Monday, June 21, 2021

Hey June Willamette redo

There are so many patterns to try, I often find myself moving on from a "meh" to a "new shiny" without a second thought. After making my first Willamette, I liked it, but felt it needed to be a size bigger. It would've been easy to move on to something else, but I'm glad I didn't! The bigger size was exactly perfect and led to one of my all-time favorite shirts.

This Willamette (from Hey June Patterns) is a size 4. The extra bit of ease between a 2 and a 4 makes a big difference. It also matters that the fabric has more drape. This pink woven is from Jo-Ann's and is Lyocell/linen/rayon/cotton. I know. Weird blend. But it works and I ADORE it. It comes in a few other colors and I'm considering driving out of town just to nab more.

Of note: I did not interface anything in the pink shirt. I wanted it to drape and that's exactly what it does without interfacing. I also added some embroidery to the pockets. I tend to wear this one tied in the front, which is easy to do if you finish the bottom part of the placket separately instead of topstitching them down as one.


My third Willamette is made from a cotton blend woven from Alyssa Mae Designs. I love the texture, but the cotton doesn't have a ton of drape, so this one is a bit more stiff. I don't reach for this one as much as the pink one, which is a shame. Consider this a pledge to rotate more often!


Have you ever gone back to a pattern and tried a completely new size?



Monday, June 7, 2021

Hey June June Halifax Round Up

Hey friends! Today, I'm rounding up all my posts about one of my favorite Hey June Patterns, the Halifax Hoodie (aff link). This pattern has FIVE different views and is endlessly hack-able. I've made it six times! Four of them have made it to the blog, and my most recent two have been on Instagram. Click the links below for the details. And if you want to see them all in action, check out this Reel!







Thursday, June 3, 2021

Hey June Greer Jumpsuit

I haven't written a post about the Greer Jumpsuit?! That's impossible. Surely I did. But no, I have not. And one of my three didn't make it to my IG grid for a year! Shame. No better time to get this done than in Hey June June*!

*Made up month-long celebration. Lots of fun and videos over on IG.

Adrianna first teased this pattern in January of 2020. And it wasn't so much a tease of a new pattern as it was a "hey I made this" and everyone else said I WANT ONE! Don't want to look back through my DMs to see how often I pestered her...let's just say that four months later she sent me the pattern the night before it officially dropped. Probably to get me to leave her alone. (Side note: I believe in paying creative people what they're worth, and the next day I got on the website and bought the pattern.)

Anyway. I got to work ASAP and had a Greer sewn by the end of release day, in a lightweight linen from Blackbird Fabrics. I left the pockets off this one due to limits of fabric and patience.

I have a long torso and jumpsuits usually require a muslin for me. I didn't need to do that with this view, because the ties over the shoulder allow for adjusting the torso length. If I ever make the other view, I will need to check the torso length because it has no ties. Honestly, that's the only reason I haven't made the other view, I'm too lazy to muslin most of the time.

I serged the seams on my first one, but after wearing it I realized I wanted to roll the cuffs, and the serged seams weren't that pretty. I unpicked and resewed just the legs with French seams.

My second Greer looks much the same as the first, except that this time I added a back pocket. The pattern is drafted with front pockets but I prefer them on the back, to avoid a baggy-butt look. This Greer is also in a ligthweight linen from Blackbird.

My third Greer is the most special. In fall of 2019, Kimberly at Straight Stitch Designs hosted a Maker's Retreat in Leavenworth, Washington. This little maker had never been west of the Mississippi and hadn't traveled alone in 15 years, but I badly wanted to go to this retreat. The universe heard me and a freelance sewing gig landed in my lap, allowing me to earn money for the trip. My husband told me he'd work from home and watch the kids. A friend sent me a Leavenworth brochure just when I was going to give up on the whole thing. Long story short-ish, it happened.

At the Maker's Retreat, I got to meet Adrianna, the woman behind Hey June Patterns! Yes, she's just as cool in real life. One of our activities during the retreat was indigo dyeing. Most participants used their finished fabric (a rayon/linen from Dharma Trading) to make a retreat-specific pattern, but I decided to hold on to my dyed yardage and wait for the perfect project. Obviously, that was Greer.

When I wear this jumpsuit, I inevitably think of the retreat, the adventure, and the women I met. It's one of my favorite garments ever.

You can pick up the Greer Jumpsuit pattern here (affiliate link), or sign up for the 2021 retreat here.

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