My Smartwool funnel neck that I hiked in for years bit the dust last season and I never replaced it, making do with a performance flannel shirt and a neck gaiter. But there’s something to be said for having your neck more draft-proof, so when I saw this wool blend (88% poly/12% wool) at JoAnn I thought, “What if I made the long sleeve Nikko Turtleneck in this?”

The answer was, “I’d have a DIY Smartwool for $19!”

This was my first time making the version with sleeves and I forgot to lengthen them for my looong arms; I could use an extra inch there, even though the body length was good. I cut a straight size 8 but next time I might add a little more width to the bicep–all that POWERLIFTING is making my arms HUGE, bros.

I’ll be on the lookout for knits with a little higher wool content to make another version!

The theme around here seems to be “fix what you can” because I have some more alterations of old projects in the queue and I just re-made Doc’s anniversary shirt. You’ll remember I used a different pattern in the spring and it turned out too small. I was at JoAnn Fabrics at some point after that and saw this very similar plaid on sale, so I grabbed it.

You’ll notice that this version has more “flair”–Western yoke, bias-cut pockets, pearl snaps–and I blame that on watching both seasons of Queer Eye between the first version and this iteration. (Speaking of snaps, I highly recommend Snap Source.)

I went back to the trusty McCalls 6044 I’ve used for him and it fits just fine. This fabric is also far less prone to wrinkling than the original fancy Japanese plaid, so chalk one up for Indian cotton from JoAnn.

(Yes, everything is going to be a metaphor now.)

Remember back in June when I tried making a Lou Box Top and my reaction was “meh”? It continued to be “meh” and the top remained unworn. Meanwhile, I started eyeballing the True Bias Ogden Cami. The old me would never want to show off that much shoulder or back, but the new gym-going me is Hulking out and has arm and back muscles she didn’t know existed.

However, I thought I’d better try a muslin first before I got any good fabric for the Ogden Cami, so the Lou Box Top got a new lease on life:

I had to angle the pattern pieces to fit, which means it’s about an inch less full at the hem, but I think that works to counteract the extra body of the cotton lawn. This is going to be amazing in a rayon, I think. And I’m going to be really happy wearing it and showing off my gains.

After I posted about it, I did go back and fix the fit issues on my Make Nine Willow Tank. But it’s a little bit of a chop job on the inside, and then I saw Catherine’s version in Kokka twill, and then Stonemountain had a sale, and if you give a mouse a cookie she’s going to make another sleeveless top:

I got a yard of fabric and had to cut the back in two pieces and upside down to get it to fit (looking at Catherine’s again, I think she cut hers on the cross grain) but the print really disguises it all. And the bust darts are in the right place this time!

Since I started lifting at the gym four days a week (HELLO YES DID YOU KNOW I LIFT WEIGHTS NOW? LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT IT), I’ve found some holes in my workout wear, namely that I didn’t have much of it other than yoga leggings and an open back tank.

Fortunately, someone I follow on Instagram (An Elemental Life) did a Stories highlight of companies that make activewear patterns. From her, I found out about Greenstyle Creations. Their Tie-Back Tank was really similar to the solitary tank I had and liked; I had a yard of panel print leftover from this maxi four years ago*;  and so I went for it.

I wasn’t brave enough to take a picture of this at the actual gym last night, but I get braver there every day (or at least four times a week)

Verdict: It’s great! (And SO much easier to sew with a serger; that maxi was all done with a mock overlock on my regular machine and I remember it taking forever.) It stayed in place during a workout really well (even doing back extension!)  and the knot is easy to tuck up into the small of your back for floor work. I made the high neck option with the bands and it only took me an hour of sewing time.

*I know I still look pretty un-muscled in these photos, but compared to how bony I was four years ago, I’m really happy with what all this time at the gym is doing. Also, I’m going to be so in demand for helping friends move, pushing stalled cars, rearranging furniture, etc.

I can’t stop making easy sleeveless summer tops and I’m ok with it. This is another True Bias Nikko in some really nice crisp cotton rib from Mood. (It was actually one of the suggested fabrics when the pattern was introduced.)

I made my first one at a size 10 and had to take it in quite a bit (trust the negative ease!) so I cut this at an 8. But this cotton isn’t as tightly ribbed as my first fabric so I ended up having to take in another half an inch on the seams under the arms so the armholes wouldn’t gape. (I think I also stretched out the armhole facings a little when putting those on, and the cotton just didn’t spring back like the rayon.)

Regardless, I’ve realized that I love a high neck sleeveless top and this is a great pattern. It looks like something you’d find in Madewell, except it really is made well because you made it yourself.

I’ve had my eye on a pair of Patagonia “Happy Hike Studio Pants.” The style looked interesting for the trail but I wasn’t sure I’d like it enough to pay $79 to try it. Mostly, I wanted to see if I could make a convincing copy, so they went on the Summer of Basics list.

Well, what can’t that True Bias Hudson pant pattern do? I didn’t even modify it, just sewed it up in technical fabrics–a durable stretch woven from Rockywoods and nylon ribbing from The Rain Shed  for the waistband and cuffs (I had to get swatches for a color match–this is “Gargoyle” DSW and “Foliage Green” ribbing.)

The only change I made was to deepen the pockets by two inches and add a phone “holster” inside the main pocket, so my phone doesn’t move around as I hike.

Overall, it’s a pretty close approximation of the Patagonia pair. The Hudson pattern has some more fullness and I cut my waistband taller, since I thought I might want to fold it over when not wearing a pack. The Patagonia fabric  probably has a lot more drape, though. This durable stretch woven isn’t all that stretchy, so up until wearing these on a hike I didn’t think I would like them–too much fullness for too stiff a fabric (they don’t look like much on the hanger). 

But that wide ribbed waist is so comfortable under a pack, and those pockets are so functional, that I was totally converted. I don’t even care if they’re “too” full, they’re my new favorite hiking pants.

I needed a pair of quick-dry shorts so I ordered a pair of the famous Patagonia Baggies. I would have been fine paying $55 for sweatshop-free shorts from a sustainable B Corp, BUT–the elastic waist wasn’t enclosed on the inside (good for quick drying, but I wanted to wear these hiking too and I thought that would get irritating)–and the pockets weren’t deep enough for my phone. (This is a problem in nearly every pair of active bottoms I have. How hard is it, women’s clothing designers?!)

I looked at the Patagonia shorts, and thought, “Wait, I could make the Emerson Shorts…leave out the pleats…deepen the pockets…this might work!” I found some nylon supplex at The Rain Shed and for about $12 I had some DIY Patagonia.

The smart thing to do would have been to measure how deep the pleats were and add that exact amount to the waistband, but I just guessed and added about an inch and it worked out ok. I deepened the pockets by 1.5″ and made a second drop-in pocket inside the right main pocket to corral my phone while hiking (shown here in the next project). And to keep my shorts up with a phone in the pocket, I added an interior drawstring. (I also made my regular Emerson mod of adding about 3/8″ to the front crotch curve.)

The nylon supplex I found isn’t stretchy and matte like the Patagonia fabric, but it’s light and comfortable and really does dry quickly. Overall I’m really happy with these, and not just because they were cheap–they’re functional and exactly what I wanted and they performed really well on a 4-mile hike:

Val-der-i, val-der-a…