Spring/Summer Sewing Plans

last spring in vintage Simplicity 4468

It may be raining and gloomy outside today, but it got up to 70 degrees this past week and so I have spring sewing on my mind! Actually, I started my spring sewing extra early this year because I'm going on a cruise(!) and wanted to make a few things for the trip, so confession: I have already completed a few of the things on this list.

You may notice there's a lot of Sewaholic on this list. I own a lot of Sewaholic patterns, but haven't gotten around to making many of the ones in my stash, despite having loved the ones I have made. This spring I'd like to rectify that!

In various degress of completion, here's my spring sewing list:

My white Gingers (full length)

White Ginger Shorts - I'm not a big shorts wearer but I bought a pair of jean shorts from Grana last spring and ended up wearing them a lot. It's not my favorite thing to style, but they are so practical. I think I'll get a lot of use out of a white version as well! These are finished (you may have seen them on my instagram stories) with details/photos to come!

Sewaholic Pendrell - I have already made one version of the Sewaholic Pendrell in a total mish mash of seersuckers left over from a bunch of other projects, details/photos pending. I love the fit right out of the envelope so I think this will be a nice, easy pattern to sew a few versions of, and the different ruffle options provide some variation so it's not just the same top over and over again. I'd like to make at least one more, in a lighter, floatier fabric like a rayon.

Sewaholic Granville - I made a blue oxford Granville here and want to make a couple more: one in eyelet (I have the fabric all ready and waiting) and one in another color of oxford with a rounded peter pan collar (maybe pink, or white).

Carolyn Pajamas - These have been cut out of nice Cotton and Steel flamingo lawn and ready to sew for, um, a long time. I want to make a little three-piece set with a long sleeve Carolyn top, Carolyn shorts (both cut out already) and a little Ogden Cami to swap in when it's extra hot. (Previous Carolyn/Ogden pjs here and here.)

Handmade Wardrobe

Sewaholic Oakridge - A Sewaholic pattern I've never made! I'm not sure if I'll actually end up making an Oakridge or some sort of Oakridge/Granville hybrid, but I definitely want a top with a bow neck. I do think I prefer the higher neck of the Granville, so I may do some creative combining.

Tasia herself!

Sewaholic Lonsdale - Ashley was nice enough to send me her old copy of this OOP pattern last summer and even I ordered a stretch twill to make it in. Tragically, it was much too thick and I ended up using it to make a Rae (duh) but I still want to make this dress!

Trench Coat (McCall 5525 or Deer and Doe Luzerne) - A classic tan trench was on my winter capsule list as well--a trench is really a year-round garment in NC :) Still deciding on whether to remake the Deer and Doe Luzerne or branch out and make the super-classic McCall's 5525. I also have the trench from the Japanese coat book on my list for #menswearmakenine. That one is more classic so it would probably be good to make the McCall's one for myself and as practice before I try and decipher Japanese instructions for the men's version...

I also have a few more things that I've been busily working on for my cruise (a couple bikinis and some things for Alex) that I'll be sharing over the next few weeks! For now though--head over to instagram! Although there isn't a nice new garment to share there is... a giveaway! I'm running #menswearmakenine giveaways all week--you won't want to miss it!

xoxo,

allie

ps: currently on my cutting table: two bikini bottoms, one pair men's shorts, one men's shirt, one woman's shirt, and one tank top. phew!

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Practical & Pretty (Emerald Erin Tuesday Boyshorts & Jordy Bralette)

This year, in addition to not purchasing any podcast hoodies, Quidditch jerseys, boring white tee shirts, etc., etc., as part of my RTW Fast, I have also made a personal pledge to make, not buy, any and all lingerie. Although the official RTW fast does not technically include lingerie, my ever-increasing stash of lingerie supplies begged and begged me to include bras and underwear in my personal pledge, and who was I to deny it? Luckily, my friend Erin asked me to test a few patterns for her very first pattern launch, so I had a great excuse--and a motivational deadline!--to get started right away. The patterns are launching today in honor of Valentine's Day and I hope you'll take a look here!

