Oh, boy am I excited to share this post with you today!
I had the honor of being a pattern tester for Addie K‘s The Canny tunic. There are so many great things I want to tell you about this pattern!
But first I’ll tell you that the pattern launched today on Craftsy at a stellar discount (so grab it now!) – check it out here. {PS: Guess who’s one of the models?! Yours truly…and blushing – I’m so honored!}
It’s the perfect project if you are wanting to dip your toes into garment making or if you want practice working with knits (stretchy fabric can be quite scary [and frustrating] when it comes to sewing, but Addie has some great tips to help you out – read them here).
It’s even perfect for an experienced sewer who is looking for the most comfortable outfit ever [just add leggings!].
{Photo credit: Addie Martindale}
After reading one of the most eye-opening posts about women’s fashion recently [find the seriously amazing post from Crab & Bee here], I decided I was ready to venture back into garment making.
A friend sent me the link to apply to be a pattern tester for Addie K‘s new tunic pattern and after reading the details I knew I wanted IN on that project!
And lucky me: Addie accepted me!
The pattern is amazing! It has only 2 pieces – which let me define what that means: less pattern piecing and taping (read: less time prepping), no separate sleeve attachment (my gosh…have you ever attached a sleeve?!), and something you’d consider making multiple times (proof below!).
Fangirl moment: I got to meet Addie last week & she’s quickly become one of my favorite people! This is a picture of us at a shop-in on Sunday – I couldn’t wait to show her my 2nd version of the Canny (pictured here) – AND check out her tunic: it’s another pattern she’s working on that I’m anxiously awaiting!
Addie recommends using a twin needle for the project. At first I was a little skeptical (because what is that?!), but I read her post about using twin needles and felt a little more confident. I busted out my machine’s manual and – lo and behold – not only was my machine fully capable of using a twin needle, it even came with one!
Twin needle in place – you can even seen some of my funky stitching from testing it out!
Using twin needles creates a professional hem for your garment that allows stretching (and in my little experience appears to be much sturdier than a plain zig zag). So before you get started, read Addie’s tips for using twin needles and give it a try!
The style is loose enough to be super comfortable, but not so frumpy it’s unflattering. Here are a few more pictures of how mine turned out:
There’s a cute story for how I came upon this pretty mint and peach patterned fabric: I came home one day to find a giant bag full of fabric on my door step. Inside the bag was a little collection of handmade cards:
My neighbor has 3 precious little girls. Each of them had colored me a card thanking me for being such a great neighbor (which melted my heart!). They had found the fabric while thrift shopping earlier in the day and wanted me to have it.
Obviously I had to make these little sweethearts something special out of it. Remember those infinity scarves I showed you during the Handmade for the Holidays Blog Hop? Yep, those 3 went right over to those sweet little girls!
If you do anything today, I hope you go buy The Canny tunic pattern from Addie K – you won’t regret it! Addie has worked so hard designing this pattern and it really shows in how amazing the final product is (and how easy the instructions are to follow!). By purchasing the pattern you’re supporting a small (local!) indie pattern designer’s creative dream! 🙂
Find the Canny pattern here. Happy sewing!
