Make Laundry, Don't Do Laundry Tour: a tunic and bloomers in less time than a load of laundry!

 When I heard about the Make Laundry, Don't Do Laundry Tour, I knew it was perfect for me! I do have a husband who is perfectly willing to wash and dry clothes, but he won't fold them - my least favorite part! More often than not, the clean clothes end up sitting downstairs in baskets until I get sick of looking at them - I'd much rather be sewing new ones!

So - the idea here was for me to take a "fresh sew" - something I'd never sewn before - and time myself, to see if I could get it done in LESS time than it takes me to do a full load of laundry! Now, my washing machine is old, and crazy fast - like less than 20 minutes to wash. The dryer, however, takes about 45 minutes, so with (reasonable!) folding time (about 10-15 minutes per load, depending on the size and how much I have to put away myself), I figured I had about an hour and 15 minutes, give or take...

I chose Modkid's Tandy Tunic, and since I didn't want to do the dress length, I figured I'd better add Winter Wear Designs' Tout de Suite Bloomers to the list for a full outfit! I finished both with time to spare, earning myself this:

Woohoo!

The tunic took the bulk of my time - about forty minutes. The style is similar to a raglan, with a separate yoke, and gathered all the way around - so a good chunk of time was just me fiddling with the gathers (and they're still not perfect! Lol.) I love the style - the little fluttery sleeves, that gorgeous crossover front! The yoke is lined, so I used the metallic stripes on the outside of the front and the softer solid gray on the inside for her comfort (the metallic threads make it a little scratchy!)

The bloomers were FAST - I did View A, which is a basic elastic waist and hems. I did everything on my serger, which cut down my time enormously - all but the topstitching on the waist and hems. I even did a fast stretch-and-serge technique on the elastics rather than making casings - that probably cuts elastic application time in half. I think the sewing time spent was only about 20 minutes, and since I took 15-20 minutes putting the patterns together and cutting fabric, that filled my time! Not bad for new-to-me patterns! :)

I didn't finish the sleeves or hem on the tunic, either - the fabric I used is so soft and drapey, I didn't really feel it was necessary! The end result we both love - a sweet summery outfit with a sophisticated color palette. I found the perfect finishing touch, the gold button, in a button jar that belonged to my grandmother.

The metallic stripes were in the remnant bin at Joann Fabrics, one of their clearance fabrics - the gray jersey I had lying in my stash and I'm really not sure where it came from!

Thanks for reading - keep going for some awesome giveaways, a link up to share your own Make Laundry, Don't Do Laundry creations, info on all the amazing prizes, and a tour schedule!

Thanks to all of our amazing sponsors for being a part of this tour.

A few of the designers are having sales for the duration of the tour, so here's the codes!

George & Ginger use code MAKELAUNDRY25 for 25% off her patterns
  Blaverry use code MAKELAUNDRY for 25% off her patterns
  Stitch Art use code MAKELAUNDRY for 30% off patterns
  Paisley Roots use code MAKELAUNDRY for 25% off patterns

 These codes are good through June 12th! Then Laela Jeyne's Emily Womens T-shirt & the Deluxe Charlotte Kids Leggings are on sale through the 11th! No code needed!

 I know everyone loves a good giveaway so here's the prize packages:

Prize Package 1:

1 Pattern of Choice from each of the following:

Patterns for Pirates, Brownie Goose, Muse of the Morning, Call Ajaire, Stitch Art, The Wolf and The Tree

2 Patterns from each:

Paisley Roots, Hey June

3 Patterns from EYMM

Prize Package 2:

1 Pattern of Choice from the following:

Simple Life Pattern Company, Modkid, Sisboom, Laela Jeyne Patterns, Stitch Art, FABulous Home Sewn

2 Patterns from Paisley Roots

Link Up at Pear Berry Lane, Paisley Roots, or The Crafting Fiend

or right here: An InLinkz Link-up

Link-up Prize Package

Thread Faction Full Collection Spring/Summer 2016

2 Patterns of choice from Momma Quail

$15 gift certificate to Gracious Threads

$25 gift certificate to Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop (good for fabric too!)

2 Patterns of choice from Made For Mermaids

1 Pattern of choice from Blaverry

1 Pattern of choice from Brownie Goose 
2 Patterns of choice from Laela Jeyne Patterns (excludes bundles)
1 Pattern of choice from The Wolf & the Tree
1 Pattern of choice from Stitch Art 
2 Patterns from Paisley Roots
$20 gift certificate to Phat Quarters 
3 Patterns of choice from Everything Your Mama Made

Here's the full tour schedule for more laundry-avoiding inspiration!

6/6 Creative Counselor / Phat Quarters / Call Ajaire / Friends Stitched Together / The Wholesome Mama / Wild & Wanderful

6/7 Blaverry / The Inspired Wren / Sew Sophie Lynn / Sprouting Jube Jube / Coral & Co / Once Upon A Sewing Machine

6/8 Paisley Roots / Sew Happily Ever After / Randoms By Rydz / Elegantine / Rebel & Malice / Fabulous Home Sewn / Candice Ayala

6/9 Create 3.5 / Muse Of The Morning / Sew & Tell Project / Gracious Threads / Beatnik Kids / Everything Your Mama Made

6/10 Sweeter Than Cupcakes / Pear Berry Lane / All Things Katy! / Sew Starly / Handcrafted By RED / Adventures of Bubba & Bug / Sew & Tell Project

 

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