those last few weeks of Winter. Sure enough about three weeks later, the season starts to change, and by mid September, the daylight hours are longer and the weather is generally sunny and pleasant. These cropped pants are perfect for wearing in Spring and will also be great for Autumn next year. They are comfy, highly practical and if Zoe gets herself dressed in the mornings, 9 times out of 10 she will choose her Domi Sweat Pants over anything else.

I paired the pants with the Hibernis top - the Hibernis top has so many options that it easy to forget that it can also work as a plain basic tee. I made a size 5 for Zoe and it is still a fraction big, but she is now just over the size 4 measurements and I want her tees to last all the way through to winter next year. I added the little cap sleeve from the Nivalis dress because its so cute and practical and makes the tshirt nice and cool for Summer. Pre School rules are very strict here with regards to wearing clothes with sleeves that offer protection from the sun and I love having clothes that work for pre school as well as home. Zoe is fair and burns easily and as much as I love the look of sleeveless things, they just don't get worn as much because they are not as practical. The patterns I've used are all unisex and offer great value for money for those that sew for boys and girls.

I also made a pair of shorts from the Domi Sweats by simply just cutting the shorts off higher than the bermuda length marked on the pattern. I used a European sweat (loopback) to make these and they will be perfect for Summer.

Just thought I'd sneak that last picture in to remind you all of our killer wildlife..

I'm actually delighted that Anne and Melissa took the time to organise a down under blog tour. We are a relatively small population, but our sewing community is strong and thriving and I hope some of you looking for some great patterns for Summer will find some ideas this week. Please follow along on the blog tour and let all the girls know what you think. And don't forget to stop by the Sofilantjes Sew and Show facebook group and tell Anne what you think of her fantastic patterns.

Monday Idle sunshine

Tuesday Horris And Deedle

Wednesday Little Cumquat, Bartacks and Singletrack

Thursday Tea, Dust and Stitches, Brave Fabrics

Friday While She was Sleeping, Mend and Make New

All week there is a discount code of 15% off the Summer Sofilantjes patterns to celebrate the Down Under Blog tour. The code to use is DOWNUNDER. It expires on October 16th and will work for Summer patterns only.

I also have an exciting rafflecopter giveaway for you to enter to win your very own pattern to make your own pair of Domi Sweat Pants

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope you all have a fabulous Summer and enjoy the warmth and Sunshine. I know I will! Thanks for reading along,

Marnie xxx

Idle sunshine, Horris And Deedle, Little Cumquat, Bartacks and Singletrack, Tea, Dust and Stitches, Brave Fabrics, While She was Sleeping, Mend and Make New