Indigo Dyed Pony Tank

I can't believe it's taken me so long so sew another Pony Tank. Over 2 years!

Grainline Willow Tank x 2

Two Grainline Willow tanks for your viewing pleasure... a wearable muslin and a more refined linen/cotton version.

Testing, testing: Chalk and Notch Pony Tank (Plus Giveaway!)

When I saw Gabriela's sample version of the new Chalk and Notch Pony Tank in my Instagram feed, I was smitten. V-neck, close fitting at the bust and swinging out at the hip? Yep.

Purple Polly

A project from last year finally making an appearance on the blog!

A Springfield Top Trio

After making my tester version of the Cashmerette Springfield top, I knew I was destined to make a few more of this wardrobe staple... today I've got three for ya!

Testing, testing: Springfield Top

This is my tester version of the latest wardrobe workhorse pattern from Jenny at Cashmerette: the Springfield Top!

Wiksten Tanks

I am waaaaaaaay late to the Wiksten tank party. But after seeing so many Wiksten tanks pop up in the #mmmay15 feed and realizing I am in need of basic wardrobe staples like tanks and t-shirts, I thought I'd give it a try.

Testing, Testing: Greenwood Tank

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to test the new Greenwood tank pattern, a lovely knit tank from Straight Stitch Designs, 

Sorbetto and Prefontaine PJs: Cat Lady Sewing Challenge #1

When Erin at Miss Crayola Creepy announced The Cat Law Sewing Challenge, I was all at once feeling delighted, excited, and inspired about sewing with cat themed fabric, not to mention mildly embarrassed by those aforementioned feelings. I dove in headfirst, making two (well, three, really) garments for the challenge.  My two garments fall on either end of the cat-fabric spectrum.  Here's my first!

  

Lola Tanks

When I made those awesome elephant MC Hammer pants for my nieces (remember those?), I didn't really anticipate that it would be impossible to find tops to match, but it was.  So I made some instead!

I had some bright yellow cotton that exactly matched the yellow in the elephant fabric, but I wanted to tie in more of the elephant fabrics into the top, too.  I found this (free!) pattern and tutorial for the Lola dress from Climbing the Willow (of Izzy top and my Liebster award nomination fame!) and thought it would make cute tanks to go with the elephant pants if I left off the bottom ruffle.

I made 1/2 inch double fold bias tape (starting with 2 inch strips and following the directions at Colette) from each of the elephant fabrics and then made the Lola tanks according to the tutorial, although I left the armhole bias tape long enough to tie into bows at the shoulders to keep them adjustable (I left 13-14" of bias tape hanging off the end of each point on the tank).  I also bound the bottom hem with the elephant bias tape.  The pink/purple is size 3 and the blue is size 2.

Super easy and very cute!  Definitely take a look at the Lola pattern.  

In the meantime, can you picture how the Lola tanks will look with their respective elephant pants?:

Digital Datura

I'm on a Deer and Doe roll... the hits keep coming!  This is Deer and Doe's Datura blouse.  I love how the Deer and Doe patterns fit me right out of the envelope; no fiddling with bust darts or anything! 

The fabric is a crisp and light Alexander Henry cotton lawn, Dimitrios in blue, which I bought on sale at Hawthorne Threads last year.  It's a cool digital-esque print.  Not sure how to describe it, but the bursts of color are made up of tiny dots and dashes.

I didn't totally follow the directions for this top: I didn't line the yoke because the fabric is somewhat sheer and the pattern was showing through, so I used store-bought bias tape as a facing for the neckline and arms.  I sewed the buttons on the back placket without making buttonholes because I can't imagine I'm going to need to open it much.  Tim helped me pick the buttons- I was going to go with black, but he convinced me that these pearly teal guys were more fun.  

This pattern will be awesome as a color-blocked top, with a contrasting yoke.  I also want to try the cool triangle cut-out neckline at some point.  So many sewing plans, so little time!

