I was trying really hard not to buy any fabric, but then I had to go to the fabric store to get some zippers. Yep, just some zippers. I should have gotten out of there for under $10. Of course, they didn’t have the zippers I needed, but they did have lots of fabric on sale.
I was done for…
After washing and drying all my new pretty fabrics…I couldn’t fit everything on my shelves.
Exhibit A…overflowing stash
I went through and refolded my fabric, finding several pieces I had forgotten I had bought. Thusly, I did a sewing frenzy of clothes for me, as you could probably tell from the previous post. I am going to try to not buy anything for summer, but use up what I have. Obviously, I have plenty of fabric for clothes, but it is the sewing that usually trips me up.
My other goal is to get most of this done before summer turns up. I will still sew things here or there as the urge requires, but it would be nice if the kids and I have all the clothes we NEED for summer before the warm weather actually hits. Anya is well on her way, as am I, so I need to get some things planned for Kailan. Luckily, I just bought some fabric for him. 😉
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This shirt is a “muslin”, i.e. first attempt that didn’t fit too well. I really like sleeveless, fitted, stretch cotton poplin shirts for the summertime, as you could probably tell from my previous post. I can wear them to work with a little sweater (for the a/c) and they are really flattering on me with with skirts. I used a purchased pattern, modified a bit, and this one is just too roomy. I gave it to my mom. I made it from a stretch cotton poplin, and it took about 1 yard to make it.
I decided to make a skirt to match the pink top from the previous post (before trying it on and seeing that it didn’t fit). I think this is some type of linen, since it certainly wrinkles like it. I bought it several years ago, so I’m not sure what it is anymore. It doesn’t have much give to it at all, so I cut the waistband on the bias. I still put a zipper in the back, though. Hindsight being what it is, I did not need to cut it on the bias. It would have fit fine without the extra stretch and would have laid better. I did 3 panels on the front and back, and this skirt took a good 3 yards of fabric to make it. It ended up just a little big, so I threw it in the dryer and hope it shrinks up a bit. For some reason I didn’t wash this fabric when I first got it (unlike most of my fabric), so it shrink up a little bit and got much softer. 
Another shirt based off a RTW shirt. This is some kind of drapey rayon material of an indistinguishable spotted animal. When I pulled it from the box of one-off runs, part of it looked like the fabric-making-machine tried to eat it. Thankfully, they only charged me for yardage that was in one piece. 🙂 This will be good to tuck into skirts or just let it hang loose.
That was most of last week’s sewing. I have made two more of those fitted poplin tops that I showed last week. Still trying to get the fit right. I also did a bit of mending. I turned two pairs of pants with blown out knees into shorts for Kai, a pair of leggings with blown out knees into bike shorts for Anya, and a few other little mending things to get them out of my sewing room. The shelves in my sewing closet are mostly all neat and tidy now, and I know what I have for making clothes. I also made a cushion for Kailan, using up ALL of my fabric scraps, so that bin is cleaned up. I even took pictures for a tutorial on how I made it! I will try to get that up soon. 🙂
Great looking skirt and top, I am so impressed you are finding time to sew – isn’t it your busy season at work? I should be following your good example but fabric.com just sent email with knits on sale!
I am so impressed. You are on top of it this year. You should have all your sewing done just in time to hit the garden.