Category: Tuesday Project Roundup

I finally finished a shirt for Doc that had been languishing since I cut it out in August. Good thing he runs hot so he can wear short sleeves year-round:

Pattern is New Look 6197 again (like last year’s version) but I used the instructions from the Daughter Judy Genra Shirt for the facings (you sandwich them in for a clean finish–no hand sewing!)

I got this fabric when I got the longer cuts for me for that Pool Dress, back before the tariffs (cry). This is a screen print, not a block print, but the base is the same–light and soft.

Pool Summer is over but I still need to blog this block print dress I finished in August. It was the perfect thing to throw on if you needed to stop somewhere after the pool and look pulled together despite your stringy chlorine hair and general sun-baked vibe:

The pattern is the Daughter Judy Genra Shirt and Dress–my fifth time making the pattern (three shirts and now two dresses). It’s a good one! The fabric is from Etsy, where I discovered you could get 5 yard cuts for $30.

Emphasis on could–tariffs now are 50% on anything from India so I’m glad I got a few cuts in that one order I placed. I’ll be set for the next Pool Summer.

I took my car in for its 60,000 mile service last week and, inspired by how nice Doc’s new car is, decided it was time to clean some things up. Such as the situation in the back hatch:

 

I sewed the stuff sacks for our poles I was talking about and got some cargo nets (OEM for the rear seat one, generic for the sides) and just LOOK AT IT:

 

The stuff sacks took about 30 minutes each and the measurements in the pattern generator worked perfectly:

 

I even got a headlamp pouch sewn up and my center console (where it lives) organized, too. (Did you know they make organizing trays for the center console?! And silly little cup liner inserts with orange trim to match the stitching in your car?!)

I got my new suit finished just in time for the Crestwood pool to CLOSE for the season–but I got two wears in there and am going to try for another two this week at the Murray pool.

Did it turn out as sporty I wanted? Yes! Was the pattern kind of bad, like I thought it might be? Sadly, also yes.

To be fair, I’m not sure if one issue was one I created: I wasn’t making the bottoms reversible (because I didn’t have enough fabric), so I cut the swim lining a little smaller than the outside pieces, which is standard best practice so the lining kind of rolls to the inside and you don’t see it on the edges. However, I think that smaller swim lining is causing the outer fabric to bunch and not be smooth because the stretch percentages don’t quite match.

On the other hand, the instructions to attach the shoulder straps to the back strap on the top were flat-out bad and I re-engineered them entirely, so I guess we can split the blame.

But it turned out cute overall and it’s really comfortable! And look how the bottoms cover my entire ass! (Yes, I was trying to flex here to look swole.)

The details:

• Rae Top and Charlie Bottoms from Edgewater Avenue
• Palm breeze swim tricot from Surge Fabric Shop
• One-inch swim elastic from Tailor Made Shoppe
• Swim lining and narrow clear elastic from the stash

This last week’s project was another Genra Shirt in fabric that jumped the line from anything else in the stash (oops). It’s from Harmony (now sold out) and it reminded me of a classic button-up from Best-Era J. Crew, circa 2013, that was a neon pink oxford stripe with neon embroidery at the yoke.

I don’t know why I remembered a classic fit, long sleeved, stand collar shirt and decided that an oversized, short sleeved, camp collar pattern would be the best way to recreate it, but I am decidedly “meh” about the result: 

The fabric is surprisingly stiff for an embroidered gauze and I think that’s what’s bothering me–the short sleeves look elegant and cool in a drapey fabric but in a stiff one, they’re giving “church elder in summer” to me. Maybe it will grow on me?

I finally sat down and finished the summer jeans that had been waiting and I was right–they’re exactly what I wanted and I’ll wear them a ton.

These are the Daughter Judy Worship Jeans again (I’ve made three un-blogged pairs, oops) but this time I made the straight leg version exactly as drafted. In that light blue denim, I think it’s giving an 80s vibe and that’s just what I wanted.

The denim is 9 ounces, not too heavy, and I made a straight size 12, giving myself a little extra room in the hips by fudging the seam allowance. The waist of the 12 is a little big but I would rather have that than the opposite; there’s a temporary regular button on there right now instead of the metal jeans tack, just to see if I need to move it over more as they relax.

But yay! Fresh comfy jeans. They’re not the blinding white architectural trousers I was craving at the beginning of summer, but they’re probably going to get worn more.

I’ve been weeding a lot lately, trying to get ahead of it before they really take hold, and I got so annoyed by losing my tools every time I moved with my bucket and kneeling pad that I started looking at garden tool belts to BUY.

Then I came to my senses, found a free pattern, used materials I already had, and MADE one, of course.

This took about an hour from start to finish and is exactly what I wanted. The pattern I used was free and had actual pattern pieces, not just dimensions to cut (20 years of garment sewing means I always prefer that). I didn’t make the second pocket and I didn’t end up needing the elastic strap over the bellows pockets because everything stays put fine for me.

I used 1000D Cordura from when I was auditioning fabrics for my travel backpack, ready-made bias tape, and webbing and a buckle left over from my big hiking pack. Boom!

I made another pair of Daughter Judy Monty Pants with the final pattern (not the tester version). My vision was a matching shirt and pants and I thought I had enough fabric, but I sure didn’t. But then instead of thinking through if I’d wear voluminous orange-and-black striped pants solo, I just cut the pants out anyway and sewed them up.

I wasn’t very enthused when they were done–so big! so striped!–but I’ve been taking video for the May outfit prompts, and seeing them in action, they’re actually not that sloppy? I think it helps that the prompt I styled them for was, “Dress like you just rage quit your job via voice note and are off to pottery.” Turns out, these are the perfect pants for that.

(That screenshot from my Instagram video isn’t the best quality but it gives the general vibe)

And a better look at the fabric–a really beefy shirting from Nick of Time Textiles.