Welcome to the Bigflynotions stop on the Bella Sunshine Designs Back to School Blog Tour!

My sweet daughter is three years old and her thoughts on fashion are as large as her personality. We both love layering, especially when it means pairing a cardigan with a dress. I’ve been trying to push us out of this comfort spot so we can find other fabulous garments that we might love wearing just as much. She recently agreed she’d try a tunic with leggings but only if it was paired with a cardigan, and in her favorite color: pink. So, I selected the Maggie tunic, the Eden leggings, and the Apple Cardigan. This combo passes the twirl test with an A++.

We tested the Maggie in dress length (blog post here) when it was re-released about a year ago and have made it several times because it just fits her really well. If you haven’t seen the blending videos from BSD, they’re fantastic and truly demystify how to jump between sizes to achieve fabulous fit. For this tunic length Maggie, I cut up one of my ill-fitting RTW french terry dresses and it has already gotten more wear as a girls tunic than a ladies dress!

The Apple cardigan was such a joy to sew. The dolman sleeve makes it come together quickly and that skirt like silhouette totally appeals to my little miss. We used fabric I got years and years ago (before she was born!) from (gasp) Walmart for $1/yard when they were moving locations. I made the tunic length cardigan and I love how it looks paired with the tunic length Maggie but can see her also wearing it with a lot of her dresses too.

We live in the midwest and have pretty decent weather late into the fall so layering is a must. Also, my kiddos complain that I keep the house at a chilly 74F during the summer and insist on wearing cardigans even though its 90F outside (queue my mom eye roll). Miss 3 has recently generously lent one of her cardigans to Mr 3 but isn’t quite ready to dole out the fabulous Apple.

Miss-Passionate-About-Pink is a very slim 36 inches so it is difficult to find any leggings that fit. Even leggings from ready-to-wear brands that run on the skinny side tend to look like capris on her. So, it is a relief to be able to sew to fit her body.

The Eden muslin was perfect even with blending across several sizes. Again, the result of the awesome blending tutorials. I’ve since made her two more pairs (with more in the works) as they will be perfect under all the dresses she’s been wearing this summer. This pink pair was made from Knitpop’s amazing solid double brushed poly. I was the lucky winner recently for some first cuts and Mistress 3 immediately claimed this pink. FYI, the Edens, both for ladies and girls, are FREE for members of the BSD FB group! I’m quite curvy and they’re my go-to leggings pattern!

For these photos, we stopped by her school and said hi to her friends Applejax and Noel. The twins get to ride Noel every morning during the summer session and weekly if the weather is nice during the school year. I would have totally loved this school when I was 3!

What are you sewing for Back to School (for those in my hemisphere) or to celebrate the start of spring (hi to my friends down under!)? Do you have a capsule for your kids or do you go one garment/outfit at a time? I’m super struggling to catch up with the growth spurts mine have had recently. Any advice for sewing ahead of the changing weather?

If you’re looking to treat yourself to a new pattern, the ones at BSD are on sale now, all girls patterns are $6, ladies patterns are all $7, and all bundles are $12. No coupon code necessary. Sale ends Sunday at midnight EST.

Head on over to my fellow bloggers to see what they’ve sewn today:

• Stitched by Jennie has a great take on the Reagan Raglan (another FREE pattern!), Apple Cardigan, and Eden Leggings
• Sew4Five has a super cute Coffee Shop Lace Dress

Please be sure to check out all the other stops on the blog tour:

***I received this pattern as part of the blog tour but my thoughts are my own. This review contains affiliate links for which I receive a small commission on any sales. This helps support my ridiculous fabric collection and is much appreciated.***