Regaining My Sewing Power

Why does 2020 seem so long ago? Two years ago I was busy sanitizing groceries, making sourdough, homeschooling my child, etc. I always told myself that it was temporary, a couple weeks. I would get to sew “tomorrow” and tomorrow never came. The hobby that I enjoyed so much started to feel like another chore. It didn’t matter if I sewed something for myself, I was living in sweatpants. My sewing was consumed with masks, repairing masks, and the occasional make for my growing child. I was mentally exhausted. I didn’t realize that I was in ‘Groundhog Day’. Fast forward almost two years to the day and I decided that I was sick of feeling this way, I needed to think of something that would make me feel like myself, not something that I was sewing for someone else, just something for myself, that was NOT a mask.

I started with the Rain City Pattern Company Tight Tank with Heavy Rayon Spandex.

From there I moved on to a few new sports bras. I like the FREE Hyacinth Pattern from OhhhLulu. I used Tricot and Powernet and I added a band. Do you know what started to happen? Putting on something that was new, basic but new, gave me that quick boost of confidence that I forgot that I missed. It felt sooo good to wear something that wasn’t just that same pair of sweatpants. To be fair, I was alternating between two pairs of sweats.

Alas, the joyous spark was ignited. Then I started to think about what I could make that wasn’t so “casual”. At the same time Chalk & Notch released the Wren. I like that it is drafted for different cup sizes and has a shirt and dress within the same pattern. I used Rayon. One technique that I always use is French Seams . I love the finish of them. Yes, it takes longer but I do sew for longevity and it is worth it.

Next on my list is:

  • This gorgeous top from True Bias. It’s called the Roscoe Blouse and includes a dress in the pattern also made by Jasmine Macias, made in Rayon

I hope this blog inspires some of you to also reignite the creativity. I didn’t realize how much was missing til I started it again. What is something on your list to make?

Melissa

A Ruffled Golf Skirt

I found a cute skirt from Flirtee and decided to recreate it.

I found a few patterns in my collection for my Inspiration. Both patterns I measured medium and they’re both FREE!

A good starting point is the Patterns for Pirates Peg Leg shorties and the Patterns for Pirates pencil skirt. Shorts under my skirt makes me feel much more secure on the course. I made the entire skirt out of Phee Fabrics Tricot. It is a light, airy, antimicrobial, and quick drying.

Shorts

Construct your shorties based on the pattern, including hemming, up to the point that you would add the waistband, then put them aside. Important: typically you would not start here but I do this to avoid stitching my bottom flounce piece into the hem.

Pencil Skirt

To achieve the added flair to the pencil skirt:

  • I drafted three 4″ flounces to go across the back of the skirt. If you have not done a flounce before, think of it like a little circle skirt but you cut a line through one side of it. Drafting flounces takes a little math and I will explain it in the next paragraph.
  • After cutting the flounces, stitch them down using a stretch stitch and following the chalk lines. The top of the flounces should be “upside down”  
  • After the flounces are stitched down, serge the skirt together. Important: you want the flounces to go slightly into the side seem so they will look like part of the back of the skirt.

Flounce Drafting

  • Figure out the point that you want the flounces to start on the garment and measure. Side seam to side seam horizontally is what I chose.
  • Repeat this step 3 times and mark your lines on the back skirt panel using a ruler and chalk pen.
  • How wide do you want the flounce? Once you know that, divide that number by 3.14. This will give you the radius needed for a half circle. However, for a full circle (which is what you need) you must divide the result by 2.
  • Use this number to draft the first circle line. 
  • Measure from the point of your first circle cut down (the first circle line is 4″ down to make the flounce 4″ or what width you choose) to the length that you would like, as mentioned above I measured mine to be 4 inches and don’t hem the Tricot because it doesn’t fray.
Example, my target length was 20″. This is how I calculated the radius for a full circle.

And just like that you have your flounces!

Finishing Up

  • Your shorts and skirt should have the side seams are constructed and hemmed at this point.
  • Now you can add the waistband. You will only be using one waistband because the shorts and the skirt will be attached.
  • To add the waistband, you will want to measure it off in quarters and put pins at each quarter point. You will do the same for your skirt. After quartering take your shorties and skirt and clip or pin them all together stretching the waistband (not the skirt or shorties) just enough to make it line up.
  • Now you can serge it all together

Voila you have a ruffled back golf skirt!

