seamwork – Sewtropolis

I hope everyone is surviving the quarantine … I know I am loving the excuse to stay in and sew! Though, I did walk to the post office to drop off a letter and found these reminders to vote along the way. Love that there are people in the world who do this.

Back to sewing: I’m trying something new – instead of sewing the next shiny thing that catches my attention, I’m trying to plan my wardrobe!

I started out on Pinterest and pinned outfits that I thought would be nice to have for the summer. I pinned a ton of maxi skirts, t-shirts, and loose fitting pants. I then went through my patterns and pulled ones that matched (or were close enough) to the items I pinned.

All this was done prior to the Sewing Expo a couple of weeks ago, so I had a good idea of the types of fabric I was looking for which was really nice going in with a plan! I’ve been using Trello to keep all my outfits (patterns/fabrics) organized as I go along.

First item up:

This pattern is the Clarke from Seamworks, and the fabric is from JoAnns. I lengthened the top a couple of inches and cut it on the bias to get more drape. It’s still a little shorter than I’d like, and looks this side of a maternity top – but I don’t completely hate it. I may make another one before the summer is out.

In the meantime, stay safe my friends!

I’ve been obsessed with finding patterns by indie clothing designers mainly because I want to see ‘what else’ is out there besides what the big patterns companies are offering. I stumbled upon Seamwork magazine and fell in love! They have a great online magazine, and if you subscribe, you get to choose 2 of their free patterns every month. Sign me up!!!

The first pattern I downloaded was the Oslo sweater pattern. To be honest once I downloaded it I was not looking forward to printing it off and taping all the sheets of paper together. So I thought I would take it to Kinkos to see if they could print it off on a larger printer (hoping that it wouldn’t cost a fortune) and lo and behold they had a printer on the floor – that I could use anytime – no special skills required … and didn’t cost an arm and a leg!!! I’m probably way behind the times here, but what a great surprise!! It opens up a world of e-pattern possibilities for me!!!

For fabric, I chose a gray wool blend sweater knit from Pacific Fabrics – it was a little on the spendy side, but I thought the Oslo would be simple enough that I couldn’t screw it up too bad – so I splurged!

I have absolutely no room in Athena to cut out patterns, so I loaded up 3-4 other patterns that I’ve been meaning to cut out and headed over to the KOA’s day room to use the big tables they have set up.

Side note – they keep the day room locked because the kids like to go in and trash the place. I had to ask them to unlock it for me and they made it clear that there were to be no kids in the room without their parents. No sooner did the KOA guy leave when I looked up and there were 3 little heads poking around the corner to see if the room was empty! And then 2 more kids would poke their head in, then 3 more, etc. etc. A few would walk in to see what I was doing, but for the most part they just hovered like vultures waiting for me to leave. Ahhh kids! Gotta love em!

Anyway, back to the Oslo! I ended up being able to use my serger on the whole thing and because of that it took me about an hour to finish it! It was SO simple! I’m glad I splurged on the fabric, it turned out nice enough to wear to work. (which is where I took the pictures – sorry they are so aweful) Had I bought a cheaper fabric it may have just ended up a ‘weekend wear.’

Next time I make it though I may try to make it a little longer. I find that it sits right at the widest part of my hips – which is not flattering for me at all!

Another option may be to add patch pockets to the front – and maybe a closure since I kinda like wearing it closed. I’d have to make it in a heavier weight fabric though if I were to do either of those, but I like this pattern because of all the possibilities – I like possibilities!

I like how the sleeves are done, I can either wear them rolled up, or down if I need them to be a little longer – again possibilities.

So that was one of my sewing project for the week! I also worked on Athena, I took out one side of the overhead storage in the back, which gives me more room to add a closet! No more fold lines in all my clothes – Yay! It has really opened up the back area! It doesn’t feel so cramped and now I’m thinking once I move out I’ll make that area the lounge area and put in a entertainment center…. the possibilities are endless, and I like possibilities.

Tag: seamwork

Quarantine and Me: Week 1

The Oslo Sweater and Possibilities