Category: sewing

It finally warmed up here, which means I got all the warm weather clothes out and went through what I still liked, what still fit, and what I could sew to fill the gaps.

I need more basic tanks and I had a yard of really great retro seagull rainbow print from Spoonflower, so I made a tank top Sunday morning:

The pattern is the Greenstyle Staple Tank and it was all done on the serger/cover stitch, which was such a good purchase for knits.

Next up for the summer closet: Some chambray pants to wear with the tank tops.

After I tweaked the Greenstyle pattern to make my colorblock vest, I realized I could use those tweaks to make a colorblocked Cotopaxi jacket knockoff, like so:
And like so:

I didn’t have to purchase anything for this project: The Polartec shearling fleece has been in my stash since I got it from Discovery Fabrics two Black Fridays ago and the bright nylons and all the elastics are leftovers from making all those Catagonia fleeces. The navy waterproof taffeta is scraps from the lining of my big parka; I just used poly quilt batting to quilt it and then treated the whole thing like an overlay, like so:

I took my time and added zips to the (enormous) outside pockets, the square chest pocket that I drafted, and even drop-in pocket on the inside:

I love it–it was fun to engineer and sew, I got to quilt something, and I got that incredibly bulky fleece out of storage and freed up some fabric space.

It’s a great weight, too, warm but not parka-weight. Just right for the shoulder season:

It’s still winter, so I’m sewing up all the fleece that has been sitting around since last winter. This is a pair of Brassie Joggers in a Polartec Powerstretch that I bought when I got the fabric for my dad’s vest last fall.

I was inspired by this pair of Cotopaxi fleece joggers that retail for one hundred and twenty American dollars, wtf:

I had woven nylon in a pretty good color match sitting around from all the Catagonia fleece orders last year, so I eyeballed a similar pocket shape and sewed up my own version:

Not too bad, especially for zero dollars! I even copied the back pocket and threw on a contrasting zipper and a Catagonia label, because why not:

Warm pants with pockets that are not $120: Is there anything better? Not really.

If it’s going to snow and be cold forever, I’m going to have some new fleece for it. This was an impulse project over the weekend, sparked by looking at the Cotopaxi site (and by having about 6 different types of fleece and Supplex and a basket of notions on hand):

I used the Green Pepper Polar Pullover pattern again and just eyeballed where to split the main body to make 2 sections for color blocking. Instead of trying to put a zipper in this wiggly fleece, I extended the snap placket all the say down. Then I zoomed in on the Cotopaxi pocket and cut a square that looked about the right size and put an inset zipper in it (with a zipper garage!).

I cut too much off the armholes; I should have just taken the width off the shoulder and not evenly around. But it works to wear over big sweatshirts:

And it is COZY. I wore it out to the grocery store yesterday afternoon instead of a coat and was nice and warm, even though the wind was blowing and it was 37 degrees.

I got inspired by a lot of the Cotopaxi color block look and it’s not looking like it’s going to be warm any time soon, so stay tuned for some fleece joggers and a jacket that tries to mimic the quilting detail on this one.

As I said yesterday, we were at the ER Friday for a CT scan/meds for diverticulitis. It wasn’t a bad visit, as ER visits go–and this isn’t our first gut rodeo–but I was stressed. So I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to stop at Sewtopia when you pick up Doc’s prescriptions and get a little treat?”

The bag I finished last week was ok when it was 100% full, but I realized I wasn’t using it stuffed to the brim and it was annoyingly floppy. At the back of my mind I thought I would just look at Sewtopia’s heavy canvas and webbing and just consider maybe making a new version of the bag.

Reader, I got a little treat…of 10 oz canvas and a really cool patterned webbing I never would have considered had the delightful store owner not recommended it. I came home with fabric and meds and proceeded to spend Saturday making another bag:

All these pictures are of an empty bag–the right weight of canvas really gives it structure. Here’s a comparison of the two so you can see what I mean by “annoyingly floppy”:

The heavy canvas is definitely more functional and I love the “1970s kitchen” colors. I even threw on a random label I had sitting around. Happiness wherever possible, right?

Was this a little bit of an obsessive and unnecessary project? Sure. But is sewing a fairly harmless way to feel like you can control something, and do you need that when you feel like you’re at the mercy of random Fates? Absolutely. Plus, now I have a really functional (extra) bag.

PS- I escaped jury duty.

I wanted an easy project after those fiddly satin pajamas and also wanted a more organized knitting bag. I have one of the original canvas Fringe Field Bags and have just been carrying that on Sunday visits to families instead of a purse–but there’s not a good place for my phone or keys (or water bottle).

So when Grainline Studio launched the pattern to DIY the larger bag Fringe used to sell, the Town Bag, I thought that would be ideal for a purse/knitting bag combo and an easy project.

Sewing-wise, it WAS an easy project. But you notice how there are only strap rivets on one side? Grainline neglected to mention that their hardware kits didn’t include any way to SET the rivets. So I had too many go awry to do both sides. (I tried to make it look intentional by putting snaps on the outer pockets of the other side.)

Grainline did mention that you needed a 10 oz canvas in order for the bag to stand up on its own, a fact I neglected to notice until I’d ordered this 6 oz “canvas” (again from that Warp and Weft line; love the colors). The bag is very floppy when it’s empty but once I pack it up with my wallet and phone and keys and water bottle and yarn, it holds its shape.

I might be turning into someone who only likes to sew straight lines…first quilts and now bags. It might be time to start on that travel bag I keep talking about.

I did a thing outside my comfort zone on Sunday and attended SLC Frocktails, which I’ve been calling Sewing Prom but is just a cocktail hour to meet and talk to other people who sew, hosted by a local fabric store. But I went all by myself! I talked to a lot of different people, mostly about their outfits and about the best patterns! I am truly proud of myself.

I also made a new outfit for it, one I’d had on the mental list for a while:

Yes, those ARE formal satin crane print pajamas. The fabric and piping had been in my stash for a while; I even tried out the pattern (Closet Core Carolyn Pajamas) as a wearable test last year. (I made the pants a few times, too, but never blogged about any of them.) So this wasn’t an unknown pattern and I didn’t have to buy anything new for it–my only challenge was getting these sewn in a week. (And also somehow forgetting I used a smaller seam allowance on the pants and having to unpick them all and try again.)

I was brave and did a social event on my own, but my bravery failed me at asking anyone to get my picture there. But here’s a shot as I was walking out the door:

My pretty dress days are over; I’m in my Hilary era now (pantsuits forever) so the formal pajamas were a great way to feel fancy but also be comfortable.

I’m still working on the quilted chore coat but we’re entering the home stretch: I finished all the interior binding and started on the actual construction…maybe 7 weeks after I started cutting out pieces? But I think I want to try to focus a little more on slower/bigger projects this year, since I truly don’t need more clothes.

Interestingly enough, the relatively small amount of piecing and cutting I’ve done has truly improved my accuracy: Making bias binding used to be a struggle and a mystery for me, but this time around I made a perfect square and cut a perfect bias and sewed the most even .25″ seams and generally breezed through something I used to struggle with. Yay for skills!