Hey there, lovelies! Welcome to day 3 of the Sew, What Do I Wear? Vacation Edition tour! Made for Mermaids and Patterns for Pirates have been hosting these tours for a little while now and they're so fun to read, I'm excited to finally be a part of one. :D

It's almost Summer time! Is anyone traveling anywhere fun this Summer with their family? My husband and I are headed to Alaska for a quick trip to visit my sister and her boyfriend. They work in a tiny town named Talkeetna. I've spend a couple of Summers up there over the years but this time i'm excited to do touristy things and show Devin the town and Denali. We'll spend most of our time in little local breweries, by the river, and a few short hikes. The question always comes up, "What do I wear?" So, I sewed a few pieces to help get me started! 

First, I sewed up the Mama Isabel from Made for Mermaids. 

This is a simple wrap dress that sews up so quick! I mean quick. Like two-hours-from-printing-to-modeling quick. 

I sewed a combo of sizes Pink and Purple. (No I'm not having a stroke.) M4M does body positive sizing so they're all colors! Pink is a little smaller so the bust is pink, the waist / hips are purple. Honestly, because I used such a stretchy knit, I could have used all pink and have been just fine. :)

I chose a casual and cute bohemian feel, as we're just going to be doing "outdoor" events while we're vacationing. I wanted to blend in to the boho eclectic vibe that is Talkeetna.

This is just a close up to show off my new coverstitch serger combo! When my husband heard I wanted a new toy he said "why don't we go buy it?" So, that's the story of how I adopted a brand new Babylock Evolution! I'm a lucky lady. <3

  

For my final piece I sewed the Cross My Heart Cami from Patterns for Pirates. I've had my eye on this one for awhile. It's so Kyema and it's so trendy. I own several tanks that have this style so it's awesome that I can sew my own! I love P4P for that reason, Judy makes patterns that are in the stores NOW. 

I sewed a combo of the S and XS. Same as M4M, XS on the top and S on the waist. I should have sized up because I used my knit in the wrong direction. I just couldn't pass up that boarder print! It looks too cute. My intention was to wear the "V" in the front with the low cross, but I'll have to extend the "X" straps a little if I want to do that next time. Guess the "boobs" stretch a little more than the fabric. ;)

Washington weather is nothing if not predictably freezing and cold. Hence, the goosebumps. I really just wanted to show off my coverstitch ... and my new necklace from Katy at Thread & Grain! I love this thing to pieces! I wear it almost everyday and get asked about it all the time!

Everything sews up so smooth on a coverstitch! I am so in love!

If you're wondering where I got these cute fabrics, please check out Sincerely Rylee Fabrics. She carries gorgeous florals and most recently, trendy bohemian prints.

Both of these patterns will be sewed again! I hope you enjoy and please check out the Made for Mermaids blog to keep up with all the other gorgeous ladies' blogs who are sewing their vacation wear, too. :)

Though it's been a short time since I've been sewing, I've been lucky enough to be chosen as a tester for some pretty awesome designers which I will be featuring  in the coming weeks. I think where I contribute most is by being newer, I studiously follow directions, identify areas that are hard for beginners to understand, test fit for my size and, unfortunately, nit-pick about grammar. ;) (Which is hilarious because i'm a terrible speller, thank god for auto-correct!) 

Most recently I was testing a pair of knit pants for Patterns for Pirates designed by Judy Hale. The idea behind the SOS Knit Pants is that they can be Skinny or Straight, jeggings or work wear, date night or office attire. You get the idea.  I sewed up the straight leg version seeing as i'm part of an office...

Judy designs some of my favorite patterns, (which I feel are really under-represented in the blogging world but very celebrated on Facebook, can't we  just merge the two already?) her style is very modern, RTW, comfortable, wearable styles for ladies. Sometimes I feel like it's hard to get all those in one designer! Also, her PDF's are no trim pages. Hallelujah! As compensation for testing this pattern, I did receive the final pattern for free, though all opinions are my own. :)

This is my second pair, and my first successful pair, of the SOS Knit Pants. Let me start off by saying THESE ARE SO DAMN COMFORTABLE! It's like i'm wearing secret pajamas to work. Seriously, it's my favorite secret. I work at an office currently and I have to sit down all damn day and these treat my belly to a soft hug for 8 hours.

 In the first round of testing, the waist was really high but by the end of the pattern, it had been lowered to the perfect height. I mean, right? That rise is simply perfection. 

(but what is up with those pockets?) 

One thing that bothered me about these is no matter the material I used, I was always able to see the pockets! I guess that's the price you pay for comfy knit pants. It really wasn't nearly as noticeable when my shirt was down. (Obviously I wear my shirt up like this at work.) I even trimmed down the pockets and they were still visible. Next time I'll probably do faux pockets on the front to eliminate that.

Here I am standing in front of a bush looking lackadaisical... 

Something I really liked about all this pattern is it has TONS of top stitching details to make the pants go from homemade to handmade. Unfortunately for me, I don't have a cover stitch machine yet so this meant I had to change from double to single needle about 15 times.... one more reason I need a second machine. ;) in the end though it was totally worth it. My fiance even commented how he never would have guessed they weren't store bought because they looked so "professional." Winnnnn.

My first pair was a little..... less successful. This blog is about progress, so I'm going to share anyways! The pictures were taken moments before a torrential downpour, so excuse the vampire flash skin. 

*Toss on my nice jacket, brush off my shoulders* I was SO excited I had sewn pants! 

And they fit awesomely! I did remove about an inch from the rise. (This was lowered an inch in the final pattern, so it's about accurate.) I posted pictures, feeling pretty proud... then Judy informed me that I had sewn the yoke in backwards.... how does one even do this?! In case you're wondering, yes, I have seen pants before, I promise. 

Yes. Backwards. 

*Side note, if you want to feel awkward, go outside in front of your neighbors while it's lightning and thundering and ask your fiance to take closeups of you butt while you are strangely overdressed for 6pm on a Wednesday.

See those visible pockets? Somebody halp! Thinner knit? Faux pocket?

I'm so happy that I sewed up a second pair. Much more wearable. The first pair was also done in a active wear fabric and was much thinner than anticipated. Why does my local Joann's have cornflower blue and camel ponte but not black? Go home Joann's, you're drunk. 

I really want to sew up more of these in many other colors ... you know, more black and maybe some gray. All the pretty office colors. 

If you're interested in purchasing this pattern you can find it here for $8.

If you want to see more pics from other testers you can find those in Judy's Facebook group!

Details

Size: S

Fabric: Black suiting from Joann's, scrap cotton / lyrica for waistband 

Notions: 1" elastic

Price: 12.99/yard - on sale 50% off at 1.5 yards = $9.25ish, elastic: $1. Thread $.50 Total price = $10.75

Alterations: None