La Bella Donna goes to the Hospital

Pattern - Girls La Bella Donna Top & Tunic 2T - 16

Skill Level - Beginner

Fabric - l'oiseau fabrics

Skills - working with panels, snap tape

A friend whose granddaughter is undergoing cancer treatment asked me to make a special gown for the little girl to wear – something that would help lift her spirits.  I had exactly the right knit panel from l’oiseau fabrics on hand – flowers, cherubs, fawns – all things that Nana and granddaughter found special. 

Nana said that it must be easy to put on and take off.  It must be accessible for IV.  It must be loose enough for comfort, but not fall off her shoulders.  After some consultation with fellow sewist, Eleri Kieran, we decided that La Bella Donna was the perfect pattern.

I cut two fronts from the pattern (so that the gown could be worn with the open side wherever it was needed) and serged one shoulder and side seam.  Snap tape would secure the other shoulder and side seam.  I didn’t bother with the sleeve band as the idea was to keep the gown as simple as possible.

To prepare the open side for the tape, I folded back the sleeve and bottom hems and stitched them in place with my sewing machine. 

I applied the snap tape with the holes first.  I lined it up with the edge of the fabric and stitched it in place using a zipper foot stitching both sides of the tape.

I pinned the matching tape in place and stitched it just on the edge, then folded it under and stitched it down.  This hides the tape away.

A little tidying away of stray threads and trimming of raw edges and it was done.  This encourages me to think that whatever the obstacles, comfortable and beautiful clothing can be made for any situation.  And perhaps Nana’s sweet panel choice will provide a tiny bit more help for a little girl to beat back cancer.

If you don't already have this quick and easy pattern for girls, you can get it through my affiliate link below.

Love Notions Girls La Bella Donna Top and Tunic 2T - 16

Trendy Tunic for Girls - New Options!

Pattern - Love Notions Trendy Tunic for Girls
Skill Level - Confident Beginner
Fabric - l'oiseau fabrics
Skills - seam matching

When Tami from Love Notions announced that she was going to re-vist the Trendy Tunic for Girls to add more sizes and options, I was right onboard!  My daughter-in-law has told me it's one of her favourite tops for her daughter.  I definitely wanted to make more!

The Trendy Tunic is a shirt that has built-in fabric blocking and that means that you can use those precious scraps you've been loath to throw away.  It has pockets - yay for pockets!  There are options for short dolman sleeves and inset 3/4 and long sleeves.  The updated pattern now gives you a hood and a cowl.  Now isn't this just typical Love Notions - options galore!

The sewing itself is straight forward and as usual with Love Notions patterns, if there's anything at all tricky involved, there is extra assistance to help you and this pattern is no exception - there's a video to help with the pockets.

The pattern was perfect for a l'oiseau fabrics remnant I'd been sitting on for some time.  This unique border print was only 52 cm long and the only thing I'd been able to think of before was a gathered skirt - but that wouldn't show off the Amsterdam street scene.  Hooray for the Trendy Tunic which was exactly right to display the border!  And I had scraps of the perfect turquoise cotton/spandex for the accent pieces.

But I'd like to share something I've learned to help make that seam matching go a little easier!  I have struggled with matching seams in the past - my serger wants to push the top piece of fabric past the bottom fabric.

So now what I do is match those seams and put a pin in right away.  I run a basting stitch in just that portion of the seam on the 3/8" seam line.

Then I take it to the serger and serge as usual.

The seam is perfect!  And just what you need when you have a super pattern like the Trendy Tunic which has seam matching for the shoulders and the sides.

So now my granddaughter has a couple of new Trendy Tunics and I have plans for more!  If you already have the pattern, you can download the updated version from your account on the Love Notions website.  If you don't already have this pattern, you can get it through my affiliate link below.

Love Notions Trendy Tunic for Girls sizes 2T - 16