Ginger Jeans

I finally made some jeans, and I am pretty happy with them! The motivation to make these came from the sad day when the zipper broke on my favorite pair of black jeans. I really felt their absence from my wardrobe, so I decided I would take the plunge and use my Cone Mills black denim and try out the Ginger Jeans (View B).

posting a picture of my butt on the internet is a very odd feeling.

Overall I am extremely happy with these jeans and have incorporated them into my everyday wardrobe, so thats a huge positive!!! I am also very happy with the zipper fly, the way the pattern has you do it is very easy. I did a raw hem, so I cut 3.5″ off the bottom of the jeans, and did a straight stitch a 1/2″ up from the bottom to prevent extreme fraying.

Next time I will place the pockets higher on the butt, and take in the waist a little more, they are a little bit baggy in the front crotch area. I also think I’ll raise the hem a couple of inches, as these could really have a higher rise.

Oops, I forgot to lengthen my stitch length for the waistband…

BTW, I am wearing my Shadow Pullover and my New Yorker tote in these photos!!

Handmade Vacation

finished objects, sewing

Hey there! I just got back from my epic trip to Spain, and I wanted to share what handmade clothes I wore while traveling. Two standout pieces, my grey linen Brumby skirt, and my Red cotton/linen Moss skirt, were workhorses. I wore them almost every day!! I was looking forward to getting some wear from my jean jacket, but it was so hot in Spain, I only wore it once. What a beautiful country!

About to discover the wrong entrance to the Toledo Cathedral in my Brumby skirt and carrying my New Yorker tote.

Taking in the Barcelona view from Montjuïc in my Moss skirt

Posing as the Washerwoman at Park Güell with my New Yorker tote and a Wiksten tank dress

In awe of the Sagrada Família wearing my Hampton jean jacket

Drinking in the Barcelona culture in my Lois dress

Bonus Brumby skirt pic next to a delightful Joan Miró sculpture

I was daydreaming of sewing the whole time we were gone, so I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things and get to autumn sewing.

Carbeth Cardigan

finished objects, knitting, Uncategorized

I broke a personal record last month when I knitted a sweater start to finish in 15 days! I am not sure what exactly came over me but I worked on it during every free moment over those 2 weeks. This is the Carbeth Cardigan, which I’ve been eyeing up for months on Ravelry. I made the second size using worsted weight Purl Soho Good Wool held double. The yarn weight definitely contributed to my speed to the finish, but I am still so surprised and proud of myself. The sad part is I haven’t been able to wear it! Its been so hot here, but today we had some relief with a 70 degree day, so I put it on and Jacob snapped some lovely photos.

I got the buttons at Pacific Trimming in the Garment District. I can’t wait till it gets cooler and I can start to jughz this cardigan into my wardrobe! I have been wanting a basic cardigan like this for ever.

I highly recommend this pattern, the instructions are very good and the finishing techniques are just lovely, the sweater is beautiful inside and out, I especially love the foldover collar and the button bands.

Tova Dress.

finished objects, sewing

wiksten_tova_front

wiksten_tova_top

I am several years late to the Tova Dress party, but I’ve finally made my entrance. I had this Italian double-cloth shirting remnant from Firecracker Fabrics in my stash since Spring, and just couldn’t figure out what to make with it. I agonized over deciding, looking up every indie dress pattern I could think of and then googling to see how other people’s looked. You can see my final decision was the Tova. (I am also wearing my Wiksten Oversized Kimono jacket from Making Magazine!)

wiksten_tova_sleeve

I think I would have been happier with this if I made it a few years ago. There’s nothing wrong with the pattern, I just should have chosen a pattern with more shaping, because I now realize that’s what I was after. If I make this again, I would extend the center front fold line to create more gathers. On this version, it was barely enough to get any at all. The collar also lays a little wonky, and the back neck sits away from my body. I think this pattern would be a better match for thinner or drapier fabric.

wikesten_tova_plaid

I do love the “rich” feel of this fabric, and I like where I used the contrast side vs the right side on the cuff binding, placket and collar stand. I think once I break it in a little bit I will like it more.

wiksten_front_close

We had a very unseasonably warm sunny day, so we headed down to Battery Park to take these pics. Very windy, which I bet you could have already guessed!

