Grainline Designs Maritime Shorts

I saw a couple reviews for this cute pair of shorts and it's been so hot and humid here.  I want a pair of shorts sooooo badly!  Now in my current wardrobe, I have only one pair of shorts that I rarely use.  Most of my bottoms are capri length or longer.  I do NOT have lovely legs... let me take that back... I am currently beautifying my legs (and body) with more exercise and healthy eating.  When I saw a review of Grainline Designs Maritime Shorts pattern I immediately looked for more info about the pattern online.  Then, I went back to drool over and reread the reviews and finally, I ordered the pattern.  Of course, it sat around for a week or so, while I read through the instructions a few times, dug through the stash, and made sure I remembered how to sew and fit a pair of pants.  Uh huh... I actually went through the process in my head thinking of the best way to put it together.  In the end, I decided to just follow the directions given by the company.  They are acceptable, but not perfect. The fly zipper construction works, but Sandra Betzina has a better one, though hers doesn't have the fly guard.  Use hers and add the fly guard on before sewing on the waistband. 

I'll definitely be using this pattern in the Mini Wardrobe contest.  My test run garment turned out wonderful.  Here's my result.

Lovely and grey.  Not as soft and comfy as I'd like, but that's just because of the fabric choice. This is a very useable muslin, it won't be my favorite shorts, but I know it will be used.  I cut the inner waistband and pocket linings out of a soft cotton and like the way it adds a little bit of pop.  I'll be the only one seeing it, but doesn't it look great!

 I also added 1" to the hem, as the other reviewers did and I liked the length they had made theirs.  Other than that, this pattern is traced as a size 12, as according to my measurements and it fits true to size.  My real one will be made of this:

 It's a very soft, wide wale, deep plum corduroy.   I know, it looks black here, but it's not.   Very cooshy and cozy.   I'm really looking forward to wearing those!  

My Mini-Wardrobe for DYT 2

I finally got my patterns and fabric choices together and am ready to post pictures!  For PR's mini-wardrobe contest, the rules require that we have only 4 items sewn/reviewed/posted in 1 month.  I've decided to construct 1 printed knit top, 1 t-shirt, 1 jeans, 1 shorts.  I'm also hoping to finish a bonus item, an ultrasuede jacket with a waterfall collar.  Similar to this one here:

I'll have to figure out how to draft the collar onto the jacket pattern I want to use, so I'm not sure if it will be done in time.  But it'll be nice to have this when the weather gets cold here.  I love the drapey, soft collar... what a challenge I'm tackling!

Here are the other pieces I hope to finish (click to enlarge):

The white will probably be changed to a different color if I can find an appropriate fabric.  If not, I'll probably end up dying it.  Maybe I can just wash it in the load with my denim and it'll be less stark.  Anyway, the contest begins soon and I'm really excited to get started.  I've been tracing and preparing patterns over the past few days.  And I'm working on getting all the supplies together.  Happy sewing adventures everyone!  :)

A New Start!

Recently, I purchased a program called "Dressing Your Truth" by Carol Tuttle.  It has been enlightening and I'm beginning to allow myself to be truer to who I am.  It has been my belief that I'm a wimp and I needed to be tougher.  Tough love with my children (though I was never really successful at this since my softy side always interfered), turning away from softer "drab" (but appealing) colors, ignoring the fact that I really do like more feminine details over plain but practical clothing.   I always felt this was a waste of time and I needed to spend my time learning about things more pertinent to life...  you know,  like earning money, cooking meals, keeping the home in order, parenting.  I rarely put myself first or bothered to examine what I really like when it comes to my appearance.  And I did not value WHO I am, a gentle, slow and deliberate person.    

What I've discovered so far, is that a gentle nature is also VERY strong.  Our strength comes in the peaceful, relaxed and easy-going way we live everyday.  We help others slow down when they're going in circles.  We help others release when they need to rant.  We help others to stop and breathe for a minute, to appreciate what's around them.  And we just help others... Yes... I am a Type 2, a softy, a yin, and most importantly, a peacemaker.  What I once saw as a weakness, I now view as my greatest strength. 

That said, I just signed up for the Mini Wardrobe challenge being held on PatternReview.com and decided to start sewing some Type 2 clothing.  Thus the rebirth of my blog, and the name change.   Welcome to my blog.  :)   

Simplicity 2172 - jacket turned vest

 So my daughter is into cosplay and wants to achieve a similar look to this:

And this is the pattern I had in my file:

 

Close enough to adapt into the shape she wanted.  We simply removed the sleeves and pockets, redrew the hem, eliminated the top ruffly bit and added a tiny ruffle around the bottom hem.   Luckily, she's short, so when we removed the excess back-waist length, we ended up with the perfect amount of space for the two big silvery buttons.  Here's what we ended up with:

 

She loves the vest, but doesn't seem to wear it out much... as with the cute bloomers I made to complete the look.  I'll post those later, when I have a picture of it.  It was completed quite a few months ago... it's gotta be around somewhere in her room (the black hole).   Hopefully I'll catch her when she decides to wear it for another Anime Convention or something.