I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 years since I tried my hand at sewing for the first time. It has been such a great learning experience, to use my brain in a new way.

But to be honest, it does feel like any progress I should be making is slow. I haven’t mastered zippers or button holes, I’ve never made piped edging, I can’t figure out knit fabrics. Pants scare the hell out of me. I always look at other seamstresses work in awe; often feeling that I may never reach the level where my clothes will look professionally made.

And as much fun as I’m having in the process, I’ve never been the patient type. Whaaaaat? I’m embarrassed to say that I am a big time quitter if a new ability doesn’t come naturally to me. And admittedly there is something about sewing that has been easy for me to grasp, but taking my skills to the next level requires a lot of patience that I’m not entirely sure I have.

I think I’m ok with that. After a 4-month break from my machine and feeling burned out on everything. it does feel good to be back. So I think I’m fine with where I’m at — making simple garments out of my favorite fabrics and just focusing on making the little details better and better. Straighter hemline here, faster pattern cutting there. I’m stickin’ with it for now!

All that being said, I wanted to share some of the garments I’ve been making. I don’t typically use patterns, I just find inspiration from photos and try to figure it out as I go.

This top was loosely inspired by a shirt I saw from NotPerfectLinen. I added big giant sleeves for a little more dramatic effect, and I didn’t achieve as low of a “v” as I was hoping for… but listen. V-necks are hard! Haha. Free-ballin’ that neckline with no pattern took me quite a few tries. But it worked and I love the loose flowy fit. It reminds me of an old cozy sweatshirt, just made from old cozy linen instead.

When I found this red fabric, I knew immediately that I’d be using this top as my inspiration. Luckily I own the sweater in a similar shape, so I was able to trace the outline of that and go from there. It came together really quickly and I am loving the color. I always get so many compliments when I wear red, but I still usually shy away from it for whatever reason. I hope I can make this one work through every season.

Hey-oooo! My first fitted sleeve! All my other homemade tops have a really loose, boxy fit so I’ve never had to worry about an actual sleeve coming up to my shoulder or under my armpits. Now for this one, I did have to use a pattern. It was an old dress pattern from Wal-Mart that I’ve had forever and I obviously still finagled it my way, but I needed a general outline to follow to figure out this situation. The shoulder is not perfect. It even has one sneaky little pucker that I’m pretending to overlook. But I got it done. One more notch in my sewing belt.

This top was my favorite of the bunch. Again, I traced another top that I already had, and it came together like a dream — machine worked perfectly, stitches came out straight, perfect size neck hole, amazing fabric (similar). I love when all that happens! For some reason, when the process is so easy, it makes me love the garment a little more. It feels like the moon and stars and sewing gods aligned. We were simply meant to be together.

I whipped up this sweater robe thingy specifically for my trip to Vegas/AZ. I wanted something cozy to wear in the car and on the plane since I always get chilly when traveling. When I casually browsed through the fabric section that I wasn’t supposed to be in, this fabric stopped me in my tracks. I mean how ON BRAND is this for Arizona? It was a little tricky to work with since I’d never used Jacquard before. (WTF is Jacquard? Let me look it up… Ah! A highly textured fabric with patterns that are woven, rather than printed, into the fabric. Yup. That’s this.) But it came together nicely. I have plans to film another sewing tutorial like this one, and the robe will be the finished product.

That’s it for now. I have a few friends who I’ve promised garments to, and I haven’t forgotten any of you! Just had to get my groove going again.

Which top is your favorite? Any other sewing videos you’d like to see?

loves,
jaana