Summery Summary

Yay. sorry for the dumb title :) I sewed a lot this summer - and I like the way Ms Peach summed up her makes, so I'm going to copy her, mirror pics and all!

a common view, for me - i wore my southport ALL the time. 

Delphi not-maxi dress
Again, changed out the straps - this time with ribbon because I was SOO lazy. I keep thinking I'll put some fabric on there, but nah. The dress is a little big, and maybe a little long, but won't ever be the cutest thing ever so i let it be what it is: easy to wear, preppy, cute, bra-revealing.

Linen Maritime Shorts
BEST EVER. I narrowed the leg by about 1" (at each side seam). I finished every darned edge with bias tape so they're just luscious inside, and used a button rather than the fastener suggested. They go with everything, look completely awesome, and have metallic thread details. I'd make a pair in every color of neutral-metallic linen ever. wink!
(I bought the brown here: http://www.fabricoutletsf.com/, more available online here).

left - narrower leg. right - wider. 

Swims
remade a soma top with an FBA - FAIL. The ripply seams were so horrible I just tore it apart and started over...after a tryout run at the river.

For my next try, I downloaded Simplicity 1374 from their site. I hadn't done that before, and while it means I paid a lot more, I didn't have to drive to the strip mall 2 towns over to get it at Jo-Ans...so in the end I call it a savings. The download is a little clunky - you have to install their file manager to make sure you don't steal/share whatever, but once I printed it it all went together fine. 

The pattern is great. I sewed up a size 10/12 mash, grading out to around 14 + FBA for the bust, and it's supportive, attractive, and wayyyy comfortable. I wore the view B top with last year's Bombshell bottoms, and it was a total win in styling and comfort.

I made another one to match the shorty's (I bought that fabric for myself, after all!) - but for my last vacation of the summer, we went to the Mendocino Coast. This is what that coast looks like:

i didn't make ANYTHING in this photo. Those are rarer and rarer moments...

Here's what it looks like, anyway ;)

Jasper edit: maybe a size down? I took in the princess seams, shrunk the waist band, and that makes a lot of difference. Note to self: make a size 6 or smaller next time, and yes, a zipper up the front would be super...that was always my plan, after all...

pre-edits- i still feel dumpy in this, but now i think it's the color. 

Baseball Skirt 

It's for sale now! Here it is - another SOOOO easy to wear, so breezy and chill. Not much else to say there.

i used that ribbon a lot in my lazy moments!

photo by 6 year old! thanks, kid. 

Tate Top

I made this last fall the second it came out and i loved it a lot...except it was always pulling around the bust. So i tried to do an FBA. (Is that the theme of my summer? perhaps..) and it just went huge. Anyway, another few rounds of edits and I ended up with the above, which is comfy and versatile and fits my chest well enough. 

version the first...handed off to a friend, now. 

version 2 - dramatic difference? lol. 

The winner: Alexandria pants! 

If I had the right fabric I'd make these a thousand times. I LOVE THEM. 

flat bottom girls unite

coolest pockets

so happy!

For the fall (holy god this is a long post)

Sara Leggings in ponte. with golden ankle zippers cause WHY NOT MAN. 

waistband zip, finished. 

Speaking of flat bottom girls - These are designed to be finished with a waistband facing, and that's all. Because the difference between my hips and waist is pretty minimal, I need something stronger to hold them up.

I used this trick on a knit version I wear for pjs, and it's super comfy, so I adopted it here. THE TRICK: Use 2-inch elastic instead of the facing. take your waist and remove ~20%. Stitch the elastic to the right side of the pants, just within the 3/8" seam allowance. Then stitch next to the zipper to secure it down, and they're like cozy lounge pants that look outstanding, professional, legging trousers.

waistband zip inside. It would be neater to get the zip ends underneath. next time!
Triple stitch along the sides - just for the look. 

ankly zips too. 

I'll add action shots of the whole leggings....one day. 

Holy! Is that enough?! I have a much smaller list of ambition for fall. I can't wait to see what you're making and wearing !

xoxo

R

EDITING

The PURGE continues! I've dropped 1 bag of goodies at the Depot and 1 bag of kid stuff at Bananas. There's 1 bag each of books and clothes to donate in the car and 1 bag of clothes for resale waiting for the right day. I have 1 bag of fabric for the fabric swap this weekend...which means I've purged what - SIX bags of stuff.*

i use my pockets for bloomin.

that's 60% to my arbitrary goal. Not bad for one week! Maybe i should do ten bags a month? hahahhahahhahahah...ok moving on.

one day i'll photgraph it in the light so you can see it SHINE. 

Now i'm editing what's still in my wardrobe. I got Laurel happy this year and made 3. this one i made with all the frumpy options- long sleeves, heavier fabric, hmph.

silky satin binding? that's POSH.

  So I shortened the sleeves and took it in 2 inches in the back. LOVE IT. gold!!!! METALLIC LINEN WINS.

this dress is...still an experiment. (it's the ESP dress from Decades of Style). There are like NO reviews online. That is a bad sign.

I did my standard "take it in 2 inches in the back" again and it fits...but it's not my style at all. TBD...

i like how i look like a sleepy doll. zzzz.

This dress was CRAZY but also dumpy.

love this shot. it's not me. it's "effiesmakeupbox". thanks Effie!

I loved the crazy. So I chopped it and now it's a top!

and took it in on the side seams (i bought it at a store but there was only a size bigger than i wanted. I went for it because PEGASUS). Now, happpppily there is a really long leftover piece which needs a home.....

This thing...I dunno.


It feels kinda softball dykey for me. That's not really my style. I took off the collar but it's still kinda funny.

hey, flowers!

I may make the neckline v-necked? dunno.

I copied some great pants that came in the mail but didn't hold up for a test wear. I'll make them in a less saggy fabric and get super snazzy for work.

I made these tops from such beautiful fabric but both  look dumb on me.

cowl = cute, drops LOW

the pattern is in the bin and the fabric is being repurposed (time to try this one out whuuuuutttt)

it doesn't look dumb in the picture somehow. Hmm. 

AND I made unders to replace a few the ones I just shove aside when I'm getting dressed in the morning. love them.

I dunno folks...am i going clear (like this howling pegasus)?? watch out, travolta. 

lets make a deal - don't give me things unless they're flowers. good?
xoxo
bex


* Wait a minute - i also dropped at least 1 extra bag of recycling...does that count too?