Simplicity 9187

 I made a coat!  And I am pretty pleased with it.  See my smug face. 

Pattern Description: Simplicity 9187 is a relaxed fit jacket and coat with a shaped collar and pockets. The pockets are fun! There is the option to do a faux fur collar and cuffs with a separate pattern piece.

Pattern Sizing: XXS to XXL.  My measurements put me in a size large but I sized down to a medium because I knew it would be very oversized. Actually, my bust measurement put me in a medium, but everything else is in the large size.  The medium fit perfectly with a couple of shoulder alterations.

Fabric Used:  The fabric is really what inspired the coat.  A few months ago, I ordered this alpaca knit wool fabric from fabric.com on a whim.  It wasn't actually what I was shopping for and I don't really know why I ordered it.  I was expecting it to be much lighter weight. When it came, I was surprised by the weight and warmth.  I figured I better make a nice coat out of it.  I searched around for a pattern that was simple so I didn't have to do too much plaid matching and settled on this one.  Anyway, it's super warm and cozy. It's probably the warmest coat I own.  It's definitely 100% wool because it smelled like a wet alpaca when I washed it!  I spent forever cutting out each piece individually to try and match up my plaids perfectly.  I think I did an ok job.  The horizontal lines match up pretty well, but I did not pay attention to the vertical lines in some places.  At least it's symmetrical.  I lined it with a rayon challis because I couldn't find anything else to match.  The rayon challis is a little heavier than a normal lining, but it contributes to the warmth, I think.

Alterations/ Deviations:  I went ahead and did my standard square shoulder/forward should adjustment before cutting anything out.  I just added 5/8" to the back shoulder seam.  Then I had to wrap my brain around where to add the 5/8" to make up for the change in the back neckline.  I added it to the center back collar seam.  I also added a little to the sleeve cap to make up for the extra added when cutting the fabric.  I probably should have taken a picture of what I did, because it worked well and I'm very happy with where the shoulder seam sits on me.  Otherwise I didn't do any other fit alterations because there is not much else to fit! I made the shorter jacket length, but I used the curved hem from the longer version because I liked it.  I also bagged the lining instead of hemming the lining and coat separately.  I almost think it was easier to do it that way.

Likes/ Dislikes:  I really love the end result.  It is so warm and cozy. It is the ultimate blanket coat.  I can see myself wearing this often, even though it's only cold enough here for a couple of months.  I love the fabric and I love the relaxed fit.  I can definitely fit a big sweater underneath.  The pockets are really fun.  They have an opening sewn with the seam allowances sewn in to the side seams.  I thought they were a little fiddly while I was working on them but love the way they turned out.  The only dislikes I have are the way the cuffs are sewn.  My fabric makes that seam pretty bulky, especially with the lining sewn to it as well.  The sleeves are also very wide and could maybe be slimmed down.  But then again, they work with oversized fit of the coat.

Conclusion: Nice pattern, love my new coat! 

Purple Robe and Anemones

Well, hello there, old blog!  It's been a while, hasn't it?  I thought this latest project I worked on deserved a real bona fide blog post. So here it is.  And boy, is it a long one.  I wanted to keep all my info in one place, so just skim if you are not interested in the whole lengthy process.

I have been inspired by Matisse's artwork since I was a kid.  I remember the painting Robe Violette et Anemones hanging in my elementary art classroom.  For as long as I have been sewing, I have wanted to create my own version of Matisse's purple robe.   The whole 'quarantine art' social media trend gave me the push to do it.  In fact, a local arts festival, Artisphere, put out a contest to recreate a famous work of art at home like the 'between art and quarantine' hashtag that I think originated with the Getty Museum. Years ago, I came across an article talking about an exhibition of Matisse's paintings displayed along side of a collection of his textiles.  Matisse was a textile lover (and aren't we all around here!).  He grew up in a textile region of France and his studio was filled with fabric, clothing, weavings and wall hangings.  Some of his textile items show up in multiple paintings, like the purple robe.  There is an exhibition catalog titled, Matisse: His Art And His Textiles that is amazing.  I ordered it when I began this project.  The book is full of photos and beautiful examples of Matisse's textile collection.  There is even a photo of the real purple robe. If you are a fan of Matisse's work, I highly recommend the book.  

