Lander Shorts and Nikko Top

June 21, 2018 brodonn1 Comment

I made the True Bias Lander Shorts and Nikko Top to take on my trip to Maui. The Lander Shorts were on my 2018 make 9 but the Nikko Top was a bit more of an impulse make since I wanted something that would look good with my shorts and Kelli just always looks so cute when she wears hers together. The Nikko Top was a super last minute make for the trip and it isn’t even hemmed in any of these pictures.

I honestly was very unsure that the lander pants/ shorts could work for me because of the wide leg and because I am such a pear shape. When I talked to Kelli she suggested starting with the shorts version! I have to say I think these are my favorite shorts that I’ve ever owned. They are roomy and comfortable while being stylish. I absolutely love them!

Having said that I did make a ton of pattern modifications. I started with the tissue fitting method that I learned at Camp Workroom Social. I love that you can get a pretty good fit without having to muslin and in the process you transfer all of your adjustments to the pattern. I also got the updated Palmer Pletch book on fitting and I’m excited to try this method on non-pants. I did shorten the rise significantly since I’m pretty short in the torso. I also shortened the pockets as well. Because this method has you cut a straight size from your hip measurement I did have to widen the darts just a bit. I added some curve to the waistband which meant that I had to cut two pieces instead of one piece that you fold over.

The Nikko Top was much simpler – I just graded out from a size 2 at the bust to a size 8 at the hips and shortened by 1 inch. I’m super happy with how it turned out though I’m definitely not sold on the turtle neck thing. I’ve never liked wearing turtle necks and having that much fabric around my neck. It will probably take some getting used to but this is the softest bamboo knit so I’m hoping it will be an easy adjustment.

I wore this outfit hiking around some waterfalls on Maui and it was a success! Unfortunately I spilled at least 3 things on my shorts that day and couldn’t wear them the rest of the trip! I know I will get a ton of use out of these this summer and they’ll be one of the first things I throw on after they get out of the wash.

Tropical Ogden Cami Dress

June 12, 2018 brodonn2 Comments

I made this dress using the Ogden Cami from True Bias. I followed this tutorial on her blog to make the dress version. The fabric is from Indie Sew but unfortunately it looks like it is out of stock/ discontinued. I actually really liked working with this fabric. Because it is a rayon crepe it is super drape-y but not quite a slippery as other rayons. It is pretty thin while still being opaque enough to make an unlined dress.

In these pictures I’m wearing the dress with a belt to create a little more waist definition but I can definitely see myself wearing the dress both with and without a belt this summer. This dress is one of the most comfortable things I’ve ever worn!

Per usual I love the back of the ogden cami and in this super soft drape-y fabric I love it even more! If you want to see my previous ogden cami makes you can check out my Black and White Ogden Cami as well as my post on three other Ogden Camis I made using scraps leftover from other projects.

Photos by my friend Cora!

Franken PJs

February 26, 2018February 12, 2018 brodonn1 Comment

I love wearing nightgowns to sleep in. They are just the most comfortable PJs. However, I wanted something that stayed around my legs instead of something that ended up getting twisted up while I slept. I wanted a nightgown with pants on the bottom.

My major inspiration for this romper was the Sunday Romper from Smash and Tess. Since I’m such a pair shape I’m guessing that if I bought a ready to wear romper like this it would be too tight in the hips causing the fabric to bunch up around waist.

I used the Grainline Studio Lark tee pattern and the Hudson Pants to hack together this romper. To get in and out of this romper you have to go through the neck hole so I knew I was going to have to make the neckline bigger. I still haven’t mastered my coverstitch machine – the hems on the sleeves and pants are a little wonky but since this was just a muslin of PJs I’m not too worried.

Pattern modifications:

Lark tee modifications:

Sized up 1 size from my bust measurement which put me at a size 6
Deepened the v-neck – To do this I started by tracing the largest size neck line but this didn’t seem deep enough so I slid the pattern down an additional inch and traced 1 inch deeper than the largest size.
Added center front and center back seams to the lark tee. This means the pattern pieces will not be cut on the fold but would instead need seam allowance added on. I traced the pattern pieces and added 1/4″ seam allowance to the center front seam.
Flared out the sleeves slightly – I slashed and spread the sleeves to give a slight flutter to the sleeve but its a little too subtle so I’d do a bit more for my next version.
Straightened out the side seams a bit for less shaping at the waist

Hudson Pants modifications:

