When we were young - Week 8: EmmyLouBeeDoo!

August 07, 2013

Happy Wednesday everyone:) We take an important break in my pattern tour to bring you the next guest in my When we were young series. The lovely and talented Sarah from EmmyLouBeeDoo! I have been following Sarah's blog for a while now. She makes gorgeous clothes for her super cute daughter Emmylou. She has had great success with her three awesome girls' clothes patterns - Hosh pants, the Bimaa sweater and the Doli tank. Groovy names for groovy patterns:) You can check out all three of her patterns in her etsy shop.

Here are some of Sarah's lovely creations for EmmyLou...

I am so impressed with Sarah's contribution to my series. I totally LOVE the jacket she made EmmyLou!! I want one and will have to check out the Kitschy Coo pattern she used. I love that stars aligned for so many bloggers creating outfits for this series.

Over to Sarah...

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Where were you born/where did you spend your childhood? I was born and raised in Western Massachusetts, and spent a lot of my childhood in Rhode Island and New Hampshire vacationing and visiting family.

Who did you grow up with? I grew up mainly with my mom and older sister, and also my dad, step-parents and my step-brother!

Did you have a childhood ambition? Yes - to go to the Moon! Haha, really! I took that ambition all the way to college, but sadly, never made it to the Moon. :)

What did you like doing when you were little? I liked to do any arts and crafts, loved being outdoors, and going to the beach.

Do you see any similarities between yourself and your child/children? I do! My daughter Emmy is very interested in sewing (we have a pretty equal fondness for fabric ;), painting, and playing outside.

Do you live far from where you grew up? I live just a few miles from my childhood home, though I lived in Arizona for a few years during college.

Where do you live now and who with? I live in Western Massachusetts with my darling Emmylou and my best friend - my husband Jonas. And my old dog, Gina.

Hello, sewpony readers! I am so excited to have been asked to be a part of this series! It's just the coolest thing, right?! Thank you so much, Suz, for having me!

Like some of the other contributors, I had an unexpectedly difficult time choosing a picture for this series. I'm also a proud child of the 80's, so I was either wearing something atrocious, or one of my dad's old t-shirts as a dress. Ha!

But as fate would have it - I found a gem. A good old fashioned, New England vibe, fur-trimmed, puffy jacket.

There's Emmy in her new jacket,

and here's me in my old jacket!

When I saw this picture, it struck me as a pretty good capture of my childhood. Outside all the time, jeans, boots, crunchy leaves, swingset... Ahh. So it was decided - Emmy's gettin' a new coat!

When planning out how to go about this jacket, I knew I didn't want to make it a Winter jacket per se. I wasn't sure a FULL ON puffy coat was something I was really interested in constructing. So I thought maybe sweatshirt fleece, and just make a basic hoodie essentially.

Ultimately a happy medium was reached when I called my local Jo-Ann store to see if they had pre-quilted cotton solids, to sort of get the same 'feel' as the original. Clearly, they did! And it was really easy to work with, surprisingly. Not too thick, but thick enough for pumpkin picking and hayrides. And perhaps the occasional Octoberfest.

When the time came to pick or make a pattern, I was a little unsure about what would work best - I wanted to do a really good job and try to make this jacket last a long long time. Thumbing through my box'o'patterns, I froze when I saw the Reversible Zippy Hoodie from Kitschy Coo, that I bought years ago. A completely perfect match! Amanda (of Kitschy Coo) and I have since become good friends, so I'm really so happy I was able to put her pattern to use on a project that means this much to me.

The pattern is amazing, let me just get that right out there. I have NO. IDEA. how Amanda figures out how to reversible-ize literally everything. Mind blowing.

Even though it is reversible, I opted against a reversible zip, and just lined the jacket per the instructions with a beautiful blue plaid that I've been hoarding for juuuuuust the right project. :) I think it's a nice match!

The ribbon trim and faux-fur are also from Jo-Ann. The metal zip was miraculously in my stash. This jacket was meant to be, I tell ya.

Since I couldn't tell from the original picture what the back of the jacket looked like, I opted to make a single red yoke piece, as opposed to the two panels of red on the front. I'm madly in love with the back.

The other changes were to use brown fur as opposed to white, and the bronze metal zip as opposed to the white (or silver?) one. I think these changes help a bit in bringing the jacket out of the 80's, yeah?

WHY do I not still have those SHOES!?

I absolutely love being able to raise my family in New England. There is always something to do and see, and the changing seasons always refresh and recharge us. My husband is an implant from Arizona and we visit there often, which is so amazing for Emmylou, lucky girl! But home is where the heart is, and for me - that's right here in Massachusetts. I am so happy to have made Emmy something in the spirit of this place so dear to my heart! And the icing on the cake? She LOVES her new jacket! These pictures were taken on a 75 degree afternoon, and when we were done, she didn't want to take it off. That's a win, folks!

Thank you again, Suz, for allowing me to partake in this brilliant series! I think you ought to continue it indefinitely. :)

Please stop on over to EmmylouBeeDoo to see what else I've been up to lately! I hope you are all having a great Summer or Winter!

Cheers! ***** Thank you so much Sarah. I have been eyeing off the quilted cottons in my local fabric store too. Perhaps an 80's inspired Kitschy Coo meets EmmLouBeeDoo jacket would be just the thing!