sewing

When I ordered that tiger/volcano fabric from Fabric Godmother, I threw in half a meter of viscose knit from Celine for underwear (now sold out). I thought the print would be very Marie-Antoinette, but…I think my pattern choices made it turn out more Anne of Green Gables:

These were both free patterns and they’re really comfortable to wear, so I’m ok with the Anne aesthetic. The top is the Barrett Bralette and the undies are the Noelle Underwear, both from Madalynne Intimates. I’ve found I need to size down a LOT in her patterns and the instructions are a little wacky, but the finished product is great: The Noelles are currently the winner in my ongoing Trial of Giant Underwear Patterns and the Barrett has the best support of any pullover bra I’ve tried to date.

As for my fall sewing plans, they’re are all for underwear right now. It’s looking more and more likely that I’ll be working from home for the rest of the year l and I just don’t need any more clothes to wear at home. (You could argue I also don’t need any more underwear, but at least they don’t use a lot of fabric or time.) I want to turn this pile of fabric and lace into a set of mix-and-match (or matchy-clashy) bras and undies, so stay tuned.

(Yes that is hot orange stretch velvet in the upper left.)

I’ve had to go into the office a couple times for client meetings, all masked up and spread out, but, you know, meetings mean talking. The Craft Passion pattern I was using before tended to slide down my nose when you moved your jaw (a requirement of talking) and that wasn’t going to work.

So when I saw pattern designer Marilla Walker talking about a “boat mask” on Instagram and how comfortable it was, I thought I’d try it out. Her post I linked has a pattern you can draft but I found one ready to go at Aplat  and tried that–it fit perfectly and was indeed amazingly comfortable.

The flaps at the top and bottom give it a 3D effect, which keeps it tight at the edges but leaves a lot of room in front of your mouth. I wore one Sunday for family visits and it stayed in place perfectly, even with lots of talking.

Since mask wearing looks like it’s going to stay around for the foreseeable future, I made these versions more FASHUN than neutral. The ties are bias binding for some color (I’m a big fan of a mask that ties around your head vs. ear elastic). No reason we can’t be stylish while we stay safe, right?

Is this pretty much a romper I would have worn when I was 8, down to the pink and purple? Yes. Do I love it? Yes.

This is another Project Work From Home jumpsuit, out of leftover Spoonflower poly jersey I had bought back when I was launching an undie business. (Yes, the fabric says CLEVER GIRL and HOLD ON TO YOUR BUTTS.)

One-piece dressing has proven to be so much easier in this WFH life, and knits are always comfier, so I went looking for a good knit jumpsuit pattern. I had seen this vintage Kwik Sew pattern but didn’t want to pay $18 for it:

I saw this similar pattern for $7 and decided to just trace off the Greenstyle Brassie Joggers on the bottom half (matching the waist and crotch curves to the original) to get the pants I wanted.

I liked the pattern for the vintage 80s style and for the back detail, which has PERFECTLY placed straps to cover bra straps. Overall I’m really impressed with the drafting on these vintage Kwik Sew patterns–the hype is real (and I guess they’re worth $18).

I actually made another version of this pattern with the ankle cuffs first out of different fabric, but the dino print jumped the line for the blog (understandably). Regardless, I’m set for the end of summer at the home office.

I came of age in the late 90s, when the two mainstream approaches to women’s lingerie were either Calvin Klein (aesthetic: sleek, plain, androgynous) or Victoria’s Secret (aesthetic: feminine, lacy, pink, smelled like fruit or candy). Guess which approach I decided to embrace?

For 25 years I was happy in my plain undies, maybe branching out into Natori (aesthetic: a single piece of lace trim) if I was feeling wild. But in the two months since I realized I could make bras, I’ve gone from this:

to this:

Suddenly I am all about pink! and lace! and unnecessary bows!

It started with another Watson Bra and some matching undies. I made the Trixie Briefs on the bottom with mesh paneling and then I made the Rosy Ladyshorts on top that required lace trim.

Shopping for lace for the Rosys led me into the world of stretch galloon lace and all the patterns that were made to take advantage of it, and before I knew it I’d made the Studio Costura Mara Bralette and Stella Panties:

I’m lace-obsessed now. I can’t believe I made something so pretty! The bra is a beautiful fit but the panties turned out too small (and even if they fit, they’d be too low rise for me now). But the rise of the pattern was limited by the width of the lace, so there wasn’t an easy fix. What to do? Combine that full-coverage Calvin Klein aesthetic with a lace overlay and make a high-waisted Watson Bikini for some ENORMOUS Marie-Antoinette underwear:

Sure, they’re big, but they’re big and pretty. And I finally can have matching sets of lingerie that fit the way I want them to, not how the lingerie-industrial complex thinks they should. Hooray for sewing!

I finished this blouse back in May, I think, when going back to the office in June or July seemed like a possibility. (To be clear, I am extremely grateful we are NOT back in the office; I just made this before I pivoted my sewing plans to be more applicable to that WFH lyfe.)

I still haven’t worn it except to make Doc take pictures of it, but I was really happy with how it turned out:

It’s Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 8636 (again), in a Kokka quilting cotton in a traditional Japanese print. (I’m powerless in the face of a traditional Japanese print.)

This time I sewed the pattern as drafted with the bottom ruffle. I did lengthen the sleeves by 2 inches but that was the only mod. This is a really fun and easy pattern–highly recommend for when we can all leave the house again (or you just want to be fancy at home).

In continuing to sew for what my life looks like now, I made a new pair of gym tights. (Gym disclaimer: it’s about the only place I go; I know it’s a calculated risk; the reward is greater than the risk for me; I feel safer there than at the grocery store; I always wear a mask around family in case I pick anything up.)