I cut the Hudson Pants based on my hip measurements which put me at a size 10
The Hudson Pants have a slashed pocket. I changed the pocket so that it is in the side seam instead. When I traced the pants front piece I taped the pocket piece behind so I could trace them as one.
I then had to modify the pocket slightly to make up for the fact that it wasn’t being sewn in to the waistband. I just extended the curve of the pocket to where the side seam would hit.
I wanted the capri length pant but I didn’t want to use the cuff so I extended the leg length by the length of the cuff and made sure the leg tapered in to approximately the width of the cuff.
I also dropped the crotch curve by an inch to make for a slightly more slouchy look

Combining the Patterns:

To combine the top and the bottom I laid the Lark front on top of the hudson front, overlapping the patterns a couple of inches since I figured my t-shirt would overlap with my pants a couple of inches. I made sure that I was overlapping the same amount for the front and the back. I lined up the center fronts and taped them together. I then smoothed out the curve from the top to meet the hips of the Hudsons.

And that is all for pattern modifications! On to sewing!!

Sewing:

The Hudson pants have a 3/8″ seam allowance but the lark tee has a 1/4″ seam allowance. I decided not to do anything to the pattern pieces to account for this but just to sew at the 1/4″ seam allowance since a little extra room in the pants is not going to hurt.

Here are the general order that I followed, which is not very detailed. Let me know if you have any questions!

Sew shoulder front seams to shoulder back seams
Sew sleeves in flat
Sew pockets to front and back pieces, matching at notch
Sew side seams, going around the pockets
Sew leg inseams
Sew back together, stopping at the crotch seam
Sew neck binding around neck while it is still open
Sew front seam
Hem legs and sleeves

Scrappy Ogdens

February 17, 2018February 12, 2018 brodonn3 Comments

The Ogden Cami by True Bias has been incredibly popular and it is easy to see why. It is a super flattering top that is pretty fast to sew up and it doesn’t use up a lot of fabric. I made my black and white diamond version out of leftover fabric from my hudson pants. Basically now if there is any project that I’ve completed with a woven pattern I’m always looking to see if I can get a Ogden Cami out of the leftover fabric. For each of these versions I’ve been able to barely cut the cami out of fabric but I don’t have enough for the partial lining. I just bought 1/4 yard of lining fabric for each version and (although sometimes its a smidge short) I’m able to fit the lining pieces on to that. The only change I made from my last version was I shortened the straps by about an inch and a half.

This version is made with leftover Liberty of London fabric that I used to make my Deer and Doe Datura blouse. The liberty fabric is quite busy so it is perfect for a tank top and I love wearing this version with a cardigan over it to break up the busy print even more.

Then I made a version out of leftover fabric from my chambray alder shirtdress. This version is such a good basic – easy to throw on with jeans and I think it will be really cute with shorts in the summer too.

For my final version (for now), I made a version out of leftover fabric from my Suki Kimono. I really loved this fabric! I know wearing a robe over jeans and a tee is pretty popular right now but I don’t think I’ll be wearing my version of the Suki that way. I’m so happy that I had just enough fabric to cut out this cami so I can wear this fabric outside of lounging around my apartment.

I’ll probably make 20 more of these in Summer. I love that this is like the “buy one get one free” feeling of getting a great deal when you are shopping but with home sewing! It feels super satisfying and like I’m getting free camis with each project!

True Bias Sutton Blouse

July 13, 2017 brodonn1 Comment

This pattern is the Sutton Blouse by True Bias. The fabric is SILK from Fancy Tiger Crafts.

This project is probably my longest ever in process make. I originally started by making a muslin in June of 2016 and didn’t end up finishing the final version until March of 2017… and I’m blogging it in July of 2017… There aren’t that many steps to this but I just couldn’t work myself up to actually making the shirt for quite a while. In part I think I was not that excited to work with silk and I also wasn’t entirely convinced that the shape is flattering on me. The shirt is very boxy by nature and since my shoulders are much slimmer than my hips the boxiness kind of takes over.

I love the box pleat in the back – its just so pretty. I also love the kimono sleeves. It also looks awesome with the super shiny silk. This fabric is so light weight and floaty. It is just so nice to wear. Unfortunately the super shininess of the fabric also makes wrinkles extremely obvious. This was my first project working with silk and I took my time to stay stitch the neckline and french seam all of the seams except the side seams which you can’t use french seams on because of the split hem. Instead I serged those seams.

Also – look at that split hem! So good! I’m a sucker for a split hem.

For the pattern adjustments I stuck to my usual – I shortened the pattern a bit and I also graded out since I’m a pear shape. I think in this case I may have shortened it a bit too much. The boxiness in combination with where the shirt hits on my body is not necessarily flattering (though I guess wearing it with something other than leggings could help).