The biggest issue with making myself a purple striped robe was finding the right fabric.  Over the years I have bought purple fabric a couple of times thinking I could paint the white stripes.  I even thought maybe I could bleach them.  I actually had a length of purple linen in my stash for a long time specifically earmarked for this.  I pulled it out and tried painting the white stripes with fabric paint and it looked bad. Extremely homemade.  I tried bleaching a little piece but it only bleached to pink.  I figured I'd have to dye the stripes to get the look I was going for.  I almost pulled out my batik supplies but I wasn't sure I'd have the time nor the means to get the wax out, so I looked in to painting with Procion dyes instead.

Believe it or not, I had everything I needed to do this except for the sodium alginate, which I ordered via amazon.  Apparently it's used in cooking. This truly was done with things I had at home. I had the deep purple Procion dye and the things needed to mix with it (urea and soda ash).  For the fabric, I had a leftover piece of white rayon challis that I had been using to line things.  I laid it out and rough cut it to fit my pattern pieces.  I used Burda 6740, a pattern from my stash- which again, I think I bought a while back just to do this purple robe.  I only had enough fabric for the fronts, sleeves and facings so I planned on using the printed rayon for the back and belt from the beginning.  I like a bit of print mixing anyway.

When it came to mixing the dye to paint with, I used the recipe from the Dharma Trading Company website to make the 'chemical water.'  I mixed 3/4 cups of urea in to about 4 cups of water.  I mixed it in a big glass jar.  From what I understand, the urea keeps the dye from drying too fast once it's been painted on the fabric.  Then I mixed in about 4 teaspoons of sodium alginate.  The sodium alginate is a thickener which keeps your dye from spreading.  I could have used more sodium alginate.  I let that mixture sit overnight before mixing up the dye.

The next day, I separated half of chemical water and mixed up my purple dye.  I used 3ish teaspoons of deep purple and 2 teaspoons of soda ash.  Soda ash is necessary for the chemical reaction between the dye and fiber (hence 'fiber reactive dyes').  Once you mix in the soda ash, you have to use your dye right away.  And so I painted my stripes.  

I laid each piece of fabric out on a piece of a plastic drop cloth and painted long vertical purple stripes.  I tried to leave enough space in between each purple stripe so the white would remain.  In hindsight, I could have used a smaller brush to make smaller stripes, but that also would have taken me even longer.  Doing these three pieces of fabric took about an hour and half.  It was a little tedious.  I did get some ripply edges because the dye would pool underneath the fabric on the plastic.  It would have been better to have something absorbent underneath, but I don't mind the ripples.  I wanted the stripes to look painterly like the Matisse painting.

After painting, I left the fabric to sit overnight underneath another piece of plastic (to keep it from drying all the way).  I actually sandwiched all three pieces on top of one another with their respective pieces of plastic.  Now, when I was painting the stripes, it was that beautiful deep purple that I was hoping for.  The next day, however, it was much lighter.

I rinsed out all three pieces the next morning until the water ran clear (with gloves in my bathtub).  Then I washed in the washing machine with some synthrapol.  When I took the fabric out to dry, it had faded to a pretty violet-red and had a faint blue halo around all the edges of the stripes.  I still thought it was pretty and planned to use it, but it didn't turn out exactly as I had envisioned.

I read around online to try and figure out what happened and came across a great website with tons of info about hand dyeing. One article I found interesting was that some dyes are pure color while some are mixtures. In mixtures of color, sometimes the two colors react with the fiber at different rates, which is what I am assuming happened here.  The website also specifically mentions fuschia reacting faster than blue, meaning the blue will travel longer and create that blue halo.  So that's probably what happened.  I do like the blue halo anyway.

After the fabric was dry, I cut out my pattern pieces and sewed.  The pattern was pretty straight-forward, though there was a little bit of hand sewing the facing at the back neckline.  I tried to avoid hand sewing whenever possible.  I made a medium and left off the pockets, no other modifications.

