Sewing Scientist: 2020

George + Ginger Clio and Anniversary Sale!

George + Ginger just turned 5! I started to make a new blog post and discovered that I never finished this one! I only uploaded the photos and that was it. I know I shared these photos on Facebook and I think Instagram, but now I can't remember. As you can tell, these photos were taken earlier this year when the weather was warm and my patio was covered in greenery.

George + Ginger started a new section of their shop labeled as “Level Up” patterns. These patterns are for unique styles that included expanded information sections for design specific adjustments to get the perfect fit. It is stressed that a fit muslin (or toile) must be made first. Then you make adjustments to it until you get the proper fit. I decided to give the Clio Level Up pattern a try. These photos are actually of my muslin that I decided to finish because it looked so good!

The Clio is an add-on bodice to the Mix It Up Pattern and works with all the skirts included in that pattern. But the pattern does include a simple peplum skirt – which I used, but slightly modified. The Clio is a fully lined, fitted bodice with a unique criss-cross front and a flattering gathered waistband. Suggested fabric for the Clio is a 2-way stretch, stable knit with 30% stretch – highly recommended is ponte and scuba. This one is made with a liverpool.

The Clio pattern involves a lot of gathers. The bodice pieces are gathered at the top and bottom and the waist band has gathers. I used my sewing machine for the entire construction of the Clio. Definitely take the time to do two rows of stitches for the gathers.

I think my bodice turned out beautifully. I really love how unique it is. The Clio bodice can be worn backwards with the crisscross in the back. Since I decided to do the high-low skirt, I can't do that. I have not hemmed the skirt yet and am still thinking of cutting the skirt to be a simple circle skirt so that I can wear it backwards.

Here is a look at the second Clio I made. This one was for the Minerva Blog. Please follow me over there to see more photos.

Today is the last day of the George + Ginger Sale and all patterns are 25% off!

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

George + Ginger Anniversary Top

George + Ginger is celebrating their 5 year anniversary this week! The Anniversary Top is the pattern of the month and I can't believe this is my first time making one! I found the pattern printed in my sewing cabinet and went to work making it this weekend.

I think cold shoulder tops are fun. I have a few and wear them alone and if I do get cold shoulders, I just throw on a cardigan. Today I wore my Anniversary Top and the weather was fairly mild and I found myself putting on and taking off my cardigan all day long.

TheAnniversary Top is fairly fitted, but I did grade mine out to avoid looking like a sausage casing, Especially since I made scones for breakfast and ate more gluten than I should have today. The Anniversary Top can be made with cotton lycra and I had fun selecting a fun print to use. I settled on this print by Riza Peker that Made Whimsy ran a few years ago (this print is out of stock, but there is stock of a few other prints by Riza). The turquoise matched my glasses perfectly.

I had a bit of a mishap making my Anniversary Top. I often have to remove length for my height, but I also like my tops long, so I left this one as is. When I tried it on before hemming - it was way too long. I took a hair clip and clipped it where I though I needed to cut the bottom off at. When I got back to my sewing room and found the clip, I thought I placed my finger where it was when I removed it and placed the top on the cutting table to measure how high up it was from the hem. I measured 7 inches. That sounded like a lot, but it was really long so I went a head and cut 7 inches off. I put it back on and to my horror found it to short now!

I grabbed the 7 inch strip that I cut off and folded it and added it back on as a bottom band. It's still a little long, but better than too short. Now all that was left to hem was the sleeves. I didn't feel like pulling out my coverstitch to only hem the sleeves, so I cut bands for the sleeves too. I thought something was wrong with the neck on my top, and after I made it, I went back to the pattern and found that there are two neckline options - high and standard. Who knows when I had made the decision to print the high neckline version. I rarely wear a high neckline. I might go back and cut the neckline lower.

The Anniversary Top is on sale for $4.50 the entire month of December. Below are the special sales this week for the 5th Anniversary Sale.

Sew Beautiful Taktsang

A few weeks ago I showed you a few of my makes from the new book from Kennis Wong Sew Beautiful: Make Stylish Handmade Clothing with Simple Stitch-and-Wear Patterns (Sew Beautiful to be brief). Since then, I have been busy making a few more items from that book. This is the Taktsang Dolman Wrap and it's paired with the wide leg version of the Fortuna Pants (blog about those will be on Sly Fox Fabrics on December 8, 2020).

