Sewing Journal: Summer 2020

This was the summer to go overboard. And wow, did I ever go overboard! Over the course of July and August, I really put a dent in my Sew Nine(teen) 2020 blotter! In fact, I basically walked the plank, clung to the anchor, and plunged down into the sea-cave where the sewist-mermaids live. I’ve only just returned to the beach for a bit of air, albeit with a giant needle as my trident!

I suppose I had a case of the what-the covids? I couldn’t do much else besides work and sew, with only a smattering of working-on-the-novel-and-a-brand-new-book-of-poetry in fits and spurts when I could settle myself enough to get into that headspace.

Did I need to unbalance myself to get back to some sort of centre? Have I finally gotten there….and, just in time for back-to-school??

Here are a few shots of my summer makes and make-overs…

[All 27 of them? Yowza!]

1. Self-drafted Sewing Needle Book in remnant hot pink velveteen, patterned silk, and navy stretch denim. Based loosely on the Ann Wood Handmade model.
2. I rubbed off the pattern of a ready-to-wear floral mini dress whose overall design I liked before cutting it off into an ultra-wearable flower top – of course I kept the hidden pockets along the side seams! God I love this fabric!
3. Cut off and hemmed a similar black Zara RTW dress into a black stretch top a day later!
4. Then, I cropped my flower top pattern and used it as the basis for a self-drafted Tiered maxi dress in black and white gingham for my wedding anniversary.
5. A second Delphine Morissette Tangerine Blouse in red and white gingham.
6. Vintage Butterick 5763 Wrap-and-Go Skirt in red and white gingham. I sized up the skirt but then ended up sizing down at the seams. Mistakenly interfaced the pocket in black. It’s an easy sew, but it doesn’t quite have the finishing one would want in a skirt made with more expensive fabric.
7. Pauline Alice Romero Shorts [using the hack suggested by Sleepless in Bavaria on Minerva Crafts: swapping the Simplicity 8175* curved waistband for the straight Romero waist] in Geo Grand Daisy Jane quilting cotton. These were testers for the linen pants. But I have to say, I wore them more than almost any other bottom over the summer! And I haven’t worn shorts in ages!
8. Pauline Alice Romero Trousers with the same Simplicity 8175* curved waistband in Merchant & Mills Alta Mare Linen from The Workroom [where I also purchased my new Bernina L450 Serger].
9. Named Inari Tee in remnant orange mystery rayon as a toile/muslin for the real thing – needs adjusting.

10. Named Inari Tee Dress in Merchant Mills Alta Mare Linen, with the armscye shortened by 2 inches then added below the bust, the dress lengthened at the knee by 8 additional inches, and pockets in the side seams from my “flower top” hack. I have since unpicked the sides and pockets, and taken in the whole dress by 2 inches on either side. [I cut it too large!] I used Amy Butler Happy Trapeze for the neck facing and the back half of each pocket.
11. Wiksten Shift Top in Alta Mare Linen with Amy Butler Happy Trapeze to line the pockets and face the neck.
12. Sorrento Bucket Hat in Alta Mare Linen with Amy Butler Happy Trapeze lining.
13. Sew Liberated Arenite Pants In Merchant Mills Admiral Linen from The Workroom. I used the Sew Liberated slim hack to adjust the pockets, but kept the pants themselves baggy.
14. Wiksten Shift Top in Merchant Mills Admiral Linen with Amy Butler Happy Trapeze lining for the pockets.
15. Sorrento Bucket Hat in Admiral Linen with Amy Butler Happy Trapeze lining.
16. Simplicity 8175 Skirt, view B, without pockets, cut (with seam allowance removed) on the fold, using side slits and side zip in place of centre seams. Skirt was still quite large, and I ended up using very generous seam allowances.
17. Wiksten Shift Dress in Merchant & Mills Navy Tottorri Cross from The Workroom.
18. Wiksten Shift Top with the sleeves! in Merchant & Mills Navy Tottorri Cross, but with the yoke and gathered back of the shift-dress as opposed to the top and quilted envelope-inspired pockets, because I barely had enough fabric.

19. Wilder Gown from Friday Pattern Co. in Black Dotted Swiss from Spool & Spindle in Waterloo. [They have a fab pattern-printing service, too!] I added side pockets from my flower top pattern.
20. True Bias Ogden Cami in brown quilting cotton, faced with a striped quilting cotton. Perfection! Will make again!
21. Paper Thoery Zadie Jumpsuit hacked into a wrap top, made with Rashida Coleman Hale Akoma Cherry Pinup from The Workroom. I left some of the cool design from the selvedge on the ties. I added several inches to the length, but would add even more in future!
22. Named Inari Tee in Rashida Coleman Hale Akoma Cherry Pinup, with intentional small tucks in the sleeves.
23. Simplicity 8175 Skirt View B, using the centre seams and pockets, with zip at the back, but with side slits instead of centre slits. Sized down from the last attempt, in Geo Grand Daisy Jane quilting fabric.
24. Sorrento Bucket Hat in Geo Grand Daisy Jane and brown quilting fabrics, brim lengthened by 1 inch.
25. STASH BUSTERS! Red and White Gingham Friday Pattern Company Sagebrush Top, with yoke extended 2 inches, and sleeves lengthened to wrist, with added simple cuffs instead of elastic. Might shorten and/or switch back to elastic.
26. STASH BUSTERS! Black and White Gingham Delphine Morissette Tangerine Blouse.
27. STASH BUSTERS! Black and White Gingham “self-drafted” Three-Tiered Maxi Skirt, using Simplicity 8175 as a basis for the top tier, and simple equal tiers afterward.

I also taught Bea how to use a sewing machine!

Together, we made two matching pink Sorrento Bucket Hats for Bea and her friend out of a pink floral and plain pink quilting cotton! I’m really impressed! She jumped right in there with that 3-D bucket hat project! Wowza!

We also made several cute pink floral masks, which I would never count in my tally of sewing…because, well, I’m still not ready to count mask sewing, even cute mask sewing, as the kind of sewing I really want to journal about.