I was super pleased with how it turned out.  Not only did I plan to recreate the Matisse painting, Robe Violette et Anemones, but I also planned to use my robe for real (and I have been using it with all my time at home lately).  I spent an embarrassing amount of time staging my living room to snap a photo.  I hung pieces of fabric and party streamers on the wall behind my couch and made anemones with tissue paper and pipe cleaners.  My daughter helped.

After I finished everything, I decided to use the leftover piece of printed rayon (the back of the robe) to make myself some pajamas.  I mean, if I'm going to lounge around in my beautiful hand painted purple robe, I might as well have some swanky pj's to go along with it, right?  I used every scrap of the printed rayon to make an Ogden cami and elastic waist bottoms using Simplicity 1112, which is now OOP, unfortunately. 

I'm late to the Ogden cami game, but I love it.  This is the first one I've made but there will be many  more.  This is a size 12 graded out to a 14 under the bust.  Next time I'll add an inch or two of length and I'd like to experiment with making a wider strap.  The pants pattern I've used too many times to count (see my faux jumpsuit from a couple of years ago).  I cut a 16 but added a smidge more to the hip area (weight gain, yay).  I used every bit of fabric I had, so there is no pattern matching anywhere and the length hit just below my knee.  I wanted more length, so I found a teeny, tiny scrap of a cotton and steel rayon (leftover from a romper I made for my daughter) and added to the hems.  I love the end result. And all from the stash! Woo hoo. 

If you made it to the end here, you are a champion. 😆 All in all, it was a fun and really rewarding project where I got to combine my love for art and sewing together.  And bonus, I get to look pretty fancy while I sit around my house and sip my tea during this time (but not with my mask on).  Stay safe and healthy, friends!

Rainbow Leopard

It's almost Halloween!  You know what that means- time for another homemade Halloween costume.  There aren't too many traditions I've made a conscious effort to start with my child, but a handmade Halloween costume is one of them.  I plan to make her one every year that she'll let me.  And hopefully one day she'll take over and make her own.  Next year I'll have two costumes to make...

This year, Jane was a lot more opinionated about what she wanted to be for Halloween.  Although the idea to be her rainbow leopard Beanie Boo came about kind of organically.  I started asking her what she wanted to be about two months ago.  First it was a duck.  Then a tiger.  Then a fox, which she settled on for a while.  I'm thankful she asked for animal costumes because they are fun to make.  I figured a fox would be a cute costume.  So I started talking about buying orange fabric for her fox costume.  Well.  That was when the floodgate of ideas of opened up.  She didn't want to be an orange fox.  She wanted to be a pink fox, then a purple fox, and so on and so forth (the animal changed multiple times, too) until she settled on a rainbow fox (with spots and stripes and sparkles).  While talking about the rainbow fur with spots and stripes and sparkles, we had a revelation that she was really talking about her rainbow leopard Beanie Boo, Dotty.  And that was that.  I searched online for "rainbow animal print fabric with spots and stripes" and found this awesome fleece blanket on Amazon.  I told her that once I ordered the blanket, that was it.  She wasn't allowed to change her mind or give any more suggestions, which luckily she didn't.

Anyway, I used Simplicity 1731, a pattern for an adult, child and DOG jumpsuit.  Just in case you wanted to make the whole family matching onesies.  I honestly want to make myself a fleece onesie that will accommodate my pregnant belly this winter.  I am serious.  The pattern is great.  I measured the length against a set of footie pajamas that Jane wears all the time.  The length was exactly the same (I used the child's size XS/4-5) as her pajamas but there was a ton more width.  After getting the fleece blanket in the mail, I decided not to narrow any of the width down due to the blanket being so incredibly fluffy.  The rainbow fleece isn't a typical fleece, it's more like faux fur.  It has a super deep fluffy pile on both sides of the fabric.  It was a pain to cut, a pain to sew and a huge pain to clean up later on.  It shed something fierce while cutting and sewing.  There was rainbow fluff everywhere.  It would fly up in the air and then settle all over everything like rainbow snow.  I found it all over the house.  It was all over one of our cats at one point.  I am pretty sure I inhaled some of it.  I sewed everything with a zig zag stitch and serged seam allowances to reduce some of the bulk.  I really had to pull the fabric through my machine due to the pile being so fluffy.

