Construction

This is the Bo Top from Seamwork (Here's the link!) I made it out of some heavyweight linen from Blackbird Fabrics. It was leftover from a pair of Elizabeth Suzann Florence pants that Olivia made. This shirt pattern was actually from an earlier Olivia endeavor too, she made one of these from the same fabric as the lavender tank down below, and she liked it so much that she wanted another! So I did it as an xmas gift :^)

This is Peppermint Magazine's free Wrap Skirt pattern. (Here's the link!) The fabric is the lovely flax linen that Elizabeth Suzann sold when they decided to close. I took in the waist a bit, but other than that I didn't make any changes to the pattern. I'm proud of the darts and the french seaming, and whew I love the strap! I love making and using things with straps!

This is the beginnings of a foray into underwear making. The pattern is Sophie Hines' Median Knickers. These are definitely still a work-in-progress, but I'm intending this to be an experiment in pattern-alteration, sewing with knits, and a way to eventually make underwear for myself that meets all my dreams and desires (a tall order!)

This was the first proper sewing pattern I did, Olivia and I each made one. The pattern is from Grainline Studio, Here's a link. It was a great beginner project because they have a sew-along up on their blog, so it was a very gentle learning experience. We also shortened both of ours on the pattern and did some changes to the fit of the back, so we learned that too! The fabric is a beautiful mid-weight linen from Blackbird Fabrics.

This is a roll-up pouch for Olivia's knitting accoutrements. I actually drafted this myself(!) with a lot of measurements and a lot of conversation with Olivia about what she wanted. It's basically two pieces of fabric sewn together, flipped inside out, then folded to make the hem on top and the pouch on the bottom. Then I sewed the pouch down to make individual spots for the needles and other notions that Olivia has, with space for more in the future.

I'm especially happy with the tie. The stitches are both decorative and functionally reinforce it! The same is true for the sashiko stitching Olivia did on the flap. The lilac fabric is extra from the above tank top project, and the pine fabric is a heavier weight linen also from Blackbird that was left over from a pair of shorts Olivia made.

I made this T-shirt as an assignment for the incredibly informative and educational Apparel Construction class that Chelsey Byrd-Lewallen taught at UofI in the spring of 2020.

Ok, this one actually has a really good two-part story...

The first part is the fabric. The sewing studio on campus has a big collection of donated fabric that students can pull from for projects if they want. I went rooting around for a knit fabric to use for this shirt, and the blue fabric caught my eye. I pulled it out but it wasn't enough for the whole pattern. I dove back in and eventually found the other two colors, which seemed to be exactly the same fabric! Sure enough, I showed them to Chelsey and she said they were donated from the stash of a very lovely woman who passed away. Chelsey told me she thought she'd be happy to see them getting used like this. So sweet, I cry!

Second, I was working on this project when COVID came along and put all classes online for the rest of the semester. I stayed home and the half-finished shirt stayed in the sewing studio. Time passed; I graduated, We moved to a new apartment, but Chelsey and I were keeping in touch. In the late summer, she said I could swing by and pick up the project, and borrow a serger to finish it off. So after months of purgatory, I was finally able to complete it. What a journey this thing has been on!

This is the style I ended up settling on when I did a run of masks near the start of the pandemic. The pattern is by Chelsey Byrd-Lewallen, here's a link to the original pdf.

I made some changes to the original pattern. I added a third layer of soft T-shirt to reduce chafing, I sewed on a sheath for a removable nose wire, and for the ties we made T-shirt yarn instead of cutting fabric.

I'm also pleased because the sixteen-or-so masks I made were all from stuff we were getting rid of. The navy outer two layers were from a dress I made in Albuquerque for a Kiki's Delivery Service halloween costume (more on that story here), the green wire-holders came from an old jacket that used to hold my patches before its pleather sleeves disintigrated, and the inner lining and the ties were all from old T-shirts that were at the end of their lives. Pretty cool, and still sturdy and functional after several months of use!