Category: sewing

Predictably, it’s late spring and I’m thinking that classic button-ups would be a good summer uniform. Unlike the last Summer of Shirts, I’m a lot faster now so I might be able to get a few made before I realize yet again that they’re TOO hot for real summer.

But for now, the timing works: Closet Core launched a new pattern just in time for Summer of Shirts 2.0 and I have a lot of shirting in my stash to sew through. This is their Jenna Shirt and it’s 90% great:

 

The pros: The details are great, very classic menswear. The tower placket instructions were clear and the collar stand instructions were brilliant–they use a whole new order that gives a beautiful finish.

The cons: I had to reduce the curve radius on the hem to get a smooth finish and now that the shirt is done, I’m not loving the small collar and how it all sits. The shirt wants to pull to the back, which RTW shirts do on me too, so it might be that the drafting is fine and I just need to do a forward shoulder adjustment. However, all the pattern photos show the collar either popped or buttoned all the way up, so I’m a little suspicious …

 

The fabric was from my stash, originally from Farmhouse Fabrics. (I think I moved it to this house from my apartment, it’s that old). I had a three yard cut because I bought it in my dress era and just never used it, thinking “someday” I’d need a shirt dress to wear on the Amalfi coast or something. In the spirit of dressing for the life I have NOW, I used the extra fabric to make a pair of shorts for a matching set, like I see on Pinterest.

 

I used the LearnMYOG DIAS pattern for the shorts, because I knew they fit and had excellent pockets. (I never blogged them but I made a pair in Supplex last summer, seen here.) In a nice shirting vs a technical fabric, they read more “boxer,” which is just what I wanted, and the back welt pocket adds a nice touch.

Hopefully the shorts help me keep Summer of Shirts going a little longer into the actual summer. I can always wear the shirt as a jacket, too.

Behold, my Easter outfit. What says “resurrection” better than skeleton ghosts?

 

This is the Daughter Judy Patterns Genra Shirt. I’d actually bought the pattern before the Worship Jeans and made the long sleeve version last year. It didn’t get blogged or worn because it felt too dressy, so earlier this year I hacked the sleeves off at the elbow and had an aha! moment. With short sleeves, this feels really cool and casual. In a SPRINGTIME SKELETON print, it feels awesome:

 

I haven’t been buying new fabric this year, but when I saw Miss Matatabi had this rayon plus an  insane cat print for Matt, I smashed that “buy” button. The rayon was expensive but the quality is wonderful–matte and opaque but so fluid. I think a drapey fabric makes this pattern shine:

 

There are some lovely Daughter Judy details, too, like the longer hem in the back and great instructions for finishing the side seams. I need to go back to not buying new fabric but there are a couple other [non-skeleton] drapey pieces in my stash that might become Genra Shirts next.

This is the face you make when you wear JEANS that you MADE to the ARCADE:

 

I don’t have a new hobby (yet) but my friend is really into pinball, so I joined her for a Saturday morning and also wore these JEANS. Did I mention I MADE them? And they FIT?

 

These are the Daughter Judy Worship Jeans and I made ZERO pattern adjustments. I did go down a size–it calls for a 12-ounce rigid denim and I was using a 7-ounce (barely) stretch denim. I had one bad moment when I sewed them up for real and thought maybe I shouldn’t have interfaced the waistband, but they’ve relaxed.

Many people on the internet were complaining about the fly front instructions but I thought they were perfect–clear and logical and made for a really clean professional finish. I did make a rookie mistake and use a pant zipper vs a jean zipper; turns out jean zippers have a more robust locking mechanism, so it remains to be seen if the zipper is going to stay up long term. But that’s why I was treating these as a wearable muslin and used the cheap denim. And it’s nothing my Rainbow Brite sweatshirt can’t hide.

If you couldn’t tell by the caps lock, I’m delighted by the fact I finally made jeans that fit. I’ve definitely made more complicated projects but for some reason these really feel like magic. I’m going to try the straight leg version next!

I’ve been regularly sewing clothes for myself for nearly 20 years now (and sewing in general a lot longer) but I’ve never tried making a pair of jeans. At first it was because I didn’t have the skills, then because I could fit into off the rack jeans, and then, even when finding off the rack was getting tricky, it seemed too hard to both sew and fit a pair.

Well, five years of regular gym-going and the unstopping march of time means I don’t have a chance of fitting into anything off the rack now–there’s nearly an 11-inch difference between my waist and hips (most commercial blocks assume an 8- or 9-inch difference). I’ve just avoided jeans since the pandemic, but I started seeing a new pattern pop up on Instagram with raves about how it fits those of us with a big boo-tay.

Enter…the Daughter Judy “Worship Jeans” pattern. Reader, this is a baste fit before I went too deep into the pockets and other details and the there are ZERO mods. I haven’t had a pair of jeans fit this well at the waist and hips at the same time in YEARS.

I’m also delighted by the flare silhouette–that was my preferred shape in the early 2000s and it’ll always have my heart–and all the little details that make it look like REAL JEANS:

I only have the belt loops and waistband to attach (for real this time) before they’re finished. Suddenly I’m excited about jeans again!