Here she is showing me how fast leopards are and how they sleep in the grass :D

I made a couple of small changes while sewing. I rounded off the back of the hood.  And, of course, added the ears, tail and white belly.  The double layer of fleece at the belly was way too thick to install a zipper, so I had to sew it along the seam line and trim off the allowance of the white fleece.  The white fleece is leftover from her kitty costume from three years ago!  I also sewed on cuffs at the ankles and wrists instead of using elastic.  I used some scraps of black bamboo knit.  I did shorten the sleeves a teeny bit but the legs are the length per the pattern.  The tail is stuffed with a little bit of poly-fil.  And we found almost the exact same shiny pink fabric for the front of the ears.

She loves it!  And I love it.  She's like a big, snuggly stuffed animal when she's wearing it.   She's been wearing it around the house and actually wore it out to a restaurant to meet her grandparents the other day. And thank goodness it will be cold on Halloween this year because this thing is warm.  We took these photos on an almost 80 degree day and she was sweaty afterward.  She could wear this thing in the snow.

Happy Halloween, friends!

Well, Hello!

Well, hello there!  I didn't mean to be absent from this space for such a long time.  But it seems my posts are fewer and far in between as time goes on.  However, I have good reason for being silent for some time...

 Baby!  Yes, baby number 2 is on it's way.  I found out I was pregnant the second day of summer vacation (I'm a teacher) and have spent the whole summer taking it very easy.  It was fabulous.  I thought my timing with my daughter was great before.  I had her in April and got to stay out the rest of the school year. But I think this timing is even better as I got to spend my entire first trimester at home.  I'm back at work now but it's going well.  Baby is due early February.  I will have to go back to work the last month of school or so (womp, womp - American maternity leave).  But then I'll get all of next summer, too.  I've felt like my baby bump is enormous this time around, but looking at these photos I realize it's not.  Ha!  It's just a little bump.  I took these photos a couple of weeks ago so I think I was around 15 weeks at that time.  I am a little bigger now!  We still don't know it it's a boy or girl yet, but we'll find out in a few weeks.  Jane says she wants a little brother, believe it or not.

Since I was home all summer thinking about my school year and new arrival, I spent lots of time sewing for a bump.  I was actually making the orange dress in my photos when I found out I was preggo.  And I thought it would be a great dress for skimming over a little bump, with a few alterations.  So I made four versions!  I figured this would be a great dress/top for a growing bump but also would be nice for after pregnancy.  To the review...

Pattern Description:  The pattern is Simplicity 8333, a jumpsuit/dress pattern with a crossover bodice for knit fabrics.  I thought it looked like an easy pattern for summer when I first decided to make it.

Sizing: 4-20.  I made a 12.  I am typically a 14 but I usually size down when I make a knit pattern.

Fabric Used:  All knits, of course, but different knits behaved differently.  My favorites are the orange dress and the red/pink longer dress.  Those knits are a rayon blend and had strong recovery.  The black and white tie-dye top is a bamboo knit from fabric.com.  I works well for a top but would be too drape-y for a dress.  The green version is my least favorite.  It's a rayon jersey (Dakota jersey from fabric.com) and is too thin and wrinkly.  I think maybe it's a cotton/rayon blend?  Can't remember.  Anyway, I like well enough but I think it looks sloppier than the others.

Likes/Dislikes:  I love the bodice with the cut on sleeve.  It's the main reason I made these.  The skirt is modified from the get-go.  When I cut the pattern, I noticed that the skirt pattern piece was just a perfectly straight rectangle which does not work for someone with saddle-baggy hips like myself.  So I used the top of the rectangle as a guide and made it in to a-line shape to accommodate my hip measurement.   They all have pockets except for the top version.  I know people don't like pockets in jersey, but I love pockets no matter what.  

