Hobbies and Crafts

SewLong Summer Blog Tour: Lauren Shirt and Pirate Pencil Skirt

14355625_10207856316267281_7056113396085708276_n14324452_10103669379216739_5365708588806097386_oI am pleased to announce my participation in the SewLong Summer Blog Tour.  There are many very talented seamstresses on this tour, and I’m proud to be participating in it.  

For the tour, I made two pieces that are transitional. Because it’s still pretty warm here in Wichita, I wanted something I could wear now and wear later. I originally picked out the Gnomes on the Bus fabric from Mabel Madison because I thought it would be cute to wear an outfit made with it to a local brewery with (literally) the best beer I’ve ever had, Hopping Gnome Brewing Company.  That plan changed upon making the outfit for reasons I’ll get to soon. 

I decided to go with the Made for Mermaids Mama Lauren pintuck shirt and the Patterns for Pirates Pirate Pencil Skirt.  (Affiliate Links) I paired the outfit with brown boots I purchased from Maurice’s. It’s one of the few stores, I’ve found, that carry size 12 women’s shoes – though more and more stores are making that move all the time. As it gets colder, I’ll add a pair of tights made with The Wolf and The Tree’s Gazelle Ladies Footed Tights and my trusty red Seamwork Oslo cardigan I made last fall.

P4P Pirate Pencil Skirt

I started with the skirt. This is actually the third Pirate Pencil Skirt I’ve made. It takes less time to sew it than it does to cut it out. I used Stenzo jersey knit. It turned out really great, I think – only it’s a little loose on me. I lost some inches around my waist and hips between cutting this and the shirt and sewing them up.  Let this be a lesson to you! I’m still happy with how it turned out, and it’s bright, and probably a lot louder than most things I normally wear. 

M4M Lauren Shirt

When I was talking with Melissa of Tales of a Tester, she totally sold me on this pattern. It’s cute, it’s an easier sew with just enough details to make it interesting, but not so many that it wouldn’t work with a busy print like the Gnomes on the Bus. The pintucks are all about being able to sew a very straight line and press well. The keyhole binding takes patience (and a good press as well). I wasn’t sure about it until I got the whole neckband on and put it on. Once it was on, and I tucked it in, I was in love. I think it will go great with jeans and it will be nice with leggings and a belt. I kind of felt like I was swimming in it as well, but that’s not a bad thing. 

Photos of my finished garments (keep reading to the end for a giveaway and discount codes.)

Be sure to check out today’s posts from the tour:

Sewing by Ti, Musings of a Seamstress, Tales of a Tester, Almost a hippy, At Margareta’s Haus, Sewing A La Carte, Birds Of A Kettle

 
Our awesome bloggers 

Sept. 12th Sewing by Ti, Cindy Parrett, Sewing Vortex, Renata Laura, Couturious, Nina Makes

Sept. 13th mahlicadesigns, Musings of a Seamstress, Rainy Day Sewing, Sprouting Jube Jube, Sewing A La Carte, Anne-Mari Sews

Sept. 14th AppleGreen Cottage, mahlicadesigns, Kaleidothought, PrettiModesti, Olive Ashby, Sewing Bee Fabrics

Sept. 15th Lulu & Celeste, Diane Cullum of Two Chicklets, Adventures With Bubba and Bug, Wining Wife, The Pumpkin Room, Sewing A La Carte, Anne-Mari sews

Sept. 16th Sewing by Ti, Musings of a Seamstress, Tales of a Tester, Almost a hippy, At Margareta’s Haus, Sewing A La Carte, Birds Of A Kettle

Rafflecopter Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fun discounts and coupon codes from our sponsors:Sponsor Collage Final

Zierstoff Patterns 20% off patterns Code: zierstoffpatterns20 Ends 9/17/16

Blue Dot Patterns 25% off patterns Code: SewLongSummer Ends 9/17/16

On the Cutting Floor 50% off patterns Code: SEWLONG Ends 9/17/16

 

Ronda Bowen

Ronda Bowen is a writer, editor, and independent scholar. She has a Master of Arts in Philosophy from Northern Illinois University and a B.A. in Philosophy, Pre-Graduate Option, Honors in the Major from California State University, Chico. When she is not working on client projects from her editorial consulting business, she is writing a novel. In her free time, she enjoys gourmet cooking, wine, martinis, copious amounts of coffee, reading, watching movies, sewing, crocheting, crafts, hanging out with her husband, and spending time with their teenage son and infant daughter.

You may also like...

4 Comments

  1. What a great make and combination. I like the fabric choices. This combinations suits you well.

  2. First I love everything polka dots and the matchers with you Lil one is awesome, looks nice on both of you, great skirts!

    1. Thank you! 😀

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.