I am part of the Ready To Wear Fasters group on Facebook. If you don’t know what that is – it means I’m ‘fasting’ from buying any clothes for a full year – instead choosing to make all my clothes – and I mean ALL my clothes! I’m happy to report that 6 months in and I’m still going strong. This week I made a couple more bras (not showing those), I’m mostly happy with them – I feel like I just can’t get them right, but they’re at least wearable – and more supportive then what I had been wearing.
Last night I made this Xpress tank top from GreenStyleCreations (GSC) based off a recommendation from two other RTW Fasters in the group.
My running skirt and sports bra are GSC patterns, so this makes 3 for 3 with the pattern company!
Sewing this tank was so easy – two seams and then hem it. I found the ITY knit fabric at JoAnn’s and bought a yard of it on impulse. Good thing – because that’s exactly how much the patterns called for, but I think it will be the last time I buy ITY knit… it’s just way too stretchy and doesn’t hold it’s shape well.
Anyhoo! I wore this top today during the ParkRun event and managed a personal record (PR) breaking my old PR by seconds!! Needless to say, I see more Xpress Tanks in my future!
It might look just like the bra I made before, but this one fits! I used the same fabric for the main part, but a different fabric for the lining.
And I used the lining fabric from the first bra for the back pieces on this second bra. Much better use for that fabric. I have way more stretch, which allows this bra to actually fit!
Lessons learned with this bra: 1. I should use different fabric for the main piece. The fabric that I used is a little stiff. Definitely not made for bras. 2. The wires need to be larger. I ended up ordering wires that were not the correct size or shape so I used the wires out of an old bra. Even those were a little short and moves around a bit in the casing. Not too much, but I’d rather they not move at all. 3. I definitely like the way this bra ‘perks’ up my silhouette – I’ve worn it all week just because it feels so much nicer to have everyone in their place!
Best part: it was a quick sew! I made this one in about 2 hours! Not bad, huh? I’ll definitely be making more!
I did it! Actually my sister and I did it! We hiked the Clackamas River trail from end to end – a full 8 miles and it was beautiful!
At the trailhead getting ready for our adventure.
We decided to start on the end of the trail that had the highest elevation so that most of our hike was on a downhill slope. Not that it was easy, but there was one part in the trail that we both agreed would have been a bitch to hike up!
There is a beautiful waterfall right at the 4 mile mark where we decided to stop and have lunch. Besides the main waterfall there were 3-4 other smaller waterfalls – even one where you could walk behind.
And everything was SO green! It was just beautiful!
Grace found a nice mossy rock to scratch her chin on… until Leo showed up.
At the end of the trail there was a bench that had a bunch of trinkets imbedded in it. My guess is that the items were found on the trail at one point or another.
If you are ever in the Mt. Hood area and are looking for a beautiful hike to do, I highly recommend the Clackamas River trail. It’s beautiful and even though it was rated ‘difficult’ it wasn’t too difficult. We were exhausted afterwards, and pretty sore the next day – but still glad we did it!
Okay, now onto project news. As you know I have been working on three projects simultaneously: A bra, a fusion quilt and a shower curtain for Athena. Well, I finished the bra!
I knew going in that this was a practice bra so I allowed myself to make plenty of mistakes. I did ‘unsew’ some parts, but not too much – I didn’t want to waste too much time picking out stitches knowing this was just a practice piece.
Before I cut out the pieces, I took my measurements as instructed… and made the recommended size based off of those measurements even though it was MUCH larger than the ‘ready-to-wear’ size I normally wear. Turns out – it was too small. But now I know I can increase the band measurement AND the cup size for the next one.
I used some scrap fabric I had left over from a top I’m working on for the main fabric. I still have enough left over for another bra. I’m not too thrilled with the lining fabric and will probably try to find something with more substance to it.
and I really don’t like the ‘super mesh’ so think I’ll try to find something else to use. (the Super Mesh is used for the back piece – it’s hard to see in the picture because it’s so thin).
As you can see I didn’t get the elastic on right so the piece is a little large for the ‘hook & eyes’. Overall it was a good learning experience and I did print off the next size up so I can get started on the next bra right away. However, I’m not sure how much sewing I’ll get done this weekend. My goal is to try to paint Athena while the weather is still nice. Water somehow seeped in last winter and I want to make sure it doesn’t seep in again this winter. I did put some sealant on the seams, but I’m thinking a coat a paint can only help.
I can’t believe it’s September already! I see all these ‘first day of school’ photos on my Facebook feed and it makes me miss my boys! When we moved into our house in Minneapolis I would take a picture of them in the back yard on the first day of school! I look back at those pictures now and can’t believe how little they were! Time flies by so fast!
So other than looking at all the back to school photo’s on Facebook I have been sewing up a storm! (BTW – did you know September is National Sewing Month?) However, I haven’t finished anything! I suppose if I were working on just one project I might have – but this week had three going: a bra, a shower curtain, and the fusion quilt. I had to order the bra fixings on-line so I didn’t get started on that till Tuesday night – I cut out the pieces and have the cups sewn together. I can tell already that I ordered the wrong lining fabric, but I’m not worried about it. I am expecting to make lots of mistakes on this one – if it actually fits it will be a bonus. I’m counting on the next one to be perfect.
Before the bra I had been working on my shower curtain I had all the rows sewn, just had to join them. But I got so excited when the bra fixings came in that I set aside the shower curtain. I finally picked it up again tonight and got it all sewn together. All I need is to add grommets and hem it and then I’ll be done. As for the fusion quilt I’ve crocheted edges to all of the squares and have started to join them – which amazingly is going pretty fast.
My hope is that by this time next week I’ll be wearing a new bra, have a pretty shower curtain and a new lap quilt to take me into Fall!
Speaking of Fall, nothing like Pumpkin scones to transition from Summer to Fall! I made these one day last week when it was cool enough to turn on my oven! I thought I would be clever and try and make chocolate pumpkin scones , but I didn’t add enough chocolate powder so they ended up looking like dirt. But they tasted SO good! Just ask the guys I work with! Scones tend to be on the dry side which is why I added the glaze on top. So, so good!
Sewtropolis 