Colleen's New Wardrobe

After traveling around the world with clothing options limited to what could fit into a backpack, Colleen was looking forward to getting some new duds upon returning to the U.S.  When in town for Christmas and New Years, she perused my fabric stash in search of some fabrics with which I could make her a couple new tops: 

Another Sis Boom Meghan Peasant in a pretty, modern batik that I bought it Jakarta... the print kinda looks like seaweed or kelp or something, no?

Another By Hand London Polly tank in a sea creature-themed fabric I bought online (Jay-Cyn Designs "Bubble Life" from Fabricworm, precisely).  I paired it with some blue/green/grey (sea-colored?) quilting cotton from a local Bangkok shop.  Don't be surprised if I end up with a matching top, Colleen.

Do you sense a theme?  Maybe it's all the diving Colleen and Steve have been doing. Under-the-sea seems to draw her in:

Pretty Polly

I've had By Hand London's Polly tank top pattern printed out and ready to roll since they first posted it (it's free!!), and am regretting not getting it sewn up earlier!  How has my to-sew list gotten so long?!

I think this might be my new go-to tank pattern.  While I clearly love the Tiny Pocket Tank, having made approximately 8,000 of them, I think the fit on Polly might be a little better for me.  And no darts!  Woo!  Plus, I like the options for fabric mixing, color blocking, etc.

Deets on my Polly sewing experience:

- The pattern seems to have a lot of ease to it: I actually went down a size from my measurements based on the finished garment measurements and was happy I did.

- I had to sew the front panel in a couple times to get it to lay flat with no puckers.  A good pressing helped immensely on that front, though.  Now that I'm looking at the photos, though, I can see the outline of the seam on the inset piece (on top of the boobs). Maybe if I make the inset in a print and the straps in the solid next time that would hide any lumps and bumps.

- I used store bought bias tape to save fabric and also because lazy.

- I used some solid cotton shirting that I bought at the Jim Thompson factory outlet and mixed it with some pretty floral cotton from Belleboo.

Mickey Batik

I'm not typically one to buy clothes/fabric/things with licensed cartoon characters on it, but when I saw this Mickey Mouse batik for sale, I just couldn't leave it behind.  Last time I hung out with Zoe, she was obsessed with Mickey Mouse (and I hear she still is?).  Plus the idea of Mickey Mouse mixed with traditional Indonesian batik motifs was just too funny.  

FYI: if you're into the batik + pop culture sort of thing and you like sepak bola (soccer), you're in luck, because Premier League batik is also available... Tim and I have seen people rocking Manchester United and Chelsea batik around town.

I got the fabric from one of Indonesia's chain batik/souvenir stores, Batik Keris*, which has a whole line of Mickey and friends incorporated into batik (well, it's not true handmade, wax-resist batik, but fabric printed with batik motifs).  I wasn't enamored with the pre-made clothes they had for sale, but I found the kain batik (batik fabric) hiding out in the back and I bought the least offensive piece (some of was pretty heinous...).

I used a simple pattern that Chuck got me, Simplicity 2684, which is a little tank top and capri pants (I left off the ruffle to let the Mickey shine).  The set I made for Zoe had the border print on the bottom of the pant legs (yes, those are little red Mickey Mouse heads) but the set for Anna doesn't have the border print due to a cutting error on my part (oops!):

* Batik Keris actually has a pretty fascinating video on their website showing how handmade batik is made: the wax application via stamp or wax pen thingy, the hand painting, the dip and scrunch dyeing, even the industrial shirt-making process.  I love seeing how things are made!  Check it out!

Not Meant to be Pajamas

So... when I started these little toddler play clothes, I did not intend for them to look like sleep wear.  Oops.

 

I used fabric that the Real Martha sent, a baby blue seersucker* printed with pink roses that is probably vintage 1970.  I accented the delicate fabric with some loud, hot pink bias tape that is definitely circa 1970, as it says so on the tag. 

