Pleasant Pathways Shorts, or I Need Some Basics

Hi, guys!  I hope you’ve been having a good week.

Today’s project is brought to you by the need for basics.  I’m like a lot of sewing people.  I get drawn in by the pretty, happy, shiny prints and end up with a closet full of crazy, crazy fun…that doesn’t all go together.  I also tend to make a lot of tops, because I’m still trying to get over my fear of sewing pants due to my lack of fitting knowledge.

Well, you can’t learn if you don’t try, right?  So, along with the tops, I’ve been working on shorts this summer.

This pair, however, was more of a known quantity, so I made them up earlier this summer when I went nuts sewing easier, known stuff after all the complex things I’d been doing.  I’ve made this shorts pattern before, back when I started sewing seriously, and the fit has always been great.  I never needed to alter them.  Besides the fit, the other great thing about this pattern is that it is free, free, FREE!  You can find it here.  It’s one that Anna Maria Horner made for Janome.

I still wear my first pair of shorts from this pattern (the green ones in this post).  In looking at my measurements now, I should probably grade out at the hip, but I used some stretch denim that was left over from my Ginger Jeans extravaganza, so the fit turned out great, and they’re very comfortable.

I didn’t have a navy zipper, so I used what I had, which happened to be red, but thanks to my fairly new invisible zipper foot, you can’t see the red much.  Plus…I don’t actually mind.  I like little surprising details and contrasting colors.

Someday I’d love to add pockets and maybe a waistband to this, but for now, this pattern was just what I needed as far as sewing a known pattern and something basic that fit well and matched with most things.  I highly recommend it.

So that’s it!  I hope you give these a try if you are looking for some simple shorts.

I’ve still got some summer sewing to fit in, so you’ll likely be seeing more of that here for a bit.  Summer isn’t officially over until September 22!

Recommendations

• As an art lover and a surfing…spectator, I love seeing the boards at Album Surf.  Check them out for some serious eye candy.
• I thought Hila’s Nautical Outfit turned out great!  Striking colors and patterns!
• Cotton + Steel Fabrics teamed up with Colette Patterns awhile back to explain some of the different fabric substrates they use.  If you’ve ever wanted to learn about double gauze, check it out on Cotton + Steel’s site here.
• Here’s a video about Cotton + Steel’s double gauze collection, Bespoke.  It was interesting to hear about their thought process and to learn more about double gauze itself.

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There’s Winning, and There’s…Learning

My husband has a friend whose son is in a chess club.  In the club, they tell the students that “there’s winning, and there’s learning”.  Losing somehow got left off the list.  When we heard that, we laughed, chalking it up to some sort of self-esteem gimmick intended to keep kids from ever feeling bad about themselves.  But then, as sometimes happens, I started to think about the concept.  So now I get to laugh at myself for being so cocky because, in certain areas of life, that principle holds true.  In fact, in sewing as in chess, the only real losing happens if you fail and learn nothing from it.

So, today, I have a few sewing failures learning experiences to share with you.  These are garments I completed awhile ago, but in wearing them I discovered that they weren’t really right somehow.

#1:  The cross-back shirt (McCall’s 6751)

 

 

This summer and last made me see that I really wasn’t wearing this shirt.  I like the concept of it, and I love the fabric and the binding I (finally) managed to get attached, but when I wear this, I’m always worried that it will blow open in the back.  I also can’t wear standard undergarments with it without worrying about my straps showing (something I’m not a fan of, despite current trends).  The shirt never lays right (which I think is due more to my fiddling with the seam allowances and binding than with the drafting of the pattern).  So, I declare this a fail learning experience.

What I learned:  It’s better to spend my time making a bunch of shirts I can wear with standard undergarments rather than making ones that will cause me to worry if anything I don’t want to show is showing.  Maybe five normal shirts equal one that calls for strapless support.  I also began learning to use my binding attachment on my Featherweight, something I had never tried before.

 

#2:  The overly long infinity scarf

I thought I was so smart when I made this.  Rather than following the pattern lengths given in the tutorial, I used as much fabric as I had because I loved it so much and didn’t want any to go to waste.  And then I never wore it.  Because it was too long/big (actually, this picture brings the word “goiter” to mind).  Now the former scarf is on my sewing table, recut into a woven tank top.  Hopefully that will work out better.

What I learned:  Sometimes it pays to follow the directions, even if it means a little bit of “waste”.  Because, really, couldn’t I have used the leftovers for something else and then had a useable scarf?  Also, even though I could have reworked the scarf to a shorter length, sometimes you are just done with a project and need to move on.  And that’s ok.

 

#3:  The Soma Swimsuit Hack

Well, some of you knew this was coming!  My latest attempt at a swimsuit gets an A for looks, but is a fail for wearability.

I wore this suit once while in Michigan and, in addition to the issues I detail in the (very detailed) post about this suit, one of the underwires started to come out.  That was when I decided: I’M DONE!  Then I promptly bought a too-big tankini top from a thrift store and started fiddling with that, trying to get it to fit.  Sometimes, it can be hard to know when you need to walk away.

What I learned:  Know when to walk away!  I’ve put myself on bathing suit probation for a few months.  I’m still determined to get “mad bathing suit sewing skillz”, but I need to take a break before diving in again.  Also, there may be something to be learned in the realm of not trying to make a pattern do something it wasn’t intended to do…but you can’t always know until you try.

Maybe that’s the larger lesson to be learned from each of these projects:  TRY.  If there’s no “losing”, if you can learn from it, it’s probably worth it to try.  Of course I’m not talking about “trying” stuff with massively expensive fabrics on someone’s wedding dress or something.  The stakes were never even close to that high with any of these projects.  But I’m glad I did them, even if they aren’t going to become part of my wardrobe, because now I’m a better seamstress/sewist than I was before.

 

Me-Made-May ’15: Week Four

Welcome to Week Four of Me-Made-May ’15!  This was another good week with fewer repeats than I had expected.  Let’s get straight to the pictures!

Friday’s theme was “animals”.  I dug out this t-shirt that I self-drafted (with the help of Design-It-Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch).  I had planned to make some changes to it, but after putting it on, I decided it still worked.  Another point for immediate gratification!

Day 22: Self-drafted t-shirt #mmmay15

 

Day 22: Self-drafted t-shirt (close-up) #mmmay15

 

Day 22: Self-drafted t-shirt (detail) #mmmay15

You’ve seen this one before!  This was another wear of my pink Summer Blouse (but this time with new boots–major thrifting score!!).

Day 23: Summer Blouse from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross, made from a vintage sheet #mmmay15

Note the lovely clip-on earrings scored at Brimfield.

Day 23: Summer Blouse from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross, made from a vintage sheet (close-up) #mmmay15

Now for one that long-time readers will recognize.  This dress was in my first post for this blog.  It was a pairing of Alabama Chanin reverse applique and beading with a pattern from The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams.  It was beyond my skill level at the time, but it was so worth it, imperfections and all.

Day 24: Dress pattern from The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams with Alabama Chanin style reverse applique and beading, made from knit sheets #mmmay15

 

Day 24: Dress pattern from The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams with Alabama Chanin style reverse applique and beading, made from knit sheets #mmmay15

The bodice actually has three layers of fabric for the reverse applique.  I was hoping the extra layers would also provide stability to the top, which they do.  (Yea!)

Day 24: Dress pattern from The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams with Alabama Chanin style reverse applique and beading, made from knit sheets (detail) #mmmay15

My photographer (my daughter) told me we absolutely HAD to have a twirling shot.  This circle skirt is pretty awesome.

Day 24: Dress pattern from The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams with Alabama Chanin style reverse applique and beading, made from knit sheets #mmmay15

Next is this Alabama Chanin corset from Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin.  This is such a great tank.  It has fit me at various sizes and has such interesting lines.

Day 25: Corset tank top from Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt #mmmay15

Day 25: Corset tank top from Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt (close-up) #mmmay15

It’s also reversible!  I usually wear it like you see it above because I like to see the seam allowances, but you can also wear it as below for a more subtle effect.

Check out the starfish we found!  (Don’t worry, we put it back.)

Day 25: Corset tank top from Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt; reversible #mmmay15

These shorts are a free pattern from Anna Maria Horner.  I really needed some shorts a few summers ago, so I made these from some Amy Butler Nigella fabric that was a home décor cotton.  At that point, I just used pinking shears on all my seam allowances after sewing, so I always have little frays and strings hanging down inside, but the fact that I am starting to think about finishing my seams on a regular basis shows me how far I’ve come.  Maybe someday I’ll be a patient sewer…or maybe I’ll be so fast and AWESOME, I won’t have to be patient!  Even better.  😉

Day 26: Pleasant Pathways Shorts by Anna Maria Horner for Janome (free pattern) using Amy Butler Nigella home décor weight fabric #mmmay15

 

Day 26: Pleasant Pathways Shorts by Anna Maria Horner for Janome (free pattern) using Amy Butler Nigella home décor weight fabric (close-up) #mmmay15

You will probably not be surprised to see yet another Alabama Chanin make.  These are a summer staple for me.  This is the Fitted Top from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin.

Day 27: Fitted Top from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt #mmmay15

 

Day 27: Fitted Top from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt (close-up) #mmmay15

It’s also reversible.

Day 27: Fitted Top from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt; reversible #mmmay15

Try not to be shocked.  This one’s from Alabama Chanin, too.  This is the Long Fitted Dress from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design.  Maybe you can tell that the top in the above picture is really just the top part of this dress.  You might also recognize the fabric from Day 21.  I got a lot of mileage out of this sheet and the t-shirt I cut up for neck and armhole binding.

Day 28: Long Fitted Dress from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from a knit sheet and a t-shirt (trim) #mmmay15

The dress has a small train, which I love.  Yes, it means you have to hold your dress up a like a lady of the olden days, but that’s kind of fun.  I could have cut it off, but I kept it.  It makes me feel fancy.  😉

Day 28: Long Fitted Dress from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from a knit sheet and a t-shirt (trim) #mmmay15

I like to wear this one with the seam allowances showing, too, but you could easily turn them to the inside.

Day 28: Long Fitted Dress from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from a knit sheet and a t-shirt (trim) (details) #mmmay15

Most of these makes are from pre-blogging days, so it’s fun to get them out.

Next week’s Me-Made-May post will cover the last three days of May.  Three more to go!  I can’t believe it.  See you then, if not before!

Finished Projects: T-shirt and Scarf

Monday was my most productive project day in recent memory.  Actually, I forget a lot of stuff, so I’m having trouble remembering any day more productive on the creative project front.  It was a good day.

First up were the two secret Christmas presents I’ve been working on.  In truth, I finished one over the weekend, but they sort of go together in my mind, so I’m counting it as two.  Also, I was having an internal debate on just what the finishing touches would be, but now that that is decided, and those finishing touches have been added, they are done.  I’m looking forward to showing you after they’ve been delivered.

I also finished up a t-shirt.  I took a risk on some cottony-looking polyester fabric I found on sale at Joann Fabric and, rather than doing the neckline the way the pattern shows, I sewed on some beading that I cut off a silk jacket someone gave me.

 

You can see from some of the close-up shots of the beading that it looks a little…fragile.  Also, it’s not perfect where I joined the ends of the beadwork, but I decided to throw perfection out the window and look at it as an experiment.  We’ll see what happens the first time I wash it.  I may need to post an update.  The edges of the shirt, sleeves, and beading are unfinished because I like that look.

The final project of the day was an infinity scarf.

I’m not sure what to think about this one.  OK, truthfully, my first thought was “clown collar”.  It’s not a problem with the pattern–the pattern was lovely.  It’s just really long.  It’s so long that I can wrap it around my neck three times instead of two to make a figure 8.  I’m not sure what symbol can now describe this.  Is this good?  Is it a craft fail?  Should I chop some length off to make it shorter?   I’m not really sure.  I’ll have to wear it for a while and get back to you.  Even if it looks silly, it’s only clothes.  It’s only one day.

At the end of my super creative day, I even made up a grocery list.  I felt so accomplished.  The next day, I took a nap and watched TV.  You can’t be productive all the time, right?

I hope you have a great weekend and find some creative time in the midst of it.

 

Fall Sewing

Seems like there hasn’t been much in the way of sewing on the blog lately.  There’s a reason for that.  I’ve been hard at work on secret Christmas presents for my two closest college friends and just in case they happen to read the blog, I don’t want to give anything away.  These projects are “due” at the end of the month, but after they are finished, I have some other projects in mind.  Here’s what I’m thinking for fall (and winter) sewing.

• Distinctive long-sleeved t-shirts.

I’d like some interesting t-shirts that can be used for layering or on their own, so I’ll probably turn to Alabama Studio Sewing + Design for my pattern.

I have some beading from a deconstructed jacket that could be a cool accent as well as some crocheted pieces I could add.  I’m still thinking out what sort of fabric I want, but whatever it is, it needs to look and feel cozy.

• A sweatshirt dress.

I’d love to wear leggings more, at least in the fall (before it’s freezing), but I’d like my rear end to stay covered (which would also keep me warmer).  Enter, the sweatshirt dress or tunic.  I’ve seen a few for sale (like this one), but I think it would be fun to sew one.  Here is an XL men’s sweatshirt I found at my favorite hunting grounds, the thrift store.  I’m hoping to turn it into my sweatshirt dress.

 

That will be a trial and error project.  The key mental element is not to get too attached to the piece in case it should end up as a Craft Fail.

• Anna Maria Horner’s free pattern/instructions for the Figure 8 Scarf.

(Here’s a link to the post where you can find the picture that inspired me.)  I’ve been wanting to make this scarf for years, so I’m hoping to have it done by the time those secret Christmas presents get finished.

Incidentally, Anna Maria Horner’s blog is one of my all-time favorites.  This amazing lady is over-the-top creative and has done so many things (including fabric design, painting, pattern design, and a host of needlework related things), but what comes through most clearly in her blog is her deep, deep love for her family.  Her blog seems to be largely about her creative endeavors, but her love of her family shines through even more brightly.  She has a warm and genuine voice that makes you sure that if you were neighbors, you would be friends.  She doesn’t post every day, but every post is worth waiting for.  I highly recommend her blog and her work.

• The ultimate winter skirt.

For years I have dreamed of creating a floor-length skirt that is lined with something soft and warm like fleece or faux fur.  It would look like a normal skirt from the outside, but feel like you are wearing a cozy blanket!  It would be awesome!

Actually, a friend told me that Burberry has brought out the poncho for this year–not the ponchos you’ve seen in the last few years that have some shaping and a neckhole, but basically a blanket that you wrap around yourself and call a poncho, so…what if I wore (1) my ultimate winter skirt, with (2) a “poncho” (i.e. blanket) around my shoulders, and (3) my new-to-me plaid flannel shirt (which I suspect is actually a pajama top)?!  It would be like being in bed, but you would look perfectly acceptable!  This seems pretty brilliant to me.  Not only would I be appropriate, warm, and cozy, I would also look high-fashion…ish.  Sounds like a winner if I ever heard of one.

Oh!  Here’s a look at the vintage pattern I bought that I am hoping to lengthen to make the skirt:

Vintage Vogue 6491

In case you are wondering, I bought this pattern on Etsy from a vintage pattern shop called Studio G Patterns, which shipped it to me with lightning speed.  I should write a review–they were great.

Of course I have a million more ideas, and things could shift and change as the fall and winter progress, but I love the project planning, even if everything doesn’t get made.  What are thinking of making or buying for the upcoming season?

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day to everyone in the U.S!  When I was growing up, my Mom always made us wear red, white, and blue for July 4.  We’re all decked out in red, white, and blue at our house today.  Here’s an up-close shot of my patriotic garb:

Shorts: J.Crew; Shirt: Diesel–thrifted (yes!)

We’re also getting into the spirit with our food.  We tried this recipe and came up with these chocolate covered pretzels.  I think I would use white chocolate as my main chocolate if I did this again, but nevertheless, they are good and easy to make.

I think we also need some late strawberries.  Aren’t these gorgeous?

If you plan on relaxing at all this weekend, here’s some reading for you:

• Have you ever looked at Susan Branch’s cookbooks?  A friend just recommended her work, so I’m looking at The Summer Book, which is filled with recipes, gardening tips, and more all illustrated with colorful watercolor paintings.
• A walk in the woods is always more fun with a foraging book in hand.  The best I’ve found are by Samuel Thayer, who wrote The Forager’s Harvest and Nature’s Garden.
• Want a fast-paced and interesting adventure book?  Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson may be aimed at a middle reader/young adult audience, but it’s good enough that even older readers will enjoy it.
• Finally, if you’ve ever dreamed of two of your heroes joining forces, you’ll know how I felt when I heard about Craft South and Fashion by Hand.  Anna Maria Horner + Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin teaching a workshop together?  Sounds like creative heaven.  If you go, report back!

 

Have a great weekend!