Handmade Three Piece Linen Suit

Some projects stay in your brain for a long time, and I have a feeling this one will. So, let's give it a blog post shall we?

The inspiration for this project started with the fabric. I have been wanting to make a linen blazer for a while, but the right fabric hasn't come along. Then I started working with Karleen at Sewing Studio (you may know them as PDX Sewing Studio, but they have since moved out of Portland, therefore dropping the PDX). I placed an order and asked her to throw in anything she'd like me to promote.

She sent me an absolutely stunning spring green cotton/linen blend woven. I was a little wary due to my last project with cotton/linen (these Arthur pants, which attract so much lint and just aren't nice to wear) but this fabric was SO different. Soft, good drape, but also a thick weight. I immediately knew it had to be the linen blazer of my dreams.

When I started cutting out the Heather Blazer (previously made here) I began to wonder if I could get a pair of shorts from my leftovers. Fabric Tetris netted me a pair of Deer & Doe Genet Shorts. I did have to use a scrap of linen for one waistband facing and piece a bit of the pockets, but I made it work.

The lining I used for both the shorts and blazer was a poly crepe from Jo-Ann's. I had bought it to test the Pleats and Thank You Jumpsuit, but they had to give me the yardage in two pieces and I couldn't make it work. So, I was VERY happy to find a purpose for a portion of three yards of poly crepe.

I'm a pretty advanced sewist but jackets are complicated, and I appreciate good directions. The Heather directions are fantastic, and matching the lining and turning it all out is easy to follow.

I also enjoyed making the Genet Shorts! It's been some time since I made a Deer & Doe pattern (maybe I've only made the free Plantain Tee) but their directions were good as well. I did end up cutting a size slightly smaller than the chart and letting it out over the hips. I would rather do that than end up with too-big pleated pants.

After I finished my two pieces, I realized that Pattern Review was running a Matchy Matchy contest. Well, isn't that just convenient! However, the rules stipulated that you could not photograph a suit jacket in a way that you could see a different fabric underneath. Okay. My choices were to either button it up and pretend I didn't have a shirt on, to actually not have a shirt on, or to make some sort of top from the same fabric.

I got the wild idea to see what I could do with my scraps. I had literally thrown them into the trash because there was so little fabric left. Most of what I pulled out were long strips straight down the grain. I started piecing them together and realized I could make a Jasmine Bra. 

Things got wild after that, I made it work whatever way I could. I lined it with cut and sew bra foam and then bound the upper edges. I made straps and an underband. 

I have never made a quilt before, and piecing strips to create a final piece was new to me. I get it now. It's so rewarding! Of course, I was using something that would otherwise be trash, so I'm sure that had something to do with my satisfaction.

My three piece set has been entered into the Pattern Review contest. Voting runs April 18th-27th. If you are a member over there, I would love it if you would vote for me!

I received the linen fabric for free in exchange for review. I am a freelancer for Sewing Studio. All opinions are my own.

"Maternity" Plantain T-Shirt

I think I may have created the perfect shirt!

Whomp whomp, right? Hahaha. It does look pretty boring in photos. Sorry about that. But this t-shirt is SO soft and cozy that during my in-progress-fittings I almost couldn't take it back off to keep sewing it! And honestly, what's more versatile than a grey t-shirt?

This is the Deer & Doe Plantain pattern, which you can snag for free here. I've been doing a lot of browsing on Pinterest for maternity wear, and over and over again I saw plain grey and black t-shirts. After rifling through my stash, I realized I had enough yardage of my favorite fabric ever--this grey modal knit from Girl Charlee--to make a Plantain. There was some happy dancing involved, for sure! This is probably the softest fabric I've ever owned (you can see my previous make with it, here).

The side view shows that my 4 month pregnant belly is pulling the hem up in the front. I love this fabric so so much that I couldn't bear to make a true maternity shirt that wouldn't be worn for more than 6 months. Instead, I simply lengthened the Plantain 3". That gives me enough coverage and when I'm no longer pregnant I'll still have a great shirt. Win!

For reference, this is a size 36 (in my previous Plantains, in non-pregnant days, I usually graded to a 34 at the waistline) but with the highest neckline in the pattern. There were no lengthen/shorten lines so I added the 3" below the side seam notches. I also traced the pattern out to the longest hem, which is size 46. I used a 1/2" seam allowance on the sides, rather than 5/8". So, y'know, totally customized to me and one of a kind.

And bonus! For the elbow patches I used the scraps from one of my favorite prints, a neon feather jersey (leftover from this tunic). I've been hoarding these for ages.

Because of my fabric limitations, I cut the back in two instead of on the fold, so I have a seam there. I promise it's straight in real life, I'm just standing weird. Also because of fabric limits, I added cuffs to the sleeves instead of hemming.

I ADORE the cuffs. They keep the sleeves in place and keep me much warmer than a hem would. On the shirt hem I used my coverstitch machine, which was threaded with navy, and I was too lazy to change it.

I don't think you can even tell that it's navy. I considered adding a pocket to the front, but decided to leave it plain for maximum versatility. I can always add a chunky necklace or scarf.

If you haven't tried a Plantain yet, what are you waiting for?!?! It's very well-drafted (setting sleeves in flat with the serger is a breeze) and the flare at the hem is super flattering. I'm already itching for another in black modal.

Highs and lows and leopard print

Wouldn't it be cool if I had a fancy new blazer and top to show you today? Yeah, that would be cool. Instead, how about a half-finished disaster and a new Plantain?

Let's start with the bad. The blazer is Butterick 5926, which I won from the talented MrsCharisma (you can see her review here). The pattern is for an unlined blazer using knit fabrics (stable ones such as ponte). I was super excited about it, as I love knits and ponte is so easy to sew. I ordered some amazing pink ponte from Mood, but restrained myself from cutting into it and decided to make a wearable muslin first.

