Good morning! Did you have a nice weekend? I have to confess that ever since my vacation, I’ve been having a hard time getting back into the groove of things. Maybe it’s the gorgeous weather and plentiful activities, but I keep putting off sewing projects for, say, going out to dinner with a friend or checking out festivals.
I was going to cheat and just post this top I made two years ago that I never talked about. It’s cute, it still fits K, it’s summer-appropriate. Then my crazy need to have a complete outfit took over, and I thought, “I’ll just sew a simple pair of shorts to go with the top”.
Once the shorts were sewn, I then reflected that hmmmm, I’ve already made a remarkably similar pair of shorts, and it bothered me. Why it bothered me so much, I don’t know, but it compelled me to sew up a more colorful pair of shorts using the same pattern.
And then I truly lost it and had to make a top that actually matched the shorts, and at this point, it’s the wee hours of the morning and I’m considering checking myself into an insane asylum.
So I’m obviously unable to cheat, and I like to make life incredibly hard for myself. First world problems in spades. The good news is I feel like I’m back in the groove.
It’s funny, when I made that first top two years ago, I was all thumbs and couldn’t get things to come together quite right and didn’t finish the seams very well. I didn’t really care and just having a completed garment was peachy. Now that I’ve been cranking out sewn items weekly for almost a year, I’ve become very fussy about the insides as much as the outside. To wit:
I’m quite proud of how professional these shorts look when flipped inside out.
And I’m kind of glad I went off the deep end and sewed like I was on steroids, because I’m loving the red top with the blue shorts. This would have been a perfect Fourth of July outfit! I am particularly fond of the keyhole opening in the back of the red top. Adorable! Which combo do you like? K’s pick was the floral top with the colorful shorts…
Some details…
Fabric
red top=linen from here
floral top=Anna Maria Horner voile (Robin used the same one for her lovely Tova) + blue grosgrain ribbon from my stash
colorful shorts=Moda fabric in cotton, “Giddy” by Sandy Gervais
blue shorts=Essex linen/cotton blend
Patterns
red top=Happy Homemade Vol. 2
floral top + shorts=Oshama na Onnanoko
Your shorts do look very professional on the inside! I’m with you that the more I sew, the more I want the inside to look just as good as the outside!
Thanks Teresa! Isn’t it funny how finishing starts to matter so much? You should see some of my earlier sewing projects (shudder)!
Gorgeous – all of it. My favorite is the red linen top – it’s so freakin’ cute!
I love that red linen top so much too and want something like it for myself – I have lots of that red linen left over so that might happen…Thanks Trine!
sanae, i get the feeling you’re in good company here. if you need to be committed for refusing to break your own rules and burning the midnight oil to meet a false deadline, i imagine many of us should consider the same fate. i had a similar situation just last week with shorts. i keep thinking i have a favorite outfit narrowed down from these selections, but then i change my mind. i love them all.
Haha, thanks Ashley! I was definitely feeling like things were spiraling out of control as I started to make the top at midnight. 🙂
ah yes, it’s hard to stay motivated in the summer! i love the inside of those shorts (of course the outside is nice, too!) and that AMH voile is a long-time favorite. Beautiful stuff!!
It feels like a crime to be cooped up sewing when the weather has been so amazing here in the Pacific Northwest! I hope you’ve been out and about and enjoying the sunshine, Gail!
I’m more than a little envious of your daughter’s mini-wardrobe! The light red linen top is so cute.
That makes two of us, Morgan! It’s so much easier to sew little clothes that I keep making things for her that I want to wear myself 🙂
As always is so difficult for me to choose one of the outfits you made for K!!!. Let’s say that I’m more inclined towards the blue shorts and the floral top. The finish is fantastic!, I try to make an effort for inside finishes but don’t work every time. I suppose I have to try harder :P.
When it comes to sewing, I think anything goes, Maria! I don’t always finish the garments I make as well as those shorts, but I’m learning and trying! 🙂
Ha ha ha, you are such an overachiever! I’m sure you’ve noticed that your one-outfit a week turned into two quite a while ago, right? 😉 The self-imposed pressure of a sewist/bloggist, All joking aside, I love the outfits, they are great summer staples. I’m partial to the solids myself, probably because C would do the same thing as K and pair the two prints together. Solids are so … restful when you have a little girl! And high five on those professional looking seams. I’d say you’re ready to go, iykwim! 😉 so great to finally meet you this weekend, sanae!
It was SO FUN to hang out, Robin! I’m totally serious about planning a Portland get-together!
I like the floral top and blue shorts best. In fact, I would wear that outfit, pretty much as is. (Hmm…I think I even have a yard or so of that voile, sorry newborn baby girls that I know, it’s ALL MINE!)
I’m a recent convert to nicely finished insides, myself. (There’s a metaphor there, don’t you think?) So satisfying to do something *well*.
Oh, very metaphorical, Sarah! And that voile is a dream to sew, so you most definitely should make something for yourself 🙂
Two of them are lovely but red top-blue sorts is my favourite! I’m quite a fan of the color blocks and solids and i love love love how the texture of the fabrics look in those amazing colors!’. (My God i should seriously think of improving my terrible english!)
Thank you, Ido! Your English seems just fine to me – I’m 100% sure that I would not be able to write in your native language, so you’re far more advanced than I am 🙂 And yes, the textures of both top and shorts are wonderful. I just love linen…
Love the red top! And simple shorts. I have manic urges to sew late into the night. I think – if I can just finish this hem, she can wear this dress on Friday , or whatever. My other half thinks I’m nuts sewing in the summer evenings. Whereas I think – “lovely summer weather -perfect for making lots of pretty things!” Hopefully I’ll get some of them up on http://as-it-seams.blogspot.co.uk/ before the weather cools off!
I’m right with you, Victoria! I keep thinking that pretty summer garb would be easy and quick to sew up, and then before I know it I’m looking like dracula from sleep deprivation…I took a peek at your blog and such sweet dresses and outfits, you’ve made!
Beautiful sewing. My fav is the red linen top and happily I have that pattern. Would I start it after midnight? No way, you are definitely certifiable. But then I would never get it finished before sunrise, so you also deserve a medal!
Ha! I’m totally certifiable 🙂 The top is great – I actually cut it out in a knit too, and will sew it up at some point!
This is such a great set! So fun to be able to mix and match!
Thanks Courtney! I love that K beelines for the most clash-y mix of all (during the photoshoot she also insisted on a scarf wrapped around her torso, but those didn’t make the cut).
You are so teasing with another pattern from that book that I can’t get shipped to Australia! I went searching after you posted the shorts with the ruffles from last month. You have inspired me to get a couple anyway!
Oh, I didn’t know that certain books aren’t available in Australia! I could try to order it for you and ship it…?
I’m so glad that you found your sewing groove back, though I’m not certain that you really lost it. Your “lost” is the average sewists “normal”! And kudos for finding the time to enjoy other summer activities – the sewing will always be there waiting:)
Favorite outfit? Loving linen as I do, my vote would probably go to the blue shorts (as in, the impeccably finished blue shorts) and red top. Probably I’m partial to the red top simply b/c I have that pattern and now want to make it. But what a great summery outfit!
Thanks Lucinda! You’ve been a busy sewing bee yourself, and I love everything you’ve been making!
Wow, very neat inside indeed! And love the red top, but can’t decide which one of the shorts match better, it’s all very cute…
Thank you, Pienkel – I tell you, the serger has changed my life! It makes finishing garments so much easier!!
Oooooh, I love that red top! The wide flounce gives it such a nice swing. And as usual, your pictures seem to be taken right out of a Japanese sewing book – so beautiful!
Thanks An! That flounce is what makes that top – so voluminous and fun!
You are a wonder, Sanae! I really love those shorts and the AMH top. My current sewing project (that has been on the table for over a week now… sheesh) includes my fave AMH voile print. I realized that I hoard the stuff in every colorway, and that probably makes me a one-trick pony. BUT… I also realized that I love to sew voile. So much so that I kept seeing a visual hashtag in my head as I was cutting….#allvoileallthetime
AMH fabric is some of the best out there in my opinion. And unlike some of the other voile I’ve sewn with AMH voile is SO easy to sew with – sp smooth and irons crisply, yet feels wonderfully drapey. Love your hashtag!
Yay for your sewing neurotics! And I mean that in the most lovingly way possible, as well as in that I sympathize kind of way. I loooove that top, and think I would love Happy Homade Vol. 2 very much. The red with blue shorts is such a fun, breezy outfit. I so love your aesthetic. How far along into your sewing journey did you get a serger? Was it a strange transition? Do you ever sew with only the serger? I will probably splurge on one at the end of summer and was hoping for a little insight…
Haha, at least it’s a neurosis that comes in handy 🙂 I got my serger a little over a year ago. I’ve been sewing for about four years (I started six years ago but didn’t have time to sew while I worked in the corporate world for a couple of years), and I sewed a bunch without a serger. Now that I have one though, I can’t imagine life without it.
yeesh, I totally hear you on the making things harder sickness. it gets me every time! Love that red top. So sweet!
Thanks Tara!! As if life isn’t naturally, challenging, right?