Ponchos & More Ponchos:) Plus, my #2018makenine

"It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

Deuteronomy 9:5


"He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."

Titus 3:5

   Hello sewing friends!:) I just finished the first of my #2018makenine, this vintage Simplicity poncho pattern! It was a thrift store find & contained only one size, Large. A bit big but ponchos are meant to be generously sized anyway, plus, I figured it would be easy to make it a bit smaller if necessary. Also, I am pregnant after all;) I left the size as-is, but ended up hand-sewing the front opening closed a lot more. The print *was* perfectly matched, but must have shifted a bit when I topstitched:/ The neckline is finished with a facing, but I decided to topstitch around the opening anyway. I may go back and re-match the plaid if I don't have to do too much seam-ripping:p The fabric is a Cape Breton tartan print fleece I picked up from Fabricville:) I added two button-holes to the sides for a slim black belt to cinch me a bit at empire length:)

Vintage Poncho Pattern:)

I made a couple of fleece car-seat ponchos for my boys using an easy DIY I found on Youtube. Makes it so much easier to buckle them in their carseats because it just covers them like a blanket- the poncho doesn't go through the straps at all. Its basically just a circle of fleece cut the diameter of your child's "wingspan", with a hole cut in the middle for their head to poke through and a hood sewn on.

    I decided to round the back of the hood and hem it before sewing it to the neckline (personal preference). It was just one layer of fleece at first, but I added another circle of fleece once the weather here got colder (I left the hood as-is).

These adorable ponchos are both practical and cute (especially if you use fleece in fun prints, like Disney's Toy Story & Cars:) Can you tell I've been a bit obsessed with ponchos lately? Lol:)

   #2018makenine is a hashtag going around on Instagram. You just pick nine patterns or types of garments that you'd like to make in 2018:) There are some I'm set on & have fabric to pair with the patterns, but a couple I'm not sure about. #8 is a shirt dress but I may use a different pattern. #7 is a Rain Cape I found on Pinterest, so it'll be a hack job, lol. For #9 I have a few patterns I couldn't quite decide between.

 The burda pattern for is for maternity jeans, the middle is a McCalls pattern for a basic lined jacket, the third is a Vogue dress & jacket (clearly designed after Melania Trump's inauguration outfit). #5 will be a McCalls 6886 dress with an added collar and front zipper (another hack job). I tried the Vintage Simplicity pattern already but it didn't fit very well:/ I'm going to try to get as much done as possible before the baby comes in mid-June:)

    Well, thats all for today! I have other projects on the go besides this (my Coffee Dress for the Day and Night Challenge being one of them). What are you working on now? Please share your plans in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful day everybody!