More Tie Dye and a Hemlock Tee

I was fortunate to spend part of my week camping along the California coast, and I have to admit I spent more than a day in my comfy new Grainline Hemlock Tee. I'm still a bit intimidated by knits and my serger, but I decided to get over it and make this tee, and I'm so happy that I did! The pattern is quick to make and the finished result is just the right amount of slouchy and comfortable.

The other part of this outfit are my new favorite leggings! Well sort of, I love the tie dye, but the pattern needs some adjustments. I used BurdaStyle's Carol Leggings pattern since I already had it in my pattern collection. I'm planning on reading some tutorials to adjust the fit for the next time. The leggings are made from white stretch cotton that I tub dyed gray and then tie dyed with black, fuschia, and deep purple. 

Art deco print with a splash of pink

I was recently asked if I would like to do another project with Britex Fabrics (remember the dress I made for them last year?). Of course I jumped at the opportunity!

To make these pants I altered Grainline Studio's Maritime Shorts pattern and used some fantastic stretch cotton and wool from Britex Fabrics.

Check out all the details over on the Britex Fabrics blog!

Copycat

  I have a confession to make. I'm a no good, stinking copycat. As soon as I saw Jen's blog post on Grainline about her Arizona shorts, I knew that I wanted to make my own in a similar fabric. 

Well I lucked out on my own awesome fabric and made this pair of shorts from the same pattern I used awhile back for my coin button shorts.

Just like the coin button shorts, these shorts have big pockets, are trimmed with bias tape, and have an invisible side zip closure.

I've been getting a lot of use out of these shorts when the Bay Area decides to throw in a hot day, so please pardon my wrinkles!

Happy Fourth of July!

The BurdaStyle Book Skirt

When I decided to make a skirt from this gorgeous fabric I thought about creating a simple gathered skirt, but I'm glad that I went ahead with this pattern instead. I used the skirt pattern from The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook which is simple yet elegant with a great shape.

The fabric was a great secondhand find from a few years ago. I had already used some of it, but luckily I was able to squeeze out just the right amount for this skirt. I used french seams and there is an invisible zipper up the back.

Now I just need a fun party to dress up for!

The fabric that I used for the skirt was leftover from this dress that I made way back in February of 2009. When I made that dress I had only just started my adventures in sewing clothing. It was fun to use this fabric again and to realize how much my skills have improved over the past few years.

November 4

Things to love in November:

1) The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook!

2) Sweater tights.

3) Drinking lots of tea, but really I do that year round.

4) The <1/2 circle skirt in navy blue corduroy that I recently put together. It has flat felled side seams and an invisible zipper whose top is covered by a tab which snaps shut. The gold snap on the tab mixed with the navy blue is my favorite part.

And now, on to the book!

For my contribution I was first asked to submit sketches of two dress variations and two blouse variations. One of my dress variations was chosen and is in the book on a few pages.

BurdaStyle still has the dress, but once they send it back to me I plan on taking some photos to show you all the details.

And guess what? My sister Clare is a contributing member as well! She also made a dress variation that is included in the dress chapter.

I'm pretty excited about the other patterns in the book, especially the blouse, the skirt, and the member created jacket variations.

I hope your November is off to a great start!

July 8

The other day while looking through my favorite blogs I saw this post on Darling Dexter and felt inspired to make a similar pair of shorts. I got straight to work and made my own pair of shorts in one evening. I started with BurdaStyle's Ruby shorts pattern as a base. I altered the front quite a bit, added pockets, used an invisible zip on the side, and added a buttoned flap on the waistband to cover the top of the zipper. The materials were all purchased secondhand, excluding the invisible zipper.

The buttons on the side of the shorts are actually Mexican coins and I absolutely love them.
I'm so happy with how these shorts turned out and now I'm itching to get going on some more summer sewing projects!

July 5, part deux

I am proud to present my project from today, a wacky pair of leggings!

I know I should be working on my project for the BurdaStyle book, but I haven't done much sewing lately and I felt like I needed a simple project to get my sewing groove back. Making this pair of leggings did the trick! (and taking some fun photos was pretty exciting too)

The fabric is secondhand from Scrap in SF and I used the Carol pattern from BurdaStyle. I shortened the legs, brought the waist down, and added a fold down top.
What's better than a wacky print that makes you smile every time you look at it?

May 2

I started my day by finishing off the skirt that I was working on last night. I ended up going with the lace, rather than making pleats. I sewed the lace behind the hem (I would have put it on the lining, but it's hemline was a bit uneven, oops) and I made matching cloth buttons using a kit.

The gathers go all the way across the back, but on the front the gathers are only a few inches wide (they're kind of more like darts). I'm going to try pressing the skirt again to fight off the puffiness. I'm planning to take a few more photos tomorrow since it's difficult to see all the details in these ones, so stay tuned!

Once I was done with my skirt, I went for a walk on a fire trail up in the hills. I have to admit that I'm a bit of a homebody, but the weather was too nice to stay in the house all day.

Bloomers!

Two days ago on BurdaStyle the member minnietheminks posted a pair of bloomers that she made following a free pattern from Colette Patterns. The bloomers she made are absolutely adorable so I downloaded the pattern right away and got to thinking about what fabric to use on a pair for myself. I'm guilty of having a good sized fabric stash, but still felt the itch to check out the fabric store on my walk home from work yesterday. After looking around for a bit I decided to check the remnants and came across this beautiful yard of silk for $6. I also bought 2 yards of cream ribbon.
When I got home I printed out and pieced together the pattern, and got to work on the sewing. The pattern was easy to follow and the project was completed in one enjoyable evening. This is one seriously fun pair of bloomers.

My grandma keeps asking how I am planning to wear the bloomers and I tell her either as PJs or under dresses. Then she tells me they are the kind of bloomers you can lift your skirt to show off. I guess my grandma was scandalous in her youth!

I had a good amount of silk leftover so I thought I could make a romantic little top to go with the bloomers. I started on this idea using the Contour Bust Pattern on BurdaStyle. My plan was to use the contour pattern for the front then add my own shoulder straps and ribbon tie at the back made from the silk. However, I'm now trying to decide if I should use what I have so far as the bust for a dress. I have some gray fabric that I could use to make the skirt. I'm no good at making decisions...

PS: My bloomers were included in the "Bloomers Parade!" post on the Colette Patterns blog! Very exciting! Colette patterns are so pretty.