I've been sewing...

As many of you may know by now, I do things in "spurts".  Wait, that didn't really sound right.  What I mean, is that I do one thing for several weeks and get over that and go on to something else.  I'd like to think it really keeps me creative, so to speak. Actually I get bored easily.  If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that I make jewelry, I crochet, knit and do various type of needle work.  Recently I've been posting pictures of watercolor  paintings.  Well, this week I got the sewing bug, mostly because it's frustrating that off the rack clothes seldom fit.  Recently I have found several items at Hamrick's that do fit really well and I wanted to  duplicate them in a fabric of my choice.

Before going to shop for fabric, I took to the basement to dig through my stash.  I knew I had some really pretty print rayon (thank you Peri) that would make a cute pair of shorts/culottes so I found that and then went to the internet to find out how to convert a shorts pattern (which I had) to a culotte pattern (which I did not have). I  found a site through Pinterest redesigning children's shorts, and adapted it to my own adult sized shorts pattern.

I took my shorts pattern and custom fit it by making slight adjustments to the length of the stride, duplicated it on paper and cut it as show above, repositioning to get a bit more flounce. I then taped it down to another piece of  paper and cut it out.  In all actuality, it would probably be easier to take a skirt pattern and add a crotch to it, and I may try that at some point.  I digress, as I said, above you see the culotte pattern that I came up with. Now the blouse...

For my blouse pattern I took a commercial pattern that was close to the style I wanted and made adjustments in the length (see that red pencil mark near the hem).  Then I weighed the pattern down with kitchen silverware and cut it out.  If you are not as confident in your garment cutting (or have more patience than I do) this would be when you pin the pattern to the fabric.  I've done it this way for years, having learned this shortcut in a sewing class I took back in the 70's.

Next,  I took the actual blouse that had the sleeves that I wanted, and placed it down on a sheet of tissue paper and drew out my own sleeve pattern.  Shucks, if it doesn't work, I'll make it sleeveless.  Never know  till you try, right? (By the way this fabric is so pretty with silver glitter actually on the surface)

After sewing and pressing and learning a different sewing machine as I went, I came up with this...

Normally I would never have taken a pictures of myself in shorts, but as you know, I have a new normal now, so ta, da!

The shorts turned out so comfy (with their elastic waist and roomy pockets) that I have been wearing them everyday.  Good thing I went to Joann's and got a bunch more fabric, right?

The blouse is a bit wider in the neckline than I had anticipated, but it was so pretty that I actually paired it with black slacks and wore it to church today.

So there you have it.  I'm sewing again.  The builders will be here in a week, so I'll probably move all my accoutrements to another part of the house, but it feels so good to make a garment that fits my current body size, that I'm ready to tackle another sewing project.  I even purchased lots of extra fabric to make tops for Per and Peri.  Who knows where this might lead.

Well, that's all for now.  Hope everyone is having a good Spring, because Summer is right around the corner.