Design Your Summer Wardrobe Outfit #1

Back in... February?  March?  Oh, who knows anymore.  Anyway, back before the pandemic/lockdown/quarantine I took a class through Seamwork called Design Your Wardrobe.  The class was focused on learning to plan a seasonal wardrobe based on style, climate and life context.  This was HUGE for me as I tend to get super excited about a fabric or pattern then whip something up before really thinking through things like, "Will this go with anything I currently own?" or "Is this my style?" or "Do I really need a crop top right now in December?" which is why I have several garments that I wear once then forget about.  So I planned all of these amazing pieces that would go well with each other and created an overall theme/style for this summer.  Here's my mood board:

I was so excited to get started on all my wonderful projects and work toward having a me-made wardrobe, not just me-made pieces.  Then I got sick.  My literal first month of sewing after the class was just staring at my mood board from my bed.  Finally a couple of weeks ago I was able to sew without landing myself in bed for hours (or days) afterward.  The life contexts I had designed for were: 1) Hanging around the house 2) Out and about with the kids 3) At the lake.  Well, what better context for this particular time than hanging around the house?  That's pretty much life right now.  So I finally made my first whole outfit!  The kids helped me take some pictures to capture exactly what hanging around the house looks like for me these days.  The outfit is exactly what I planned but the routine... not so much.

Both patterns are from Seamwork (seemed fitting since they provided the class).  The pants are Seamwork Moji and the top is Seamwork Aberdeen.  The pants are a size 10 with a 1 1/2" increase in the back rise for a full-rear adjustment.  They are a true drawstring which I don't think I'll do again... I like the drawstring as a backup or even design feature rather than the entire means of holding my pants up.  Still, the fit is great and since I used leather cording for the drawstring there is no worry about the tie coming loose.  The fabric is a lightweight denim thrift store find that required some serious pattern piece maneuvering to avoid bleached and damaged spots.  I added matching leather trim to the pockets and I think it gives the pants a fun southwest feel.

The top is made out of a cotton jersey knit and I used scraps from another project for the sleeves and neckband.  I've wanted to make this top for about a year but I've been in this weird sewing funk and I was too intimidated even though it's a beginner pattern.  I love how the colors work together and I think the outfit is fantastically cool and cozy.

I am slowly regaining confidence in my sewing ability.  Honestly, I don't know what my problem has been lately.  I'll sew jeans but cower before a simple knit shirt.  Ugh.  Anyway, I'm excited to have my first outfit done and today I cut out the pattern for my next outfit.  I get to try french seams for the first time!  Yay?

Berry Ginger

Back in August I ordered the Ginger jeans class by Closet Case Patterns and my mom and I decided to work on our first jeans together.  Well, she got busy and I got impatient so I finished my first pair without her (sorry mom).  BUT I told her that I would start a second pair and catch up to where she had left off so we could finish them together.  Turns out that we're both busy and should not wait until we can sew together to work on the same project.  I finished mine at the beginning of April but now that I have 3 kids in "school from home" I have little access to my computer these days so I am just getting around to posting some of my makes.  I imagine my posts will be pretty erratic until the end of the "school year"... whatever that means.

This time around I made the high-waisted Ginger jeans in a size 10.  The first pair was a mid-waist in a size 12 but they fit a little too loose for a skinny jean.  The muslin was out of a poly-stretch from the thrift store and revealed tightness in the calf and it pulled low in the back.  I made a full-rear adjustment as well as a full-calf adjustment and they both made all the difference in the fit.  Even though this was my second time around I still referred back to the class here and there.  This was my first actual sewing class and I don't think I could have picked a better pattern to take a class on.  Jeans are super intimidating because it's a bulky fabric with a TON of very visible topstitching and most of us tend to hate most RTW jeans for one reason or another so spending hours on something just to hate it when you're done sounds awful.  Heather Lou takes the guess work out of fitting and explains everything in absolute detail.  I was actually able to apply a lot of what I learned from this class to making a denim jacket back in January.  The class is also easily transferable to pretty much any jean pattern so if skinny jeans aren't your thing you can still benefit from the class.

I have to admit, this is my first pair of high-waisted pants.  My teen years were in the baggy, slouchy skater era so anything with a waist above my hips made me feel a bit like Urkel.  I think I was also afraid of "the mom jean" which is actually more about pocket placement than rise.  Well, I love them. Maybe it's the momma-bod talking but, man these are flattering!  They tuck in the most wrinkled and stretched out part of my belly and I have no fear of peek-a-booty no matter what I'm doing.  I love the way they show off my momma hips and make my waist look small.  Every piece of clothing I make is another step towards working with the body I have instead of being discouraged that it's not something else.

The fabric is this awesome, but cheap, berry stretch denim with a cool vertical printed pinstripe.  I bought it for $7/yd while in the fashion district in LA last summer.  It's thin, too stretchy and already starting to pill in the seat area.  On that trip I picked up a few cheap stretch denims to practice with which is a mixed bag--I appreciate the low pressure when it comes to mistakes but since I'm loving the results it's disappointing to realize that they're probably not going to last very long.  I got the green light for buying some higher quality denims now that I'm getting more familiar with jean-making so once I work through my cheaper stash I'll start investing in some better fabrics.  The pocket bags are made with some fabric leftover from making a handkerchief for the husband and I just love how it goes with the color of the denim.  There's something wonderful about details that no one else will ever see.

My mom finished her jeans about a week after mine and we are planning to get some pictures over the weekend so I can post her success as well.  I have a few other things that I've been working on so I hope to steal my computer away to share those in the next week or so. 

Stay healthy, keep busy and focus on the good.  Philippians 4:6-8