Matching Mani Monday
Rainbow Splotches - Alcohol Ink Vibes

this post contains advertisement as both fabric and top pattern have been gifted to me to share on the blog
Today you’re in for a treat. As the start of “Rainbow” week I wanted to start with a bang (or a rainbow pop) and have a stunning Matching Mani Monday featuring pre-order fabric from For Fabric Sake!

Today’s creation features stunning rainbow coloured fabric from For Fabric Sake sewn into a [hacked] Sapphire (Tee) from Little Kiwi’s Closet (see my review here) and the scraps were sewn into some Rad Patterns Panel Undies.

My mani features a variety of rainbow coloured polishes painted over a plain white base (scroll down if you’re just here for the nails).

Both this fabric and pattern were kindly sent to me for review, and given I love both brands I was excited by the opportunity.

For FabricSake is a New Zealand owned and operated company based in Levin, New Zealand. They produce beautiful and vibrant designs, and most recently have started a partnership with New Zealand artists to see their stunning artwork on a variety of fabric bases. With great customer service and a fun fabricoin loyalty program they are most often my go to for plain and printed stretch fabrics. I have used their “print your own” service a number of times (and will review that in an upcoming post).

FFS has a handy description here of the fabricoin program and its accessible for all via email!

At around $31 (NZD) for 1 meter of Cotton Elastane, fabric from FFS is reasonably priced (for my American and European readers fabric in New Zealand generally sounds more expensive as we don’t have big manufacturers).

One of the best things (for me as a blogger based in New Zealand with an international audience) is that For Fabric Sake post anywhere in the world! Postage is calculated based on weight and I’ve been assured by FFS that if the website overcalculates on freight they will refund the difference.

It’s worth noting, for you international readers, that Australia, Canada and USA have been set up on the website – so if you’re not from there just because your country doesn’t pop up doesn’t mean they can’t send to you! They just haven’t set up the other countries yet.

This beautiful print I have today is from their currently open, pre-order collection. For Fabric Sake runs regular pre-orders- which is a great way for them to offer their audience luxurious fabric at a great price as I assume it prevents them from over or under ordering. Pre-Order fabrics are paid for up front with a 6 to 8 week turn around time. This does mean there’s a degree of planning on behalf of the buyer, but it also means you get cheeky little fabric gifts sent to yourself throughout the year!

If you know me, you know I love colour! This rainbow print is giving me alcohol ink blotting vibes. I love that the print looks like the colours blead together which insures a seamless design and makes for easy pattern cutting as it’s a non-directional print. *non-directional prints are simply ones that look the same up, down or sideways. Here is something I made with a directional print for comparison.

As always, I am impressed with the colour depth and fabric quality. This here is a 200gsm weight cotton elastane blend. It gives a beautiful thickness for summer with great stretch and recovery!

When I first saw this fabric I knew it needed to be a t-shirt for me!

So you love it, and want it for yourself!? You can pre-order the fabric here; and buy the Sapphire Tee Pattern here.

What do you think? What will you make with this beautiful colourful fabric? – let me know in the comments below!

If you’ve been here before you may have seen my recent review of the Sapphire tee from Little Kiwis Closet.

I personally find this shape quite flattering (especially as it skims over the tummy). These princess seams suit a bright fabric like this well as it gives a colour block with a feminine curve.

You’ll note this has been hacked slightly to provide a solid colour back. I wanted this for two reasons: 1) I had a fat half of fabric so wouldn’t have enough for the back and 2) I really wanted to keep the beautiful bright pattern up front and centre so wanted a pretty basic back panel.

To achieve this “Hack” I laid the side panel piece over the back centre piece and overlapped about ½”. I checked this worked by lining up the hem line and sliding the piece in until the sleeve line lined up.

Then I traced over this whole new shape to create a back piece to be cut on the fold.

Are you impressed to hear I created this beautiful piece with just a fat half of this stunning For Fabric Sake fabric.

This beautiful fabric is available now on pre-order. By pre-ordering the fabric you save about $2 per meter; so its definitely worth buying now!