The muslin is made from charcoal ponte from Jo-Ann's which I found in the remnants. I was SO excited, because my JA only sells 1 yard remnants (this jacket needs 2 yards) but I found two 1 yard pieces at the same time. Don't ask me how I knew that I could make the jacket from two 1 yard pieces...but it involves me ordering the wrong amount of pink ponte from Mood...

But it was not to be. I had a lot of trouble with the collar. Everything about this pattern felt non-intuitive. I'll admit, this was my first blazer, but I couldn't help feeling like the instructions were lacking. For example, even important clipping and pressing was ignored. There was a lot of hand-stitching that made no sense. So I ended up with one wonky collar notch, and one not-wonky one that I couldn't duplicate.

 

Once I attached the facings inside, there was all this weird puckering.

It was just so so bad, and worse, I didn't know how to fix it. Going in to this, I thought I'd end up with a versatile grey blazer and a fun pink blazer, and now I have neither. Le sigh. The worst part is that I'd already sewn on perfect patch pockets.

I'm thinking about signing up for this new Craftsy class about blazers. It comes with a pattern and I'm sure I could learn a lot about tailoring in general. There is one version of the pattern on PR that's made with a double knit, so perhaps my pink ponte can be a blazer someday after all. Or maybe the Victoria Blazer? It seems less complicated (though a bit boxy for my tastes).

To make myself feel better, I forged ahead with another Plantain, this time with sleeves. I decided to make a bigger size than my tank top because of how constricted I felt around the armhole area.

She's my shadow.

This fabric is also from the remnants at JA, and it's a poly/spandex knit. Since I had a little under a yard, I made the short sleeve version. And yes, I could wear it yesterday because it FINALLY warmed up a little bit! I tossed on a cardigan and left the house with bare arms exposed.

I started with a straight size 36, but this is how it looked:

Sad, baggy, and dowdy. But I liked how it fit around the bust and in the sleeves, so I took in the side seams and was much happier with the final result:

I added bands to the sleeves because I'm about at the end of my rope with hemming knits. My birthday is Tuesday, anyone want to gift me a coverstitch machine? No? Anyway, I like the bands, the sleeves might be a little too short otherwise.

After two Plantains, I've now worked out my ideal fit. A raised neckline, a size 36 around the bust, grading down to a 34 in the natural waist and sides, with a size 36 length. Phew! You should see my hacked up and taped pattern pieces.

"Mommy is posing, so I should too."

Any advice on blazers? Think I should sign up for the Craftsy class? It's new, so there is currently only 1 review (even though it says 500+ have enrolled). I hate feeling like a pattern defeated me, like I just didn't know enough. The most embarrassing part is that I don't even own a blazer! So I have nothing to study. Sad face. I guess I will just enjoy my fierce leopard Plantain instead!

As a reward for reading all the way to the end of this enormous post, I'll let you know that the Savannah Pleated Party Dress is now available from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop. Today only, receive 15% off (no code required)! And to celebrate the update of the Coney Island Tankini, it is also 15% off today! Get ready for Easter and summer and general warmth again!

     

Plantain Tee hack

One of my goals this year is to sew more indie patterns. I hope to feature at least one each month, and this month it's the Deer & Doe Plantain T-shirt. This is a FREE pattern from Deer & Doe (sign up on their website and download free here).

I'll be honest, when I first saw this pattern I thought it wasn't quite for me. The flowy hemline looked like it was meant for pear-shaped woman, whereas I'm more...carrot-shaped? But I got over it when I remembered that I had two similar RTW tank tops that I wear to death in the summertime. I've been wanting to recreate those tanks for a while, so I thought, why not ditch the sleeves and make a tank top?

By the way, the temperatures in Indiana are hovering right around "can't feel my face" but I didn't let that stop me. I made a tank top to remind myself that summer still exists. And then I styled it with shorts and flats. In January. When will humans be allowed to hibernate?

I cut the size 34, but I raised the neckline about an inch, which ended up being a good decision. To figure out where to cut the pattern to create a tank top, I laid a shirt on top of the pattern and roughly sketched around it, joining at the original side seam.

Original pattern on bottom,

my version on top.

Just make sure your front and

back shoulders are the same length.

For this version, I didn't alter the height of the armhole, but next time I'll drop it an inch or so. This one is a bit tight/high. I also altered the pattern for color-blocking. That wasn't totally intentional, but when I washed the black and white chevron fabric, it shrank a LOT and I had to "make it work". To color-block, you simply cut the pattern and add seam allowances to each piece along the line you cut.

To finish the armholes, I used this method. I used self-fabric, but you could use bias tape or just a narrow hem. Whatever your preferred method for finishing armholes.

This was my first Deer & Doe pattern. They are a French company but I found no issues with their translated instructions, which were very thorough. The pattern was well-drafted, easy to tape together, and I loved that it included a 5/8" seam allowance. A lot of knits patterns use a smaller seam allowance because it's easier to sew with a serger, but in my experience you need 5/8" if you're going to use a sewing machine. And since I goofed and sewed both my shoulder seams, I had to use my sewing machine to attach the neckline band, and I did need the extra seam allowance.

The only thing I didn't like is sewing the curved hemline. I like the silhouette, but the sewing of it sucks. This project made me seriously start contemplating a coverstitch machine (this one).

Love these black

eyelet shorts.

Have you tried this pattern? There have been some pretty cute ones in the Deer & Doe Flickr pool, and they're also wrapping up a contest with it. I can't wait to make a bunch of these tanks for the summertime!