A Whole Heap of Handmade Garments

Well, hello there.  It's been a while.  And not for lack of sewing, because that's been humming along over the past couple months as I've worked to fill some gaps in my closet.  Mostly, it's for lack of photo taking because, honestly, I really do hate taking pictures.  And when I finally muster up the effort to take some pictures on the weekend, most of my newly made clothes are in the hamper because I've worn them all week.  Now this, of course, is the best problem to have because it means that not only were the things that I made not utter failures (I've had more than a few of those in my day), but that they're actually well-loved garments and really, what more could you ask for?

Now because of my utter disdain for taking photos I decided that the only way that I'd ever get around to blogging about handmades would be to include several items in one post.  So today, I present my first pair of Ginger Jeans, my first Melilot shirt, and my fourth Wiksten Kimono.  Let's start from the bottom and work our way up, shall we?

I've been interested in making the Ginger Jeans since the pattern first came out, but then I got distracted by the Birkin Flares and then the Persephone Pants and when I thought about fitting a new pair of pants I just felt tired.  There's something overwhelming about diving into a new pattern for the first time, knowing that you're going to have make multiple tweaks to get it to fit right.  So, in the end, these sat cut out in my basement for several months until I could muster up the nerve to sew them up.  I had great plans to baste them together first to adjust fit issues (especially since these are made out of lovely Cone Mills Denim), but I knew that I'd never get around to actually making them if I did that because I really hate making muslins.  So, instead I just dove blindly into this project, keeping my fingers crossed that they would look quasi-decent in the end.

I stressed a bit over what size to make because I fell somewhere between a size 8 and 10.  I ended up cutting out a size 10, knowing that I could take in the side seams if necessary, and spoiler alert that's what I ended up doing.  And now that they're all sewn up, I'm wondering if the size 8 would have been a better starting place.  Something to think about for next time I suppose.  And also for next time - they ended up being too long (I'm 5'6" for reference) so I'll need to remove about an inch of length and I'll probably slim down the calf and knees a bit to address some fit issues.  I opted to not interface the waist band because I'm an old lady who goes for comfort above all else and I stand by my decision.  I also had to move the pockets once the jeans were all sewn up because they were way too low in the position that the pattern recommended.  All in all, I'm pretty happy with how they turned out - especially since I took the lazy (wo)man's route and didn't do a whole lot of fitting beforehand.  Apparently, the sewing Gods were on my side this day.

Now on to the shirt - my first Deer and Doe pattern (well, if you don't count the free Plantain Tee).  I've always loved their patterns but I don't have a store close by that sells them, so I'm pretty excited to see that they're now available as PDFs.

It's a pretty basic blouse (no sleeve placket on the short sleeve version) and it went together fairly easily, although I will say that I went back to using these instructions for the collar attachments because in my opinion, these instructions can't be beat.  The fabric is Happy Stripes in the navy colorway by Cotton and Steel.  I actually like the cream color way of this fabric more, but I was concerned that it would be a tad sheer which would mean that I couldn't wear the shirt to work, so I went with the darker color way instead.

And last - but obviously not least - the Wiksten Kimono.  I'm a bit embarrassed to admit how many of these I've sewn, but I really do love this pattern.  And more importantly, I love the finished project.  I've made 2 short ones, 2 medium length ones, and now I want to make at least one long one.  I figure, once I make the long one it will officially be out of my system and then I can move on to some other obsession.

As for length preference, so far the medium length ones are my favorite.  I obviously love the extra length, but I also love the larger pocket.  I wear them for work a lot and you'd be impressed with how much stuff I can fit into the pockets.  For this version, I went with a basic black twill for the outer layer and a Cotton and Steel cotton lawn for the lining.  I wanted something neutral and very wearable, but with a bit of added whimsy for the lining and since I obviously love to wear fabrics with animals all over them, I figured that the butterfly lining would be a good choice.

As for the sizing, I went with my recommended size based on my measurement (a size small).  I know that many folks had to size down when making the version in Makingzine, but Jenny sized down the pattern when she decided to sell it independently and I found the recommended size to fit well (which was a relief because I was really worried that it would come out looking huge).