Almost There: Vacation Wardrobe pt. 2
It’s been a week and 3 projects are near completion. You can view the projects in their various states below. I’ll be doing a spotlight on what I did for each project, but I’m keeping today’s blog post brief, as I leave for vacation Friday morning. T-minus 37 hours until I begin my 13 hour drive to Miami. My partner and I drive a hybrid vehicle, so we get amazing gas mileage; I’m also vegetarian; so we are making a minimal impact on the environment with our trip.
Project 1: Black chiffon with floral motif
This project definitely took the longest and was the most frustrating. I still need to hem one sleeve before I am completely done, but the fabric frayed a lot. I may end up serging the unhemmed sleeve and tucking it in, then top stitching. Good thing about the inside of clothing: no one can see unless you show them!
Other than the issues described above, I love this shirt. It’s so luxurious and flowy. It’ll be an amazing standout piece on the beach with my new striped bathing suit. The camp collar and the 50s stripes on my bathing suit are perfect mid-century style garments for Miami.
Project 2: Corduroy shorts with welt pockets
I loved working on this project. I used the same pattern I developed last summer where I used a tropical cotton brushed twill that has 2% elastane. However, there were some things about the pattern that I didn’t like, so I made some slight alterations to the hemlines and graded the hip in ¼ inch on the front and back. This pattern used about 1.5 yards of fabric, so I’m really tempted to make another pair for myself, although I should probably make my partner some shorts from the remaining corduroy.
The fabric itself was relatively easy to work with, as it is definitely a lighter weight cotton. My only issue with the whole process was pressing the corduroy. If I put the iron directly on it, there was slight discoloration and any bulk underneath showed clearly. Hopefully, these marks will come after the garments first wash.
My favorite part of the garment is the welt pockets; I have remaining yardage from my first shorts I made, so decided to make the welt lips tropical. They go really well with the material and the buttons for the pockets. The only remaining tasks for my shorts are to hem the legs, add belt loops, and put the front button and buttonhole on the waistband.
Project 3: Jorts with Rag & Bone indigo cotton denim
This project is always fun. I’ve made jeans a couple times now, so making Jorts are just jeans on a smaller scale. As of 4pm, the remaining steps are simply sewing the sides and underseams together, hemming, waistband, belt loops, and button/buttonhole for the waist band.
A special call out to my Singer 66k for this project. Topstitching with this machine is incredible, and the motor does an incredible job getting through the thick denim. The last time I made jeans on my Brother ST150HD, there were so many issues getting the needle through the really bulky flat felled seams. I am a little worried about the buttonhole, because I have to use that machine to complete that component. Because I’m using a jeans button, that part is much faster than putting on a normal hand sewn button.
The base of this pattern was taken from my original shorts pattern and modified to mirror store bought jeans pockets. I used the same hem update from my cord shorts (detailed above).
Project 4: Blue crepon shirt
Alas, I have not begun this project and I’m not sure I will have the time to complete it. I will at least get it cut out, but the first shirt took me 2 days to finish with solid working. Granted, I’m more familiar with how to put the shirt together this time around, and the fabric appears to be easier to work with. If I get around to this project in time, I’m not going to put the level of refined details that I did in the first shirt. For example, the self-facing, I used a variety of hems to keep the raw edges from fraying; this time, I’m just going to serge all of the sides and I’m not going to painstakingly pattern match. I’ll probably also leave the front pocket and back facing off of the shirt, because I don’t think the back facing is needed. When I’m back from vacation, I can always add the front pocket on if I find I really need it, which I probably will, considering the reason I’m making these shirts is to wear them on the beach and around Disney.
We shall see.
As a reminder, here is the fabric I’m using for that project.
I may get a chance to post during my vacation, but I won’t be doing so on Wednesday April 27, for sure. It may be that weekend before I can get anything up.
Patrick