The pre-order is open in a huge variety of bases, so if you want something specific, I totally suggest you pre-order, least you miss out on the base you want!

It is available in:

· Cotton Spandex (200-220gsm)
· Cotton Spandex (240-260gsm)
· Bamboo Spandex (220gsm)
· French Terry – Cotton Elastane (280gsm)
· Muslin (120gsm)
· Poplin (130gsm)
· Cotton Woven (135gsm)
· Double Brushed Poly (210gsm)
· Swim SPF 50 (200-220gsm)
· Boardshort Stretch (160gsm)
· PUL (160gsm)
· Linen
· Activewear

Phew! Good luck choosing just one pattern and base! Haha.

Now, this wouldn’t be a Matching Mani Monday if there was no matching mani.

To achieve this sophisticated look I started with a solid white base created by Colorclub White Tip.

I tried a few different techniques to get the look just right. To be honest I’m not sure if one works better than the other.

Firstly, I tried putting nail polish on a mixing plate (I just use an old sheet of plastic) and then added a drop of Isopropyl Alcohol. When I mixed this it thinned the polish and for most of them created a alcohol ink feel. For the green it caused the colour to ball up and went a bit gritty.

Another method I tried was painting standard polish on and then rubbing around the ‘seams’ (where the coloured splotches met) with acetone. This was not super successful because too much acetone and the polish would run off and expose the nail plate under the white base.

The most successful method was a bit of method one, and spraying my nail with isopropyl alcohol, this helped bleed and blend the colours.

I did try to get this on video which I planned to share on my Instagram account – we’ll see how I go with the editing phase!

Finish off with a quick dry top coat (my favourite is Seche Vite) and voila- we’re done!

I totally love everything about this matching mani today! The colourful fabric is divine, I love this t-shirt silhouette and oh those nails!!!! I never want to take this off!

I even managed to squeeze some panel undies out of the scraps by having a center seam and cutting the fabric on an angle... But that's the beauty of this non-directional print! Every scrap can be used!!!

these are the Rad Patterns Panel Undies. Aren't they cute!?

Alright enough bum shots! But it's just blooming gorgeous fabric 🤩

So, have you checked out the pre-order? What fabric are you lusting after?

Drop a comment below!

Thanks for reading,

✌️💕💅

Hannah

Pattern Review

Sapphire by Little Kiwi's Closet

I can’t wait to tell you about the Sapphire Tee from Little Kiwi’s Closet!

Disclosure: Lydia (the creator of Little Kiwi’s Closet) has kindly gifted me this pattern so I am able to review. This post also contains affiliate links which means I earn a small commission for every purchase made.

Having a great deal of love for the Little Kiwi’s Closet Royal-Tee (check out my reviewhere) I knew I’d love the Sapphire! It has the same great princess seam design in the bodice but with a raglan twist.

So you own the Royal-Tee, do you really need this too? Simple answer, Yes! … but read this first!

The Sapphire Tee boasts two silhouette options (with a looser fit curve hem and a swing a-line shape) there are multiple length options and, as is expected in a tee style, sleeve length options too. It also has a cute panel option for the back (see my last photo).

I very easily chose to sew the t-shirt (hip length) swing style as I have some new jeans I love, and I’ve been looking for the perfect tee which is fitted on the bust and loose on the belly – the Sapphire does not disappoint!

I opted for the PDF a4 print out option which required some sticking together (my preference is a glue stick – more on that later in the blog). Little Kiwi patterns are quick to put together because of the seamless design – just make sure you’re printing at 100%!

I’ll admit, there was a part of the PDF I found confusing but that’s my fault for not fully reading the instructions. My advice if you’re a beginner PDF user is read the instructions fully first before printing, cutting or taping together! On page 6 it says to tape the front neck piece to the top back piece. Make sure you follow that instructions.

