Voila! Here is my entry for the 2018 Summer of Basics. You guys, I am so freaking proud of this. It is far from perfect, but the important thing to me is that I had an idea in my head for a outfit comprised of coordinated separates and I turned it into reality.
This was not my original plan for the Summer of Basics. I made the pants muslin and knit a Tegna sweater (see photo below) for the Outfit Along hosted by Andi Satterlund and Lauren Taylor aka Lladybird. For that “along,” you knit a garment and sew a garment and they are meant to go together as an outfit. I planned to use these as two of my three pieces and round it out with my second Farrow dress by Grainline Studio.
My summer turned into sewing quite a few wardrobe staples, and as I moved forward, it became clear to me that it would be possible for me to create an actual coordinating outfit.
First up was this wearable muslin of the Jalie Patterns Eleonore pull-on jeans. This was my first attempt at fitted pants. Even with all the missteps they are still the most comfortable pants in my wardrobe and they are in heavy rotation. The fabric is from a thrift store. I can’t believe I found a denim fabric with just the minimum amount of stretch required for the pattern in such an interesting colour. Yay for pants costing about $7 Canadian. That’s almost free for my American friends!
Mods: I looked at my measurements and decided I was a size W almost everywhere, but in the waist I was a size DD. That is a pretty large size discrepancy so it’s no surprise that my attempts at grading went a little awry. Most important to me was that the pants didn’t cut me at the waist. That is what I find so uncomfortable about jeans and pants that are too tight. The waistband is too large for me (on most days), and it doesn’t matter one bit because the waistband is always covered when I wear these. Many times I fold the waistband in half and it fits better, and there are certainly days when I grow a food baby where the waistband feels just about right.
You can’t get much more basic than a plain white T-shirt. This is my third attempt at the Deer and Doe Plantain Tee. This is a free pattern and I highly recommend for beginners. The fabric is jersey from Imagine Gnats in the US. It is much thinner than I would like for a white T-shirt, hence the back view, but I’m happy to finally have one that fits. I just KonMaried all the other white T-shirts from my drawer.
Mods: Size 44. From the original pattern, the neckline is raised by 2″ and the length is shortened by 2.5″. Neckband cut at 75%. In the future I will allow myself a bit more fabric, maybe 80%.
Last but not least is my Blackwood Cardigan by Helen’s Closet. I made the shorter View A as a wearable muslin and it turned out so well I cut into this pretty fabric, also from Imagine Gnats. It’s a hemp and organic cotton yarn dyed jersey. This pattern is fun and easy to sew. I really like how the sleeves are designed to bunch a little at the wrist. It’s a nice touch. And another great feature? No hemming!! I made the Large size with no mods.
I love how these pieces look together. They make me feel really put together, which is actually a new thing for me. So much so that I attempted a half tuck with the Tshirt. Part of the reason I’m documenting my making on this blog is that I’ve been giving more thought to how I want to present myself out in the world. Fashion has not been a “thing” for me in a long time, and while I will never be a fashionista or on trend, I do feel it’s time I paid more attention to my appearance.
Thank you to Karen Templer of the Fringe Association for hosting this make along. It’s amazing how much of boost it gave to my sewing confidence.
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