practically impractical: pattern anthology winter wonderland collection

so a couple of months ago i got an email, basically saying hey wanna be a part of the PATTERN ANTHOLOGY WINTER WONDERLAND COLLECTION BLOG TOUR? to which i promptly said YES. der. srsly. i’m no dummy.

and then they sent photos of the patterns and asked which we’d like to do and i was all that one, and that one, and that one and ALL OF THEM.

no, really. i wanted to make all of them. but i decided to be a good girl. a Practical Momma who would a)evaluate what my girls actually needed, and b) sew from my stash instead of buying more fabric. so it was a pair of Tree Climber Trousers for Elliot,who desperately needs more pants, refashioned from a pair of my stretch jeans with a busted zipper, and an Amaryllis dress for Gigi, who—shockingly—needs more dresses.

this was absolutely my intention. even as i drove to the fabric store…just to look, it was still my intention. but when $2/yard lovely drapey navy cottons, and the PERFECT wintery lining—also $2/yard!—just JUMP right out at you…well. what’s a girl to do?

what’s a girl to do? i’ll tell you what a girl’s to do: she starts with the practical. the necessary. the reasonable.

the upcycled Tree Climber Trousers, and the sturdy navy Amaryllis Dress.

cute, right? and then i packed up my sewing machine thankyouandgoodnight.

yeah, that was a good one. i mean, you’ve seen the winter wonderland collection, haven’t you?

behold: the golden mocha brown taffeta matching AMARYLLIS DRESSES and matching fuzzy JULIET CAPELETS.

reasonable and practical can go lay an egg.

let’s talk about these, shall we?

elliot and gigi both have an amaryllis dress, which—get this—is reversible! one side is done in the navy cotton, one side in this taffeta i had in the stash (actually an upholstery remnant my baby daddy brought home for me. he’s good like that. i put them through the washer and dryer before using. that’s my litmus test on whether it will work as kid’s clothes).
this pattern is from melissa of BLANK SLATE PATTERNS, and it’s AWESOME. seriously. it is based it off a vintage pattern, the fit is adorable, the design is adorable, really i can’t say enough about this dress. 

and i 150% wish i had better photos of just the dress—but it was so cold there was no cape removal, and so overcast that my inside shots are a blur. but trust me—these dresses are crazy cute.

the dress is made to be one piece that goes over the head. the front goes around to the  back and snaps, and the back comes around the front and ties in a bow.

one side practical, one side party so you’re ready for anything. it’s like the mullet of dresses.

except, no.

moving on: the capelets. THE CAPELETS. i think even edna mode would change her mind if she saw these.

the JULIET CAPELET (ha! prize for best name to kate) is from SEE KATE SEW patterns. its a super quick sew with two hood options—rounded or pixie.

obviously i did one of each ;) i also cut elliot’s size 3 to the length of the size 5, and gigi’s size 5 got an extra inch of length. and e’s got a yarn poof on the hood, because OH MY WORD THE CUTE.

they’re made from this fuzzy fluffy stuff from joann’s, which you must cut with scissors in one hand and a vacuum in the other. particularly if you’re cutting on your dining room table like i was. fuzzy food is never fun.

it’s lined with this winter wonderland/ski resort themed lining fabric i got for $2/yard!!! woohoo! i know nothing about it, save that it looks vintage and i love it. and based on some of the other fabrics in the shop, there’s probably a better than good chance that it is real vintage. ha.

this lining fabric is what dictated the color scheme for the entire outfit. i love it that much.

so i put them in their matching twirly dresses and fluffy capes and they look like the most adorable little squishy elf pixie fuzzy wuzzy things i ate them both for breakfast the end.

okay, i didn’t eat them really. but when i got them all dressed there may have been teenage fangirl level squealing accompanied by excited clapping of hands. ::cough cough jeremy cough cough::

obviously not from gigi, who was clearly less than thrilled about being outside for photos. elliot, on the other hand, was pleased as punch and super cooperative. (note to self: bribery with donuts works wonders on e)

together this capelet and dress set make one ridiculously adorable outfit, no? but i have an entire second set of outfits to discuss…

and this time gigi was much more cooperative—due partly to being dressed a little warmer, and partly (mainly) due to the fact that we told her she looked like a little french girl. she practiced saying “bonjour. je m’appelle gigi” the entire way across the street.

so yes, this is the same AMARYLLIS DRESS as in the above photos, simply flipped around so the navy cotton side is showing. cool, right? it looks adorable as a little jumper for the cooler weather, and with a matching beret your little gal will be tres magnifique. vraiment. ;)

and for ms. e we have a lovely pair of TREE CLIMBER TROUSERS.

these bad boys are the brain child of andrea, who designs and curates GoTo PATTERNS, and also looks a scarily large amount like my own mother. so i can never be mean to her.

elliot is in desperate need of pants, and these fit the bill perfectly—and not just because they cost all of $0.the fit is great—and that’s even with my alterations to the pattern.

some were NBD. exhibit A: the lines of decorative stitching i added to the back pockets…

and the front pockets, which i also cut into a more curved shape than what the pattern has.

but i reused the waistband and button from my pants—never even took the button off, just lined it up and stitched it on. and i eliminated the reinforced knee pads, just cutting the front legs in one piece rather than the three of the pattern.

and i love them.  wanna hear something crazy? besides stretch pants and jammie pants, which don’t really count as sewing pants IMO, as best as i can recall this is the 2nd pair of pants i’ve ever made. harrison’s suit pants being the first.

crazy, i know.

now let’s talk about the nuts in the photos. together these two are quite the pair.

a new development: elliot is turning into gigi’s mini-me. whatever gigi does, elliots watches…

and copies…

oh man are we in for some serious trouble.

and there you have it, folks! there are even more patterns in the PATTERN ANTHOLOGY WINTER WONDERLAND COLLECTION, which you can buy complete here:

or you can buy just the BOY’S collection and GIRL’S collections separately!

enjoy!

disclaimer: none of the links in this post are affiliate links, i just put them there because i love you and the pattern designers. i wasn’t compensated in any way for this post, but i did receive copies of the patterns for review purposes. all opinions are my own, cause i have enough of my own and i don’t need anyone else’s. pffft.