Summer Skirts

In the summer I live in running skirts, I run in them, but I also just wear them because they are so comfortable. I have so many, but I always want more choices, probably so I don’t have to do laundry more often. When I ran across this skirt on Pinterest, I knew the exact pattern I could use to get the same look.

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I began with Jalie’s Loulouxe Skort pattern, and went to my fabric stash. I’ve actually been sewing a lot from my stash lately, and it’s felt amazing to use some of my Phee stash that I’ve staring at not knowing what to do with. I pulled out navy nylon/spandex tricot and coral powernet (this stuff is in the last chance section of the site, so grab it now if you’re at all interested in it).

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I love the way that it turned out, it even goes perfectly with my newest tank, a GreenStyle Solo Tank in white circular knit. I love how the coral part is slightly translucent, but yet you can’t really see much. Oh, and I haven’t told you the best part yet, the shorts have pockets! I did make my pockets about 1/2″ wider than the pattern piece to account for my phone and any other things that I needed to put in my pockets.

There are a few changes I need to make next time for a better fit, so that I can actually run in this. The shorts are a loose, so I’ll go with a smaller size through the hips and thighs next time. I also love the bands instead of hemming, it made finishing a breeze.

One thing to note is that I trimmed 3/8″ off the bottom of the coral powernet piece, as I planned on hemming the navy tricot front of the skirt. I really like how the powernet just flows as I move.

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I must also add, that this running skirt is mother and chicken approved. 🙂

Note: This post may contain affiliate links to products. All opinions and thoughts are my own. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Mermaid Dreams

This summer I’ve been on a big swimsuit sewing kick. We spend lots of time in the pool, so I guess it makes sense for me to make all the bikinis. I’ve spent the last few weeks scouring Pinterest for good ideas to copy. I ended up with lots of swim inspiration. This one really caught my attention though.

I’m in love with this cerise tricot from Phee Fabrics. The color is so rich and beautiful. I’ve worked with other swim material and have been so frustrated. Swim material can be difficult to work with but this stuff is not. Even though it’s slick, it doesn’t fight me every step of the way. I’ve also been really happy with how well it’s held up. I lined it with the bisque liner. This lining is the best quality stuff I’ve worked with. And my machine doesn’t try to eat it, which is so awesome. I did the adjustable straps so I used my rings, sliders, and 1/4″‘clear elastic from Phee also. If you’re looking for clear elastic, look no further. It’s so much cheaper than anyone else!

This ruffle hack is super easy. You could do it with most patterns. To get this specific look, I used the Heiress top from Swim Style and for the bottoms, I used my favorite bottom pattern ever..the Manhattan bikini bottoms from Miko suit supplies. I have the fit perfected on these so I have no desire to try another pattern right now. Haha!! Honestly, I love that they are cheeky but don’t freaking move. I can chase after my kid without a care in the world. Also the instructions for this pattern are so well written, with lots of detail.

I was impressed with the Heiress top pattern. Lots of detail to help you make an amazing suit. I’ll size up next time and try that but I do love how the top fits. I’ll probably throw some powernet in there also, which I didn’t even think of when I was making it.

For both the top and bottom, I measured how far I wanted the ruffles and added a few inches to the length. I did 3″ but you can do more. The pieces were 1.5″ In depth. I also kinda rounded the edges on one side. You can see that in the picture. I just used scraps.

  • To ruffle them, I did 2 basting stitches at the top and gathered it. On the top, I pinned it in place when I was doing the final underbust stitch. And then zig zagged on. Same thing for the for the bottoms but I would definitely add on the ruffle when first putting the leg elastic on. I waited until I was doing that second pass through with the elastic. Both work though. But it was kinda a pain doing it on the second round.

I honestly feel like a mermaid in this suit! It turned out better than I even imagined. I think I’ll size up the top next time. I feel like I could easily have a Janet Jackson experience in it now. Now I just need to find a beach to lay on….and someone to watch the kid! Thanks for reading!

You’re my “Phee-piration”

I know I am not the only one who spends their Sunday nights staring at Pinterest, pinning away. It is the modern answer to a vision board (something I never would have had the patience to do, lol!) And Pinterest has slowly become one of my very guilty pleasures.

My boards are mostly, you guessed it, sewing related 🙂 I love clothing and used to tear out magazine pages, and then immediately misplace them, for inspiration. Now I just have a bunch of boards dedicated to different designers, seasons, styles and of course, FABRIC I love! So you know I have a board dedicated to @pheefabrics which I have aptly named, “PheeSpirations.”