Next time I’d probably lengthen both the front and the back just a tad. I’d also work on contoring the neck line a bit more to reduce the gaping at the neckline. I also think I’d use a fabric that is a bit more forgiving than this silk. I think with those couple of slight changes I will really love my next version! In the mean time I’ll be trying to figure out how to wear this light weight floaty shirt for the rest of summer!

Black Diamond Rayon Hudson Pants

April 20, 2017July 7, 2017 brodonn2 Comments

I’ve been wanting to find/ make a pair of black and white pants out of a woven material that would be super easy to travel in. In February I went to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia in February and it seemed like the perfect time to finally make these pants I’ve been wanting for years! Ladies need to have their legs covered in a lot of temples especially in Cambodia and Thailand so I knew these would be very useful.

I used a rayon because it is breathable and because the fabric if lightweight which is good for tropical climates and for packing purposes. I had this fabric for a while from Stonemountain & Daughter fabrics. I’ve been holding on to it but I didn’t really know what to do with it. I originally had thought of making a dress but it ended up being the perfect choice for these pants.

The pattern is the True Bias Hudson pants. The pattern is originally meant for knits but I followed the tutorial to make these out of a woven. I went up three sizes which ended up being way too large. I ended up taking in the legs quite a bit because they were so big. However, I already put the waistband on and it took a couple of passes to make sure all of the fabric was caught so I did not want to unpick/ redo the waistband. I ended up taking the pants in quite a bit at the ankles and tapering up to the original size at the hips.

On my trip I wore these multiple days in a row to go to temples or just to get breakfast in. My favorite combo was these pants with this yet to be blogged Lark tee.

Blackwood Cardigan and Ogden Cami

March 31, 2017July 7, 2017 brodonn6 Comments

I LOVE being warm. I live in Wisconsin so layers are key. I love feeling cozy which generally means wearing sweatshirts. I love this new cardigan because it gives you the cozy feeling without adding a ton of bulk and still showing off your outfit and looking cute. This is the Blackwood cardigan from Helen’s closet with the Ogden cami from True Bias. I met both Helen and Kelli at Camp Workroom Social last fall and they are both so sweet and talented. Helen wore an early version of the Blackwood Cardigan at camp and I’ve been wanting to make it ever since!

I ended up grading from a size small at the bust to a size medium in the waist/hips. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to grade up for the waist/hips since the pattern is open in the front and thus would be fairly forgiving. However, since the cardigan is a slim fit I decided to get go ahead and grade out. In the end I’m glad I did because the fit is really great! I also shortened the sleeves by two inches. The sleeves are meant to be long and cover your hands for an extra coziness.

I used a crimson sweater knit from Fashion Fabrics club for this. It was my first time ordering fabric from there – they have a huge selection of fabric on their website and this fabric was exactly what I had been wanting to use. This is 97% cotton and 3% lycra. When I bought this fabric they were having a sale so it was only $3.95/yard. I ended only spending $7.90 on fabric for this cardigan. Also- so far the fabric seems like it is pretty good quality and it is super soft. Most of the time the things I make would be way cheaper if I just bought them in the store but not this time! I’m definitely willing to spend more on fabric especially if I know it was sourced ethically, etc but when you find the exact fabric you wanted and its super cheap I’m not going to say no!

This cardigan went together fairly quickly. I actually really loved sewing this up with my serger since the majority of the seams end up intersecting with other seams, which left very few loose serger thread tails to deal with at the end. I love the hem band, the sleeve cuffs, the length, the pockets. I can’t think of anything I’d change on this cardigan. The one thing I’d do differently next time is take more time in the zig zag stitch around the front band. I rushed through that bit and it ended up slightly wavy in some places.

The Ogden cami was also a super quick sew. My least favorite part of most sewing projects is cutting out the fabric. Since there aren’t a ton of pieces and none of the pieces are super fiddly this may be my very favorite pattern to cut out. For this one I just stuck with the size that matched my bust measurement since it didn’t seem like I would need extra room at the hips.

I used a rayon poplin that I got from Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics. I love the drape on this fabric and also the that it is completely opaque. I also love this print – it makes such a great basic cami that is interesting but also easily paired with other things.

The deep v in the back adds more interest to this cami. This is such a good pattern – I want to make a ton more for summer!It is super flattering and easy to pull off. I already have some more versions planned. This pattern is also very versatile – tons of people have been adding gathered peplums and Kelli has a some hacks for making this in to a dress.

Girl and Machine

Just playing around with my sewing machine

Category: True Bias