Two spring outfits

I made these two cowl neck tops a few months ago, but felt compelled to create some cute skirts to wear with them as the weather warmed up.  Shazam!  Two new outfits for spring, which can be mixed and matched!

The cowls are both a mash up of Sewaholic's Renfrew top (view C) and an elongated waistband from Seamwork's Astoria top.  I sewed the teal version first and the neckline is a bit narrow, so I slashed and spread the cowl pattern to make it a bit wider for the pink one.   See, bigger!

As for the skirts, the first is a super simple knit dirndl with an elastic waist.  Nothing fancy, except the pretty fabric :)  I didn't even put in pockets (poor decision, as usual).

The second is a City Stroll wrap skirt from Liesl & Co.   I've made it once before (in cashmere!) and really like the simplicity of the pattern.  This version is in denim for a more casual look that coordinates well with lots of tops.

I topstitched the skirt with a light gray thread (sorry, no super close ups!), but it is not lined like the wool one I made previously.

The photos I have of this garment are not great, but I DO have some action shots!  While the skirt can be a bit indecent in certain situations, it does cover under most poses:

I typically wear a skirt pin my wool one for work, but I like to play fast and loose on my days off.  

Now the weather actually needs to warm up for real, so I don't freeze without tights!  

Cypress Cape

The Cypress Cape by Sewaholic hasn't been getting a lot of attention in the sewing blog world.  The style probably isn't for everyone, but the fact that it's different and interesting is why I was drawn to it in the first place.   Nevertheless, it took me a long time to actually sew it, despite buying the fabric right away (over a year ago!).

The delay was in part because the few people I showed the pattern to expressed "concern", but also there were always faster and easier things to sew first.  But perhaps most critical to the delay is that California had been, until this winter, in a serious drought and an unneeded garment wasn't high on the priority list.  So, with all the rains over the past few months, it became important to be well-outfitted for the CA monsoon season.

For the pattern, I sewed a size 0, which wasn't a good idea.  I was concerned about not being able to make petite adjustments, so I wanted to sew the smallest size possible (hey, it's a cape, right?).  It's actually a very fitted cape, at least around the chest and shoulders.  Size 2 or 4 probably would have been better, so I could more comfortably wear a sweater or vest underneath.  It's definitely wearable as-is, so no big loss.

The fabric is from Hart's Fabric in Santa Cruz (I bought it  year ago, so it's out of stock).  I's a pretty perfect fabric for this application.  The instructions call for nylon ripstop, but this fabric is a bit more thick and sturdy.  The drape is still good, though.  The color is definitely a bit metallic-irridescent.  

The only change I made was to turn under the hems, instead of using bias tape.  My primary motivation for this switch is because all I could think about was water dripping down the sleeves and making the cotton/poly bias all wet.  However, it also gave me the opportunity to shorten the jacket a bit to fit me better.  In the end, I like the look of it a lot better.

The zipper/ velcro closures design in the front look super professional, though it would have been nice to have the zipper go all the way up under the chin.

The back pleats turned out well, though they are generally hidden under the hood.

The one thing I don't love about the style is that it's not really possible to put a bag over your shoulder.  I end up keeping my handbag on my elbow, which I do a lot anyway, but you can't elegantly haul all your groceries while wearing this.   

Overall, sewing this cape was enjoyable and it's definitely fun to wear. I suspect the rain is done in CA for the season, but if not, between my last rain jacket and this one, I'm ready!  

Pacific leggings (for all that exercising I do)

So I'm not the most regular exerciser, and if I do anything these days it's either walking or cycling.  I might not bother making "performance wear" (quotes required to indicate my decidedly lack of performance while wearing anything), particularly leggings, if it weren't for for a buy-one-get-one pattern sale at Sewaholic a while back, and recently purchasing too much dri-fit performance knit from Mood.  Tack on that I'm anticipating doing some serious hiking this weekend at Big Trees State Park and in a couple of weeks in Alaska, and this project skipped to the head of the queue.