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Not my photo – Pinterest Image

And then this came up, I swear in the same color as the Khaki Steel Tricot although I can no longer find it anywhere, and I knew I needed to recreate it.

To be completely honest, it has been a long time since I have actually wanted a real one piece swimsuit, RTW or me-made. I have a longer torso and for a while I was intimated by adjusting a pattern to fit. The good news about sewing swim is that it generally does not use much fabric, compared to say a dress or even a shirt. So my theory was that even if I needed to make 2 or 3 I would not blow through my entire stash.

And of course, first times the charm! (mostly 😉 ) I used the recently released Minute Maillot  from Patterns 4 Pirates as the base, and didn’t have to do much to get the look in my Pinspiration. I adjusted first for my height by adding 1 1/2″ in length and then lowered the back by about 2 inches, following the curve on the pattern piece. The elastic for the neckline needed to be adjusted for the change in height. I used the pattern as written for the high rise leg and low front neckline.

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Then just to add the fun cage back, the “piece de resistance”! I cut long piece of the same tricot, 1 1/4″ wide (although I would make them 1 1/2″ the new time). right sides together and serged down the long sides, used my handy tube turner and cut to the size I wanted.

I just pinned the straps in place where it looked closest to the Pinspiration and attached them while topstitching the elastic to the back neckline.

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Voila! I absolutely love the color of this fabric and it is heavy enough to not need a lining. I did add the shelf bra as mentioned in the pattern (this is fully outlined in the pattern already) and used only @pheefabrics powernet and elastic. There are steps for adding bra cups, but I tend to feel covered and supported with just Phee powernet.

I hope this helps inspire some fun Pinspirations, err, Pheespirations 😉 Make sure to follow @pheefabrics on Pinterest here for more great ideas!

Happy Pinning!

– Liz –

Summer is for Fun!

Summer is in full swing here in Far Northern California with all sorts of craziness between hail storms, mountain snow, earthquakes and sizzling temps of over 100 degrees! Add to the daily fun of school being out – what working parent doesn’t love trying to figure out ways to keep the monsters occupied and active when it’s hotter than the surface of the sun?

My original plan was to get pictures of this Mairin from Sew a Little Seam while out on the boat this past weekend but with so much snow runoff from the late, heavy Spring snowfalls that water was COLD!!! No one was going in and I know better than to bring out the suits and expect the kids to stay out of the water.

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I made sure to grab this inflatable pool from Costco while they had them in stock because around here, once the pools are gone, they aren’t restocked so if you miss out, you are S.O.L. and in for a long, hot season. It made for a great time in the backyard while the husband cooked a tri-tip and I snapped some pictures to show off the solid tricot and Insane in the Membrane Nylon spandex from Phee Fabrics.

It took me a bit to decide which colors to use. The Tricot, which is perfect for swimwear and so amazing to work with, comes in a bunch of awesome colors and with half-yard cut options available it is easy to have a nice on-hand selection of beautiful coordinates for whatever may come up! The Nylon-Spandex “Insane in the Membrane” is a fun, wild, black-and-white print that can really be paired with anything but for this suit, I chose the Cerise and Neon Coral to add lots of brightness to match my little’s ones sparkling personality.

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This is the second Mairin I’ve made for little missy and I had forgotten how “fun” the teeny, tiny pieces of elastic were to sew in for the arm and leg openings. It did require a few deep breaths and taking a break from my machines but those are really the only parts I found of the suit that was a touch stressful for me. Even the gathered ruffles are easy with the Tricot.

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Despite the elastic giving me a hard time, I feel fortunate to be able to provide my daughter with a perfectly fitting suit as I find that RTW suits have a tendency to sag in the booty/crotch area and are not comfortable for her to be able to play like she wants! The quality of the fabric really compliments its beauty with the way it holds up to abrasion and chlorine making the time and effort invested into a hand-crafted suit worthwhile.

I hope you have a wonderful Summer filled with lots of laughs and memories made. Kiddos just grow way too fast! Thank you for reading! ❤

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Pattern: Sew a Little Seam – Children’s Mairin Swimsuit PDF Pattern

Fabrics: Tricot in Cerise from Phee Fabrics, Tricot in Neon Coral from Phee Fabrics, Nylon Spandex in “Insane in the Membrane”Swim Lining in Bisque

This post includes affiliate links that might generate some income that would be wisely spent on … more fabric.