Madras Belcarra Blouse

Why have waited so long to sew up a Sewaholic pattern?  I'm not sure... they're totally geared towards me, a pear shape. I've got a couple in my stash that I haven't dug into yet for various reasons (building up the nerve for the Robson trench coat and waiting for an occasion for the Cambie dress).  But I had no reason to not make up their most recent release and the first Sewaholic pattern to be available in downloadable form (yay!)... the Belcarra blouse!  Love me some instant gratification!  I predict that I won't be able to resist getting more Sewaholic patterns as they become available in PDF form...

Anyway, back to Belcarra:  My Belcarra is View C with the upturned cuffs and chest pocket.  I chose a pretty jewel-toned Madras plaid that I stole from Martha's stash (meaning it probably dates back to the early '80s).  It's super soft and breezy, perfect for the unbearable heat we've been experiencing in Bangkok these days.

I really love the cut of this blouse!  It's relaxed and has no closures or darts, but is still shaped along the side seams so it doesn't look boxy.  Good stuff!  I think this casual, plaid version, but I can imagine it in a fancier fabric for work, too.

I went a size down from what my measurements called for...  I looked at the finished garment measurements and chose the size that gave me 2 inches of wearing ease in the bust for a slightly more fitted look.  It worked out well, I think!

I feel like I did a decent job on the plaid matching, at least horizontally on the side seams... I cut the bodice pieces on a single layer (which also saved fabric and allowed me to fit all the pieces on less than the called-for amount of fabric! Win!).  I considered plaid matching the sleeves, but it was blowing my mind with the 2-pieces raglan sleeves, so I threw up my hands and just focused on getting the sleeves on grain. I'm not mad at it.  I love how the bias cut plaid looks on the pocket and cuffs, too!

My only quibble with the pattern, and it is quite slight, is that I think the pocket placement markings are not right for the larger sizes.  The markings are in the same spot for all sizes.  After sewing mine in the recommended spot, I felt it was too close to the center and looked really odd, so I ended up unpicking it and shifting it over towards the side seam 1.25 inches.

Love my new top... maybe I'll have to sew up another for the Belcarra sewalong?  Perhaps something with contrasting sleeves next time.

Seersucker Ash Jumpsuit

The second I saw the line drawings for Willow and Co's Ash jumpsuit, way back months before the pattern was released, I knew I was going to get it.  So cute- I love the little halter top!  It's designed by Celina at Petit a Petit and Family.

Now that the patterns are out, I got my hands on it and I sewed one up for Zoe in some pink seersucker from Martha's stash.  I made the shorts version, although I think the pants version is pretty awesome, too.  I can also envision making the little halter top on its own in the future.

The pattern is a lot of pieces to keep track of, but everything's explained very well.  The only thing I might change for the next time I sew it up is to sew the elastic and waistband differently so the ends of the elastic are not forming lumps on the side seams, which could potentially be itchy.  I would sew the waistband pieces together in a circle, sew the side seams of the jumpsuit, then attach the waistband on top and insert the elastic.  Other than that, pretty straightforward and surprisingly quick despite all the pieces!

I can't wait to see it on her!

Me Made May Update #2

Me-Made-May: my second update!  A little more variety this week, for sure, but still a casual week of working at home, running errands and some sewing stuff.

May 6: Vintage fabric Anna Maria Horner Painted Portrait blouse, paired with a jean pencil skirt:

May 7: Almost forgot to take a photo, but got a nighttime mirror selfie of the outfit I wore to run errands around town (and tape together some PDF patterns), my batik Anda tunic and some leggings.  Plus a me-made turquoise bracelet!:

May 8: a double me-made day... after a round of errands in my sheer polka dot Josephine blouse, I got so sweaty (as one is wont to do in Bangkok's sweltering heat!) that my leather purse strap started bleeding on it (boo!), so I changed into my green Meghan peasant blouse for the remainder of the day:

May 9: Most of the day I spent at home sewing (in my non-me-made pajamas) and avoiding Bangkok's latest round of protests, but in the evening I threw on my wearable muslin By Hand London Anna dress (why I have not made another one of these yet?!) with some flipflops and went to the local bar for some (sweaty) streetside beers:

May 10: Brunch in the neighborhood in my batik kimono frankentop, paired with a stretch pencil skirt:

May 11: Bumming around the house on a Lazy Sunday in my neon popcorn Plantain... some truly awful photography for which I apologize:

May 12: Photo bombed by Lincoln while wearing my linen-y Scout t-shirt with skinny jeans:

Spring Top Sewalong: Simplicity 1666 aka Lisette Attache

Under the wire here for Made by Rae's Spring Top Sewalong: Simplicity 1666, the Lisette Attache peplum blouse!

