Catching Up - Gemma Tanks, Lane Raglan, Blackwood Cardigan, Carolyn Pajamas

So.  Its been seven months.  Or something like that.

I've had plenty of time to sew, made plenty of things, just never took the time to blog about them.

And then the pile of un-blogged projects got so big that I put off dealing with it for another, oh, two months at least while I continued to add to the pile.  (Which is really not an actual pile but a list because I'm using or wearing all the actual things, thank goodness.)

However, I still enjoy keeping a catalog of completed projects so I'm going to cut-and-run.  I'll do one compilation post of the clothes I've made in the last half year and then start over with January 2019 and do individual posts about some Christmas projects and other more recent things.   We'll see if I can keep up in 2019!

My two biggest reasons/excuses for falling behind are exact opposites.  One is a real live toddler who seriously curtails computer time by immediately crawling on my lap and pushing buttons.  But the other is the digital sinkhole named Instagram which seriously curtails productive computer time.  Inspirational, yes.  Helpful or informative, sometimes.  Time waster, definitely.  So here's to doing less scrolling and more making/writing in the future.

Now, on to the projects!

On second thought, first up is an explanation of where I'm at in sewing my own clothes.  Bear with me.  While there may be a handful of actual live people on earth who read this, my blog is mostly my sewing diary and I want to save this period in my sewing journey for later reminiscence.  Feel free to scroll to the pictures of the actual garments if you don't care about my evolving philosophy on sewing patterns.

I have made lots of clothes in the last year or so and much of that has to do with how I now view commercial sewing patterns.  Over the course of the last five years or so I have learned to drape and draft patterns.  I started learning on my own to be able to better fit clothes to my long and thin body.  Then, my part time job at the costume shop put that learning curve on warp speed and I now feel pretty confident in my ability to draft and/or alter things to fit myself.  And thats where the stumbling block arose.  Once I found I could do it, I felt like I had to do it.  I felt as if I should be using my skills on every single project.  For some reason, I considered it cheating to use a ready made pattern because "Really, Anne.  You know how to do this.  You could do this yourself."  That was my mindset.  However, that meant every project took exponentially longer and became far more complicated.  Draft, tweak, muslin, tweak some more, second muslin, research a few aspects in my drafting books to perfect something, get over my perfectionism and just make it, then wear it but wonder if its really 'right' or 'good enough'.  Which is silly because it probably fits better than anything off the rack already.  Foolish.  Even more foolish was my reluctance to pay for patterns.  I felt like it was a waste of money because, again, I could do it myself.  Silly silly silly.  Anyone who has even rudimentary drafting skills should realize how much sweat and tears and knowledge goes into making a completed pattern and realize what a bargain it is to be able to acquire said pattern for usually less than $20.  You can make all the sizes (read: use it for more than one person), use that pattern over and over and tweak it to your heart's content - all for less than $20.  A total bargain.  I'm not sure why it took so long for me to realize the foolish ways I was thinking about commercial sewing patterns, but I now see that foolishness, have repented of it and moved on.  I've made at least five or six (maybe 10?) garments from commercial patterns, mostly indie designers I found online, and am very happy with them.  Do they all fit right off the page?  No.  Do I still need to lengthen tops, lengthen sleeves, and take in waistlines?  Yes.  But I can do that on a prepared pattern in a fraction of the time that it would take to start from scratch.  I still have my self-drafted blocks and patterns of course, and will still use them occasionally.  But after a few years of spending months on each garment its blissfully refreshing to be able to go from pattern to finished garment in the space of a few days or a week.  (I have been dividing tasks into toddler-nap-length segments and am amazed at what I can accomplish in a few 'naps worth' of sewing time.)

One other tidbit is I've really found value in making things in batches.  When I've got a pattern I like I find it expedient to make a couple at a time or at least two in a row while the pattern is out and fresh in my brain.  It allows for making improvements right away on the second or third garment, and since I'm focusing on filling holes in my wardrobe it allows those holes to be filled faster.

Okay, so NOW on to the projects.

For sake of brevity (remember the seventh month lapse because I just could bring myself to write a post about each piece?) this will be a bullet point list of garments and their pros/cons.  Here we go!

Gemma Tank - Made By Rae

(Side note... I wonder what the baby is doing off camera here... or the tween cameraman)

This is one where I really saw the value in an indie pattern.  It fit great with minimal tweaks and I made four in a row.  Its easy to alter the neckline to change things up a little, as I did with the chambray blue one.

My tank top wardroble hole was quickly filled and I found I enjoyed a woven tank top more than I had previously enjoyed knit tanks.  The linen one in particular is cool and breezy and was the beginning of my current love affair with linen.  Can't wait to wear these again next summer (she types as she looks out a snowy window...)

Carolyn PJs - Closet Case Files

Love these.  This heavy flannel pair is my third pair this year.  I've got my preferred fit just right and I wear them to death.  I have also used the pants pattern a few times for long-legged-Leah.  I've totally gotten my money's worth out of this pattern and don't intend to stop using it any time soon!

Blackwood Cardigan - Helen's Closet

This one was a pleasant surprise.  My 'mom uniform' has included a Columbia polar fleece for more years than I care to admit.  I decided this year that it was time to move on and make myself some different warm outer layers.  This Blackwood was my first move in that direction.

The first was in some sweatshirt fleece and it turned great!  Warm, cozy, slightly more stylish than a polarfleece.

On my second, I tried to make some minor adjustments (mostly making it a button up), committed a few rookie drafting mistakes and ended up with one I like less than my first one.  So much for making it better.  I know what to do to fix it, I just have to take the time to do the stitch ripping and actually fix it.  In the meantime, its still warm I just don't wear it outside the house because I'm embarrassed at the wonky front and super wonky pockets.   I'm sure I'll return to this pattern again and again - its simple, stylish, and a super fast sew.

Lane Raglan - Hey June Handmade

Finally tried one of these.  Needs some tweaking but has potential.  I put it back in the patten file for more work later... not too much more to say about it now.

So, there you have it.  Lots of words and a few terrible pictures.  (I really need to figure out whats going on with my camera and it really needs to be above zero degrees so I can take pictures outside again where it seems to be easier to get colors/lighting right.)  Anyway, onwards and upwards from here!  If you actually read all this you deserve a medal for staying awake.