Summer Sewing

Just showing off some of the summer outfits I made this month.

Aggressively Patriotic

 Part 1 is me playing with some (as my friends call it) aggressively patriotic fabrics and JenWrenne's pattern for a replica of Kit's Chicken Keeping outfit.  I made 2 variations, the jumper and the overalls.

Here's E (we're still trying to figure out who this girl really is.  For sure, she's not an 1850s pioneer, but other than that, none of us have any ideas.  Mostly because I'm vetoing 'queen of the world' as a valid persona.) showing off the jumper and the red polka dot blouse.  The jumper closes in the back with velcro.  I had some red, white, and blue grosgrain ribbon that I used for the straps.  The blouse has 5 little buttons down the front and closes with snaps.  If you have this pattern or plan on using it, keep in mind you'll want to take 0.75" or 1" off both sides in the back (waistband and skirt).

And here's Kana in the overalls version.   I...did not like the fit of the pants.  At all.  The back seemed too short, and the waist seemed too baggy all at the same time.  The blouse pattern is fine, and I will keep the blouse from this outfit, but the overalls are headed to a donation bin.

Modern and Casual

 Part 2 is another set of JenWrenne's patterns, this time her summer sew-along.  (If you can't tell, I really like her designs and patterns.  Well, for the most part.)  It's a 4 piece mix-and-match knits wardrobe with a tank top, a reversible skirt, a boat-neck shirt, and a pair of leggings.  I didn't have any patterned knits, so I used some iron-on appliques to spice up the plain tshirt fabric.

These patterns were pretty quick and easy.  With the exception of the waistband on the reversible skirt.  That was a royal pain to keep all the layers straight.  The tank top and the boat neck shirt took maybe 30min each.  Also, I really enjoyed using the rhinestone butterfly on the tank top.  My girls rarely get anything modern and (somewhat) trendy, so they're definitely enjoying this.  (That's fine.  It won't last.  I have a horrible color scheme planned for some new patterns I'm buying.)

Here's Sam showing off the reversible skirt and the layering.  It doesn't look half bad all layered together, though I prefer it separately.  Next up might have to be some denim to go with all the black tshirts.