Alterations/Deviations:  In addition to the skirt modification I mentioned above, I also added elastic in to the neckline of all versions.  When I sewed on the neck binding, I threaded a long piece of 1/4" elastic through the binding like a casing.  I pulled the elastic slightly and sewed at the shoulder seams so the back neckline is nice and taut.  I just pulled the elastic ever so slightly at the front bodice to keep a little tension on the front neckline before sewing the bodice to the skirt.  It worked well on all versions except the green one (because the knit is so droopy).  I'm so pleased with the elastic in the neckline because that neckline is not going anywhere!  I also sewed one snap at the front where the bodice pieces crossover to hold in place.  My plan is to also wear these dresses after pregnancy while I'm nursing.  The elastic should keep everything from stretching out and I can undo the snap easily.  I cut all the back bodice pieces on the fold, too, except for the red/pink version due to amount of fabric. 

All the dresses have hem and sleeve length differences, too.  The orange dress is the shorter sleeve in the pattern and the skirt length is per the pattern plus one inch.  So it's a pretty short skirt as is, fyi.  The green dress I cut the longer sleeve and added several inches to the hem thinking I would wear this one to work.  I made the top version next.  And then the pink/red version is about ankle length because that was every bit of fabric I had.  That fabric is one I bought when Hancock was closing down.  I miss Hancock!

Conclusion:  Nice, easy knit dress pattern.  Perfect for a growing bump, but I stress growing.  The elastic waist does hit the top of my belly and I know once my mid-section gets a little bigger I won't want to wear any of these as is.  Maybe with a raised and curved waist it would work for an entire pregnancy.

A Bunch of Knits

I didn't realize at the time that all the things I made in the last month and a half coordinate so well.  I can't say I planned that, though.  I guess I know what I like when it comes to choosing fabric!  I've made a bunch of easy knit things since Christmas.  I seem to go through phases in my sewing where I just want to beef up my wardrobe fast.  And that's what I did.  Easy, knit tops are almost like instant gratification when it comes to sewing projects.  Anyway, I decided just to put all these quick sews in one blog post and write a brief pattern review of each.  Hopefully it's not too massive of a blog post to read.

 First up is this funky tunic.  I used a Nicole Miller knit I bought from Joann's last winter.  I got a gift card for Christmas last year to Joann's so I ordered online instead of buying in store.  I had no idea the feather print on this fabric was so big when I ordered it.  It wasn't going to work for what I originally planned, so it sat in my stash.  I didn't really love the color scheme either when I saw it in real life.  There is a lot of green and yellow.  But now that I've made this top, I'm really liking it.  This is just another iteration of Simplicity 1071, which I have made too many times to count now.  It's a super easy, boxy top with a great neckline.  I highly, highly recommend the pattern if you are looking for a top like this.  On this version, I added a cowl (from another pattern I can't remember right now) and lengthened it about ten inches.  I also did extra deep side slits.  I've worn it over jeans like this and over leggings.  The back is slightly longer than the front.

Next are two StyleArc Sunny tops.  I love this pattern.  The top has a cocoon shape, wider through the middle, and nice slim sleeves.  I made the grey version first from a sweater knit I found at Joann's.  Wish I had more of this fabric.  It's nice snuggly stuff.  I went back for more but it was all gone.   

I've only sewn two StyleArc patterns so far, but I've liked them both.  The instructions are minimal but that's okay for a top like this.  I screwed up the neck band on the grey version.  I really should have pulled it tighter.  There was no way to unpick with the plush sweater knit, though.  So I left it as is.   It bothers me in these photos but doesn't bother me at all when I wear it. 

On the second printed version, I did a better job on the neck band.  I also cut the neckline about 3/8" deeper.  I like the way the neckline sits on the second version better.   Version number two is another Nicole Miller knit from Joann's.  Man, I've bought a lot of fabric from Joann's lately.  It's all I've got where I live. Both are great tops and I have worn them both constantly since I made them.  On both versions, I switched the print direction on the bottom half of the top- just because.

