What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I completed my second Spring/Summer capsule outfit over the weekend: the Itch-to-Stitch Tierras Joggers and Newport Top.

The Tierras Joggers pattern is very similar to the Arden Pants pattern I love so much - elastic waistband, side pockets and straight legs, but the rise on the Tierras is lower, which I personally find more comfortable. These hit me about 2 inches below the belly button and will be perfect to wear with the tops I've made that finish at my high hips.

They are a tiny bit long for me so I rolled them up to right above the ...

 I've been on a quest for a comfortable, stylish and somewhat simple to sew pair of pants. I have made the Arden pants by Helen's Closet a couple of times now (here and here), and I love them. But they are very casual pants and I would love to make myself a pair of "dressier" pants.

I searched through the Seamwork pattern library and found the Channing. I liked the flat front waistband and the comfy elasticated back. I wasn't sure about the pleats (I really don't need volume added to my tummy area), but I ...

I've been wearing the Arden pants I made last Fall pretty much every week and I love them. So I had been planning to make a few more pairs for Spring and then Summer. I had a slightly lighter weight stretch suiting in my stash and decided to pull it out for my next pair of Arden.

I made the exact same size (18) but lengthened the legs by 1 inch so that I could wear my new pants with short heels. And that is when I learned that even when you make a garment from the same pattern ...

After making a pair of Arden pants that ended up being a little too big, I decided I really needed to try the pattern again in the correct size. I re-cut the pattern in a size 18 and chose to go with another stretch woven from my stash: a really nice stretch suiting from Minerva.com in a dark grey.

This pair turned out much better! I made no other adjustments and followed the pattern exactly. This is such a nice, easy and fun pattern to make. All those years of quilting really came in handy with all the topstitching ...

I made a shirt... with a collar... and buttons!! 

Well, I made a whole outfit which I had high hopes for, but the pants are a bit of a failure (not due to the pattern because it's amazing).

All right - let's start with the shirt. I used a gorgeous viscose linen slub from Blackbird Fabrics and it was an absolute dream to sew. It's also really comfortable. It's going to be amazing to wear next summer but over the next few months, I can easily wear it with a cardigan on top.

To say that I ...

About a week ago, because the weather here really turned and it's now officially fall, I decided to take my Fall/Winter clothes out of storage. While I was doing it, I took an inventory of everything I have and everything that would be appropriate for working from home. Like a lot of people, the fact that I've been home all the time for months now means I've been eating more and moving less. As a result, I gained a few pounds and many of the pants I wore last Winter don't fit comfortably anymore.

So ...

I haven't really ventured much into pants sewing (I only tried one pair and although it was somewhat successful, the fit was far from perfect). Pants are hard to fit due to tummies, bums and thighs, but I really want to nail the fit on some comfy pants - I mean, I'll be working from home for the foreseeable future, might as well have some cute comfy pants!

I'm really sewing garments out of season, but I really want to use up the fabrics and patterns I already have so I went ahead and made my Pietra pants muslin even as the temperatures dropped near freezing!

You can't really tell by the picture, but it was actually 5 degrees Celsius when I took these pictures!