If you aren't familiar with Emerald Studios, Erin has been on the forefront of the lingerie sewing scene since, like, before sewing lingerie was cool. She has two amazing etsy shops with everything you need to get started and has always been there for me when I need, for example, a LOT of help picking out the right size underwires. Her blog is super informative too--I recommend you just go explore for a while. Obviously, I'm so excited that she's releasing patterns!

First, the bralette: the Jordy is a great intro bralette with a few mix-and-match options. Although both of mine have bra foam and lace detail, you can make a softer, more basic bra by leaving out the bra foam and lace and just using jersey knit fabric for the cup for a sporty kind of look. If you want more sweet than sporty, using no bra foam, sheer mesh and lace is a super sexy, girly look. Keep in mind that it is a pretty minimalist bralette, with an all-elastic underbust band and triangle cups, so it's not going to be super supportive, but I love it for lounging around the house and it's really getting me more into bralettes!

The matching underwear, the Tuesday boyshorts, are my new. favorite. thing. I prefer wearing boyshorts as everyday underwear (specifically the aerie boy briefs which have been my preference for about... 15 years) and so I was thrilled that Erin was designing a pattern in this style. I love that the front is cut in one piece and the back in two for a little shaping, and the construction is so clever (it uses the burrito method for, er... a clean crotch). This is my second pair and the only different I made was to raise the front leg opening slightly. This is a full-coverage back (unlike, for example, the Evie la Luve Maxine, whice I've made as a swimsuit here) so it's super easy to wear and very comfortable. One thing I appreciate about this pattern is that it leaves the finishes up to you--so if you prefer using fold over elastic, you can, or if you want to use lace trim, you can do that too. My first version used FOE to match the bralette but my second uses lingerie elastic... The FOE definitely makes it more of a "matched set" feel but I think I prefer the lingerie elastic to wear. The pink fabric I used for underwear and bralette is available in Erin's shop!

I already have another version of this pattern on my sewing table, although once it makes it onto the blog I expect it will be near unrecognizable with all the hacking I'm doing! I have some bits of this gorgeous swim fabric from Spoonflower left over from my Beverly bikini and I'm trying to replicate the J. Crew French bikini top... pretty different from the Jordy, right? Wish me luck--I'm a pretty experienced pattern hacker but I've never attempted it with intimates before!

xoxo,

allie

ps: i tested Erin's other boyshorts pattern, the Classic, a few years ago and despite my atrocious sewing and horrible fabric choices (they are bright pink with purple elastic and random serger and thread colors since they were a wearable muslin) i still wear them because they are super comfortable--sadly, due to aforementioned horrendous sewing and terrible colors, you won't be seeing those on the blog!

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two piece "shirtdress" (sewaholic rae and granville)

 

I shared this shirt previously here and I mentioned then that I made a little matching Rae skirt with the leftovers. I've worn them each of these pieces alone--the shirt goes with basically everything and the skirt is really cute with a tee shirt or Breton top--today I've paired them together styled as a faux shirtdress!

This skirt was born of having too much fabric to just toss, but not quite enough to make the pattern properly; I had to make some adjustments based on my very limited amount of material! First, the Rae skirt has three views: a full mini, a regular mini, and a knee-length version. My favorite is the full mini, but I didn't have quite enough of my fabric left over to make that one, so I cut the sides from one mini and the center front and back from the other--I can't remember if it's the sides that are full or the center though, sorry.

Also, after making my first Rae as written, all the others were made by gathering the skirt into a waistband. It's just a long rectangle, nothing fancy, but this time I didn't have enough material to even do that! I debated making a ribbon waistband but ended up going with a new-to-me type of elastic inspired by the boxers I was making at the same time--so if this gathered waistband looks a bit like your boyfriend's boxer elastic, that's why! It uses less fabric than the gathered waistband as written and minimizes bulk at the waist to keep my "shirtdress" streamlined, so it all worked out well in the end.

You may have noticed I really like making two-piece outfits, and although this is my first two-piece shirtdress, I don't think it will be my last. It's so nice to relax and make a little skirt after the precision of a collared shirt, and it's great to have two pieces that you can wear separately or together.

Tragically this skirt waistband is slightly too large, so I really ought to take it in slightly. Will I do it? We shall see.

xoxo,

allie

ps: a bit of early springiness here on the blog... in fact I was a bit warm in this outfit. not super excited about summer.

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