Rash Guard and Swim Bottoms–Jalie 2805 & 3351

I know, I know; I said I was done with swimsuits, but they are so addicting, and fast!
Miss K loves all her swim shorts but she keeps complaining about the tanks.  I got so tired of it that I picked her up a rash guard at goodwill a few weeks ago.  She loves it but it matches none of her bottoms and is sort of big on her.  The other day she wore it in our pool and I got an idea to use a Jalie pattern to make her a rash guard myself.  I mean, it’s really just a swim t-shirt.  (How crazy it was for me that I sewed this up yesterday and then seen Dawn’s blogpost this morning that she sewed up 3 with this same pattern!)


I traced out Jalie 2805 with her exact measurements because I wanted it snug.  “M” for the shoulders/bust and “O” at the waist/hip. 



I lined the front piece with the aqua so that nothing should show through but the strawberry ended up being thick enough.



I also made her more swim short bottoms (gosh I’ve made these like 6 times now? 7? I can’t even count) to match with Jalie 3351. Size “S” at waist to “O” at hip; they are a little loose on her but she will grow.  I omitted the side pockets and just retraced that part to be even with the bottom of the shorts. They sew much quicker without that pocket



Miss K loves this – YAY for mom!  I really need to let her make the decisions from here on out with what I sew for her.  She says the fit is great (except the armpit is a tiny bit tight).  I will definitely make this again for her.


Fabric for both:The strawberry is an Italian Swimwear Print - ML228125 - from Michael Levine, Inc.   I purchased it May 2014, 1 yard for $10. It cut and sewed like a dream and is a nice weight. The pastel aqua I just purchased from Fabricmart, 1 yard for $4.40.  It was very slippery to cut and sew – no fun.  It is also really lightweight and see-through when wet. Why are solid swim colors always more lightweight than the prints… Total for the outfit = $14.40



Summer Fun!

Jalie 3022 Shorts and Pants

So I’ve been working on a pair of shorts for 2 or 3 weeks now and having fit issues.  *shakes fist at fit issues* 

I’m consulting many fit books and I’m up to 5 muslins.  Whew.  I’m not giving up.
I have been feeling discouraged though.  One hot night when I was particularly down on myself I had a light bulb moment. Why not make some quick gratification shorts from a pattern I love and that I know fits well?  Something comfortable to get me through some hot days until I can conquer the woven shorts pattern.

And so it was.  I have made Jalie 3022 4 other times (once for K, three times for me) and I love them.  These pants fit awesome and the seaming makes any backside look amazing. My black pair fits so comfy and was made from interlock from JoAnn’s but is piling horribly. My second pair was a failed mess of cotton velour with not enough stretch. The third pair, green, from cotton lycra is just too tight right now.  Because I was sewing with cotton lycra this time I decided to re-trace the pattern in a bigger size and use the shorts line.  I upped my waist to a size “X” and my hip to a “BB” – these are each 2 sizes above my real measurements. 



I was in a hurry to have these sewn up so I didn’t topstitch the shorts.  They came together quickly and I was happy to find them fitting nicely. 



I used the scraps from my green pair of pants to sew up these shorts – they take so little fabric!  It is Forest Green cotton lycra with Jade cotton lycra for the band.



With shorts like these you wonder, will they ride up?  Sadly, the legs do tend to ride up, but only when I’m bending down, squatting, or moving my legs a lot, LOL. Most shorts from the store do this too so I’m not too concerned.  They were amazing to sleep in when it was hot and I look forward to wearing them around the house and yard with the kids this summer.

In Wisconsin our weather flips flops from hot to cold all the time so I also made another pair of pants with this pattern, since the first 3 are out of commission.  I used the same sizes as the shorts, X in waist, BB in hip and below. 


Sewing these is a bit time consuming because of all the topstitching but it is worth it.  This pair of pants doesn’t disappoint!  I love them and they will get lots of wear.



Fabric: 2 yards of Teal Cotton lycra  from purpleseamstressfabric.com for the pants $13, and scraps of my Laguna Stretch Cotton Jersey in Heathered Knit Pepper by Kaufman, for the band contrast.



It was nice to take a break from fitting stress and sew up something fast and rewarding. Now back to the fitting!

May Recap 2015

May came and went really fast!  I have been working hard on a shorts muslin that has made my eyes cross these last couple weeks!

10 items (including 2 wadders, 1 not shown), 7 and 5/8 yards of fabric. Total fabric cost $44.39

How did I do for May with my resolutions?
1 new pattern: yes, the kwik sew for K and the Jalie tanks
1 new Burda/Otto for me: didn't happen this month, I need to make this a priority
1 fabric stash: yep, 4 yards of it!
1 me make each month in 2015: yes, I managed 4 makes, 2 of them wadders.

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~