Completed Capsule Wardrobe

Well, even though I was unable to go to PR Weekend at the last minute*, I DID get my capsule wardrobe done. I think it turned out rather nicely, if I do say so myself. I made three shirts and two bottoms. The dress was already done. If I was really taking this on vacation, I would change up the shoe choices. I would include a pair of flat tennies and a low-heeled, neutral sandal.

I love all the pieces individually and I love them together. I added some detail shots below so you can see individual details too. 

Jalie 3355 and Jalie Vanessa Pant

I really like how this sweatshirt turned out. At first, I was worried it would be too baggy, but it turns out it's the right amount of slouchy and dressy (if you can say that about a sweatshirt). These pants are dead comfortable. 

Jalie 3130

I love this button-up shirt pattern. It fits so well with zero modifications and it's fabulously drafted! There are close-up and detail pictures here. 

Jalie 3243 - Pull-On Pants

I love this pattern and have made it so many times. There are more detail pictures here. 

Jalie 2788 - Twist Top

I love this top and have made it many times too. This time, I made it out of a rayon knit. I added two straps across the back. I love this fabric. It's Nicole Miller fabric I bought on clearance (shhhhh, don't tell!). 

*Unfortunately, there was just no way I could go - long story. I'm super sad about it, but there was no way to avoid it. Maybe next year?!?!??! 

Mini-Capsule Wardrobe for PR Weekend

I love to make Capsule Wardrobes, especially for travel. This time, though, I am cutting it pretty close with other commitments, the end of school, and life. I'm still not done, as of today, but I'm hoping that I'll get my last top done tomorrow. I'm posting it on here, unfinished, because I want to be able to show you these pieces before I have to leave. I get on the plane Sunday night. Yikes!


Here was the plan:

The Rova dress was previously sewn and posted here. 

These are cropped Vanessa pants and they are like the best, secret pajamas, EVER. They are a denim blue Tencel. They look a bit like denim but they are flowy and soft. 

These are the Jalie 3243 pull-on pants in a brown linen. I'm not sure how great these will be in a travel wardrobe since they will wrinkle like a bitch.  

This is Jalie 3130 and it's my favorite button-up top. I especially love this version. The fabric is soft, like a flannel, and it's a dream to sew. 

Isn't it cute with the Rova dress?

 

Then there is this Jalie sweatshirt #3355. By the way, when I started this wardrobe, I didn't set out to make all Jalie patterns. But, when I thought about easy, fast, patterns that fit, they all turned out to be Jalie. I used the sweatshirt pattern to attempt to create a drapey, luxe sweatshirt. I'm not sure I love it. It's a sparkly knit and I created a facing for the bottom and back. 

I folded the facing to the right side and left the edge raw. 

The back is two pieces and overlaps in the back.

I don't think I love it with the Rova dress under it. It looks a bit sloppy. My rule is always that you need something form fitting either on top or bottom. This is a loose on the top and bottom.

Well, that's all I have done so far. I was going to make a tank with a blue fabric, but I might make a t-shirt with sleeves instead. I'm still pondering the last piece . . . 

Jalie 3243 Kids’ Pull-on Pants

This pattern is a staple in my sewing queue. I’ve it used for summer shorts for myself, pajama pants for my kids, and rainproof/windproof pants. It’s great. My son, who seems to be hitting some sort of growth spurt, is steadily growing out of all his pairs of pajama pants. He lives in these things while at home so I made him another couple pairs.

 

Behold: Condiment Man. I took him to the fabric store with me and he picked these prints out. It is so hard to find flannel in boy colors/designs. There are four billion unicorns and baby designs, but only about five boy prints.

 

I used the size M (kids’ size 9) and added two inches at the knee. He’s 11, but very thin. These will be too long for approximately four days. Then they will probably be too short.

 

Oh, the shame. *hangs head* Curse the mother that forgets about directional prints! Although I justified it to myself that there wasn’t enough fabric to cut it any other way.

 

Photo bomb attempted. And denied.