I think this is my absolute favorite make from the Sew Beautiful Book to date.

The Taktsang Dolman Wrap is for woven fabrics. I was making a size 8 graded to a size 12 hip and needed between 2 3/4 and 2 7/8 yards of fabric if using 54" wide fabric. I didn't find anything in my stash that spoke to me, so I went to My Fabric Designs to find a design.

I knew that I wanted the Faux Linen Slub. I had previously purchased the Faux Linen Slub for another project and loved how luxurious it looked and felt. This base has a printable area that is 42" wide. I'm also short and knew I'd be taking a little bit of length out of the top and I was hoping to find an abstract design that was non directional so that I could maximize my fabric usage.

I decided on a design by LoriBorealis (she also goes by Keweenawchris) called Stormy Silk Scarf. I'm going to try to curate my wardrobe around the colors blue and green and add in pops of Yellow and Purple. I loved that this design had many beautiful shades of blue, with a bright royal blue featuring prominently. The design brings in many other colors and I especially love the golden yellow tones in it.

I love that My Fabric Designs allows the buyer to change the scale of the design. I liked the scale that the designer had set (It fits absolutely perfect on 1 yard of the cotton silk and silk crepe de chine), however as I visualized the pattern pieces on the yardage as displayed, I wanted there to be more opportunity for variety in the design across each piece. Therefore, I scaled down the design to where each quatrefoil element was approximately an inch.

I ordered 3 yards of the Faux Linen Slub and crossed my fingers that it was going to work. The website states that the Faux Linen Slub is 100% polyester, so I didn't think there would be much shrinkage, but they indicate it can shrink 2% in length and 4.5% in width. I did not think to check my fabric for shrinkage after washing. I did quite a bit of pattern tetris, but am happy to report that I got my Taktsang out of 3 yards with a little bit left to spare. In true 2020 fashion I will likely make masks with the remainder.

The Faux Linen Slub is not a tight weave with a 90 x 90 thread count. It does have a "flowing drape" as described my My Fabric Designs and I have to agree. It has a nice feel and texture to it that I really love. The fabric is considered a midweight at 4.84 ounces per square yard. This will make my Taktsang perfect to wear year round. The Faux Linen Slub is $18.50 per yard - I think that is a great price. You can take advantage of a 15% discount using the code SS15.

For these photos I wore a camisole under my Taktsang, but in cooler weather I think it would still look great over a long sleeve tee or turtle neck. Below is a photo of my entire outfit.

The Sew Beautiful book releases on December 8th. This is a great gift for a sewist or to yourself.

Patterns included in the book:

Mornington Top & Dress
Taktsang Dolman Wrap
Prague Top & Dress
Carlsbad Cardigan
Fortuna Pants and Shorts
Castlepoint Skirt
Palermo Top & Dress
Orosi Top & Dress

The book is available as a softcover book with printed patterns that are nested (tracing will be needed) and in a digital (ebook) version with the patterns available in A4, letter, and A0 versions for printing. The book is available at the retailers below.

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Greenstyle Cambria Top

It's not often that I buy a pattern when it's released and make it right away. When I saw the Greenstyle Cambria Top I knew immediately what fabric I was using and I needed to make it right then!

I recently received this fabric from My Fabric Designs and while I had a different top in mind initially, I just knew the Cambria Top was the best choice to show off the design when I saw it released. Every tester photo I saw of the Cambria Top was just beautiful and it was so flattering on all body shapes and sizes.

This fabric was designed by Vincent Desjardins (Vinpauld) and is called Women of Science and Learning. It's a beautiful toile design featuring some lady scientists that I have always admired. I was very pleased when I saw that Rachel Carson's portrait ended up front and center of my bodice. In high school I read her book Silent Spring and aspired to be like her and try to save the planet. While I haven't found a way to save the planet, I did become an environmental scientist and do my best to make our world a better place.

