Chasing Coco

It is very rare that I buy a pattern during it's release but George and Ginger got me to do it twice this year! And I even made them both!?! That almost never happens but the Solar Sundress pattern was just exactly what I was looking for and magically appeared. The pattern has now been out for a little while but I have been slow to blog about it because it was a busy summer! On the plus side, the delay means I've now made it twice. Version 2 - pockets! Things I love about the Solar Sundress : Pockets! Under-dress anti-chafe shorts - I always wear shortties under my dresses, so these are built in! Built-in bra options Lots of fun options and variations - so many great ideas from the testing team! I have a super active and young dog-beast. Which leads to me constantly walking and sometimes running her around my neighborhood and I had been thinking that I wanted a skort of some kind. I want to look presentable for work and such but also for it to be practical for walking. I have a...

I never had any desire to make my own bras and here I am, making all kinds of bras thanks to George and Ginger patterns. Their free pattern, the little black bra  (LBB), was a gateway to bra making . I might never buy a bra with an underwire again, I can barely stand to wear the ones I have now that I'm so accustomed to bralettes without them. The new Switch it Up (SIU) bra is actually two patterns a solid front with a bunch of back options and a solid back with bunch of front options. To some degree you could mix and match them, some views quite easily and some you might have to work through some construction changes. When I saw this promoted as a "coming soon" I could hardly wait! I bought it the first day it was released and made it as soon as I had time. There were several nights I could hardly sleep thinking about what options I wanted to make and in what fabrics.  I finally decided I should choose a fairly simple view and went with back view L and use a muslin fabr...

Final product - 40k Sway George and Ginger Patterns gave the 40k Sway pattern away to celebrate having 40,000 members in their Facebook group. Look at how cute that neckline is? Of course I had to make this super cute freebie. As an extra bonus, there are directions for making a functional placket opening or faux opening. I opted for the faux placket because it's marginally easier and I have no reason that I need the opening to work but if you needed access to a port or to breastfeed, this top design would be great! I measure a size L12 (full bust 38") but I was at the top of the size range and worried it wouldn't fit in my arms so I decided to go up to an L14 and graded out to an XL16 hip. I checked my fabric stretch before sewing it as I was using a French Terry which is not always very stretchy. My fabric had 50% horizontal stretch and minimal vertical stretch (maybe 10%); the pattern says it needs 50% 2-way stretch so I thought I would be fine. Um.....no....It was way...

Disclosure: I received this pattern for free as part of a call for testers of an updated size range; the original Heat Wave Hot Pants pattern was already available. As of July 2020 George and Ginger decided the pattern needed a little more work before it could be released. My size fit in the original size range, however, which goes up to 2XL. I do not have any relationship with the pattern company nor was I asked to write this post. The tester call was open to anyone. So I was not super sure about this pattern when I saw it on other people. Don't get me wrong it's really cute but these shorts are well, short and that's just not my preference these days. Now in my 20's I wore like .5" inseam shorts but now I wear 3.5" inseam shorts. Since it was COVID era, I had plenty of time and frankly I needed some shorts, I joined the test anyway! Really, they aren't as short as I thought they'd be! Probably, they look different on different people's bodies or ...

I have been obsessed with the George and Ginger Lovesick Bralette {now called the Little Black Bra} for the last few weeks. I have made 3   5  a million of them in these past few weeks! I've been sewing up a storm during the Shelter-in-Place orders from COVID-19 and thee bralettes have been perfect to wear when lounging around or working from home. This is the first and at this point, the only bra I have ever made. This pattern was really attractive to me because I didn't need any special supplies, I could make it from fabric I already had. I actually made all of these from swim/athletic knit scraps I had left over. Also, it's a free pattern! If you go the the George and Ginger Facebook group , you can download the pattern for free. It's available in sizes 29AA-48E. Since I used swim fabric, I could also wear these as swimsuit tops. I might make some solid black swim bottoms so I can wear whatever tops I feel like wearing. Pattern tips I never print my patterns...

I made my own rashguard and of course I had to make matching bottoms and swimsuit top to wear underneath it! And here is my review of the Ellie and Mac Oasis Swimsuit pattern . Full disclosure: I tried to build a shelf bra into my first rashie so I could wear it along and it was an unmitigated disaster. Instead of messing with it further, I decided to make myself a swimsuit top. I had already bought the Oasis pattern for bottoms anyway. I feel I must (again) express how much easier it is to sew swim knit than I expected. It's a little slippery but it's a lot more stable and less inclined to stick to itself than something like double brushed poly. In between making this project I sewed a really sticky DBP and this was a nice change! I bought 2 yards of each print of swim knit and had enough fabric to make a long-sleeve raglan rashguard, swimsuit top and bottoms, with a little leftover. It was a nylon/spandex blend and had 40% stretch (note the Oasis pattern calls for 50...