Sew Wrong

Seamwork Leonora Skirt

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I don’t even know where to begin to describe how much I love this skirt. The real questions is: why did it take me so long to getting around to sewing this pattern?

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After I made my new Grainline Studio Maritime Shorts, I had enough white stretch denim leftover for something else…just enough to cut out a skirt. Years ago, I used to have a denim skirt that I wore all of the time, spring through fall, and I missed having that wardrobe staple in my closet. Plus, I’m currently obsessed with any type of button-down skirt pattern (there’s three in my sewing queue right now), so I decided to pair the Seamwork Leonora pattern with my leftover denim.

The pattern is beautifully drafted, as I’d expect from Colette/Seamwork. I lucked out because the body measurements matched mine exactly, so I crossed my fingers and moved forward with making the skirt without doing a muslin. It fits so well and I love how the yoke of the back of the skirt is shaped to accommodate curves of the body (aka my booty). It’s brilliant.

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Some changes I made: I omitted the patch pockets on the skirt front – not really my jam, and I don’t like calling attention to my hips like that. I also constructed the waistband in the same manner as the waistband for the Baste + Gather Birkin Flares, it’s my favorite way of sewing denim waistbands. And, no belt loops for me because I don’t really wear belts.

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I used a beige topstitching thread that’s specific for denim from Taylor Tailor on all parts of the skirt that require topstitching. There’s something about the contrast of the light brown with the white that I really really like, and it feels more professional looking than if I just used plain white thread.

On a funny note – I ordered my denim buttons from Taylor Tailor as well when I ordered the topstitching thread. The pattern called for 7 jean buttons, so I thought I put 7 buttons in my cart…and the I was surprised at how much my total came to once I checked out and paid. Well, it helps to pay attention to details, because I didn’t realize that each button is sold as a set of 5. I ordered 35 brass jean buttons! I guess I’m all set with jean buttons for a long time!!

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I can’t believe it’s August and summer is getting close to the end (and I’m done with grad school until September, hooray). Because I love this skirt so much, and will try to wear it as much as possible before summer is over, I need to make another one of these for the fall out of blue denim. I think this will be another stash-busting project!

Pattern: Leonora Skirt by Seamwork Magazine

Fabric: leftover white stretch denim, bought at LA Finch Fabrics

Hardware: brass buttons from Taylor Tailor

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Hadley Top and Denim Maritime Shorts

 

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Hello hello!  Dusting off the blog and posting for the first time in a very long time – I missed this!

I’ve been sewing this year, but a rarity has been finding the time to take proper blog pictures. Most of the time, snapping a quick hallway mirror/gym bathroom/sewing room mirror picture is all that I can do, and then post a quick blurb on Instagram. Hoping to change that going forward for the rest of the year.

Something else I’ve been trying to do this year is to cut back on my fabric shopping and instead sew through my stash. Well, this outfit covers about 50% of that!

 

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In going through my stash and trying to brainstorm ways to use up my fabric, I thought that this floral linen blend fabric from Joann would pair really well with the Hadley Top pattern by Grainline Studio. I’ve had this fabric for several years and always had it earmarked for different dress patterns, but my style lately is turning away from dresses and more towards separates. I really like the shape and fit of the Hadley Top that I made a few years ago and with the heat we’ve been having in New England, a breezy, cool top was a void in my closet.

Some changes I made to view B:

  • Raised the neckline 1″ – many reviewers made a neckline adjustment and I’m really glad I did, this would have been way too low for me. I could have raised it a bit more for more modesty, but this still works. I completely forgot to adjust the facing so I had to do a little fudging and easing when I assembled the top and neckline facing.
  • Eliminated the darts – I used Jaime’s idea to eliminate the darts from the Hadley top this go-round. Frankly this came from me just being plain lazy and not wanting to raise the darts on the bodice pattern (an alteration I almost always need to do for bust darts) and I really don’t need bust darts since I’m pretty small up top. I should try this out on other patterns because it worked out really well

If I make this again, which I definitely could see in the future, I’d like to do an all-in-one facing instead of having separate neckline and armhole facings. I stitched the facings in-the-ditch where I could, and then hand-tacked them down everywhere else.

 

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The Maritime Shorts pattern by Grainline is my go-to for summer shorts, and this is my third pair. I love these shorts!! I used to have a pair of white shorts from J Crew several years ago, but spilled some red wine on them and…you know the rest of the story there. For this pair, I used a white stretch denim from LA Finch Fabrics that was on closeout and it’s such a comfy, stretchy denim that doesn’t make you feel constricted when wearing it.

To prevent the pocketing from really showing through (you know, white-on-white), I found some cotton fabric that matched my skin tone and used that for the pocket facing and pocket bag, thanks to an article I found in an older issue of Threads Magazine. You can still see a bit of the outline of the pocket but it’s much better looking than using the white denim for the pocket.

I also used brass rivets and a denim button, and used a tan-colored topstitching thread for some added contrast.

 

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I’m currently finishing up the last of my summer classes for grad school and am looking forward to having the month of August free for all of the summer sewing and crafting I can churn out. Lots I want to try and tackle next month: a white denim skirt, Lucerne Blouse, and a swimsuit. Fingers crossed!

Patterns: Hadley Top; Maritime Shorts
Fabrics: Hadley Top – linen blend from Joann Fabrics; Maritime Shorts – designer denim closeout from LA Finch Fabrics

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