Tag: ensemble patterns

Fall Sewing :: Sunday Everyday Sweater and Ginger Jeans with Stylemaker Fabrics

Fall is my very favorite garment-making time.  I love being able to sew comfy clothes to go along with my favorite autumn activities like having bonfires and heading out to the pumpkin patch. Stylemaker Fabrics is an amazing resource to make all of that sewing happen.  Michelle, the owner, does her trend research and sources beautiful garment substrates.  Most often, these are deadstock fabrics, which are leftover from other manufacturer’s products.  I love being able to use these types of fabric as a small step to keep them out of our landfills.

Stylemaker Fabrics new fall release includes over 150 new fabrics and it was SO hard to narrow down what I wanted to make with these lovelies.  I battled between something fun with a lot of personality, like a large print maxi dress.  But I know I’ll get the most wear out of my “mom uniform” — a loose-stretchy top with a pair of jeans.  It sounds boring, but I knew I could take it all up a notch with my fabrics!

ginger Jeans

If I’m forced out of athleisure clothing, I only wear blue or black jeans…with the occasional olive twill pants thrown in.  So, I thought a pair of statement pants would help me elevate my fall wardrobe with color alone.  I could have a pair of comfort-zone skinny jeans made of this Stretch Cotton Sateen in solid Cranberry for a pair of Ginger Jeans AND have an interesting garment to bring life into my wardrobe.  This deep saturated gem tone is a great color that is a lot of fun, but  dark enough to be everyday chic.

I’ve made a few pairs of pants before like these Chi-town Chinos and have altered quite a few ready-to-wear pants, so I know the modifications I have to generally make.  It sounds like a lot to do, but you will get the hang of it as you test and see what works with your body shape.

With the Ginger Jeans, I made the following adjustments to the pattern:

  • Shortened length by 3 3/8″
  • Graded from an 8 waist to a 10 hip and back to 8 legs
  • Removed additional 1/2″ out of back yoke
  • Deepened crotch curve by 1/2″ to remove bagginess below the seat
  • Extended crotch curve by 1/2″ to eliminate the wedgie look
  • Made a 1/4″ calf extension to remove bagginess around the knees

If you are looking for hardware, Stylemaker fabrics carries plenty of kits you can find here.  I mixed up the zipper from a kit along with some hardware I already had in my own stash.

I’ve been wearing these pants around town to truly get a feel for them, and I’m impressed with both the stretch AND recovery from this fabric.  There is great movement without it being too constricting.  The Stretch Cotton Sateen in solid Cranberry  also doesn’t leave deep wrinkles like with 100% cotton fabrics, so that’s a huge perk for this Uber-mom driver!

Sunday Everyday Sweater

With the 90s on trend and athleisure still full swing, sweatshirts are either oversized (which looks ridiculous on 5’3″ me) or cropped,  which doesn’t work with my modesty level at all…I’m keeping this belly under wraps!   But, I figured I could work the short, boxy sweatshirt look , but still be covered with the cropped version of the Sunday Everyday Sweater by Ensemble Patterns.  This pattern has a generous fit with dropped shoulders and dolman-esque sleeves, but provides a slight cocoon shape with a hem band to keep everything at bay 😉

I made the Basic version before, which you can find here, and knew I could size down and still get the oversized look and feel I was going for.  My modifications are as follows:

  • sized down based on measurements to a 6
  • shortened sleeves by 2″
  • narrowed cuffs by 1/2″
  • shortened hem band by 3″ to maintain the cropped length

This Cozy Stripe Sweatshirt Fleece is such a dream!  It was the perfect weight for this pattern and the fleece on the wrong side of the fabric is just so incredibly soft.  I think the heather gray stripes must make it extra cozy 😉  This sweatshirt will definitely  be a wardrobe staple in the car-pool line.  I already want to wear it everyday!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Stylemaker Fall Tour inspiration and links here!  Tomorrow, Beth with Sew DIY will reveal her make.  Below is the entire tour card if you would like to follow along via Instagram as well.

What are you making this fall???

Happy Sewing Friends!

Cristy

 

 

Fabric was provided by Stylemaker Fabrics for this post.  All opinions are genuinely my own. 

 

Winning with the Sunday Everyday Sweater

I love finding new independent garment designers and was so happy to find Ensemble Patterns just a few months ago!  They have a great mission of creating comfy and stylish pieces which are intended to work with one another.  With the launch of the company and their first pattern, the Sunday Everyday Sweater, Ensemble had a great giveaway on their Instagram account.  You had the chance to win this pattern AND the next THREE  releases.  And guess who won??? This girl!!!

As much as I love all the pretty dress patterns out there, my busy “mom” lifestyle enjoys comfort and lots of athleisure.  So, when I received this pattern for a chic, oversized sweater, I got to work!    I wanted to color block this design and when I saw the gorgeous Bamboo brushed fleece from Imagine Gnats, I was done.  The grey and royal blue colors were just perfect…not to mention how crazy soft they are.

For the cut, I chose the straight hem and the basic view with the regular length.  I was torn between the cropped (because I’m a shortie) and the regular length..knowing it probably would become tunic length on me.  But the option of pockets pushed me over to the regular length.  And I’m so happy with them.  I just love how they are hidden and really amp up the cozy factor.

With the 40% stretch in this fabric, I ended up having to trim the pockets down by about 2 inches.  They were hanging too low.  So the pockets were either peeking out under the hemmed or they were being pushed up into the body which was creating some unsightly bulge.  I used the pattern piece to create a new curve from the pocket’s lowest point and now they are perfect.

In addition to the pockets, I also took two inches off the sleeves.  Again, I’m a shortie and the sleeves were just bunching up too much for me.  I left enough on to still keep the relaxed look and feel.

One of the other great features of this pattern are the use of notches for the cuffs, hem and neckbands.  It makes lining them up much easier for a beginner.  Most patterns assume you know how to evenly distribute the band around the neck, but I appreciate how there were additional notches for where they meet up with the shoulder seams.

Overall, I really enjoyed this pattern (not just because I won it!)  There is both a PDF and copy shop print options, so I was pleased off the bat.  Taping paper together is on the bottom of my enjoyable sewing tasks list…ugh….  I do love the oversized look and feel of this design….and who doesn’t love pocket options?!?  Next time I make this pattern, I want to try it with a heavier weight knit and in the cropped length, but I still want to incorporate the pockets.  We’ll see if I can squeeze in some smaller ones like I altered here.

Are you into comfy oversized sweaters like this design?  I’m a definite YES!  I can’t wait to see the next pattern releases.

 

Happy Sewing!

Cristy