Not just repeats, but freepeats. Three free repeats. Thfreepeats!!! That is, uh, a misty word to try and say aloud.
Hey, guess what? My blog is one year old today. š Speaking of threes, is this a good time to mention I have a posting schedule? 3x a month, on days ending in 6. I didnāt want to announce it anywhere until I was sure I could sustain it*! Anyway, in the 35 posts that Iāve shared so far, some pattern repeats have already appeared ā and hereās two more.
*āIā is a strong word for an endeavor in which every photo not of my boyfriend is by my boyfriend. āWeā, this is a āweā project.
First is the Stellan tee, a free pattern from French Navy. The first time I sewed this in a slinky-ish rayon knit, but these new two are in a sturdy organic cotton knit that the Stoff & Stil website strongly implied was for babies, but donāt I deserve nice things as much as a baby?! Iām not sure they ship to America, but my German-citizen-sister does. Thanks sis. ā¤ My particular fabrics are out of stock, but their printed jersey selection is darn cool and the quality is superā¦BEEFY. Seriously, is there a funnier fabric word than beefy?
First up, beefy tigers. The tigers are toddler-approved. Since this is printed jersey, the wrong side shows on the cuffs, but I quite like the contrast. I always wear the sleeves rolled, but this is how the shirt looks uncuffed/untucked.
Secondly, beefy bananas! This is a talk-to-me shirt. Strangers tend to talk to me anyway (they do not find me intimidating for some reason?), but a banana shirt causes an epidemic of chit-chat – all friendly! I sewed these two tees back-to-back and made the same changes to both. I lengthened the neckband about 4ā, sewing it in flat after one shoulder seam was sewn, and then trimming the excess. Also, um ā I followed the directions. Just for the hem! Last time I could not get it to turn neatly. This time I actually sewed the foldline as instructed, and surpriseā¦it folded! I continue to skip the neckline binding, though. I yam what I yam.
Professor Boyfriend says I canāt wear the banana shirt with these pants because āOne is French vanilla and the other is vanilla bean!ā but what does he know?
This cotton jersey presses well, stays cuffed, has good recovery and is easy to sew. However, those same properties mean that the neckbands could use an ironing now and then. WELL, THEY WONāT GET IT. Iām not going to iron a tee-shirt. Nevaaaarrrr!
But look at my happy banana accident! It continues across the wrinkly neckband! Complete coincidence, the banana gods must be smiling.
For the tiger tee, I sewed the side seams and then the hems; for the banana tee, I sewed the hems and then the side seams. I think I slightly prefer the banana treatment for ease of sewing.
From here on out, please ignore my straps ā since these photos were taken in a public area I needed a layer beneath the tees so I could change in the middle, and since I was getting weird show-through from the double layer of hems, I decided to photograph the pants with just my slightly ratty RTW cami.
So letās talk about pants, bay-bee! These are the Peppermint Wide-Leg Pants, and I love them, as I loved them the first time I made them. I still havenāt solved my main fit issue though, i.e., the front pockets. Iām pretty sure I need a protruding stomach adjustment. The overall width is okay (you can tell because the side seam is hanging straight) but the front waistline dips a little instead of sitting level. Iām happy to make another pair though, and trial that adjustment! They fly together and I feel very happy and comfortable in them.
The fabric I used is something mysterious from TMOS. Itās quite heavy. It almost feels like indoor/outdoor fabric but itās not waterproof and it burns like natural fiber. I canāt shake the feeling that itās coated, though. The pocket linings are a scrap of shirting cotton, and the leather button is from my flea-market stash. I have a healthy chunk of this mystery fabric left but I donāt have a plan for it! Any thoughts?
I only made one change to this pattern, which was to grow-on the fly extensions. However, I forgot to extend the pocket bags to match! See those short lines of stitching to the farthest left and right? Those are keeping the edges of the pocket bags in place. Luckily theyāre not visible when the pants are zipped. Also, I only changed thread color once (I like tonal topstitching) and it was to match the zipper tape ā at the time I readily acknowledge it was a pain in the neck to rethread for, like, two 6ā lines of stitching, but now I think it was worth it. Mm. Tonal.
I quite like these patterns and garments as a benchmark, actually ā a year ago I never would have worn wide cropped pants or exuberantly printed tees, and yet I have not travelled so far that I donāt appreciate a $0 pattern price tag.
Also, my basket-weave button matches my basket-weave shoes. Ladies, gentlemen, and others, I feel I have ARRIVED.
See you on a six-day!
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Pattern: Stellan tee
Pattern cost: $0.00
Size: M
Supplies: 1 meter of organic cotton (tigers), $17.30, Stoff & Stil; thread, $1.91, Michaels/1 meter of organic cotton (bananas), $17.30, Stoff & Stil
Total time: 2.5 hours/2 hours
Total cost: $19.21/$17.30
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Pattern: Peppermint Wide-Leg Pants
Pattern cost: $0.00
Size: F, with adjustments
Supplies: 2.5 meters of heavy linen/cotton canvas (?), $15.19, TMOS; zipper, Sewfisticated, $1.40; thread, Michaelās, $1.79
Total time: 4.75 hours
Total cost: $18.38
Poundcake 