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...

Does anyone else feel like all they are wearing these days is lounge wear? I have been working from home just shy of a year and while I sometimes wear a cute outfit or a nice top for video conference my day to day wardrobe involves a lot of comfortable clothes, including a lot of athletic apparel. With all the cute bras I plan to make from the new Switch it Up pattern , I want some open-back exercise shirts and thankfully, I have several options in my pattern stash. The first one I decided to make was the Good Sport from Ellie and Mac . I actually did a hack similar to this one a while back from their free tank pattern but I wasn't 100% happy with my hack so I grabbed the Good Sport. I chose this pattern to go first because I have made quite a few E&M patterns and am pretty reliably a large graded to an XL hip and I had this adorable bee print fabric from LA Finch Fabrics that I didn't want to ruin (see a close up of the fabric below, it's really cute!). I also didn...

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...

Well somehow we have made it to summer and while a lot of the pools are closed, I know two little girls who are living their best summer life right now. Quarantining with their grandparents, who live next to a river, where there are plenty of swimming opportunities. Meanwhile my neighborhood pool is closed and my husband offered to spray me with the hose as I run around the yard. So, plenty of swimwear needs all around! So this cute lobster print seemed destined to become Cape Cod swimsuit  from Ellie and Mac for both of them (affiliate link). The fabric came from LA Finch Fabrics and I have a lot of it, so you'll be seeing something else made from it in the future! These were supposed to be 4 of July gifts...that's not a thing but I am a gifting Aunt and it was around the 4th of July. However, due to some COVID related complications, I haven't had a chance to hand these suits off yet! Which means, I don't know how well they will fit them yet. Lately they have been fitt...

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...

It's a new year and that means it's time to get in shape! The best motivation is a super cute self-sewn workout top, right? Definitely. I had bought a really cute nylon-spandex remnant from LA Finch Fabrics a while ago, thinking I might make another swimsuit but since I really didn't need the last swimsuit I made (I have a TON) I decided I could use it to make myself an exercise top and Simplicity 8338 was right there in my pattern stash waiting to be called into service. I decided to make view B with the gathered back. While C is also pretty cute, can you imagine doing a downward dog in that? It would probably fall off ☺and I'm not really into that. Pros of this pattern Really simple directions and easy to construct! Each back is printed separately on the pattern tissue so you can easily make different views without having to trace anything. I was able to make this from just 5/8 of a yard of 60" fabric, this is less than the pattern says you'...