Tulips

Hi again! I have not been great about blogging this past year, have I? I’m here to share my visit to the tulip fields. I wore 3 new me made items on this day! I wore a Seamwork Audrey denim jacket in Cone Mills stretch denim from Melanated fabrics. I also wore a Nina Lee Kew dress in Rifle Paper Co Strawberry Fields rayon and a new headband style that I have listed in my Etsy shop.

I have made a Seamwork Audrey jacket once before. It was made with gold Cone Mills denim and you can read about it here. This jacket was giving me all sorts of problems this time around from accidentally sewing the welt pocket lining on upside down and spilling fray check on it. But- it’s done! And I’m very happy with it. This time I shortened the length of the body and the arms by one inch. I’ve needed a blue denim jacket in my wardrobe again. This is going to get worn a lot.

The Nina Lee Kew dress is a pattern I’ve had for a while now but never got around to making. I was wondering what I should wear to the tulip fields and kept thinking about this rayon I had in my stash. This was a spontaneous make. I didn’t have enough fabric for the facings so I picked up some white rayon from work and lined the bodice with it. I also used some vintage buttons I had on hand. I’m so pleased with how it turned out. The only fit adjustment I made was lowering the bust darts a bit. I started to make a wearable muslin out of some vintage floral poly. I love this dress so much, I’ll have to get around to finishing that one. I also would love to make the skirt version. I have some linen in my stash I think would be perfect.

I visited these tulip fields two years ago. It was such a nice experience. I was so disappointed when they were not able to open last year due to Co-vid restrictions. It was much busier this year (at opening!) and was not a fan of the large crowds. We quickly snapped some pics, picked a few tulips and left. Next year I will plan to visit on a weekday so I can hopefully enjoy it more.

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Tilly and the Buttons Romy & Jessa

Tilly and the Buttons recently released 2 new patterns! Romy– a envelope neck knit top or dress with optional back ties and different sleeve lengths. And Jessa– high waisted shorts or flared leg pants with zip fly and tab closure and pocket or pocket flap options.

First, I’ll talk about my Romy! I bought this dreamy Robert Kaufman knit from LA Finch Fabrics. (I think it’s sold out but I found some here) I love it so much I managed to squeeze this top and another garment (coming soon!) out of it. I also found it in two other color ways on other sites and I’m so tempted to get some! I made the short sleeve version and didn’t add the ties because I didn’t have enough fabric. I think it’s a really cute tee that I’ll get lots of wear out of. Something to note- that I’ve heard from lots of other people- is this pattern runs a little large so definitely keep that in mind. The design is supposed to be looser fitting but you might find your regular size is too big. I fall between sizes. I sized down and I’m happy with the fit. I definitely recommend trying it on as you go so you can sew it smaller if needed. I have fabric on the way to make the long sleeve dress with the back ties.

I opted to make the shorts for my first attempt at the Jessa pattern. I really needed denim shorts so this was perfect timing! I used some medium weight denim I found at Joann’s. I decided to do the two patch pockets on the front for some seventies vibes. I also decided to try something different and do the fun tulip flower topstitching on the pocket. I love it so much. I’m kicking myself because my old machine had so many decorative stitches and I never used any! The shorts pattern also includes cuffs but I just hemmed mine.

As far as fit, I cut my size according to the chart but they seemed really large when I was making them. I’m so glad I tried them on before attaching the waistband. I was able to easily take them in on the sides and center back, as well as make the waistband smaller. I’m pretty pleased with how they turned out.

I’m hoping to try the pants version in the fall.

Both of these garments are going to be on regular rotation this summer! Are you planning on trying either of these patterns?

(Patterns were gifted by the TATB team)

Seamwork Leonora Skirt

I’m so glad I finally decided to make this skirt! I kept looking at RTW versions of a denim button down skirt in the store but I kept thinking back to this pattern. I really liked the idea of white version. I knew it would go with so many things in my closet. I plan on making a blue denim one too sometime this summer.

The skirt was pretty easy to make! I didn’t run into any issues until I was doing the buttons and button holes. My machine likes to malfunction when I want to make buttonholes on thicker fabric. I ended up doing most of them manually on the machine. Then, I had trouble installing the denim buttons. I bought the ones made by Dritz at Joann’s and do not recommend them. The pins kept bending when I hammered them. I managed to get these buttons attached but I’m not convinced they are going to last. I plan on replacing them with another brand sometime soon.

Overall, I’m happy with this skirt and am excited to wear it a lot this summer!