Category: Tuesday Project Roundup

This might be one of my favorite projects, right up there with the winter coats I’ve made–I guess I like sewing functional things with lots of different pieces.

This is the Stitchback MP, described thusly: “The Stitchback Mountain Patrol or ‘MP’ is a panel loading backpack with a removable back pocket. The large zippered openings make organizing and accessing your gear easy. A volume of approximately 30 liters, makes it suited to gear intensive day-long excursions or even ultralight overnight trips.”

 

I didn’t use all ultralight materials BUT I also didn’t have to buy any fabric for this–just foam, spacer mesh, zippers, and hardware. (I’ve linked all the sources at the end of the post.)

I followed the pattern nearly exactly; the only changes I made were to add a slip in pocket behind the water bottle holders (seen above) and add one ribbon loop to hold a G hook to suspend the hydration bladder and two others to hold an accessory pocket (another Stitchback pattern, but not one that came with the pack):

 

You can tell I started getting fancy with this when I put my sewing label on the accessory pocket. I also decided to do a decorative stitch of a pine tree on the back spacer mesh, and at the very end I looked up how to make paracord zipper pulls because why not?

 

And the MAP POCKET? The entire reason for this pack? It holds a map! And the smaller divider also holds a compass, plus a bunch of other stuff.

Honestly, this is a giant pack; I could fit cold weather gear and rain gear and lunch and dinner in here and not fill it all the way. But that’s exactly what I wanted–it only takes being unprepared once to never let that happen again.

Despite sewing through the trauma of almost getting lost, this was a delight to make (and reinforced what an awesome sewing machine I have). I can’t believe the pattern was only $10 because it’s one of the best I’ve seen in 35 years of sewing–highly, highly recommend. It was also fun to play with the colors and see what I had vs. what I needed to source. Which, speaking of…. here’s where everything was from:

• Lime green Otterex waterproof canvas from stash (from FWD)
• Kelly green mystery ripstop from stash (old but I think Fashion Fabrics Club?)
• Orange and turquoise HyperD 300 from stash (from RBTR)
• Orange and tan nylon webbing and orange buckles in stash (from Strapworks)
• Coyote brown sternum strap buckles and strap adjusters in stash (from Rockywoods)
• Paracord in stash (from Paracord Planet)
• 1/4 and 1/8 inch foam from Amazon (ugh)
• Orange waterproof zipper tape and pulls from RBTR
• Coyote brown spacer mesh from Salt Lake Sewciety
• Coyote brown siamese silk clips from Ebay
• Coyote brown very fancy waist buckle from a different Ebay seller

I wanted something big and I made an airplane carry-on. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Thankfully, you can use the top drawstring to cinch it in to normal purse size.

 

And you can fold the top down so it’s more like a Very Large Knitting Basket.

 

And those pockets are big enough for a 40 ounce water bottle, a wallet, and all the knitting stuff:

 

This was a fast sew, even with adding piping to the outside seam (not in the instructions) and to the tops of the pockets (included in the instructions). The pattern even shows you how to add a key loop, which is a nice detail.

The finished bag is definitely big and not floppy (I used foam instead of fleece interfacing), so that’s exactly what I wanted. It’s obviously really functional for knitting, plus if I ever need to fly anywhere, I have my travel bag.

The details:

• “Project Bag” pattern (English here) by SpringiDesign and B-Patterns
• Outer fabric and lining from Harmony (they ship now!)
• Hardware, foam stabilizer, piping, and webbing from stash
• Drawstring and tiger label from Sewtopia

 

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.