Anyway, I squeaked these out of a yard of $15 spandex from a place in NYC called, accurately, Spandex World.  They’re the new Cavallo Leggings from Greenstyle and the pockets are HUGE. They’re also pretty fast to make and, so far, I haven’t noticed any mobility issues from the lack of a gusset.

I didn’t have a lot of leftovers but I loved the green and orange so much I used every last scrap on another Watson Bra (my sixth; there’s another bra blog coming) and some matching undies (the Trixie Briefs from Jennifer Lauren Handmade).

And since I had green thread in the serger and was using up scraps, I made another Ogden Cami to wear at home in the leftovers from this skirt.

Sewing for the life you have is pretty fun, it turns out–you can still be stylish at the gym or kicking around the house (or in your underwear, I guess).

After I finally realized I’ll be working from home for the rest of the summer, sewing got a lot more fun again. I’m using fabrics from my stash and kind of just going for it without a plan of what will match my work wardrobe or what would be office-appropriate.

That’s how I ended up with this cotton gauze muumuu-meets-jumpsuit:

This is the CCP Amy Jumpsuit, which I’d already bought in December and had printed out. The fabric is a cotton gauze I picked up at JoAnn last year and the whole thing is really light and cool to wear.

Fit-wise, I added an inch to the torso, which I always do. I probably could have gotten away without it, but the extra length allowed me to shorten the straps quite a bit so the neckline wasn’t so open and the darts hit me in a better place. The bodice is lined and I was really impressed with the instructions for finishing that around the zipper.

I haven’t sewn a CCP pattern since I was so underwhelmed by the Kalle Shirt, but I was impressed with this pattern: The instructions are good, the straps are wide enough to cover bra straps, there are pockets, and I think the cut is really elegant.  (Or as elegant as a crazy big leg jumpsuit you wear at home with bare feet can be.)

(Heads up, I’m gonna talk about fitting the Cloth Habit Watson Bra pattern, which necessitates talking about BOOBS. You’ve been warned.)

After I blogged about realistic projects for working from home, I got antsy to try the Watson Bra and ordered an elastic/notions starter kit from Porcelynne (seems to be out of stock at the moment). It gave me enough elastics and sliders and closures for three bras, which gave me enough tries to get the fit really dialed in.

Here are all three testers, and I am so tickled with all of them. I MADE BRAS! This pile would be AT LEAST $80 to buy.

I made useful clothing from GARBAGE, essentially:

• Bra #1 at the top used scraps from these crane-print joggers
• Bra # 2 in the middle used a remnant from this Nikko Turtleneck a couple years ago
• Bra #3 at the bottom used athletic lycra leftover from these gym leggings

OK, on to the fitting:

The Watson Bra is sized by subtracting your upper bust from your full bust. Now that I have muscles, there’s not a ton of difference between those measurements–it’s all between my full bust and underbust (where the bra band sits). I’m a 32C in ready-to-wear, but the Watson size chart  put me in a 34A for this pattern. I was dubious, but I also usually wear an underwire and this is wireless, so I just went with the recommended size to start.

Bra #1: 34A

As I thought, the band was too loose. I can wear it on the last hook but I can tell as it stretches over the day. Surprisingly, the cups fit pretty well. I put it on and said WOW, because the unlined cups just stretch over everything and give you such a nice “perfected” silhouette (especially compared with the “tank style” wireless bras I’d been wearing, which just mushed everything into place).

Verdict: Hallelujah, no more uni-boob! Definitely wearable, but the band’s a little big.

Bra #2: 32B

The cup pattern piece for the 34A and the 32B was the same (the sorcery of sister sizing) so this one really just got the band dialed in. As I thought, a 32 was good. (However, turns out I hate the longline version.)

I was curious as to where the cup seams should hit on this for the best fit–I didn’t see any info about that in any pattern review. With an underwire, I know they should go flat against the chest, but the seams here and on Bra #1 were slightly up ON the boob versus hitting down at the base of it.

Verdict: NO THANK YOU to the longline. Band was spot on. But what about cup seams?

Bra #3: 32C

The cup seams on this one hit lower down, flush against the rib cage, but as I wore it all day the cups didn’t feel quite as secure, like things were just starting to think about falling out. I also noticed a difference in the amount of lift, and I can only conclude that the cup seam is supposed to hit the boob itself in this pattern? (I don’t really know, honestly.)

Verdict: I can wear this (with a slightly tighter strap than usual) but the 32B is the winner for security and support.

Final Thoughts:

I love the Watson Bra! All three tester versions are wearable and comfortable, but now that the fit’s dialed in it’s like wearing nothing. But it’s also really glamorous and gives a great shape (which is, after all, the point of a bra in the first place).

The instructions are excellent and even dictate what type of stitch and length and width to use. If you’re an adventurous beginner, you could make this. And I regret waiting so long to try it–because now I’m a little obsessed with making bras.

BOOBS!

The new JoAnn store opened in my neighborhood about a year ago. My brother and sister-in-law went to check it out a little later, and my brother sent me a couple pics of prints from the quilting section. I offered to make them into shirts if he wanted to buy them…and here we are nearly 12 months later, with one finished:

I used Simplicity 3852, which I’d made for him before (seven years ago?!). I took a gamble that it would still fit, but sewed it with 1/2″ seam allowances instead of 5/8″ for a little more room, just in case. (It fits!)

I had a hell of a time fusing my interfacing–to the point I was ready to order a steam press and ended up throwing the rest of that interfacing yardage away–so I hope it stands up to washing ok.

Quilting cotton isn’t ideal for a garment but man does it take stitches well: