I want to share with you some recent makes that I sewed up during the months of May, June and July. The weather has been beautiful here, so it has really put me in the mood to sew up some new clothes. I tend to do more garment sewing in the warmer months, so I don’t have any quilting projects to share; however, I still think I had a productive few months of sewing. I have also learned some new skills and added some great new patterns to my stash.

Here is what I made…

Camden Cardigan

The first project I made in May made was the Camden Cardigan by So Sew English. The pattern offers 4 different lengths and a hood option.

For my fabric I chose the “Teal Wide Striped French Terry” from So Sew English. Sadly, the fabric is no longer available, but they have many other great French Terry choices available online. 

I have to admit that this was not my favorite pattern to work with initially, but I did end up loving it in the end. I struggled a bit in some areas of the construction, but I was very happy with the end result. Part of my struggle was due to my lack of experience with a few of the techniques used in the pattern. Sewing the casing and the button hole placement for the drawstring were my biggest challenges. When all was said and done, my buttonholes ended up being sewn inside of the casing. I shouldn’t even mention that I accidentally sewed the pockets shut! Although I had some struggles, I’m so glad I set my intimidation aside and powered through the pattern. In addition to enhancing my sewing skills and putting my seam ripper to good use, the Camden Cardigan has become one of my wardrobe favorites.

Now that I have completed the cardigan, I think the construction process on the next one will go much smoother. I plan to make another one in the fall using some Black Buffalo Plaid Brushed Hacci Sweater Knit I bought a while back. I think it will pair up great with some black leggings and black boots.

Thomas Track Pants

Next up in the months of May & June was the Love Notions Men’s Thomas Track Pants. This is such a wonderful pattern for anyone, especially tall skinny guys. It has been a constant struggle finding RTW pants for my son that fit in the waist and the length. If they fit in the waist, they are 3 inches too short. The Thomas Track Pants have completely eliminated that dilemma. What a blessing this pattern has been. My only regret is that I did not find it sooner.

The pattern instructions are very clear and well written making the pattern very easy to sew; however, I did not follow the pattern completely. I decided to add zipper pockets following the hack so kindly provided by Whitney from TomKat Stitchery. Her YouTube video was wonderful to follow and the zipper pockets give the pants such a professional look. My son loves the zipper pockets. They are large enough to hold a cell phone and wallet with the added security of not losing them. In addition to the elastic waist, I also decided to add a drawstring.

For the pair pictured above, I chose an athletic knit from Joann Fabrics. Since it was my first pair, I wanted to use an inexpensive fabric in case I ran into any catastrophic construction issues. The construction of the pants went very well and this pair ended up being my sons favorite pair of the three I made.

For the 2nd pair, I used 265GSM Silver Athletic Brushed Poly from Surge Fabric Shop. The fabric is a poly/spandex blend and it was really easy to work with.

I had just, and I mean JUST enough fabric leftover to make a pair of shorts. I followed the Thomas Track Pants pattern as I did for the pants, but I just made them the same length as an existing, well fitting pair of my sons shorts.

Rhapsody Dress

I was excited to be invited to a wedding for the daughter of a very dear friend of mine. It was the perfect excuse to make another Love Notions Rhapsody, but this time the dress version.

The first time around I made the blouse version of the pattern. You can view the post for my first Rhapsody here. I loved it so much, I decided to purchase a beautiful floral textured crepe to make the dress — that was 2+ years ago!

I was thrilled to finally use this beautiful fabric from my stash for what it was originally intended for. When making the dress, I opted to make my own bias binding for finishing the neckline in addition to adding ties. I think the ties are a really beautiful option added by Love Notions. I was very pleased with the end result and think it was the perfect combination of pattern choice and fabric to wear to a summer wedding. What do you think?

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my recent makes. I would love to read your comments below or answer any questions you have. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.