I'm so excited to bring you the second week of my 40 Garments in 40 Days Series. We're going to do something different this week. This week I'm going to give you all 7 patterns in one post. Tomorrow you're going to get a bunch of possible sudokus to mix and match all these patterns. In my mind, it isn't a full wardrobe if each item doesn't coordinate with at least 2 others! And boy do I have some amazing things for you today.

For your sanity (and mine), I'll include a summary at the end which will include all of the giveaways, coupon codes and discounts.

Don't forget to check out last week's posts:
40 Garments in 40 Days Week 1 Day 1
40 Garments in 40 Days Week 1 Day 2

Today's garments include:
Hey June Hatteras
Funktional Threads Ashley Knit Top and Knit Skort
Simple Life Pattern Company Emilyas and Ayda
Sofilantjes Otium
Winter Wear Designs Aviator Pants

First up, the Hey June Hatteras and the Winter Wear Designs Aviators.

My first chance at sewing up a Hey June Pattern was the Hey June Raglan (one of our Sponsors of the Day). The pattern was really well drafted but nothing too fancy. So I was pretty impressed when I saw the finishing touches on the Hatteras. I received this pattern in exchange for a review (but of course all opinions remain my own). The Hatteras includes seam finishes for the hood seam AND the neckline. These finishes take the pattern from a hoodie pattern to a high end, nicely finished Hoodie. And better yet, you actually get 3 different patterns with the Hatteras. A pull over hoodie, zip up hoodie OR a really fancy high-lo sweatshirt with funky side seam color blocking. You'll see the zip up hoodie version on week 6. I didn't skip any of the finishing on this one (even though I prefer quick and dirty sews). I even included the front pocket, which of course my daughter loves. AND, you my readers are super lucky because I have a coupon code for 20% off the Hatteras.

Paired with the Hatteras is the Winter Wear Designs Aviator Pants. WWD is one of our Sponsors of the Day! If you don't know about my love for the Winter Wear Designs Aviators, you haven't poked around here on the blog very much. I've written about them no less than 6 times. Yes 6. No, I'm not ashamed. If you're a really faithful reader, you'll know these are the same pants from my Winter Wear Designs Blog Tour. No I'm not ashamed to say I'm reusing them for this series. Yes they're still awesome. Truth? I'm glad I made them extra long, because of course my daughter grew taller. The trick to this is that the Aviators have a banded leg. So if the entire pant folds over that band at first, they'll still look fine. Further truth, when you commit to sewing 40 garments in 40 days, you may start to regret the whole thing about 1 week in and start to look for shortcuts. Last bit of truth? I realized that my daughter actually didn't need 40 complete garments. She had a few things that could be brought over from her winter wardrobe. WHEW. Sanity saved! Do you want to try your hands at the Aviators? For this week only, WWD is discounting the Aviators to just $5, no coupon code needed!


Next Up is the Funktional Threads Ashley Knit Top and Knit Skort. Funktional Threads is another one of our Sponsors of the Day and is giving away a copy of the Ashley Knit Top OR Skort bundle. I've owned the Ashley bundle for a LONG time. I've used it for several years now and I enjoy bringing it out each year. The Ashley Knit Top has a ton of options. It isn't just a raglan. It is a raglan with a hoodie, ruffles, flounce sleeves and so much more. You can make tons of combinations. I used the raglan hoodie option for this one with the short cap sleeves. To really help the look of the hoodie pop, I used a piece of jegging fabric that coordinates with the skort to make a facing for the hood. Please note that the pants that have been paired with the Ashley are the Simple Life Pattern Company Emilyas (described below).

The Ashley Knit Skort is my daughter's favorite out of all the skorts. Why? Unlike other skorts that have tight leggings type shorts under, this skort has a looser fit short under. I have to admit until I found this pattern, my oldest didn't wear skorts because she hated the tight shorts on her body. The skort choices in this pattern is also amazing. I did the paneled circle skirt, but I really like the pinwheel skirt too!