Jane Goodall is also featured and her life story has always been so inspiring to me as an animal lover. The design also include Marie Skłodowska Curie for her work on radioactivity and earning two Nobel Prizes. And many others that I won't bore you with.

I ordered the Polyester Pongee Silk. I love this base for its softness and slight sheen. It has a dressy feel and love it for making items that I will be wearing to work. My Fabric Designs describes it as a 100% microfiber polyester interlocking silk knit. It's stretchy with 50% stretch horizontally. Since it doesn't contain spandex, I would not suggest using it for fitted items.

The Cambria Top comes with many options. There are 4 top length options - high hip, low hip, banded and hemmed. I did the banded length which is cut between the high hip and low hip then a band is added. The Cambria Top also has neckline options - mock turtle neck, high crew, low crew, and wide scoop. I made the low crew. There are also fit options - FBA front piece, easy fit, and slim fit. I went for easy fit.

Then there are sleeve option. Lengths are short, 3/4, long, and with a long cuff. There are 3 sleeve styles gathered at top and bottom, pleated at top and gathered at bottom, and a Bishop sleeve which is only gathered at the bottom. This is one area where the pattern instructions could be clearer. I printed both sleeves and the pleated sleeve is easy to identify, but the other sleeve is not clearly labeled. I was thinking of doing the gathered at top and bottom sleeve, but since nothing had it clearly labeled I ended up with what ended up being the Bishop sleeve.

All sleeves are finished with a band. Since the Polyester Pongee Silk does not contain spandex, it is possible that my sleeve bands will become loose over the course of the day. I used the Pongee Silk on another top with sleeve bands for a short sleeve and have not had an issue with the fit over the day. With these bands lower on my arm where there is more movement I will have to see how it fares.

The Cambria Top is one of the Patterns of the Month for December at Greenstyle . The top has so many options and I plan to make a few more and to try the gathered sleeve and the pleated sleeve.

I also have a discount code for My Fabric Designs! You can use the code SS15 to get 15% through December 31, 2021 (this code can be used up to three times per user)! The Polyester Pongee Silk is a bargain at $15.50 per yard and even better with the discount. I also love several other bases offered.

Greenstyle Creations Brassie Joggers

I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again. I was never a jogger person. I never understood the appeal of wearing sweatpants. But hey - we are nearly 9 months now into a pandemic and comfort is key when working from home for most people. I'm hoping to come out of this pandemic a little lighter and healthier. I am walking daily and need to wear clothing that looks alright with my sneakers. This has meant I wore mostly leggings up to this point. But it is getting a bit cooler and I wanted something a bit warmer. That has set me on a path to find the best joggers for my body. After making my husband 2 pairs of the Greenstyle Iron Joggers (which he loves), I decided to try the Brassie Joggers for myself.

The Brassie Joggers do have more of a relaxed fit than other jogger patterns that I have tried. I'm really not a fan of the super tight joggers that are more like leggings than sweatpants.

I have big thighs and often need to do a full thigh adjustment. No adjustment needed on these babies. They had enough room from the get go. They are so relaxed, that I was even able to use some french terry from my stash with barely enough stretch.

I used a 100% cotton french terry which means it has zero recovery. I used a green supplex for the waistband (not shown due to it's mismatched state). I used scraps of this Carta Marina fabric from Zenith and Quasar from my top for the bottom cuffs. I'm short and made length adjustments, but my cuffs are not very visible when I am standing.

I'm wearing some of my favorite trail shoes from Columbia and wore this outfit to get my infusion right before Thanksgiving. I was so comfortable. I'll have to put it to the walking test soon and if it passes, I'll make another pair or two. I also did my pockets as a bagged pocket as I dislike the look of pockets sewn to the front of pants.

Sly Fox Fabrics Baby French Terry

When I got this baby french terry from Sly Fox Fabrics, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I needed to make another Carlsbad Cardigan from the Sew Beautiful book by Kennis Wong.

This is the Jade Pepper BFT and the color is gorgeous! And yes - it matches my glasses.

This BFT is so soft and has great drape. It isn't very thick and was perfect for the Carlsbad Cardigan.

I haven't worn my contacts much this year and found that I wear a lot of teal like colors and bought these glasses because I thought they would look good with a lot of items in my closet.

