Welcome to my stop on the Lulu and Celeste and Sprouting Jube Jube Back to School Tour. Today's stop includes a funny story.

For those that aren't bloggers, you need to know that some tours are often set up months in advance. This tour is no exception. We started organizing and rounding things up back in July! Think about that. I can usually whip something up with about 2 weeks' notice. 1 day to plan. 2-3 days to sew. and 1 week to take photos and write up a decent sounding blog post. I like to add those extra few days as a personal buffer.

When we were doing sign ups for the tour, we had to fill out a google sheet to request our free patterns. The request was for complete outfits for the tour. No problem. I made a tentative plan, filled out the form. Then there was a request for people to consider some different designers. So I changed my plan. No big deal. I still had months in advance to sew. Then there was a request for one more revision. Good thing I hadn't started sewing yet. That makes 3 times I filled out the form.

In the confusion from the number of revisions, I didn't receive just 1 of my requests. I received ALL of them. 3 distinctly separate project ideas. 3 project ideas that each included multiple items! WAH!

At first I was like, that's too much. I can't do all of this. I reached out to the tour leaders and told them I accidentally received ALL the patterns. Talk about a mix up! The reassured me that they understood if I couldn't make ALL the things. And I considered sticking to my 1 blog post and sharing those patterns at a later date. But then I warmed to the idea. I had plenty of time. And my kids really did need Fall stuff. And then boom, here I am with 3 blog posts on the Back to School Tour.

So for reference, the patterns used here include patterns I received free for the tour, items I paid for with my own money AND patterns I received as part of testing. Opinions still remain my own.

I have 3 kids, so of course 3 days equals 1 post per kid. Today's post is all about my youngest. She is a real fashionista. With a closet full of dresses, shoes and accessories, it is hard to know what to make for her.



For my daughter, I opted for the most basic version of the Leighanna. I didn't even include the front neckline notch. I wanted something she could match easily to any of her drawer full of leggings. My favorite thing about Sisboom Girl's patterns is that rather than having a single finished length, it includes multiple hem length options. That means I don't have to add length for my skinny girls. I just pick a size for width and then the hem length I want.

When I opted to make myself a Devon, I knew I had my work cut out for me. I don't do well in really loose fitting garments. Not even a belt will help. But the great thing about peasant tops is they're VERY flexible in sizing. The shoulder fit is VERY forgiving. And even the bust is meant to have some ease. I started out with my overbust+2" to figure out my base size. My full bust is 3" larger, but I also knew I wanted it to fit a bit slimmer, so I started with the size Medium, that is supposed to fit a 37" full bust.

Rather than shortening above the bust as I normally do, I took a 1" wedge out of the sleeve. Because of the raglan sleeve, removing a 1" wedge will remove 1/2" of length from the front and back (the amount I needed to remove. Because the sleeve has a nice loose fit AND I have skinny arms, this did not effect my sleeve fit at all.

I had in my mind a slimmer fit body than the pattern intended. The big concern was making sure that I didn't slim the bodice to fit my waist but not leave enough width to actually put it on! I ended up removing width from the back and then also taking in the side seams. To do this, I just turned my original top inside out and started pinning, making it progressively tighter until it looked right. I then tried putting it on and taking it off with the pins still in. This is a pretty dangerous process, so go carefully and be wary of the pins.

I have to admit, it turned out REALLY good. Even better than I expected. I made my Devon Top length, as I worried that all the adjustments I was making would make a fitted top impossible to actually get on.

To pair with my Devon, I made this super awesome pair of Simply By Ti black french terry Jalie Eleonore Pull On Jeans. You may remember my Jalie Eleanore's from several other posts. I now have pairs in stretch denim, pink french terry, stretch twill and now these black french terry ones. Wearing them in french terry is quite a bit like wearing your pajamas as regular clothes. I feel like the pocket and top stitching details make these look like real pants. And if they don't, don't tell me. Because I'm wearing them as real pants, LOL.

Want more back to school inspiration? You can see me 3 times on the Back to School Tour. And of course, check out all the other stops too!

Tour schedule: