It’s the first week of official summer and my Spring Outfit is finished! Hahaha. Let’s just pretend this outfit is still seasonally appropriate where I live, shall we? Let it be noted that I did actually finish the last of it a few days before the end of spring, but it was sadly too late to photograph and write up last week, plus I wasn’t feeling great, so I just didn’t get it to the blog. That means this week, instead of ‘outside in June’ photos, it’s time to wrap up this challenge and move on to some summer sewing! Woohoo!
If you have followed this challenge of mine to create a spring outfit (first laid out here), you may be surprised to see a different pants pattern in the title of this post. My initial plan was to make the Folkwear Sailor Pants. However, when the time came to work on the muslin, I read through the directions and realized that these were going to take more than a little time. They are different than normal jeans, and they would benefit from a really detailed muslin where I tried out all the techniques in my test fabric as well as looking at fit. At that point, the weather was warming up, summer sewing was galloping full-speed through my mind, and I just did not want to make these. So I put them on hold. My pattern is traced and my muslin cut out, but they can wait until fall. Maybe I will make them up then.
I have really wanted to make the Seaforth Pants by Hey June Handmade ever since they were released last year, so I bought that pattern and cut them out of some denim-y looking chambray that has been languishing in my stash for the last few years. My goal was to make them fast and hope they would fit. Not only would these complete my spring outfit, they would also be great pants to wear in the summer…more on that in a bit.
First, though, check out my spring outfit! I made it all but the shoes!
Maybe someday I’ll make shoes too, but for now, it was Keds to the rescue. In a perfect world, I would have sought out some oceanside wharf or something to take my pictures at since this outfit is nautical-ish in my mind, but instead you get some occasionally silly pictures closer to home.
Here are the patterns, yarn, and fabric I used from top to bottom. You can find more details on notions and small odds and ends in previous blog posts where I talk about each pattern in greater detail.
+ The Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition by Petite Knit
-mystery yarn that I think is wool plus Farmer’s Daughter Mighty Mo mohair in the color “Stagecoach Mary” from Wool & Co.
+ McCall’s 5303 Sweatshirt circa 1991
–Taslan in yellow and Supplex in “Candy” (pink) from The Rain Shed
+ Coco top by Tilly and the Buttons
-Parchment/Black 100% cotton horizontal stripe jersey knit from Fabric Mart Fabrics (sold out)
+ Seaforth Pants (modified) by Hey June Handmade
-old Robert Kaufman Chambray Union Dark Indigo from Pintuck & Purl (sold out)
+ Undergarments
+ Sew It Forward Socks by Ellie & Mac
-old Cotton + Steel cotton/spandex knit from Pintuck & Purl (sold out)
I really like how this outfit turned out, and I think I will get a lot of wear out of most pieces. If I had to guess, I would say that the Oslo Hat and Seaforth Pants will get the most wear, possibly followed by McCall’s 5303. I’m guessing the socks will get the least wear. They are comfortable, but I think I should make them in a slightly stretchier fabric next time or modify the top of the socks since they are somewhat tight on my lower legs. That being said, this is a cool sock pattern and is a thousand times faster than knitting socks.
As far as what I enjoyed making the most, that would have to be the McCall’s 5303 sweatshirt (windbreaker). It was really fun and interesting to make. I loved it. The thing I had the least fun making was The Oslo Hat. It wasn’t hard–just boring to knit. If you’re looking for a pattern with lots of stockinette, so you can just knit without too much thought, though, this might be the pattern for you.
I really enjoyed doing a big coordinated project, and it definitely got me inspired and excited to get sewing. I don’t plan on doing this every season, but it was really fun to do at least once.
The Seaforth Pants by Hey June Handmade
Let’s talk in a little more detail about these pants since this is the first time they are making it to the blog.
Like I said, I have been wanting to make these pants for awhile.
When I saw the post on the Hey June blog where Adrianna, the designer, modified the pattern and made a pair of straight leg pants, I was sold.
It was an easy modification, I already had fabric I could use, and I thought I could finish these much faster than the Sailor Pants I had first planned to make. Added benefits were that I could skip the muslin, I could use these pants in the summer, and they would help me get an idea about how the crotch curve from this company fits me, since I also plan to make the Vero Beach shorts in the near future.
I have challenged myself this month to sew at least thirty minutes a day, six days a week, so I used one day to prep my pattern, another to cut it out, and then it was on to sewing. All of these things took longer than the thirty minutes (and sewing took several days), but that goal really helped me get moving.
I followed Adrianna’s instructions for the modified pants and also swapped the front pockets out for some patch pockets from Simplicity 8841, which I have traced onto stiff cardboard with directions glued on the back.
My goal was speed. I’m not the fastest sewer, but I was ready to be done with this project, as fun as it’s been. I used my serger to construct and finish seams and my sewing machine for whatever I couldn’t serge.
I added grommets and a drawstring, and I love how they came out.
I did not add the cool bias binding Adrianna mentions in the blog post at the bottom of the pant legs. I might do that another time, though.
One thing worth noting is that when I compared my measurements to the size chart, the size 18 looked just right, and it is what I chose. When you look at the finished measurements, however, the finished hip measurement is an inch smaller than the hip measurement for the size. This made me really nervous and I almost sized up. Adrianna does talk about this and how to pick your size in the directions. After reading through that, I ended up making the 18, and it worked out great. I don’t have any problems pulling the pants over my hips–I never even think about it–but do read that part carefully (and don’t worry too much) if you make these for yourself.
I managed to finish hemming just in time to wear these to an outdoor ceremony we were attending as a family, and they were perfect. The one thing I will do when I make these again, though, is use the front pockets that are part of the pattern. I love the look of the patch pockets I chose, but if you are sitting on the ground, things do tend to fall out.
Something I have learned from the couple of patterns I have sewn from Hey June is that when Adrianna recommends something, whether it’s a certain type of fabric or a certain type of pocket, it’s there for a good reason. I’ve gone off-book here and there and it’s been fine, but I can tell it would have been better if I had followed the recommendations more closely.
Regardless of all that, though, the pants turned out great, the crotch curve works for me, and I am so happy this fabric didn’t become a shirt dress as I had originally intended. I think it will get so much more wear in the form of these pants.
And that’s it! Spring outfit complete! On to summer!
Pattern and Branch 