I used a pattern, also from the Real Martha, Butterick 4173**, as the basis for the dress (view C) and tank and shorts set (view A and D)...  however, I skipped the facings in favor of the bias tape.  I also skipped the ruffles, as I thought they were a little twee, but ultimately ended up adding my own twee bow to the dress when I realized how nightgown-y it was looking.  Not sure it helped.  Oh well!

* A story about seersucker: our cleaning lady, Mugi, who does our laundry twice a week (I know, life is hard), makes judgments on our clothing choices when putting our clean clothes away.  Specifically, she refuses to acknowledge that Tim's seersucker pants are not women's pants, putting them away in my drawer each time she washes them. Clearly seersucker is not a thing men wear here in Indonesia.

** I asked Tim which version of the Butterick 4173 pattern I should make... he couldn't answer except to say "Why are those little girls wearing make-up like they are going out to the clubs on the Jersey Shore?!"   He disapproves of Butterick's fashion drawing style choices:

Another Tiny Pocketless Tank

After my first attempt at Grainline's Tiny Pocket Tank (a somewhat risky refashion of an old work shirt of Tim's), I decided I would go the straightforward route on my second tank and use this '60s looking fabric I had in my stash. 

Love it!  This tank is really cute.  It has a lower neckline than the Scout Tee, which is quite flattering. Skipped the pocket because, for me, the tiny pocket is somewhat superfluous (what do you hold in there?  A stick of gum?).

Still figuring out how to make the bust darts work correctly... they're 95% of the way there on this tank, but they are killing me on another project I have in progress: a wearable muslin of Megan Nielsen's Darling Ranges dress.  Anyone got any dart troubleshooting tips or tricks?

Addicted

I am officially addicted to making the Sorbetto top.  It's foolproof. This time I made it without the center pleat to focus attention on my newly purchased hand-stamped batik fabric. 

I figured the batik was pretty appropriate for wearing around town, as it's the official uniform for most Jakartans, especially on Fridays (here they have batik Fridays instead of Hawaiian shirt/casual Fridays).  The amount of batik available in the city is overwhelming... so many patterns, styles, different qualities, patterns, colors, etc.  I shouldn't complain because it is absolutely beautiful, but it's almost hard to know where to start!  This piece I used for my Sorbetto is just indigo and white, which is pretty traditional, and I am pretty sure the pattern falls into the "parang" category.

I love the simplicity of the all-batik top, but I am also really tempted to modernize it a bit by adding a contrasting edge in a super bright color like orange or fluorescent yellow or something.  We'll see.  Maybe my next Sorbetto...

Sorbetto Top

After some success with my first clothes sewing project, I decided to tackle yet another downloadable pattern from the internet.  This one is a really cute, multipurpose, vintage-style pattern from the Coletterie that is free to download: the Sorbetto.   Super simple, universally flattering, work appropriate and yet cute enough to wear with jeans or shorts on the weekend, plus it's free!  How could I go wrong?

Turns out, it couldn't go wrong.  Very easy to make.  Very cute.

The hardest part by far with making my own bias tape to bind the neck and arms and then acttually sewing that tape on... I cannot say this was fun, but I'm glad I gave it a try.  I think it would be easier to get the tape to fold the right way if I had one of those little bias-tape maker doo-hickeys, but I used this pin-on-ironing-board method instead.  I think my main problem is that my fingers are just not dextrous enough to work with the thin, stretchy material- it was so fiddly.  Perhaps I'll improve in time, or perhaps I'll just buy pre-made bias tape instead ;-)

The only real changes I made was to lengthen it by about an inch and a half (I made a size 14, but used the size 18 length, plus a teeny bit more) and to top stitch the shoulder and side seams on both sides for additional strength.  I used the same fabric as this skirt I made Chuck last summer.

I think I'll definitely use this pattern again in the future.  Maybe I'll try the version with sleeves?  Maybe the plain-front version with no pleat?  So many options.  Definitely making a batik version, though.  I bought some beautiful hand stamped batik fabric that would look great as a Sorbetto top.