I'm doubly excited about the next 2 sews. Reason #1 I am excited is that the Ayda and Emilyas (described below) are made from fabric from my sponsor The Fat Quarter Shop. Now I know when most people think of the Fat Quarter Shop they think quilting. And it is true that they do sell tons of fat quarters (duh) and jelly rolls, etc. But they also sell fabric yardage. Now, if you're only used to working with Joann or other big box store's quilting fabric, you haven't yet lived. A good quilt shop fabric cannot be compared to the quality from Joanns. Good quality fabrics don't hold as many wrinkles and are just lovely for petting. When the Fat Quarter Shop told me I could get 5 yards of fabric, it took my daughter and I HOURS to find just 3 fabrics that we liked. There were so many pretties and so many I wish I could just take home with me and look at every day! We finally settled on 2 gorgeous Art Gallery Prints and a nice Michael Miller print.

Confession: I've always been too cheap to pay for Art Gallery Fabric. When I washed it, I didn't understand what the big deal was. It felt a little lighter weight than the other print I had received and it had a pretty good feel, but nothing amazing. I ironed it out and it was ok. I cut it. Still no big deal. Then as I was pressing out the seams, I saw what the big deal was. This stuff presses like a dream. The lines are so crisp and neat. AND, if you make a mistake and press a wrinkle into the fabric, you can get it to smooth right back out and start again. That's my #1 complaint with cheaper fabrics, if you miss press, it is nearly impossible to smooth out those wrinkles again. So needless to say, I'm sold! I LOVE them. Now if only they came in more prints that I could love.

The 2 sews that use my sponsor fabric are from the Simple Life Pattern Company, the Emilyas and the Ayda. Simple Life Pattern Company is another Sponsor of the Day and has included a prize pack of 3 patterns for one of my lucky readers. Can I say I'm jealous, because I am jealous.

Now the Ayda is an open back pattern and I thought for sure that this wouldn't fit my daughter because like her mama, she has wide shoulders. And unlike her mama she has a tiny waist and big butt. i thought for sure this wouldn't fit her, so I went about hacking the pattern to include a placket in the back. WHAT A MISTAKE. If I had just had her step in, none of this would have been necessary. WHY OH WHY did I make more work for myself? Thankfully it is still beautiful and very wearable. So if you are wondering if your pattern is going to fit, PLEASE complete the entire bodice. Pin it shut at the back and see if your model can step into the bodice and get it up to her shoulders. Chances are, the fit will be fine!

The Emilyas are sewn up in the Art Gallery Fabric and they are just perfect. They're fun enough to not be boring black or grey pants (my personal go to), but not so bright and funky that they can't be worn with all kinds of things. I only included the front side seam pockets but they could have been just as cute with the bows or cargo pocket. I was vetoed on the bows for this pattern. But since my daughter has to wear them, she gets the last word on style features. My one complaint about this pattern (you knew I would say that at least once), is that the pattern size chart doesn't include a hip measurement. My daughter's small waist plus big butt means that she doesn't fit into the size for her waist. But I've been sewing these for many seasons now, so I already knew I needed to go up one size to fit her butt. If you aren't sure about sizing, stop by the SLPCO Facebook Page


Last, but certainly not least, is the Sofilantjes Otium. I have blogged the Otium in the past. If you remember correctly, it has a little drafting issue at the shoulder seam, but that didn't stop me from including it in this series. I REALLY love the look of this bow. I wish that I could wear this style, but the high neckline needed to hold the bow in place would be disastrous on my frame. But all wishes aside, I really like the versatility of this pattern and it was fun to throw in a t-shirt that wasn't just another plain t-shirt.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow to see how we start building the sudokus for this series. With 14 garments and 4 pairs of shoes, I'll be able to build tons of workable sudokus. If your kid struggles to pick outfits each morning, this may be just the trick you need to make dressing in the morning easy and painless.

Are you ready for all the good stuff now?
Discounted Patterns:
Winter Wear Designs has discounted the Aviator Pants to just $5 no coupon code necessary
Coupon codes:
Hey June is offering 20% off the Hatteras through March 13th with coupon code: Hatteraslove
Functional Threads is offering 30% off ALL ORDERS through March 16th, with coupon code: SEWINGBYTI30
And of course the Rafflecopter! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway