Back to School Art Gallery Heartland Tour

I am here with my contribution to Back to School tour organized by Paisley Roots for Art Gallery's new fabric line, Heartland by Pat Bravo. Not only the line is so pretty, the quality is just superb. I am always wary of buying quilting fabric to make clothes, quite often it's a bit too thick and then the garment tends to look too homemade, not in a good way. I feel like it might be appropriate for kid clothes but not really suitable for adult clothes. The Art Gallery fabric has such nice feel and drape to it. It's great for both quilting and apparel making.

I used Bloma Garden Pastiche in voile to make the Ania tunic (purchase the pattern here). Not all voile is made the same, this is one of the best I worked with.  It is the most luxurious fabric and I wish it was for me! It just flows and drapes oh so beautifully and so nice to the touch.

I used my own pattern, the Ania tunic and I think it's perfect for this fabric. I made very slight modifications. Instead of a cuff, I used elastic in the sleeves. I also used ribbon for ties.

I really like how it turned out. She begged me to wear it to school. It almost looks too fancy to do that. I let her, but we made a deal that she will stay away from dry erase markers, or at least be super careful. They are my nemesis. She ruined so many dresses by accidentally drawing on them with Expo markers. There is no way to take that out. At least I haven't found the way. Do share if you know the magic trick.

I used Scandi Plane Grey quilting cotton for the pants. The fabric is just perfect. The pattern came from Ottobre 1/2013 issue. It is quite complex and really fun to make. I simplified it a bit for the sake of saving the time. There are flapped welt pockets in the back, mine are fake. There are flaps but no pockets. I also omitted the leg pockets to make them less sporty looking. I have to say I really like both pieces I made, but not necessarily together.

I cut size 140 without measuring Ania. Ahem. Turns out she I should have cut 134. I took the sides in just a bit, but then left the waistband untouched, so it overlaps in front. I am ok with that. I will remember next time. :) The pants have a functional zipper, a detail I might skip next time. I am always concerned that it would not be zipped up. The good thing, the pants have elastic in the back so she she pull them up without unzipping. I really like the yoke and the gathering in front.

Ania loves both pieces. She didn't like taking pictures though. We just returned from an exhausting trip to State Fair. It was hot and humid, and we were tired. She also wouldn't let me touch her hair, which might have been pointless anyway in that humidity.

The last thing I want to share, is the feature I really like about the Ania tunic. The construction of the tunic has the yoke seams completely enclosed. When using lightweight fabric, it's also possible to French seam the rest of the seams and you have a garment as pretty inside as it is outside. What not to like like about that, right. :)

Thank you so much Karly for inviting me to participate and huge thanks for Art Gallery fabrics for providing such beautiful fabric to work with. Can't wait to see what everybody else has made!