Doc got a membership to the rec center and has been going to their gym (the couple that doesn’t work out together, stays together) and bought himself a new pair of REI shorts to wear. But it turns out they had exactly one (1) pocket. I had a roomful of fabric and knew about a pattern to use, so he got some gym shorts over the weekend:

These are the Motion Athletic Shorts from Greenstyle, made in a stretch ripstop from Ripstop By The Roll I had bought on a whim. There are two deep pockets on the front and a zip pocket in the back, PLUS a SECRET PHONE POCKET on the liner shorts (made from a perforated sport knit I had also bought on a whim):

These were fun to make and using up stash fabrics always feels good. Like I told Doc, though, you can’t know how a fabric or pattern is going to perform until you wear it to a workout, so we’ll see if the fit is right/the fabric breathes/the pockets are functional.

Those pockets tho! I’m tempted to make a pair for myself… I have enough fabric leftover and it’s not like we’d be seen together at the same gym.

(We can thank Doc for the pun today.)

I made another fleece jacket in this mushroom print from Joann. (I think fleece layers are what I make when I don’t know what to make/ am avoiding piecing a king-size quilt.)

I used the Greenstyle Whistler Jacket pattern but had to fudge the bottom band because the zipper I had on hand was a couple inches too short. I also put in the elastic cuffs as directed but got them too tight,  so I cut them off and did foldover elastic instead. Even for my long arms, there was more than enough sleeve length to lose three inches.

Then I added a chest pocket because the hand pockets are tiny and I wanted to tie in the elastic color. I pulled out the Petite Stitchery jacket pocket pattern piece and used that. Now fleece jacket no. 2051 is sufficiently loud!

I haven’t made a pair of gym tights in a while, probably because I have a drawer full of them. But there was an after Christmas sale on this ex-designer fabric and I needed some color, so: new tights!

I’m not sure why I chose a pattern with the most panels and most stripe matching, but these are the Super G tights from Greenstyle (for about the tenth time). I’m debating going back and adding reverse coverstitch along the seamlines to hide the lack of PERFECT stripe matching, but they work for the gym.

This was my snowy Saturday project: A little zip case to organize all the sock knitting needles.

 

This was definitely an impulse project–I have a jacket cut out that was going to be up next. But I saw someone’s on Instagram and thought, “That looks fun,  I think I have everything I need for that.” And I did! (Always buy orange notions, I guess.)

The one thing I didn’t have on hand in sufficient quantity was foam stabilizer. I didn’t want to make a special trip to get more, though, so I used leftover spacer mesh from my hiking pack and backed it in 1mm EVA (also leftover but never used on that project).

The pattern is the Sew Sweetness “Creative Maker Supply Case.” I made the smallest size and just doubled the pockets on both sides, vs. doing a pocket and elastic loops for pens. I was able to fit all the exterior and interior pieces from a fat quarter with careful cutting; I ended up with about a 4×6 piece leftover. (I could have used that for the mesh pocket binding but I had orange foldover elastic on hand so used that instead.)

This is fun to zip and open and it does indeed keep all the sock needles in one place. Hooray for fast projects where you don’t have to buy anything!

I’m posting at a weird time but I’m here, mostly because I’m feeling antsy to wrap up the year. So let’s go over the holiday sewing!

I give the coaches at the gym a nice bottle of booze, but the coach at the gym who doesn’t drink got a onesie for his new baby:

The pattern is the Brindille & Twig Hood Zip Coverall and I had the check fleece and ribbing in my stash from when I thought I wanted to make a sage green short-sleeve sweatshirt? Fortunately I thought better of the sweatshirt; the fleece is really cute for a babby.

 

Next up, Doc got some more undies:

These are the trusty Walbrook Boxer Briefs from Greenstyle in some knits from L’Oiseau Fabrics (ordered when I got my sweater knit for that big blazer; love to shop for fabric for others and end up getting some for me, too).

 

And finally, the biggest project, another vest for my dad:

He wears the vest I made him last year a lot, but I was never happy with how the zipper turned out and I noticed he always turned the collar down. So I found a vest pattern for wovens, with no collar, and then went all-in on technical materials.

The outer shell is a blend of recycled poly and oyster shells, of all things, called “Seawool.” It claims to be anti-static, anti-odor, anti-bacterial, quick drying, and soft to the touch–I can only substantiate the “soft” claim but it was nice to work with.  For the lining, I went with Thinsulate (“inch for inch it is the warmest insulation around”) and quilted it to a nylon taslan, which claims to be breathable, wicking, and odor and mildew resistant.

I used the Wardrobe by Me Ozark Vest pattern, which is pretty much a knockoff of a Carhartt vest. I was really impressed with it–beautiful, precise drafting and a really nice bagged lining with the facings attached. Plus a zipper guard!

I know there have been years where I’ve sewn a lot more gifts for people, but this December just got so busy with work that it felt hard to fit the sewing in. But I got it all done, with five days to spare!

As per tradition, Doc got a new cat print shirt for his birthday:

I’ve had the fabric since the summer, when I saw it in a Miss Matatabi email (it sold out fast). Did I get a head start on it? Of course not. So when it was crunch time, I decided to go with the slightly simpler camp collar New Look pattern I’ve made him a couple times, vs the tried-and-true McCalls pattern with a full collar stand that I usually use.

I didn’t do front pockets, both for time and for lack of fabric to make them perfectly match. But I think letting that fabric shine was a good choice–you really don’t want anything to interrupt the joy of kittens rock climbing (their little feet!).