So… my three year old is more stylish than me today! But honestly, that’s not hard since I work from home and don’t have to (but should) take time to get dressed properly every day. For the record, 99% of the time I do get dressed, and 85% of the time I do my hair and makeup too!

Before I get too far into I wanted to talk about the Sew Fab bundle again – where I got the Bimaa Sweater pattern. I made the cowl neck version, but it also comes in a scarf neck and a hooded version – which makes it a unisex pattern, hooray! The Sew Fab sale ends October 8th, so if you like the Bimaa – here’s your chance to get it and 25 other patterns for just $29.95! Here’s the Sew Fab Bundle link again to Sew Much Ado (one of the many places you can buy the bundle from).

Since I’m always trying to think of new photo shoot props, today we got out our super-cool industrial style step ladder painting stool. It was fun to count how many differerent colours of paint I could find on it, which of course, makes it an even better photo prop! (Ok, that was sarcastic, hee, hee!) One of the real reasons I dug it out was that I figured my daughter would be more excited to take photos in her “new shirt that mommy made” if it involved climbing the generally-forbidden step ladder. You’ve got to be creative with these things! The Bimaa pattern is made by LouBee Clothing. And, if you missed the bundle sale you can get it at her Etsy shop here. I love this pattern for the same reason I love Figgy’s patterns – they are super stylish, but you can still have fun with them! I made my youngest’s cowl in a different fabric from the main sweater – which Sarah (EmmyLouBeeDoo) labels the “Infinity Scarf Bimaa”. I LOVE it! My husband’s first comment was that I should make one for myself – and I think I might? Suz from Sew Pony made an adult sized Bimaa for Selfish Sewing Week and it doesn’t seem too difficult. Sarah (LouBee Clothing) does a great job of writing this pattern. It is easy to follow and sews up super-quick once it’s cut out. She has a lot of drawings and the pattern pieces are well put together. I used my daughter’s filled out Measure-Me chart to choose a size and it fits perfectly! Since I don’t have a serger (yet?!) I used my regular machine’s stretch stitch to sew the whole thing together. The only tricky parts were the waist and arm bands, because they are cut across the stretchiest part of the knit they stretch more while they are being sewed. I ironed the wobbliness out when I was done and I think it will be fine when it comes out after the first wash. The cowl fabric is some more Heaven & Helsinki knit from my local Fabricland. It is usually $15 and I found it there for $5/m a few weeks ago. I’ve got it in a few more colourways now, which is great – because I have a lot more knit patterns I want to make for my girls this fall. This knit is a dream to work with, even with the 4-way stretch. The light green is 2-way stretch fabric for $3/m fabric I picked up from Fabricland as well. Even though the Bimaa pattern recommends a 4-way stretch fabric I found it worked out just fine for the body of the sweater. It may not have worked for the cowl though, because you need to have the extra stretch so you can put it over your head.

Do you see a pattern…?!

I think there will be more Bimaas in our future…  Have a great start to your week!