| This is where YOU get featured! Want to get featured too? Read more at the bottom of this newsletter. In this newsletter, you'll find inspiring pictures of other sewists' work and the stories behind their projects, we share our latest releases with you, show you what's coming, and give you all the ins and outs about the latest free updates. | Customer spotlight! This is so fabulous!! Heidi Stabler posted this dress in our pattern group and everyone went crazy over her creation! I bet you've not seen a Peppermint Swirl Dress with 18 flounces very often, so I wanted to share this beauty with the world. Did you know you can add an unlimited amount of flounces to this dress? It only adds to the volume, and to the beauty. Thorough instructions and advice on the amount of flounces are included in the pattern! Heidi said: "When I first found this pattern I wanted to make a rainbow version. I just fell in love with the style and the way it span around on the little people in the pictures. I remember thinking about how much I would have wanted one as a little girl (how much I still want one now-i've just bought the adult sizes) I went back and forth about the colours to use in the rainbow and settled for the true rainbow but then was stuck because of the number of flounces... in the end I just thought "the more the merrier " so 18 it was!! I was so happy with the finished product that I listed it in my shop, Ladybug Childrens Wear and thought I'd share a picture with the lovely people on the Candy Castle pattern group in the hopes that it might give others the same amount of joy I get from it!" | Customer Spotlight! Mara Barrera blew my mind when she posted this beautiful picture of her Princess Dress in our pattern group. It's such an amazing picture, awesome dress and such a beautiful girl, I had to ask more about that project. Mara told me: "This mama approached me a few months ago asking if I would make her daughter a Halloween dress. She said she wanted the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. I had no idea who that was because I’ve never seen the movie. She sent a few pictures and I immediately thought of this pattern! I had made it before so I thought the puffy sleeves, and the full and paneled skirt were perfect! I used the little princess doll drawing from the beginning of the pattern to plan out the dress for the mama because I could see it in my head but I’m sure she needed a visual. The mama sent me some odd measurements. She measured her chest and said it was 16”, but that seemed off to me. I asked her to measure again and she didn’t so I went with my gut and made her a size 12m with a lengthened skirt, by 4 inches. She was supposed to be wearing a petticoat underneath so I wanted enough fabric to cover it. She ended up not using one, but the skirt still looks full from gathering the top and bottom skirts separately as per the pattern instructions. I’m glad it wasn’t too long! To color block the entire dress I was mindful of what color I was cutting when. So every piece of the pattern was cut once in red, once in black to create the look. The mama created the crown, wand, and collar from a deck of cards. We both love the dress sooo much and think Nova is going to be an amazing Queen of Hearts this year! Mama is already asking for Beetlejuice for next year. Thank you so much for featuring this dress! And for making well written patterns!" | Customer spotlight! WOW! Michelle Lester makes her daughter in law a Halloween costume every year, and this year, she created something really, really amazing. Look at all that amazing detail!! Michelle said: "My beautiful daughter in law has a terrible time finding costumes that are cute and pretty to fit her. It is my joy and honor each year to make her a unique Halloween costume that fits her bubbly and beautiful personality. This year, the Peppermint Swirl pattern just called to me and I knew I had to use it for her costume. | The skirt is 24 swirls cut on a size 7 pattern, sewed to a tank top instead of a waist band. I serged each swirl wrong sides together and then top stitched the resulting black seam down to get the look. I edged with almost 15 yards of bias tape for the perfect finish. I also made the corset, with adjustments for her full figure. Her hubby (my awesome son) is Jack and he made his head all by himself. I am so proud of him and glad I rubbed off some..... Thank you so much for the excellent pattern that fits SO MANY!!! She tells me she will be wearing this skirt for every day wear during the year, so I am happy it will get lots of use. This was my 4th swirl and I see myself making many many more. It is the best pattern ever made!" Thank you so much for sharing these amazing customes with us, Michelle! | Customer spotlight! This floral fabric is so perfect as a Cappuccino Cardigan! I thought Amanda looked beautiful and I asked her if I could share her picture. Amanda said: "It's been a pretty rough year for us and I've put on significant weight. I received the gorgeous navy floral double brushed poly (fabric) as a strikeoff to sew and it came at the perfect time. I looked through my patterns for the perfect piece. I'd never sewn the Cappuccino Cardigan and instantly fell in love! I love the slim sleeve option and the cuffs! I actually used the hem length line on the sleeve and added the cuff to it to make the sleeves extra cozy!! When I put the cardigan on, I felt beautiful and that's a feeling I had not felt in a long time." | Customer Spotlight! Deborah Ingelrelst from Belgium was a tester for the Marzipan Mix & Match pattern, and shortly after the release, she already created two new amazing creations with the new pattern! Those girls are so beautiful and that fabric is such a great pick! Deborah: "During the testing phase of the Marzipan Mix & Match Tunic & Dress Pattern, I visited a fabric market and spotted these panels. I knew immediately: these will