The other thing that was a bit annoying was working out what pages to print. This might not be an issue for many of you if you’re planning on printing the pattern in its entirety; but I know that I will be very, very unlikely to ever use the Maxi dress length. Because of this, in my attempt to save paper I tried working out what pages I didn’t need to print. This was too confusing because the pattern pieces are numbered 1 – 56 (logically) however they start at page 14 on the PDF printable (which means pattern page 1 is actually page 14). The print chart is easy to follow if you’re planning on printing the whole length for the swing option (instead of just hip length like me).

I do want to highlight that the intro information is concise and usefully describes the kind of fabric to use, stitch options and the finished fit. The instructions helpfully include photographed steps.

In terms of the steps, here are some tips:

Tips for step #1 (sewing the panels): line up the pieces at the bottom and sew from the hem line up – this way you have the right amount of overhang at the top (that little ¼” triangle Lydia talks about at the top).

Tips for step #2 (insert sleeves): I cut a triangle notch in my “back” part of the sleeve when cutting out the pattern- this helped me remember what is front and back of the sleeves. Do the same for the main bodice pieces if your fabric is the same and you’re likely to get confused.

Step #3 – I don’t have tips – it’s straight forward to follow

Tips for step #4 (attaching the neck binding): The instructions show how to do a binding option; this creates a beautiful and tidy finish! Like Lydia says in her instructions the ‘cuff method’ is a quick and easy neck binding. This method isn’t explained here but is set out in many of Little Kiwi’s Closet’s other patterns I’ve also tried to explain it below.

Step #5 (Hems and sleeve cuffs): I don’t need to give tips here the hem was easy enough to do because I chose the swing style which gives a pretty straight hemline. I admit I do struggle from time to time with those fiddly curved hemlines so would totally recommend you invest in some iron on hemming tape and agree with Lydia’s points that you should PIN WELL.

Sew time was really short, bear in mind I’d say I’m an “intermediate sewer” (but very comfortable with knit fabric) so I tend to sew without pinning. I also predominately use an overlocker (serger for the American readers) and this creates a tidy but strong finish on the seams.

The only downside is that the pattern doesn't come with a plain back option. But don't worry, I've got a hack coming up in my next post for a solid coloured back piece.

So here we have it - a stunning and vibrant Sapphire.

Oh yeah, the sleeves are super short as there wasn't quite enough fabric and I didn't properly hem this one as it was my "tester" (new photos of a flash sapphire posted on Monday!).

And yeah, I did make Sleep Shorts with the tiny off-cuts, hence they're so short. But isn't it a cute set!

You can check out the pattern and the ‘tester sewists’ photos right here! You can also purchase this tee for the Mini's in your life; or get the bundle if you wanted to make mama kid matching. *this is an affiliate link which means I will make a small commission at no cost to the buyer.

This is just a cheapie 100% cotton knit from spotlight.

Do you think you’d like to give it a try? What fabric do you think I should sew this with next!? Drop a comment down below.

Cuff method Neck Band:

Basically you want to fold your neckband in half right sides together, sew down the short raw edge. Fold in half wrong sides together so the neckband looks like it will on the finished garment. Then with your top inside out slide the neckband inside placing fabric right sides together, raw seams aligned.

To make sure this is even; I divide my neckband and the top neckline into four parts (when I was a beginner I did more). I use clips to mark this and clip neckband to garment neckline.

So I find the centre back of the top (by folding shoulder to shoulder) and clip the neckband seam to the centre back.

Using the centre seam I pull back to find the “front centre” and clip.

I again fold my garment in half to find the ‘centre front’. Then matchup the two clips and pull the sides out flat, this will give you an equally spaced section for clips three and four.

When putting the neckband into your inside out garment match up the clips and stretch between each section while you sew.

::HEARTS:: Hannah

9 Winter Themed Nail Art Designs
Glam Nails Challenge- January 2021

Pattern Review

Sapphire by Little Kiwi's Closet

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9 Winter Themed Nail Art DesignsGlam Nails Challenge- January 2021

Pattern Review

Sapphire by Little Kiwi's Closet

About

SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW

Pages

POPULAR POSTS

Browse Nail Art

Browse Sewing

Blog Archive

9 Winter Themed Nail Art Designs
Glam Nails Challenge- January 2021