Still on the hunt for a great white blouse, I opted to sew up the Attache blouse in the same slightly stretchy, textured white woven fabric from Bangkok's Chinatown that I used for my version of Liesl and Co's Weekend Getaway blouse (blogged here!).  This time the fabric was a much better fit with the pattern, though.  Fabric choice: it matters!  (A fact I have learned the hard way a few times.)

I always worry about sheerness with white fabric, so I skipped the facings and used store-bought bias tape as a facing instead.  The sheerness factor may become problematic with those princess seams, though... the seam allowances show through, which is fine because it shows the nice lines of the pattern, but the ones on the curvy part of the bust won't lay flat.  I pressed them open.  Should I have pressed them to one side?  Hmmmm.

Since my fabric was stretchy, I skipped the zipper and cut the back piece cut on the fold, minus the seam allowance, mais oui.  I think, perhaps, that one might be able to get away with no zipper even for a non-stretch fabric (but don't quote me on that).

I love this pattern!  I like how the front and back are flat, but the sides are peplum-y!  It looks kinda neat with my fabric choice because the texture runs vertically on the bodice portions and then diagonally on the bias cut peplums.  The pattern is super easy to put together, too.... I am definitely considering making the dress version, too, which looks like a great basic.

Also, this happened during the making of this blouse:

Batik Anda Tunic

When she was in Thailand, Chrissy was eyeballing my Anda tunic (Anda is a Burdastyle pattern).  I told her I could make her one, so she picked a piece of Indonesian batik from my stash.  I only got around to making it months later, but I don't think the delay is killing her.  It's not like one can wear a sleeveless cotton tunic in Michigan winter...

Anywho, the batik is really pretty: blue, purple and green flowers on a background whose color defies description... it's not black, it's not brown, it's not navy.  I ended up choosing a bright blue thread and bias tape, figuring that if I couldn't match it exactly, I should go for a complementary color.

I sewed the elastic casing on the inside and used bias tape on the neck and sleeves.

Pretty cute!  She promised me a photo of her wearing it when the weather warms up a bit... 

Me Made May Update #1

Here's an update on my Me Made May progress!  As you might remember from my pledge, I vowed to wear a piece of me-made clothing every day for the month of May and document my outfits for ye olde interwebs!  You can read a little more about Me Made May here and here!  I apologize for the occasionally sub-par camera phone photos... I imagine lots of MMM photos are captured on the fly like these, though.

The first few days of my first Me Made May were spent on New Zealand's South Island, where Tim and I were wrapping up our campervan tour of the island (I'll be posting more on that soon at my other blog!).  Living out of a campervan and doing lots of outdoorsy sight-seeing necessitated that my first few outfits be casual.  My first five days are also very top and Plantain-heavy. I expect my outfits will become more work-appropriate as the month progresses as I will (hopefully) be starting a new job in a few weeks and I hope to make some more bottoms, too!  I've just downloaded Colette's Mabel skirt pattern, which I think could end up being a go-to for me.

May 1: Rocking my fluorescent striped Plantain during a day full of kayaking around Kaikoura's bays and hiking around its scenic peninsula:

May 2: Wearing my green Plantain while dying of cute overload as the result of an up-close-and-personal view of hundreds of baby seals frolicking in a waterfall at Ohau.  I think a trip to New Zealand is worth it just for this experience.  And I realize you can barely see the shirt in the second one, but, dude. baby seals.:

May 3: Packing up the campervan for the trip back to Christchurch after a night at the Peketa beach holiday park... wearing my sweater knit Plantain:

May 3 bonus!: Tim wearing his Newcastle cardigan, also with Peketa Beach as the backdrop:

On May 4, right as we were about to board our flight back home to Bangkok, Tim snapped this shot of me (looking a bit doofy) in my Made by Rae Josephine blouse, the one I made from some pretty Japanese poplin:

Today, May 5, a work-at-home/filling out endless government forms day, I kept it casual with my button-back, color-blocked batik Grainline Scout:

Another update in a week!

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?: