Rayon Lela Skirt Styling Session // Sewing For Women

Rayon Lela Skirt Styling Session // Sewing For Women

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Hey friends!! I'm over at Imagine Gnats today sharing all about this adorable Lela Skirt by Sew DIY. The Lela Skirt is a recently redesigned version of the Baseball Skirt!

Head over to the post HERE to read all about it, and how I hacked it to look like a very famous Amazon skirt that has been showing up in all the style bloggers' wardrobes this summer. 😉 Another #sewrtwstyle make for sure!

{Source: @wishes_reality}

I'm doing my typical Imagine Gnats Day post a little differently today, in that, I'm going to talk you through all the many, MANY, ways I found to style this fun little skirt! And to be honest, I wasn't done styling, I was just dying from our current summer heat, so I decided I'd leave it at that, lol.

To start things off, the main outfit from today's Imagine Gnats post in entirely styled with my very own handmade items. And that makes me VERY happy! Since I showed a sneak peek on IG, I've already had several questions about this white button front tank, and I'm so excited to be able to share!!

This is a new-to-me pattern, and also a new-to-me pattern company! I've been wanting to try out some Style Arc Patterns for quite a while, and in one of their most recent sales, I grabbed a few!

This tank is the Portia Woven Top pattern, and y'all. I'm in love!! I first made this pattern for an upcoming Minerva Crafts post (another VERY exciting thing!), and it worked perfectly for what I wanted it for. However, it had a slight fit issue on my body, that I remedied on this version and I love it SO MUCH!

The pattern doesn't include body measurements to choose your size, only finished garment measurements. (The body measurement chart is on their website, FYI.) So based on the finished measurements at the bust and waist, I chose a size 8. The fit was perfect through the bust and waist, but I really hadn't paid attention to the hip measurement, and it was snug in that area. I was definitely surprised, since my waist is a size larger than my hips, so a word of caution, check the hip measurements! 😄

To remedy the slightly snug hip area, I simply graded out the bottom of the hem by 1/2" on either side, and the fit is now spot on.

The top was also extremely long, I had shortened it 1 1/2" on my original version, and ended up shortening it another 2" for a total of 3 1/2" on this second version! To be fair I am only 5'3" tall, but I don't usually need to shorten quite that much.

I made one other slight change to this version. I decided to widen the straps a bit. So when cutting them out, I added 3/4" to the total width, which ends up 3/8" wider on the final product. It's great for concealing bra straps just a bit more! In these photos, I am wearing a strapless bra, but I will definitely also be wearing it with a regular bra, especially since I plan to pair it with cardigans come fall weather!

The fabric I used for the tank is actually a tablecloth that I snatched up from the Target clearance section! It's hard to see in these photos, but it has a glorious waffle texture in the fabric. It is 100% cotton, and I know it will just continue to soften with wear!

I just absolutely love this style of tank top so much, and I plan to make quite a few more of it! Probably with a few little hacks as well, so stay tuned!

The jean jacket is of course my Hampton Jean Jacket, that I blogged HERE. The hat is an Amazon purchase, and was found through @wishes_reality who also provided the skirt inspiration!

Now I will dive into each outfit I styled with links as much as possible, including the rtw items if still available, but since we all love to sew, I have pattern suggestions for you as well!

This outfit is super simple, but just perfect for summer! Especially for keeping cool on our 95* days that we've been having!

The tank is a simple crew neck sleeveless top from Target. (Linked HERE) Made in rayon spandex, this top would be very simple to recreate based off of your favorite tee pattern, such as the Union St. Tee or the Panama Tee! The Taos Top would also be a great option, simply by switching out the mock neck with a neckband finish.

The bag I found at TJMaxx, and I've seen these exact ones at Marshall's as well. Amazon also offers tons of options, oh and Target as well! 😉

This next outfit is still very much summer time appropriate. I paired the Lela Skirt with a simple crew neck tee that I grabbed from Target this spring (for $5). I wish I could say it's a Union St. Tee, and hopefully someday it will be replaced by one! I also paired it with a fun summer straw tote from Old Navy, a simple gold coin necklace and some fave sandals from Target!

The vest is another iteration of my beloved Hampton Jean Jacket pattern (by Alina Design Co), and I blogged all about this make HERE.

My next look is PERFECT for summer mom-life! Throw on a graphic tee, sneakers, a big bag for all the kids' STUFF and we're good to go!

The graphic tee is from Old Navy, and the bag is the same as the one from the previous outfit. The shoes are old Chaps sneakers that I got at Kohl's.

I also am wearing one of my very favorite hair clips that I snagged from Amazon. These are such fun accessories and for me serve a very practical purpose since I really don't like having my hair in my face! 😄

I also wanted to show how this skirt will transition perfectly into fall! 

I am LOVING this outfit oh so much!! I paired it with my very favorite Taos Top, blogged HERE. I just love the textures and color pairing here. Can it be fall now!!?? Lol.

And for an extra layer that I know I'll need someday, but was melting in during these photos, I threw my Hampton Jean Jacket on top. The shoes are from Old Navy, which I linked, but it looks like they are sold out. I think they are bringing back a similar version though, so if you're interested, you can browse the current mule selection.

I don't know if I can really pick a favorite outfit of the bunch, but this one is definitely a contender for the top!

My final look is another fall transitional outfit and I'm digging it as well!

My top is a mega pattern hack of the Lana Top by Coffee + Thread. I don't have a proper blog post of it because it was definitely not a fail (I love it), but an experiment, so much so that I can't really tell you all that I did to it! Lol. 

I added a long sleeve, tons of volume to the sleeve, and also widened the bodice and added a split hem detail.

To gather in the waist to pair with the skirt, I used a clear hair elastic and created a faux knot. I love this trick! The booties are also old, and a Zulily find from several years ago. The hat is the same as I mentioned in the first look.

But there you have it!! 8 different variations of styling this adorable skirt!

I really hope you enjoyed this post, because I had so, so much fun styling it and taking the photos!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read!

*None of the links above are affiliate links. I just wanted to share items from these looks, and they are definitely items I would recommend. All opinions expressed in my blog post are honest, and my own!*

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Hampton Jean Vest & Panama Tee // Sewing For Women

Hampton Jean Vest & Panama Tee // Sewing For Women

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Happy Saturday, friends!!

I don't usually post on a Saturday, but when it's something as fabulous as a D&H Fabrics Blog Tour, anything can happen! :)

I'm talking ALLLLLL about this amazing stripey fabric over on Tammy's blog, so head HERE to read that post and see all FOUR(!!!!) shirts I made from this fabric! And then come back here to find out more about this all handmade outfit that I'm wearing.

I feel like this outfit has unlocked some sort of sewing level for me. Head to toe denim handmades, and the PERFECT striped tee to accent it all. Yep. That is some good stuff!!

What I especially wanted to highlight today, is my Hampton Jean Vest. You may remember that I've sewn a Hampton Jean Jacket previously (see HERE), and I wear it all the time! Well, I got bit by the bug again and decided to try my hand at hacking the pattern into a vest!!

This summer, I ran across a very similar jean vest from Target, and actually ordered it to be delivered to my house. I was pretty excited about it, because I'd been searching for a vest like it for quite a while. Well, as you can probably guess. It didn't work out!

The fit was all wrong, it was oversized, too long, and just not at all how I had envisioned it. So back to the store it went and I vowed that day that I would make my own!

Heather from @heatherandthepugs and The Pug & Needle, replied to my IG stories that day and said she had also been wanting to make a vest. So we made a plan to sew them together to hold each other accountable so we'd actually accomplish it! :)

We both used the Hampton Jean Jacket pattern, and made a few very simple changes to create a vest.



The first important bit of info is that I used stretch denim, also from D&H Fabrics. It's the most amazing slub Italian denim, in the perfect light wash color. The weight is great for a vest, jacket, or a pair of jeans. I made sure to buy plenty so I could make a pair of jeans from what's left. And no worries, I won't be wearing them together! Lol.

While the denim has plenty of stretch to be perfect for a pair of skinny jeans, it also worked really well for the vest, which is a pattern intended for non-stretch denim.

Since I wanted the vest to be quite a bit more close fitting than my jacket, AND I was using stretch denim, I knew I'd have to do a bit of sizing adjustments. This was very straight-forward. To start with I simply cut 2 sizes smaller than what I had made my jacket. I did think that I could probably get away with going down 3 sizes, since the denim had stretch, but erred on the side of caution and only went down 2 sizes initially.

I should also mention that the jacket I made was in a size 8, and I was between a size 6 and 8, but chose to go up. So that meant I knew confidently I should size down at least 2 sizes.

The next bit of adjusting I did was to shorten the pattern 3/4". I think I could have even shortened a bit more for it to pair better with dresses, but I'm still really happy with it as is.

After cutting it and pondering it even more as I began to sew (anyone else do this??? Go over the sewing process and fit in their head countless times??), I decided to use 3/4" seam allowances on the front and back panels, which reduced the width at least another size, maybe even slightly more...

After sewing the front and back together and the initial baste fitting at the side seams, I took in the side seams by another 1/4", approximately. So all of my tweaking, in my head and while sewing, worked out pretty well! :)

The last step of fitting was to adjust the armhole depth and width. I don't have an exact number here for you. My notes just say the I adjusted A LOT. Hmm. So very helpful. Lol! I will say that since I took in the width of the overall bodice so much, the armhole was definitely high and quite snug at first. But I just trimmed away until it looked the way I wanted it to! And no, I didn't transfer the shape to the pattern pieces, in hind site it may have been helpful, but since each denim is so individual, I think I'll plan to just fit as I go if there is a next time.

Denim jackets are labor intensive, y'all!! But oh so worth it! I love both of my Hamptons so much.

Denim jacket/vest sewing tips:

Since this was my second sew-through of this pattern, I feel like it went quicker than the first. Muscle memory, or whatever. However, it's like giving birth. You forget how intense it is until you're in the process again. Ha.

The biggest tip I learned this time around was a flat-felled seam trick. The first time I sewed the jacket, I used wonder tape to keep things laying correctly without using pins. This worked pretty well, although I did still have quite a few places where it didn't quite catch, and I felt like I was really using a lot of the tape and was feeling guilty about all the $$.

This time, the idea to use Elmer's glue stick popped into my head! And it worked really, really great! I'd say it worked better than the wonder tape, I only had 2 little places where my topstitching didn't quite catch. It is definitely a bit more messy though. My fingers felt like they had spent the day in kindergarten. :) And the tip of the glue stick was covered in threads by the time I was finished, but I have been using that glue stick for so many things since then. So handy!

I was unsure on how to finish the armholes. I planned to use bias tape because I had inspected the vest from Target to see how it was constructed, they used self fabric for the bias, but I felt like my fabric was a bit too thick to make it through my machines nicely. So I searched my stash for something appropriate and thankfully found a tencel denim in almost the identical color and used that to finish things off! It looks lovely on the inside and unless you look really closely you wouldn't even be able to tell it's not self fabric.



I don't have any personally experienced, brilliant, button-hole sewing tips for you, although I really wish I did! Let's just say my Bernina is great at a lot of things, but she likes to act up when I ask her to sew button holes on denim!

Grainline Studio did recently share that there is an attachment available for Bernina's buttonhole foot that makes sewing buttonholes on bulky fabrics a breeze! So I'll be checking into that for sure...

I intended my vest to only be worn open anyway, so I gave the button holes a shot and settled for good enough. Nobody could ever tell they aren't quite all the same size or that the bottom button hole is juuuuust a tad, ok, it just is... too small. Except now you know because I spilled the beans.

And I tell you this so that you can hopefully be encouraged to let things go every now and then if you are a perfectionist. I am a perfectionist, but I'm coming to learn that there are certain things that only I will know (unless, ahem, I tell the whole world here on the blog), and some of those things are just okay. I honestly can't even tell that my button holes are wonky, I've forgotten about it, unless I fiddle with the bottom button, which I sometimes do... But then it's just a reminder that I made this thing with my own two hands and I'm stinking proud of it!

Panama Tee:

Today on the D&H Fabrics Co blog, I'm writing all about the four tops I made using this lovely striped tri-blend jersey. I've written most of the pertinent information in that post, but I'll be showcasing each pattern in it's own post here on the old blog-o as well.

There's not really a whole lot to say about this particular pattern, except that I really truly. love. it. It's a TNT pattern for me in both the dress and the tee version. It fits so, so well. It manages to be fitted and flattering, without clinging to any of my problem areas and accentuates all the good parts at the same time. What's better than that in a basic tee!? Nothing. Nothing at all.

For this shirt, I sewed my standard size 6 and shortened the bodice 1/2" inch.

Jeans:

The jeans I'm wearing are my newest me-made pair, the Dawn Jeans by Megan Nielsen. You can read all about them HERE. I also have more info saved in my IG stories highlights on my profile HERE. I love them so much that I've ordered 2 more cuts of denim for more pairs and *happy dance*, it's supposed to be arriving TODAY!!

And now with that, I think I will end this super wordy post!!

If you have made it to the end, you truly are a rock-star and deserve a prize! Especially since I'm drugged up on cold medicine and am feeling super chatty-tired.

I hope you all are having a very wonderful weekend, and am sending you all the relaxing cozy vibes. The holidays are upon us! I hope you find the time to chillax and enjoy the season. 💗

~Heidi

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