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

inquiry: Best T shirt (major updates)

A few years ago I conscientiously stopped wearing /buying/making t shirts. I was dressing fancier, and needed to step it up.

Then my life and fashion said it was ok again, and I didn't have any!

I'm making ALL the t-shirts, choosing the best 1 (or 2 - one each fitted and drapey, MAYBE), and chucking the rest.


This survey will only be helpful for you if you're shaped like me -- but lots of women are, so I hope it's of use! I'm 5'6", 38" bust, 30" waist, 38" hips.

Shirt 1: Grainline Hemlock T - free pattern, one size. Pattern includes long sleeves, but just cut them to 3-4" and it's a drapey, oversized T shirt-- well, actually, you'll need to shorten the hem another 4" (or more if you're shorter).

fresh out of the laundry basket sorrrrryyy

I had this pocket around so I slapped it on there. Here's the rayon knit I used.

shhhh

Shirt 2: Lou Box Top - this pattern is built for knits OR wovens, so once you find the shape you like, you can use that pattern allllla time. it's worth the $12.

here it is in motion. size down at least once if you use Lou for knits.

nice curve @ back, right?

and here is how posture changes the way your body looks, courtesy of showgirls everywhere

not in action

Shown here with scoopneck and curved front/back hem options (there are 3 hem options and two necklines included).

Tissue knit - zero fabric stability. Excellent drape :)

I like this one A LOT. I brought up the rear hem another 3", as patterned it was just too long (for this fabric). For work or any bending-over situations, I'll use the crewneck, not scoopneck, option.

Shirt 3: Plantain - again, free pattern, worth the printing! Fabric is rayon lycra jersey. (this is a plan, not a shirt, apparently.)

Shirt 4: THE WINNER! Megan Nielsen's Briar. I don't love the crazy high low hem, but the neck and bust and sleeve shaping are the best. Here's one I made in lovely interlock with dots. I used a M, I think...

and here's how i fixed the hem on the next one:

Shirt 5: from Meg McElwee's craftsy class. Good top, but too sporty in styling. I could probably hack it to open the neck and shorten, then widen the sleeves, but who has time for that when there are all of these lovely versions ready?

Shirt 6: scoopneck tee from Skirt as Top

I made a 25" x2" band to use at the neck. For my reference 😅

Real life: the sleeves are a little too short and narrow- for this one I wanted to add a band (3"Xsleeve circumference) to finish the edge and add a little length. 

Findings: Briar is the winner. Just fix the hem and size down a bit.
Not testing: Tonic top from SBCC or blank canvas tee from Cake-- I just don't like their shapes.

summer sewing list: vacation edition

cool tote - like caravan but wider. use leather straps and make a little clutch that can be a night bag to hold wallet etc At All Times.

shorts - use maritime flashy linen, check!

tate top with FBA (rock n republic hack into this?)

hack black jeans to fit perfectly

t shirts - black, aqua (check!), coral. decide best pattern: Winner! briar with straight hem
not: deer & doe freebie, meg mcelwee with scoop/v,  lou box top

drapey long sleeve T

silky lou box top take 3

jumpsuit muslin

bikini redo with cups. same fabric, that stuff is cute. just add cups!

cropped linden in that crazy camo fleece check!

center zipper on jasper sweater

rayon casual pants? hudsons? Named Alexandrias! They're PERFECT

moto jacket? I did buy that class, after all

learn to embroider

cross stitch microbes.

FINISH georgina. she's so pretty!

dysmorphic

I don't really understand the shape of my body. and it's ruining my sewing.

I make things. and they're too big. I'm SO afraid of them being too tight too sausagy too ugly that i make the next size up. And they look like garbage.

My Ginger jeans are a case in pont - but maybe that's in the ease (says Heather). My latest two wraps, the Jasper sweater and Jenna cardigan (muslin), were both too big. Jasper looks like poop. I've photographed it a few times, and every time i think "ew"-- that's why you havent seen it. It's made out of this crazy soft double cloth though, and I wear it anyway. It gets compliments because the neck is cool. But it's too big. The size 7 has a bigger cup size than the others, so I went for that. Mistake.

i think my mom is thin (for her age!) and she's definitely fit and active. she's wearing my coat here and it's loose in the bust and tight in the waist - opposite of how it fits me. there's too much mixed up data!

