June 2018 in Review

June was yet another good month for practical sewing. I made three In Color Order Lined Drawstring Bags, two pairs of Seamwork Kaye shorts, and an Odacier Runaway Bag. 

When I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I made a Lined Drawstring Bag to carry around all of my blood sugar testing equipment in. I used a narwhal fabric from my stash, as it made me happy. For Father’s Day gift wrapping, I made two Lined Drawstring Bags out of the Cotton + Steel Cleats Blue fabric by Melody Miller from her Kicks line. 

The Seamwork Kaye Shorts pattern uses very little fabric, so I pulled out my knit scraps and whipped up two more, one with my hacked maternity panel and one without. I wore them all summer long under maternity dresses. The one with the maternity panel was more comfortable, but the normal one worked well enough and I can still wear it postpartum.  

I saw the Runaway Bag pattern on Instagram and made one to hold my knitting in. The gusset construction is very clever and I want to make more to use as gift wrapping. 

May 2018 in Review

May was another good month for sewing garments. I participated in Me-Made-May and made four pieces of clothes: another pair of maternity Seamwork Shelly Leggings, some maternity Seamwork Kaye Shorts, a Deer and Doe Givre Maternity Tee and a Seamwork Julia Tank. I also made four In Color Order Lined Drawstring Bags to wrap Mother’s Day gifts in. 

I liked my gray pair of maternity hacked Shelly Leggings so well that I made another pair, this time out of Robert Kaufman Laguna Jersey in Heather Navy. They were an essential piece in my maternity and "fourth trimester" wardrobe. 

After making the Shelly Leggings, I had enough fabric left to try my hand at the Seamwork Kaye Shorts pattern. I drafted a new waistband piece and cut two to make a maternity panel like I had done with the Shelly Leggings. The resulting shorts were perfect for wearing under maternity dresses. I’m planning on making more regular Kaye shorts in the future since they’re the perfect pattern from using up scraps leftover from bigger projects. 

The only actual maternity pattern that I tried during my pregnancy was the Givre Maternity Tee by Deer and Doe. I made the Version B top in the third trimester size and made two disastrous mistakes. First, I messed up the PDF printing. I printed it at Staples since our home printer broke, and used the complimentary ruler to measure the test square. It was only a couple millimeters off, and rather than trying to fiddle with the Staples printer, I decided that was good enough. It wasn’t. I also let too much time pass between when I took my measurements and when I made the tank top. During pregnancy, it’s not just your bump that grows! I ended up with a shirt that bunched weirdly in the shoulders (due to the printing error), and was a little too small in the bust (due to the measuring error). I was so frustrated with the end result that I threw away the pattern pieces and washed my hands of the whole pattern. Ironically enough, this was one of the few shirts that still fit my bump at the end of my pregnancy, so I ended up wearing it a lot, even though it wasn’t perfect. 

After my failed Givre Maternity Tank, I grabbed a Seamwork Julia Tank that I had cut out the previous summer, before I was pregnant. Even though I knew it wouldn’t fit, sewing it up was soothing. Who knows, maybe it will fit by next summer. Even if it doesn’t, it was nice getting it out of my WIP pile. I’d like to give it another try sometime, because it’s a nice basic, and I enjoyed sewing it. 

At the last Seattle Modern Quilt Guild retreat I attended, I won a bundle of Karen Lewis fabric. I broke into it to make a few Lined Drawstring Bags for wrapping Mother’s Day presents in. The pattern is by Jeni Baker of In Color Order.

April 2018 in Review

This year, April was all about making maternity friendly garments. I finished two hacked Shelly Leggings and one Ebony Dress. 

When the Shelly Leggings came out in the January 2018 issue of Seamwork, I thought they looked super comfy. After I found out I was pregnant, I decided to try to hack the pattern. I used a ready-to-wear pair of maternity leggings to draft a new waistband piece. For my black Shelly Leggings, I cut one waistband piece and hemmed it, like my ready-to-wear leggings. The result was okay, but not as comfy as I was looking for. Also, I cropped the leggings too much, and the bagged weirdly around the knees. I used Robert Kaufman Laguna Jersey in Onyx, and I think a different fabric may have worked better at that length. It was a good first try, but needed improvement. 

For my second pair of Shelly Leggings, I used Robert Kaufman Laguna Jersey in Onyx in Heather Grey, which was a little bit thicker than the non-heather Onyx color. I cut two waistband pieces so that the waistband was doubled, and cropped the leggings around mid-calf. The result was just what I was looking for! I lived in these leggings throughout pregnancy, and even into the “fourth trimester.” I even made a pair in Heather Navy the following month. Someday I’d like to make more Shelly Leggings, this time with no alterations. 

While not specifically a maternity pattern, the Ebony Dress by Closet Case Patterns is very bump friendly. I sewed version A and customized it by shortening the sleeves considerably. It was very swingy and fun to wear, but the lack of pockets bothered me. A few weeks after finishing this dress, I went back and added patch pockets, using the pattern piece from the Seamwork Sadie Sweatshirt (not pictured). I wore this dress often throughout my pregnancy, and it’s something I can wear next Spring as a non-maternity dress.

