This is almost the last of the summer garment sewing I’ve done. It filled a nice gap in my summer outfits and I’m very happy with how they look and feel! These are my second pair of Spring Shorts (pattern is free by Pattern Runway for Peppermint Magazine).

I made one small modification to suit my own personal preference and also make them slightly different than the first pair I had made from linen. The paper bag waist style of the first pair was/is fun, but for these I adjusted the waistband piece to accommodate only one piece of the 1″-wide elastic without doing the paper bag style. It worked out pretty well I think, and I’m glad to have it be slightly different from the first. It’s also a little bit nicer to have less bulk at the waistband for when I wear shirts that are longer.

It was fun to pair the shorts with my Shirt No. 1 (pattern by 100 Acts of Sewing) that I made a few years ago. You can read the full post on that here. I love being able to pair two handmade things together for a fun summer outfit! I’m usually a jean short wearer in the super hot part of summer, but these chambray shorts felt so great on the hot humid days.

I bought the khaki colored twill tape at my local Joanns and the wooden beads were in my stash of craft supplies (probably got them at Michaels many years ago). I love that little extra bit of detail to an otherwise simple silhouette.

What did you make and wear this summer? Or for my Southern Hemisphere friends, do you have plans for making these shorts this summer?

Pattern: Spring Shorts by Pattern Runway for Peppermint Magazine
Fabric: Chambray Union Light in Indigo from Robert Kaufman from my stash, it’s a few years old but I believe you can still purchase it (here’s a quick google search)

I can fully admit that I never ever thought I would sew a swim suit for myself. Not because I don’t like to swim or because of being self-conscious, but because I was a competitive swimmer and I couldn’t imagine myself making something that would be quality enough to actually swim in. I grew up in a swim suit. I spent hours every day swimming and every weekend at a swim meet through college. But when the Megan Nielsen suit (Cottesloe) kept showing up in my Instagram feed I couldn’t help but be curious. I loved every version I saw. And then mid summer when we finally booked our beach vacation I knew I had to make it happen. I loved the idea of being able to control how it fit. Making it just right so I felt covered enough was a big thing. I feel like there are tons of store-bought bikinis available that are just not quite modest enough for something I’d want to wear in public. Plus I almost always wear a one piece, body surfing anyone?! I love being active in the water, so a bikini wasn’t something I had much experience with.

My supplies came in and I got to work. It was definitely not as hard as I thought it would be. The construction itself was quite straightforward. Megan has a full sew-along on her blog as well, which is what I referenced while attaching the elastic. So if you’ve sewn a t-shirt I definitely think that you’d do great making this suit!

I loved wearing this on the beach. I was comfy and I felt good wearing it. Plus it was kind of fun knowing I made it! I did manage to do some body surfing in it. The straps came down a few times, but the waves were pretty strong, but other than that it was perfect for swimming in! I love how the straps are wide and the back is open feeling. I’m used to a different style back, but I found this one to be soooo comfortable. I was surprised!

The only change I made was to use View D but lower the waistline down on the bottoms. I just moved the waistline down by 2″.

I’ve got a couple more cuts of swim suit fabric that I ordered from Spoonflower (Sport Lycra basecloth). My kids are even asking me to make them a suit, so maybe I’ll sneak in making another before summer is officially over here!

Pattern: Cottesloe Swim Suit (View D)
Fabric and lining are both from Cloth Story
Elastics and padded cups are from Fabric Fairy

I’ve been making a few summer wardrobe staples these last few weeks. I did finish my pair of chambray Spring Shorts after writing this post. Although I actually haven’t worn them yet. Go figure. I’ll save those for another post.

I was very excited to see Helen’s Closet’s newest pattern, the Ashton Top pop up in June. It seemed like such a versatile tank! I really like that it has both bias tape finishing and a facing option. I really wanted to give the facing a try to see if I could get over my hang up with facings. I just have memories of them popping out of the neckline as a child.

So for my first go I grabbed this triangle pink chambray that I had bought from Drygoods Design a few years ago. It was too pretty to sit around any longer so I washed it and cut out the Ashton! I think I got ahead of myself in the instructions, so I ended up doing a bias tape finish even though I had intended to do facings. Ah well. Ended up that after finishing I decided that I needed a few fit adjustments. I knew from past experiences that I’ve always wanted to try a broad back adjustment. So I gave that a try after following along with this video (and obsessively checking a few others). I did a quick muslin after making the broad back adjustment to the pattern pieces. I also moved the lower part of the armhole slightly lower and dropped the neckline a small amount (maybe 3/8″).

The second tank turned out really well. I remembered to do the facings (ha!) and I really love how it came together. It seems like the fit adjustments were pretty good I think. This tank is comfy and I feel comfortable in it. The triangle version is a bit snug across my shoulder blades, but I think I’ll still wear it, that print is too good! I’m really glad I gave the Ashton a try and super excited about the broad back adjustment working! yay!

Pattern: Ashton Top by Helen’s Closet (she’s doing a whole month of hacks this month, Ashton August!)
Fabric: Chambray with Triangles from Drygoods Design (this print is long gone, but she has an amazing selection of garment fabrics) and Liberty of London I’m pretty sure I bought years ago from Jones & Vandermeer.