I have a new source of inspiration!
While Googling photos of a pattern to see completed examples, I came across Erica Bunker’s blog. Oh. My. Gosh. I am hooked.
She is a fun, sassy lady who sews her own wardrobe, inspired by current trends, and all super cute! I realized during the MeMadeMay challenge that 90-95% of my self-made clothes are dresses. That’s fun! I love dresses. But when that meant I had to wear a dress every day for the month of May, it became clear that I needed to expand my sewing repertoire!
I don’t have a good reason why I haven’t made many separates until now. I’ve only just recently started expanding into knits. But when I saw how many lovely outfits Erica had made, and I started looking up the patterns she used, I became addicted. I now have a huge, running list of patterns to look for when they go on sale at Joann’s. I have pulled out what pants, tops, and skirt patterns I do have. And I’ve run around my sewing stash closet, grabbing apparel fabric and stacking it into leaning towers of To Sew piles. I used to reward myself with a self-made garment in between getting Etsy orders done, based on what thread was on the serger and what project was calling to me. Now I am so anxious to sew for myself that I have to make a decision to get Etsy work done first. It’s so hard when your sewing mojo is on!
This top was inspired by Erica’s Orange You Glad It’s Almost Summer outfit. I was challenged by the shape of the tanks, since I wouldn’t normally pick this style. I wanted to give it a try and include more variety in my wardrobe. And I love it!
I wish I could identify the fabric, but it’s some kind of silky fabric that has beautiful drape and irons really well. I liked the colors and thought it was a fun, unusual design.
The tank top was super easy to sew, and I really like the fluttery layers! I have the idea now to extend the bottom layer to my knees and make a flutter dress. I wonder how that would look?
The shorts are actually my second attempt at Simplicity 1370. On the first try, which I’ll show in a post, I used a black denim and understood the fit of this pattern better. They are about 1/2″ too tight and the rise is too small, so they ride up all the time. Also, the inseam is tiny, so even with only a 3/8″ seam, they are wayyyyy too short.
I tried again with white denim, added an inch to the rise and 4″ to the bottom, allowing me to use a deep hem. I could get away with about 2.5″ added to the bottom and a 1.5″ hem if I do it again. I used a metal zipper on the black ones, but only had an invisible zip for these whites. I’ll get metal every time for pants and shorts, as I agree with Erica: they are more reliable. This pattern is simple but sews up fast, though, which is why I was able to bust two out in one night.
Now I’m itching to try this tank pattern as a dress, make more denim shorts with pockets and a fly, and pull out another pattern from my growing pile to try out. There is never enough time to sew!