February 2018 in Review

February was a productive month. I finished two garments, two gifts for my QuiltCon roomies and two gift bags. 

After making a practice Seamwork Sadie Sweatshirt in January, I immediately turned around and made another one in February. I used sweatshirt fabric for the first time and it turned out great! This is definitely a go-to pattern for when I want to make something cozy and warm for the fall and winter months. 

The next garment I made was a Driftless Cardigan from Grainline Studio. The fabric is Robert Kaufman Laguna Jersey in Onyx. I was a little intimidated by all the pieces, but once they were cut out, the cardigan came together easily enough. I absolutely love the pockets and this is definitely on my "to make again" list. 

For QuiltCon this year, I shared a hotel room with two other people and I decided to make them each a small gift. I've also wanted to make mini composition book covers ever since I make a full sized one back in 2015. I’m really happy with how they turned about and would make them again. 

The orange bag was made from the tried-and-true Lined Drawstring Bag pattern by Jeni Baker. Since I’ve made a ton of them already, for the next gift bag, I branched out a bit and made a Pillowcase Pouch from the book Ruby Star Wrapping, by Melody Miller and Allison Tannery. I added a button and buttonhole to secure it, which was fun.

January 2018 in Review

This past January didn't contain many finishes, due to first trimester fatigue. However, I was really happy with the two things I did manage to finish! 

The Sadie Sweatshirt pattern is from the November 2017 issue of Seamwork. I purchased some French Terry fabric from Mood Fabrics as my "wearable muslin" fabric and it was really easy to work with and is quite warm and cozy. The pattern was easy to follow and I had no fit issues. I really enjoyed wearing this shirt this winter, especially since it had pockets! I made a second version in February and hope to make at least one more this coming Fall/Winter. 

My husband and I attend the Penny Arcade Expo every year, and since I've learned to knit, I like to take along an easy, mindless knitting project to work on while we wait in lines (and there are a lot of lines to wait in). In August 2017, I started a Boom Shawl with DK yarn from House of a la Mode. The pattern is by Playing with Fibre, and was sufficiently easy and mindless. The speckled yarn was fun to knit and I was pleased with the end result, despite the fact that the edge finishing wasn't my favorite. I ended up giving this shawl to my grandma for her birthday. 

Related Posts 

January, February and March 2017 in Review 

January 2016 in Review 

May 2017 in Review

May has always been my favorite month of the year. It's my birth month, as well as the first month that fully feels like Spring in the Pacific Northwest. These days, I also have Mother's Day to look forward to, as well as Me-Made-May. It has turned into a very busy month, and I'm always a little bit sad when it's over. Here's what I finished in May. 

Moonlit Gems Gretta Tank 

Years ago, I bought several yards of Cotton + Steel Moonlit Gems lawn online. I thought it would be gray, but it's actually more of a taupe, which isn't really my style. I dug it out the other day to make a wearable muslin of the new Gretta tank pattern from Seamwork. The fabric sewed up well, and is soft and cool to the touch. I'd definitely buy Cotton + Steel lawn again. For my first Gretta tank, I did my normal grading between sizes, omitted the shoulder ties, left off the pocket, and used bias strips to finish the neckline and armholes, instead of a facing. It was super simple and quick to sew, so I took the extra time to flat fell all the seams, which made it nice and neat inside. While I still don't love the color taupe, I'm satisfied with this make and have added the Gretta tank to my list of patterns I'd make again.  

Pearl Bracelet Mini Colfax Dress 

During my preparations for Me-Made-May, I pulled out my Pearl Bracelet Bettine dress to mend. My daughter saw it on my sewing table, and asked for a matching dress. How could I say no? My plan was to make both a Colfax dress and Mini Colfax dress from Lizzy House's Mini Pearl Bracelet double gauze in time to wear for Mother's Day. Sadly, I ran out of time and was only able to finish the Mini Colfax dress before the big day. My daughter and I still matched, just not exactly. The construction of this dress was interesting, with visible binding, a slit facing, and an unexpected way of closing the bottom of the pockets. One of these days, I'll get around to making the Colfax dress in my size. 

Heather Gray Mabel Skirt 

While I really enjoy my Seamwork subscription, not all of the patterns speak to me. Since I've subscribed from the very beginning, I have a nice chunk of credits saved up. I used a few of them to purchase the Colette Mabel skirt pattern. I sewed Version 1 out of Robert Kaufman Arietta Ponte De Roma Heather in Graphite, lengthening it by seven inches. I was super happy with how the resulting skirt looks and feels. It only lacks pockets to make it the perfect skirt. Still mulling over the best way to add pockets to the next one. 

Bento Bag 

I used some stash fabric to whip up a quick Bento Bag to wrap a gift. I'm still loving this pattern. It's fast, easy and versatile.