 

I did something different this time with the waistband casing. I hate making a waist casing, feeding the elastic through, and sewing the remaining opening. Instead, I took a page out of the Cora Legging pattern and sewed the elastic onto the attached facing. Then I flipped the facing the the inside and coverstitched from the outside.

 

I made this second pair too. I didn’t even realize I had cut the front (yes, the FRONT) upside down until I looked closely at it. I don’t think anyone will be looking that closely.

 

See? The damn animals are upside down!

 

I’m working on my October Burda Challenge and I still have a Jalie Hoodie to show you too!

Jalie 3243 - Shorts

I’m quickly trying to get ready for my trip down south. While it is warm in Alaska, I don’t need more than a couple of pairs of shorts for the whole summer. Hot in Anchorage is 70 or 75. Because I’ll be in the sweltering heat for two full weeks, I figured I’d better make a couple more pairs of shorts. I’ve used Jalie 3243 several times for kids pull-on pajama pants but thought I’d try out the shorts too.

 

And no surprise, I love them. They are made for wovens and I used a sweatshirt knit (you may recognize it from here) with very little stretch. They fit really well with not much bulk at the elastic waist. One of the great things about this pattern, is the waist facing is shaped to make it fit on the body; it’s not just a rectangle of fabric. I made my normal size for these. The recommendation for elastic was 24.5”. I used 26” on mine because I hate tight things around my waist.

 

Not too high, not too low.

 

Pockets!

 

Good butt coverage. Not too short and not too long.

 

Then I made them again. Do you ever get stuck in a color rut? For me, for a while, I was pretty much only making purple things. Now it seems I’m stuck in a print rut. These are crazy print and I’m not sure I love them. Actually I think I do love them, but shouldn’t. I used two different double knit fabrics for the main and pocket fabric. Maybe that was a no-no.

 

You may recognize this top here.

 

They may have been better with either perfectly matched pockets or no pockets. I think I’m stuck with the current pockets since they are sewn in. Oh well, like I said, I kinda secretly love them. Maybe with a different top though.

 

Hee hee, do you love them? OR hate them?

Summer Round Up

We did our annual summer commercial fishing/camping trip this summer. How pretty is this place? I’m so bone-weary over all the fun we’ve had this summer, I haven’t really been up to blogging so much. I have several things to show you guys. I have been sewing things here and there, just not posting. Be prepared to see several posts in the next few days!



People are always asking me where the fishing is located. This is a close-up of Cook Inlet. We live in Anchorage (on the right). The fishing site is just above Tyonek to the North in the Beluga coal region. We there by boating or flying.


It’s a kid haven with streams, creeks, sand, mud, and fun. I swear the kids don’t wear shoes for the whole two weeks. There’s no water and no electricity (there is if you start the generator), so it’s pretty rustic. Bonfires, picnics, kites, kid heaven, I tell you.


The Jalie jackets and rain pants (I used Jalie 3243 to make rain pants for the kids) came in handy while we were out there. It never rained during the day, but it was often windy and chilly. The kids wore them pretty much constantly.


There is a creek right next to the cabin, so the kids spent days re-routing the creek and building marinas, docks, and tributaries.


They built their own cottonwood bark boats and some of them included dinghies with princesses (the girls) and pirates (the boy).



There was a lot of Gut Diving and dissections going on when we were processing fish. It was a great year for fish and we caught a ton. We found lots of parasites in the guts too. Nothing like wriggly worms spilling out of a salmon’s stomach to amp the nastiness up to a high level.


I bought my son a Kindle for Christmas. There is the best gift I’ve ever given him. He has read so many books on that thing. Like hundreds. We rent them from the public library. This post is totally random, I realize that. I feel like my brain is fried from too much go-go-go!

This area has a ton of coal and agates. We bring the coal back to the campsite.


We spend hours searching for agates on the beach. Agate Hunting! We bring the agates back in to town and polish them. We have jars of them around the house.


Books, headlamps, mosquito nets? Yup, just another night at camp.


If you want to read more about all this, read this post from 2013 or this one from 2012. I didn’t do a very good job of explaining what’s going on here. For those of you who read my blog regularly, you already know. For anyone that’s new, check out the old posts for more details.

Whew . . . . so . . . . tired . . .