Next I made this long swingy vest thingy from a drape-y cardigan pattern, McCalls 6844.  I used a drab green bamboo knit from fabric.com.  I love those bamboo knits- so soft and such great drape.  I know this particular McCalls pattern has been a very popular.  I picked this pattern up at a recent pattern sale strictly with the intention of making a vest like this.  I wanted something long and swishy I could wear over long sleeve tops and dresses.  I had something specific in mind when I made this but I'm not sure I hit the mark just right.  I added about ten (?) inches or so to view A, split between two of lenthen/shorten lines on the pattern.  The pattern variations all include sleeves but I figured it would be an easy alteration to just bind the armholes and make it a vest.  

Well, it didn't exactly work out that way.  My armholes are much deeper than the original pattern.  I did a binding first and hated the way it drooped and stuck out.  Instead of unpicking, I just cut off the binding and sewed bands instead.  I figured a deep armhole wouldn't matter on a vest anyway.  All in all, it's just ok.  I like it but I haven't worn it out in public yet. I'm actually thinking I might wear this more when it's warmer over sleeveless things.  We'll see.  

And last but not least, a swingy trapeze dress.  I used New Look 6469.  The pattern has a raglan sleeve, a high neckline and tons of tent-y swish.  I wasn't sure I was going to like a dress like this but figured I'd try it on a whim.  I bought the pattern and the fabric at the same time (Joann's again, ha!).

  Why I chose a stripe, I have no idea.  I really tried to match up those stripes at the raglan seams.  If you notice, the stripe right at the bottom of the armhole matches (where the notch was), but that's it.  I should have matched a stripe higher up.  Both sides look similarly mismatched, so I left it.  And I didn't have any more fabric anyway.  I actually had to piece the neck band.  My side seams match beautifully, however.  I sewed a size S, which was crazy.  I was feeling adventurous with my weight loss.  It fits because it's so swing-y, but it's definitely tight through the shoulder.  The knit I used is pretty tough and beefy, though, so it works.  

There are darts at the top of shoulder.  I know those darts don't fit my shoulders but you can't tell because of the way the knit stretches.  Are those darts supposed to go to the end of your shoulders?  Just curious.  I cut the neckline just a tiny bit deeper so I didn't have to do a button and loop closure at the back of the neck- per the pattern.  That also eliminated the need for a center back seam so I cut the back on the fold.  I made the sleeves as long as I could with the fabric I had.

I'm very pleased with how this dress turned out.  I've worn it tons already.  I had no idea I'd like this silhouette so much.  I've already made another dress from this pattern.

Alright, you made it to the end!  That was quite a bit of stuff in one post.  I think I'm burning out on blogging a little bit.  I've been sewing a lot lately but I haven't been able to bring myself to blog like I used to.  I'm hoping it's just a phase.  I really enjoy sewing blogs and the community that goes along with it.  Plus I think it's so useful to see your work in pictures and write about it.  I feel like it makes me a better sewist.  Time to reflect and critique.  Anyway, I'm blathering.  Until next time!

Faux Jumpsuit

Jumpsuit!  Who would have thought I would make a jumpsuit?  Not me. I have to admit that I wasn't sold on the trend last summer.  But I've seen so many awesome jumpsuits out there in sewing blog land now that I've been convinced.  However, the bathroom issue was a big hurdle for me.  I think I would be ok with the whole having to undress to use the restroom every once in a while.  But that would definitely stop me from wearing it on a regular basis.  I wanted something wearable for the summer.  Enter the faux jumpsuit!  This jumpsuit is actually two pieces- a top and wide leg pants. 

I've had Simplicity 1112 in my stash for a while.  I liked the wide leg pants as part of a jumpsuit.  They are basically like big pajama pants.  And I like the tie belt.  I think the belt makes it look more jumpsuit like.  I made the pants first.  I planned on making the top from the pattern as well but when I looked at it again, I changed my mind.  Strapless bra.  Nothing will stop me from wearing something faster than having to put on a strapless bra.  I wanted a simple v-neck tank I could tuck in with some bra coverage.  I searched through all my billions of patterns and came up with nada.  I wasn't interested in purchasing anything new so I traced a favorite rtw top for a pattern.  I was really uncertain if it would work but it was simple enough for me to try.  There is a front seam and the neckline and armholes are finished with a knit facing.  Nothing special but I was very pleased with how it works as a jumpsuit.  The original top I traced was a woven top so there are some issues because of that.  