Jenna is the same deal. I made a 38 because i was afraid of looking like a fat girl in a too small vintage sweater. It's just baggy enough to look super ugly. I also used some garbage knit and had some issues with my walking foot, which didn't help. I need to make the 36. Or maybe smaller. But I'm always afraid.

shapely legs, ooh

Because some days I feel like a svelte dancer athlete, lithe and wonderful and flying, and other days I feel like a fat mom in unflattering yuckies, unaware of how old and ugly she is. How does the person who is both of those things dress????

frumpy hike mom

I cut out this gorgeous Georgina dress in the size I thought I needed. Halfway through I found out the pattern hadn't included seam allowances. It fits PERFECTLY. that tells you something, doesn't it? I was making a size or two smaller than I thought I needed. And it's just right.

size 38? or nah?

I've complained about this before, but when I am sane, I know that I am/my body is just regular. Not big, small, flabby, or superfit. A little busty... But medium in most ways. In just about any store I wear a Medium. If the store is faking their sizes, I wear a Small (i know they're faking because I am only small if large is obese.) If it's a store for teens and I wear a large, i know that i'd better make careful style choices ;)

So here's my promise to myself. When I am making, I will make a size down. Something about the measurements of my body and the measurements in a pattern mean that I need to size down. I will trust that I am perfect and also getting better, and I deserve super fly sexy edgy clothes to wear.

also my nostrils are super asymmetrical. just try to unsee it! 

Most of the time, I know it. This is my promise to remember in those tricky times.

do you have a secret to getting your fitting realistic? please tell!!!!

xxo

bex

me made may

How ya been, pals? Gramming it up for #MMM15? Not me. I mean, I make 80-90% of my clothes, but i'm a teacher and a mom and an exerciser without a remote for my camera (phone). I don't have a glamorous life or wardrobe, even if i love art and have really cool hair and friends. So i'll spare you the daily mirror pics this year!

BUT i am thinking of my wardrome mariekon style and wardrobe architect-y...It's that I've got the sewing skills now to do whatever i need, mostly...so what do i really need?

Here's what I've worn so far:

1. Friday, May Day -
   Ginger jeans, (ooh #conemills denim)
   dotted Briar top with lace pocket - luscious fabric, lovely pocket, not a flattering hem on me but i think i fixed it*

   

   there she is! Ms McCalls 6606 with flower plackets

   gray chambray Mccalls 6606
2. Saturday - day of death by poison oak
   ghost of my gingham darling ranges - edited to irretrievable strangeness ( i took out the gathering in the back? the bodice is so short? the boobs are so bulleted?), but  just as light as air, ahhh.
3. Sunday
   RTW! head to toe! oh except that same McCalls button up:

   

   hi again!

   but then i worked out in my Steeplechase leggings, XYT top, and threw on a Jasper sweater afterwards to lounge by our beautiful Lake.
4. Monday May the fo(u)rth
   Ginger jeans (hiiii i love jeans)
   Space V neck
   Jasper sweater (it's sooo soft and delicious and i have so few options for full length sleeves and I'm trying to hide the horror that is leftover after a week of poison oak did i mention the poison oak?) 

So it appears, from all of these surprise unblogged items, that I have some blogging to do!

the back hem curve is nice. 

Other things to do?

• rivet them jeans!
• make a high waisted, cropped pair with side zips!
• more button down. the McCalls is pretty cute (made pre-Archer release, so), though a little more negative curve in the front hem would be nicer than the flat edge. 
• always, always, undies for Katey the hair genius. 

are you tricking out your me made may? or how did you finally master the daily selfie?

xo

bex

note to self always use Lou box top! it's perfect. also PS Mostly my unders are grace panties, which are cute but take a surprising amount of fabric cause they're cut on the bias, rosy ladyshorts, my absolute favorite and go-to girlfriend gift - they're fast and comfy and cute and work well for lace, jersey, whatever, and fehr trade lacey thongs, which are LOVELY but take an hour to cut and 4 different kinds of lace before you even sew a stitch. they are hot and flattering, though. I have decided i will drop bra making for now (buying notion is annoying). maybe in the summmer...? meh. 

watch your trails, bay areans! i'm smiling here because it's not oozing. 

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?