I had to get a shot of my mitered corner. This pattern is so good and the corners and hemline come out so perfect!

The pandemic has really made me rethink the way I think about my clothing. So much of it now feels so unnecessary. My "work clothes" haven't been worn in over 8 months now. I wear more activewear during the week, and dress up a bit nicer in more office casual wear on the weekends and when I do have doctor appointments.

I honestly don't see a lot of that changing for at least 6 months. I will probably slow way down on my sewing of clothing. What clothing I do make I am going to put more thought into. I am thinking of only making clothing that falls within a narrow color range of blue to green. I'd also make a few pieces that fall on both sides of those on the color wheel yellow and purple, and allow neutrals of brown, black, and white.

I also have plans to begin work on a few quilts. I will probably make items for my husband and son. But I really want to spend some time working on a few other crafts and work on my textile design work.

And who knows - I might wake up tomorrow and decide to do something completely different.

Sew Beautiful Fortuna Pants and Shorts

This is my last blog post (for now) about the Sew Beautiful book release from Kennis Wong of Itch to Stitch. When Kennis had the tester call for this pattern, it was not something I was interested in making. The Fortuna pants and shorts were a jogger style pant and I NEVER wore joggers. I had made 4 pairs previously from 2 other designers and they were just not something I normally wore. I typically only wore them in the fall and winter when I was working in the yard.

Then the Pandemic happened. Since I have been working from home daily since March 12th, I've made a point to try to be more active. I wear workout clothing daily and go for a walk at lunch and when I get off work in the afternoon. So my daily wardrobe has been a tank or t-shirt with leggings and a cardigan. Now that it's getting cooler, I have been wearing more joggers with my t-shirts and cardigans.

I have also started to listen to audio books as I walk and find it\s nice to have a pocket to slip my phone into as I walk. I tend to drop my phone a lot if I'm holding it as I walk. The pockets of the Fortuna joggers are really nice with a woven detail. I feel like the woven edge of the pocket allows it to keep a great shape and lay nice and flat when worn.

I found that the leg of the Fortuna joggers were pretty slim and needed to do a full thigh adjustment on them to get the intended fit. I had to do a very generous adjustment and was worried that my crotch would end up too baggy and need more fit adjustments. So I didn't pick one of my favorite fabrics when making these Fortunas.

I used an athletic french terry that I bought a few years ago. When I received this fabric, I immediately did not like it. The terry side is very microfiber like and it is extremely clingy and staticky. I have only worn these once all day so far and I am hoping that after a few wear/wash cycles that the feeling goes away. They don't feel bad on when I'm wearing them, but you can see in my photos that the fabric is clingy. They also seemed to collect every bit of thread in the wash.

One of my favorite places to walk at lunch is around the lake in my neighborhood. It is less than 500 feet from my house and if I really hoof it, I can get all the way around and back home in just under 30 minutes. I don't walk here daily because some days my rheumatoid arthritis just says "just be happy you can walk today". I save the lake for those days when I feel really great.

The other perk of the pandemic and working from home is that I am enjoying wearing graphic t-shirts. I owned about 6 t-shirts prior to the pandemic. I am not joking. I never wore t-shirts. The few t-shirts I had I wore to workout in, and frankly - they were looking really awful. I have had fun buying new t-shirts. I have fallen in love with Fabulously Feminist t-shirts. They have amazing messages that really resonate with me. This one especially - it states "Don't be Good Be Defiant". Those that know me would probably agree.

The Fortuna Pants & Shorts also have a wide leg pant option that I have cut out, but hadn't sewn at the time of this blog. I am making them for a blog post for Minerva and will post my photos on Instagram. I am prepping to make another jogger pair with a fleece backed grey athletic knit and I'm debating on fabric to use on the pockets.

The Sew Beautiful book is currently at preorder for release on December 8th. This is a great gift for a sewist or to yourself.

Included in the book:

Mornington Top & Dress
Taktsang Dolman Wrap
Prague Top & Dress
Carlsbad Cardigan
Fortuna Pants and Shorts
Castlepoint Skirt
Palermo Top & Dress
Orosi Top & Dress

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.