Okay, wow.  First off, I made leggings!  Second, they are awesome!  The pattern (Pacific leggings by Sewaholic) is easy and interesting, with the seam that wraps around the leg and the optional back pocket for your phone, chapstick, or FitBit.  I went with view C, with the pocket from B.  The main body of the leggings are size 0, grading up to 2-4 at the waistband. They might be a touch tight, but I guess that's what keeps them up!

The wide waistband makes the waist pretty comfortable, with an extra layer to hold stuff in.  In the future, I might lengthen the rise of the tights, since I'm an old lady.  However, these leggings are yet another stellar pattern from Tasia at Sewaholic.

Back pocket!  Brilliant.  It perfectly fits my moderately sized phone, and while it's a bit bulky back there, the blame can fall squarely on the phone.

For the construction, I wanted the look of decorative topstitching on the seams, but I'm not sure my coverstitch machine would do it properly.  So, I sewed all the seams on my serger, wrong sides together.  Then, I pressed the serged edge to one side and stitched it down with with a straight stitch.

It's important to be symmetrical with the direction in which you press the seams, since it's so visible!

Here's an inside shot of the crotch gusset (above).  I was able to serge the edges in two passes, which worked well.  Since all of the seams are sewn with the seam allowance on the outside, the inside seams are super smooth and lovely (see below)!

 I might have to go out and actually exercise in these babies!  

Undocumented Garments of 2015

I don't need to review my year to recognize that I didn't blog a lot this year!   I sewed a lot less and had a lot less time to take photos and write posts, just in general.  But I sewed more than I reported, so instead of reviewing my "hits and misses" of 2015, I decided to post a photo or two of each garment I didn't blog about when I made it.  I just spent an hour digging through my wardrobe and photographing them all.  So, ladies and gentlemen, here are my Undocumented Garments of 2015.

Blouse and pants (made in June, worn to my birthday dinner at Quince in SF)

Blouse pattern: Myrtle, cropped by Colette Patterns
Blouse fabric: Britex Fabrics (not available online)
Pant pattern: self drafted
Pants fabric: Mood Fabrics (no longer available)

Summer top (made in July, first worn during our vacation in upstate NY)

Blouse pattern: self drafted
Blouse fabric: Britex Fabrics (no longer available)

Spotty blouse (made in August, first worn to my son's birthday party)

Blouse pattern: Alma blouse (with sleeve alteration) by Sewaholic
Blouse fabric: purchased in person at Hart's Fabric

Chambray shirt-dress (made in October, first worn to travel back to NY for my 20 year high school reunion!)

Dress pattern: elongated Granville button down, by Sewaholic

Dress fabric: Harts Fabric

Flannel PJ bottoms (made in October, I think)

Pants pattern: self drafted
Pants fabric: Harts Fabric (no longer available)

Funnel-neck dress (made in the fall sometime--maybe November?)

Dress pattern: vintage McCalls 2506
Dress fabric: Mood Fabrics

Lace-front top (made in December, to look "fancy" while spending way too much time outside on the playground with the kids)

Top pattern: Linden top, by Grainline
Top fabric: Mood fabrics (French terry and lace)

Silk peplum blouse (made in Nov/Dec as a muslin)

Blouse pattern: self drafted
Blouse fabric: vintage silk, purchased on Etsy

I didn't just sew garments that weren't documented!  Here are two Christmas gifts:

Jewelry roll (made in December, for my mother)

Roll pattern: Modkid 
Roll fabric: Tweed from FabMo, with some scraps from my stash

Waxed canvas shaving bag (made in December, for my husband)

Bag pattern: adapted from Thread Theory tutorial
Bag fabric and notions: Thread Theory kit

In 2016, I've already sewn a few garments.  I'll try to post photos before 2017 :)  Happy New(ish) Year!