have to become a new Candy Castle Marzipan Tunic! With the countless options included, this became the perfect Christmas tunics. The cowl, the thumbhole cuffs; warm and cozy, and with the bow ties as a festive cherry on the cake! We received so many compliments during the holidays! And the girls can wear their dresses to school until they outgrow them. It's amazing when you envision something and the end result is even better!" Deborah's blog can be found here. | Customer Spotlight! This gorgeous Peppermint Swirl Skirt, created by Heather Heidlage, was spotted on Instagram! Heather: "I made it for my 15 year old step daughter. Her friends were throwing a surprise birthday party for another friend. The theme was black and white masquerade and they were told to 'dress to impress'. She didn't have anything that would work and she didn't want to go dress shopping. So instead, we went fabric shopping! I had made the Peppermint Swirl before for my youngest daughter and she liked the idea of having something super twirly. She picked out the prints she wanted and I got busy sewing!" Thank you for sharing, Heather, what a great costume! | Customer Spotlight! Now that is a contagious smile! Elizabeth made her sweet daughter this beautiful Marzipan tunic! She used the thumbhole cuff option, the neckband option and the tunic length. | Customer Spotlight! "Finally a coat she'll actually wear!", Samantha Smith said. "The So Sweet Cinnamon Sweater made with blizzard fleece. Another pattern I absolutely love! I was able to put it together while she napped!" | Customer spotlight! Jennie Flanagan left us a message about her experience with the Candy Castle Princess Dress. Such a perfect Minnie creation! Jennie said: "I absolutely LOVE this pattern. I've never purchased a pattern before and I'm a beginner to sewing so I was hesitant to take on something like this but OMG this pattern is amazing. Everything you need is in it. The yardage needed for all the fabric, pictures of every step showing where exactly you need to sew and how, great details on more complicated steps and more. It's more than worth the money. I just finished the dress last night and my daughter is IN LOVE with it. I couldn't be happier!" | The most magical dress you'll ever sew! | The Truffle Ruffle Skirt was released in November! This is a super fun and playful skirt that uses up all your pretty fabric scraps you can't part with! It's a lot of fun to sew too. With sizes 0m - 12y you'll get a lot of use out of this pattern! | ▪ dress or tunic length ▪ cowl neck or neckband ▪ straight cut hem (perfect for border prints!) ▪ short sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, long sleeves ▪ optional flutter sleeves ▪ optional inseam pockets ▪ optional bow ties in the front or the back ▪ optional thumbhole cuffs ▪ | straight cut hem (perfect for border prints!) | ▪ | short sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, long sleeves | ▪ | optional flutter sleeves | ▪ | optional inseam pockets | ▪ | optional bow ties in the front or the back | ▪ | optional thumbhole cuffs | It's also SUPER fast to sew! Hope you check out this new beauty. | In January, we welcomed the Snickerdoodle Sweater! Size range 6m - 14y. It's the answer to all your sweater, shirt and tunic requests! This sweater too comes with a huge variety of options. | ▪ long or short sleeves ▪ shirt length or tunic length ▪ optional decorative neckline stitching ▪ optional kangaroo pocket ▪ thorough instructions for achieving the perfect fit for every kid ▪ can be made in a wide variety of fabrics ▪ | shirt length or tunic length | ▪ | optional decorative neckline stitching | ▪ | optional kangaroo pocket | ▪ | thorough instructions for achieving the perfect fit for every kid | ▪ | can be made in a wide variety of fabrics | This pattern is perfect for every season! | We have a gorgeous suspender skirt currently in testing! It's aimed to release next week, so stay tuned for its arrival! When the pattern is ready for release, we'll also need a name. That is where you come in! A naming contest will be hosted on our Facebook page. We'd love to hear your naming suggestions, and if your name is picked, you win the pattern and will be ready to get sewing the day of release! | Free updates Here at the Candy Castle, we value all our patterns - old and new! This is why we are constantly in the process of not only designing new patterns but also updating older patterns to include new options. When you purchase a pattern at Candy Castle Patterns, updates are always free! The patterns below have received updates over the past weeks. You can at any time log in to your account and download the latest version, or, if you need help downloading, feel free to email us at candycastle@outlook.com | The Okashi Baby Set was updated to now include an A0 file next to the regular printout. A0 files are large scale files that you can take to a copy shop (or order the printouts online!) and are printed at poster format. This means no more taping pages together! These files can be used instead of, or next to, the regular printout. | The Candy Wrapper Vest got a big update - the pattern dates from 2013, and a big makeover was due! It now has printable layers, an A0 printout, interactive content, improved work flow and a black and white (no color needed) printout, like our other patterns. | I hope you got tons of sewing inspiration; let's get creative! Would you like to get featured too? If your picture is featured in the newsletter, you receive a 5 dollar coupon to the store, next to eternal fame for your amazing sewing talents of course! All pictures of Candy Castle Patterns creations will be considered, even if you made adjustments (it would be very helpful if you would tell us in short which adjustments you made, if any). Send your pictures to candycastle@outlook.com and if you're picked, we'll send you an email with your coupon code! | | |