PJ Shorts

finished objects, sewing

city_gym_shorts_1

My favorite sleepwear is a t-shirt and PJ shorts. I can’t do sleep pants, they always bag up around my knee which drives me nuts, so I stick with shorts. I found the City Gym Shorts pattern from Purl Soho awhile back and made a pair from some scraps (previously unblogged), with great success. This weekend, I wanted a quick sew and I had been meaning to make another pair. I had a fabulous 80s silk remnant from the Center for Creative Reuse in my stash, and happened to have coordinating purple bias tape (also from PCCR!!), so I thought why not!! These came together so quickly, in less than 2 hours. On this new pair, I made the side hem split significant bigger, but otherwise followed the pattern exactly. I was surprised by how much better I have gotten at applying bias tape to fiddly fabrics. Practice really does make “perfect” (btw these are not perfect by any means).

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Super comfy, and very luxurious in silk!

Archer For a Friend.

finished objects, sewing

I made a sleeveless Archer a few years ago using Grainline’s awesome tutorial, and I wear it all the time, even though its a white-with-bright-stripes 90s-looking seersucker. My friend Chrissy saw me wearing it one day and commented on how much she loved it, so I decided to make her one for her birthday.

I had some leftover all-white seersucker, but it was barely enough to cut out the shirt. I had to get a little creative with the pattern piece placement: I cut the button band and pockets the wrong way. I didn’t even have enough left to cut the inside yoke, so I used some light micro-floral cotton. I also used it on the under-collar as a subtle way to introduce some color to an otherwise stark white shirt. It took me a long time to settle on a fabric that wouldn’t show through the seersucker too much. I really struggled with buttons, I spent forever comparing at the fabric store before settling on these taupey gray ones. This is the first time I used a teeny button for the collar stand, and I like how it turned out. I also recently got a buttonhole cutter and some fray check, and WOW they improve the finish to look much more professional!

I am so happy with this shirt, especially because I look at it and see such great strides in craftsmanship since the last time I made one.

Summer of Basics #2 and #3.

finished objects, sewing

Continuing on with my second item for #SummerofBasics, I made a self-drafted linen gauze tank, heavily inspired by Karen Templer’s version. I made a patch pocket pattern piece and fully intended to use it, but I forgot to sew them on before joining the front + back, and decided to wait until the top came together to see if it felt right to add them. I think the side slits are too “extreme” to logically accommodate pockets, so I left them off.

I traced a woven tank top I liked to create this pattern. I made a quick muslin to make sure I traced accurately, and then I cut into the little bit of linen gauze I had left from my Tessuti visit last year. This material is pretty sheer, but when its 90 degrees outside with almost 100% humidity, such concerns retreat away through the heavy haze of summer.

I cut the back along the selvedge in two pieces so I could remember how pretty it is, with its chambray-esque blue and a stripe of green. I used white single-fold bias tape for the neckline and armholes, and french seamed the shoulder and side seams. I made a mistake and double-folded the side slits to the right side (instead of the wrong side) of the garment, but I actually like it as a design feature, so I left it as-is.

moss_skirt_piping

For my #SummerofBasics Number Three, I made a Moss skirt from more of that leftover Essex linen I had in my stash. I thought red would be an unusual color for a skirt, but it turns out that I love it and it doesn’t look unusual at all! I am not sure the essex linen is the best fabric for garments, as it unravels very quickly, but I bound all the seams with bias tape, so hopefully that helps with the skirt’s longevity. I had some berry colored piping and added it to the pockets and I think it adds SO much to the look of the skirt. I used the teeny bit of striped Italian shirting I had left for the waistband and pockets, and I LOVE it so much. Overall, really happy with how this turned out. I do notice that when I wear it, I have to constantly pull at it to make it sit correctly on my hips. I think I made the right size, but I am not sure why this is happening. I might get some true bottom-weight fabric and give it another shot.

moss_skirt_inside_boundseams_2

moss_skirt_inside_boundseams

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