Today we're happy to be a part of the blog tour for the release of the Ainsley and Aiden Baby Suite 1 from Stitchwerx Designs. For a limited time you can purchase the patterns as a bundle for $18.75 (until June 20 midnight EDT) in the Stitchwerx Etsy Shop, after that they will be available individually and as a bundle at their regular retail price. We've got 2 mamas sewing them up for you today, one ready to pop and the other recently delivered.

Be sure to read through to the end and enter to win the fantastic Stitchwerx giveaway!

What’s that little saying about plans & life laughing? Well, that is the inspiration behind my review. I should be happily ~~miserably~~ pregnant & waddling, and had PLANNED on sewing up a storm these last few weeks. Insert life chuckling... Instead I’m visiting this little guy who arrive almost 8 weeks early due to some medical needs. So, now I’m spending this time trying to juggle normal life plus NICU baby life (since early May) and sewing hasn’t happened.

He won’t be naked when he makes it home, but it’s just not the same as being decked out in handmade – so I jumped at reviewing the Stitchwerx pattern because it looked fabulous and fits my criteria for what babies should wear (comfortable yet stylish)! I was not disappointed.

 Things I love:



Range of sizes. I had no idea how few & far between preemie patterns were til I had one. With sizes Preemie to 12 months, the patterns would be perfect for itty bitty babies or “lunkers” (like my previous ones born at over 9 lbs)
Directions are divine. Everything is spelled out & in a logical manner. I love the chart for elastic/binding/etc is ON the pattern pieces so once the pieces are printed, I don’t have to scroll through all the directions to find those measurements, instead it is right in front of me! (It is also in the pattern itself for those who prefer to refer back to it) Very handy. If I can whip up items in a short amount of time in my sleep deprived state, it’s got to have fabulous directions. I LOVE that it covers types of knit that work best, as well as stretch required – all musts to make sure the project is not a masterpiece in frustration.
 Knit know-how. I’m no knit novice, and am very comfortable sewing knits, but I know they can be daunting when starting out. The instructions included should make it manageable for anyone, and I’d highly recommend this pattern to someone needing to get their feet wet in knits. And it’s not just for newbies...my binding has always left something to be desired. Like to the point that I've given up trying to make it look nice because it just won’t, and if a pattern calls for binding, I’m more likely to stray from the pattern & do an alternate finish. I knew I needed to try again & my results didn't stink! (which is saying a lot!) I won’t be running up to point out my binding to strangers, but I’ll be happy to put this on my little one. BIG improvement!
Logistics. I’m a huge fan of dressing babies in practical clothes that seem comfortable (no layers of ruffles, or zippers, etc) With this series of patterns you can get that, without sacrificing “cute”. You won’t make this, dress your baby in it and dread diaper change time because of the effort it takes to wrangle a little one out & back into it!
Versatility. Long sleeves or short, cuffs or no cuffs, mittens or not...each pattern has multiple possibilities to fit various needs and allow for a more exciting wardrobe for little ones (and the sewists whims!)
 Knowledge. From sources of fabric to basic construction technique, the patterns are full of info. It truly covers it all - and not just for newbies. As mentioned above, I've been sewing for quite some time, but there were still new techniques or different ones, in the patterns, and I tried them & will add them to my bag of sewing tricks.
 
 
The only wish I have is that for the pattern pieces that are rectangles, there were also pattern pieces. I know many hate that, as they feel it wastes paper, but I’d love the option so I don’t have to track down my measuring tape that is moonlighting as a “fishing pole” for a 4 year old, and try to cut straight lines on my own.

I struggled a little with the more stretchy knit pants – they wanted to “grow” more than the waistband (you might notice a pucker in that area. argh!) and also sewing the cuffs on in the round – but taken slow, it works out just fine.

I sewed up the Comfy Caterpillar Easy Knit Pants in size preemie and newborn, and the Bitty Beetle in long sleeve bodysuit in newborn and also in t-shirt length. In just using those two patterns, I have the options of 4 outfits by mix & matching. Throw in short sleeves, gown and uncuffed versions of these patterns that I didn't sew (yet!), plus the other patterns in the suite (Roly Poly pants & TiddlyWink Toppers) and you’d have a full wardrobe that any baby would love to be styling!

Here's Carrie with her versions...

Hey everyone!! It’s Carrie here, from Beri Bee Designs, to share a fantastic pattern bundle from Stitchwerx. I’m super excited to be part of this blog tour since these patterns were right up my alley!! I’m expecting a sweet boy to arrive in just another week or so and I’ve been DYING to make him a few things.

Overall, these were very well written patterns, and were very quick to sew. The bodysuit/gown/top pattern is listed as intermediate level because of the binding and snaps and I think that is pretty accurate – but really even a beginner wanting to take on a new technique would probably just just fine too.

I started out with the Bitty Beetle Gown, made with this awesome, super soft organic knit from Birch. Now, even though I love this, I clearly missed the lesson in elementary school about following directions (more than once even...)

Be careful when you are putting the front and back together that you have each one going the right direction, and the back overlaps the front – I didn’t realize mine was backwards until I was finished and I was NOT taking it apart. I’ll settle for live and learn this time I guess.

Then, these adorable little mitten sleeves – again, pay attention to which side you attach them to, I accidently attached the mitten piece to the same side on each sleeve which resulted in one mitten on the front, and one on the back on the opposite sleeves (you can see my error in the first picture)

Just take it as my warning... READ and pay attention! I’m going to blame my inattention on pregnancy brain, that is a real condition right?!?!?! Haha!

Another quick note on the neck binding (and legs on the next set) is to be sure you’re stretching it as you go. The directions mention stretching 10-15% as you are pinning. This should leave you with a pretty good amount of a tail at the end. If you aren’t comfortable judging what 10-15% might be, I would plan to have at least an extra 3” at the end after you pin. This will vary a bit on what kind of fabric you are using for this part but that would be a good start until you have a better feel for how much to move it.

Next up, are the Bitty Beetle Bodysuit and Tiddly Wink Topper Slouchy Beanie. For this one I used a bit of Lillestof that I found at Hallå Fabrics. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for an outfit for this little guy.

In the 15+ years I've been sewing, I've never used snaps before so this was a fun first! For my first time I’m pretty pleased with how easy it was, and how well they turned out.

Here you can see how the neck is actually the right way this time (see, live and learn, haha!)

Love the reversible hat too! I have the Comfy Caterpillar knit pants in the works also but didn’t have time between contractions to get them finished up just yet.