Arizona After Blog Tour Hoppe Jumpsuit in Ojos Smoke knit

Last year I decided to treat myself to a weekend away in Sydney to attend some workshops that April Rhodes was teaching. It was a wonderful weekend, so fun and inspiring. I have always loved April’s fabric (something about the colours and the designs just speaks to me and makes me want to, well… MAKE!) but since meeting her I couldn’t help but also love April herself - this lady has such a huge heart that it is practically impossible not to.

April has just released TWO (!) new fabric collections; Arizona After, (a beautiful extension of her first fabric line - Arizona), and Heritage - a collection of knits and rayons inspired by her family’s history and roots. You don’t need to hear her talk about the meaning behind these fabrics (although you should - there are some wonderful stories behind them) to see that she has poured her heart and soul into these designs.

I have to admit that for me one of the most exciting thing about these new collections is the number of garment fabrics. I also love how well the prints work for both adults and children's clothing. I’m going to be begging for more of her designs in rayons and knits in future!

For today though, I sewed up a Hoppe Jumpsuit by Straightgrain in the Ojos Smoke knit for Ella and it was a massive hit, both with the girl and with me. The fabric is lovely to work with and is so soft to wear. The Hoppe Jumpsuit is also a really satisfying pattern to sew. It comes together so quickly. I actually can’t stop making them (I’ve made 3 already and have more on the cards.)

I made a toile of View B (no pleat) to test the fit (a size 8 skinny for my rather-tall-just-turned-7 year old) and while the toile fits well I think that View A (with the diagonal front pleat) makes it seem just a little too long in the body. If I were to sew another for her I might go down a size and lengthen the legs for her instead.

The Hoppe Jumpsuit is just so easy to move in, and perfect for active little people. It seemed only right to thoroughly put it through its paces while taking photographs so we headed to our new favourite place to play – a treehouse that someone has built by the creek near our house. It can be a besieged fort or a pirate ship, a secret hideout or a nest, a palace or a treehouse - and is such a great place to let little bodies and imaginations run wild.