Here is a quick pattern review of the pants.

Pattern Description: Sportswear pattern that includes pull on pants, shorts, high-low skirt all with elastic waist.  Also includes a strappy top.

Pattern Sizing: Sizes 4-20.  I made the pants in a size 16.

Fabric Used:  I think the success of this faux jumpsuit really lies in the fabric.  I used a really fabulous rayon jersey.  I love the blue and black print and the weight was just perfect.  It has great drape but it's not too thin.  Nice stuff.  It was an impulse buy from fabric.com.  I did my best to keep the pattern placement balanced.  Not necessarily matched but just balanced.  I think I did a pretty good job on the pants but I screwed it up on the front seam of my top.  It's not that noticeable, though.

Likes/Dislikes:  The pants are fine.  They are your basic wide leg pants with an elastic waist.  Wide leg pants are pretty forgiving to sew.  They are nice and long, too.  I did add some length when I cut them them out but I didn't need to.  I took it back off when I hemmed them.  But beware of the rise!  See below.

Alterations/Deviations:   I held up the pattern tissue to check the length before I cut out my fabric and  noticed the crazy high rise.  I took a two inch tuck from the rise to shorten them.  And I am long waisted!  I am sure the rise is long because they are wide legs pants and the crotch seam is supposed to sit lower.  But I didn't need all that length.  I do think I could use just a touch more room in the seat, but that may have something to do with shortening the rise. 

Conclusion:  Easy little pants pattern.  I made a shorts version for my faux romper (below) and I've made another shorts version for lounging around that I'm not blogging about.

I'm very happy with the faux jumpsuit. And the best part is that I can also wear the top and pants separately.

After the success of my faux jumpsuit, I decided to make a faux romper (shorts) for our upcoming beach trip.  I made the same Simplicity 1112 pants pattern and v-neck top rub off.  But blergh.  I did not like the look of the v-neck top tucked in to the shorts.  I think it would look better if the shorts were shorter but I'm not going any shorter than this.  This is the shorts hem line per the pattern minus about one inch.  I know it's longer for shorts but it's a length I'm comfortable with.  I do like the look of the two pieces untucked.  It's perfect for going to the beach and the pool.  And honestly, it's great for presentable pajamas, too.  

After I made the faux romper, I had enough fabric left for another top.  So I decided to try the Hey June Patterns Santa Fe top that I've seen so many awesome versions of.  This is just the first of many, I am sure.  I must really like it because I actually bought and put together a pdf pattern.  I hate pdf's with a passion, but I will put one together if it's something I really want to make.

Pattern Description:  The Santa Fe top is a loose, flowy tank or dolman sleeve top.  There are some interesting seam lines on some of the variations that resemble raglan sleeves.  I was drawn to the relaxed shape of the dolman sleeve top and the sleeve cuffs.  There are lots of options with the pattern that makes it worth the price (this comes from someone who pretty much just buys Big 4 patterns on sale).

Pattern Sizing:  XS-2XL.  Lot of sizes, too.  I made a medium.

Fabric Used:  This fabric is pretty fabulous, too.  It's a shibori dyed bamboo jersey.  It's so soft and drape-y.  Perfect for lounge wear.

Likes/Dislikes:  No dislikes on this version.  I made the pattern as is except for the neckband.

Alterations/Deviations:  I did a neckband instead of binding per the instructions.  Mainly because I am terrible at top stitching my binding.  Making a band is much faster and I don't have to stress over wobbly top stitching.

Conclusion:  Nice little tee pattern.  I've already made another dolman tee (with the insets) that I love. I've also made the tank but am not loving the silhouette as much as the tee with sleeves.  I plan on making another, though!