The Shorts

I started out by lining these shorts because the fabric itself was pretty light and I figured I might as well just to be safe.
The shorts required two tucks in the front, I've never turned the tuck and sewn straight across the bottom at a 90 degree angle before though. I read this in the Colette Sewing Handbook. I'm not sure if it really made much of a difference but I feel like it is just one of those small details that makes it more secure and maybe just a little bit better looking! I really recommend this book, it has a lot of great tips and it's easy to understand with great pictures.

And here are the shorts!! They are a little oranger than I thought they would be... but the more I think about it the more I like them that color. I wanted to get them done and I didn't have any orange zippers
so I used yellow and you really don't see it anyways. I really like these

shorts a lot. I would definitely make these again. Here is the bandeau top also, I added a little blue bow to the inside so that it was easier to tell what side is the outside. I still haven't added any buttons, I can't decide what buttons I like best there.

Right now I'm working some more on my second Chenille blanket. I wish I had some pictures of the first, but I gave it away as a gift. I'm working on this one right now. The main fabric is this pretty floral and I love it. For the three layers of flannel I did pinks and a blue.

I'm hoping to finish at least a corner of it tonight before I go back to school tomorrow!

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Here's the finished top and skirt! The only details left to do are the buttons on the top and the zipper for the skirt, which I need to go get. I'm starting the solid orange shorts tonight and then I'll take some close up pictures of the rest of the outfit.

First FBA!

Today I started working on Simplicity 2871. I wanted to make this pattern for the high waisted shorts and I was going to do them in denim like I said in my last post... but I just love the idea of bright colored pair of shorts with the top to compliment. So I found an adorable orange gingham and a bright solid orange for the shorts. Since I was going to make the whole outfit I just started with the order the directions give and the first thing on that is the bandeau type top which they call a bra. Since I told myself from now on I'm going to make muslins of everything I make I followed through with it and made one for the top! I'm glad I did because this would have came out way too small on top and I would have wasted my fabric and never been able to wear it! At the same time I realized I needed to do a FBA (full bust adjustment). This is my first try at the top, it fits the mannequin but not me at all!
I have never done a FBA though there's many dresses and tops I've made that didn't fit and probably could have benefited from one. I've seen the term pop up amongst other blogs but I guess really I was too scared to try it. Changing patterns always scares me. I really want this top to fit and be something I can wear a lot though so I found this tutorial and basically tried my best. It was hard since this isn't a typical shirt that you are adjusting. There is no arm to it so I placed lines where I thought would be best and I most likely did not do it right, but it worked and fit me so I'm happy!

My adjusted pattern piece and my second attempt at the top with the new adjustment to it.

After that I made a quick muslin of the top jacket part and it fit perfectly so I began to cut that out and I'm hoping to have the full top done tonight. With my coupons at Joann's I was able to buy enough fabric at a reasonable price to be able to do the top, the shorts, and the skirt! Originally I planned to not do the skirt but I'm glad I can now, I can't wait to wear the full outfit!

Summer Inspiration!

This past weekend I was at the mall with a friend and we looked into American Apparel. I actually don't know why I don't shop there more or at least look there for inspiration, they have really great basic classic pieces!

I tried on a pair of the high waisted pants and I absolutely loved them!! But unfortunately I have short legs and with zippers at the bottom of the pants they would hard to hem. This did make me want to try on a pair of the denim high-waisted shorts though. I really loved these shorts... the color was great and they were comfy though bordering on just a little too short! I was also surprised to find that high waisted shorts were more flattering than I thought they would be on me. This has definitely inspired me to try out one of my vintage shorts patterns! I have never sewn on denim because it's always seem a little scary to try, but I love those shorts enough that I'm willing too! I'm also really wanting a denim skirt too.. so I guess now is the time to start sewing with denim!

Besides that, I'd really like to get at least a sun dress done while on spring break next week also. My new sewing goal is to start making a muslin first before I make the final. This will probably be especially important in the shorts, since I've never made any kind of fitted pants or shorts before!

I'm so excited to get sewing!

I'm Back!

I realize it's been ages since I've written on here. This year has been hard for me to get anything sewn. Living in a dorm I can't have my sewing machine here and I don't get much done on the weekends I go home.

At the moment though I am working on a Chenille blanket though it's going very slow since I only manage to sew a few lines on it each time I go home. I made one this past fall and it turned out great so I'm making a new one in pink and blue. I got the idea off of this blog- Aesthetic Nest. They are time consuming but they do turn out really beautiful! Plus, even if you make some mistakes it's very forgiving and they don't tend to show.

While I am at school I've been working on some knitting. I just started a 1940 turban hat that I found off of Ravelry. I'm still learning to knit, so I hope this comes out well!

Though it's not easy to sew at school, I've been stocking up on patterns! Spring Break is coming up and I'll have a whole week to work on my sewing! I'm definitely going to tackle some of the new patterns I have.