Category: sewing

I made a dry bag last September from a kit but obviously never had a reason to use it–until we were scheduled for tubing. I, uh, happened to have another unsewn kit, this time in a Hiroshige print, so whipped it up so we each had a bag for snacks on the river.

The pros: Holds a tallboy beer and 3 different snacks, very appropriate print, is light and tough.

The cons: It’s not 100% waterproof. I think if I’d really rolled the top down tight and then didn’t touch it again, it would have done better. But considering Doc capsized and I hit the Bear River’s Great Wave, the few tablespoons of water I had to dump out of each wasn’t that bad.

I finished some tiny shorts just in time for wading-in-streams, broken-AC-at-the-gym, 82-degrees-at-8:00-am weather:

These are the Greenstyle Balboa Shorts, which I’ve made before (I used 2 inch elastic this time vs 3 inch). The pattern has front zip double welt pockets but I added a shallow one for my ID to the back too (lose your driver’s license in the lake once [2022] and you’re always going to have a dedicated ID pocket thereafter).

I wore them all weekend long in the heat wave. I even had a full Magnum, P.I. moment at the lake–polo (the Wardrobe By Me mens pattern), tiny shorts, and staring at the water.

Here’s the first pair of khakis I’ve owned since high school, and I MADE them!

When you don’t leave the house, it’s hard to get good modeled pictures, but these give you an idea. They are khaki! They have a high waist and a wide leg! They FIT!

It’s also hard to take a picture of your own butt, but this gives you an idea of the rear fit (excellent, verging on “wow I hope these stretch out soon”).

These are the Daughter Judy Brier Pants and I made my size at the hips and graded a size down to my size at the waist. In hindsight, I could have done a straight size for the hips because these are pretty high-waisted. But they are stretching out, as the pattern designer said they would in a twill weave.

Construction-wise, I didn’t have any issues; I think the DJ instructions are excellent, both for the actual assembly and for finishing details. I used a twill from the Eddie Bauer for Joann line and the triple-stitch feature on my machine, since I didn’t have matching topstitching thread on hand.

Now all I have to do is break these babies in. Hopefully my size will stay constant enough I can get these really worn, for that Authentic Prep Feel.

“Merino sun hoodies” have been on my radar for a season or two, but the older I get the less able I am to wear wool on my torso. So I went stash-diving and found some Polartec Power Stretch mesh to try it out. (I think I had meant to make Doc a new sun shirt with it? Whoops.)

The LearnMYOG pattern guy is teasing a pattern for it but 1) I’m still mad about his instructions and 2) I already owned the BEAUTIFULLY drafted Jalie Marie-Claude, which I’d made before and had a hood option.

Initial verdict: I like it! It definitely works to keep the sun off the back of your neck and ears, and the crossover hood front even protects your throat. But I kind of wish I’d made the thumbhole cuffs on this version, too, to keep the sun off the backs of your hands. And while this fabric is definitely wicking, I wouldn’t say it’s cooling. I guess I’ll just have to buy more fabric and try out Polartec Delta, which is reportedly magic.

But, ok, we all know the REAL reason I like this: I can put my hood up and ask for a crappucino. It’s even the right color!

I made some fruit undies, because the underwear drawer was looking really sad and it seemed like a natural progression from the last couple weeks of t shirt sewing. (I wanted to make a Fruit of the Loom / fruits on my b00bs joke here but I thought that might be too much for the title.)

These are various cuts of Euro knits and the scraps from the green stripe tee, sewn up into the trusty Watson Bra and Acacia Undies. I haven’t made new lingerie in over a year so it was time; I’ve also been assessing exactly how much fabric I have in the house and how I’m going to have to move it all someday, so it was time to sew some of the stash too. Only 3,000 more yards to sew up! (I’m joking. Mostly.)

I’m on a quest to find a good t-shirt pattern and I had three yards of inexpensive (but surprisingly high quality!) cotton knit, so now I’m prepared for any regattas that I might need to attend:

The back is the free Closet Core “Core T-Shirt” in the 3/4 sleeve version. The neckline is gorgeous–not open but also not too high, very elegant–but I don’t love the boxy fit in this knit.

The middle is the (also free!) Secondo Piano “Basic Instinct T” and it’s the perfect vintage/boy fit, with neat shoulders and a high neck. I’ll size down for the next one but it’s the winner for the third stripe colorway I bought and maybe even a solid white version.

And the scraps from the 3/4 sleeve tee got turned into a test of the Wardrobe by Me “Muscle Tank.” I’m generally impressed by their drafting but the binding lengths were way off here (and I double checked I cut the right sizes)–the neck was too tight and the arms were too loose? Very strange. And the negative ease is intense, but I like the shape enough I might try again with tweaks.

Now I just need to make some khakis and then find a boat race or two.

While I was making my most recent stripe shirt, I worked in a shirt for Doc. I don’t batch sew often but it really works, because in about the time of making one shirt, you have two!

This is the antithesis of preppy but it’s glorious:

That “cat portraits in space” fabric was from Miss Matatabi; when I ordered my skeleton fabric I saw I could get free shipping with just a little more and there were cat! portraits! in! space! so it was a no-brainer.

This is McCalls 6044 yet again, going on a decade of being the go-to shirt pattern here. Doc certainly has some good taste in fabric.