Summer sewing – skorts and tank tops

I don’t know about the rest of you, but this has not been a successful sewing year. I’m mostly making masks, but I have gotten a few other things made in the last few months. Most nights I am just tired from work and cooking and cleaning. Not a lot of extra energy.

Normally I make clothes to wear to work…not an issue right now! I am living in skorts and tank tops. We generally take a break from work around noon to walk around a little lake in our neighborhood, too. I want to be comfortable for the walk, but still presentable for the many zoom meetings I seem to have during the week.

I already had a nice pile of skorts from the last few years of making them for myself during the summer, but now I have added to them. I probably have around 10 or so.

Here are the new skorts that I have made.

This first one is from a woven with lycra in it. It is a grey/green color. I cut a different back and added an additional layer to the front. The fabric is pretty lightweight, so it is nice and cool to wear. The shorts underneath are made from a grey performance fabric.

This next skort I made for the 4th of July (obviously). The top fabric is brushed poly and the short fabric is a ponte. I made this one with a back that was less full than my regular pattern, so it is more of an A-line shape when worn.

This one I was trying to do an A-line shape with flounces at the side. It just didn’t work great with this fabric, which is a performance knit (similar to swim).

This one is hard to see, but I have an overlay of black mesh on the front and a bit on the back in one of the seams. I didn’t hem this since the performance knit fabric here is pretty thin and I know it would not go well. The design is similar to the grey/green one above.

The tank top pattern I’m using is the Cali Faye one I posted last time. I took out 1″ from the center, cut a deeper neckline and decreased the length on a few of these. For the purple top I actually added an inch for booty coverage since I wanted to wear it with leggings. The navy one with the skort above is the shorter length, which I like where it hits on me.

The edges are bound for the neckline and arms. This is something I haven’t done much of in the past, but really like how it works for these tops. In the past I just used bands, but it looks more RTW with the bound edges.

The light blue one here is a fan shirt for my daughter’s fastpitch team. I have a few other cutouts I want to make up, too.

I also made one out of this fabric, but didn’t get a photo of it yet.

This one I used lingerie lace on the arm edges and there is a white feather htv on it, as well. Hard to see on the photo.

I’m sure I will manage to make a few more tank tops. I actually bought some fabric from Nature’s Fabric for some comfy bamboo jersey tops. My fabric buying is way down this year. I stopped buying from custom shops, since I really want more plain colors. If I buy a pattern it will be one of my own designs now.

I want to make a few tank tops for my daughter, too. I made her an olive green tank top, using a RTW top she had for the base. She seems to gravitate to green and burgundy, so I need to figure out what to make her with the fabrics I have in those colors.

The sewing will continue to be intermittent. Work-Life balance is a struggle! I am gaining weight again, too, so I really don’t like pictures of me right now. Hopefully I can get on track with eating and exercising, but it is tough. I also haven’t really done my hair or done much with makeup since March, so there is that, too!

Hope all is well with everyone!