Phee Fabrics – Sew Beach Life

All About The Azure

Greenstyle has been knocking it out of the park with new patterns, and the Azure Top and Dress is another winner! There are options galore with crew, scoop and V-necklines; narrow or wide tanks; cap, short, full, or long sleeves; crop, high hip, or low hip tops; and a super cute dress with elastic in the back for shaping.

When you make three tops and a dress, it’s a sure sign that you love a pattern! 🙂 My first make is a V-neck narrow tank in the high hip length. When I texted my daughter a photo to show her how cute it is, she said she “loves the modern length on me.” Hahahahahahahaha! Obviously I have not been wearing tops with a modern length! She’s not wrong. After losing some weight, most of my tanks and tops are big, baggy, and too long on me. So I really needed to make some new ones!

I love the V-neck, I love the drapiness of rayon spandex for this style, and the narrow tank width is perfect for my shoulder width.

Since those style choices worked so well the first time, my second make is another V-neck narrow tank in high hip length.

This green rayon spandex is a bit heavier weight than the cheetah print, and as usual for testing, the pattern was updated slightly to fit a little slimmer at the armscye and bust. This top may look a little snug at the bust, but it is super comfortable and will fit an average bust quite nicely.

All of my makes are a size E graded out to size F. My upper bust is 33″, which is the smallest end of size E. My full bust is 37″, the largest measurement for size E, so right on the edge of needing an FBA. Because Greenstyle is awesome, they include a +2″ FBA option in the pattern. 🙂

Which leads me to the third V-neck narrow tank in high hip length, made using the +2″ FBA front pattern piece. Along with a bit of width at the bust, the FBA adds length to the center front, which is super helpful for those of us with a lot of bust projection. Although I don’t mind the slightly high low look of my first two tanks, my FBA make has a more level hemline.

This tank is an upcycle made from an old RTW dress. Although the fabric is a polyester spandex (if you know or follow me, I’m not generally a fan of polyester) the print and colors were too fun for me to ignore.

Polyester spandex doesn’t have quite as nice a drape as rayon spandex, but it still works well for this pattern. I wore this outfit all day while playing with my granddaughters. The six year old and I went roller skating around the neighborhood and I was so comfortable that I didn’t even think about my clothes.

Photo courtesy of my six year old granddaughter.

I love that the “modern” 😉 high hip length keeps my belly covered even with arms raised overhead. One of these days I might try the crop length, because it would look super cute with a Paseo Skirt…

After seeing the cute Azure dresses during testing, it was impossible to not make one. The back elastic just gives it such pretty shaping.

The length is perfect! Short enough to be cool and breezy (because let’s face it- Florida is hot and humid for most of the year), but long enough to wear to Mass.

The back elastic not only provides shaping for the front of the dress, but helps it lay smoothly and comfortably against your back.

If you’re nervous about sewing an elastic casing on stretchy knit fabric, I’ve got great tips for you. First, make sure you mark your casing lines (on the wrong side of the fabric) with a high contrast color. I like using tracing paper and a tracing wheel. Then press up both long sides of the casing.

My (not so) secret weapon for keeping the casing from stretching or shifting out of place when sewing is Wash Away Wonder Tape.

Place a strip of Wash Away Wonder Tape along both pressed up edges of the casing. Flip the casing over so that the wrong side of the casing lines up with the marked lines on the wrong side of the dress back.

Start peeling the paper backing off the strip on the top edge of the casing, then use your hands to press it in place along the top marked line. Once the casing is perfectly aligned and pressed into place, do the same with the bottom edge.

My sweet kitty likes to be close by while I’m sewing. He lounges on a chair while I cut or do prep at the dining table, then follows me into the sewing studio when I sew. ❤

The Wash Away Wonder Tape will keep the casing perfectly in place for stitching. What you may have thought of as a challenging step becomes super easy, and you don’t even need to worry about using or pulling pins when you sew the casing in place!

Maybe this winter I’ll try a version with sleeves, but for now the V-neck and narrow tank options are perfect for both the top and dress.

My favorite fabric for both the tank and dress is of course rayon spandex, because I love that fabric blend for pretty much any knit tank, tee, or dress I make.

But I have to admit that the polyester spandex blend worked well too.

Whether you’re working, playing, walking through the woods or just stopping to smell the roses, the Azure Top and Dress will keep you comfortable on your journey.

The details: the Azure Top and Dress is a new pattern from GreenStyle Creations. It comes in sizes B-M (full bust of 30″ to 61″ and hips of 32″ to 62″) and has options galore for the neckline, tank styles, and sleeve options, with three top lengths (plus a dress length!)

I purchased the rayon spandex cheetah print from Mood Fabrics, and wore my tank with bike shorts from the Moxi Shorts pattern.

I purchased the green rayon spandex from Phee Fabrics, and wore it with my Windward Shorts (you can read all about them here.)

I upcycled the teal and purple polyester spandex fabric, and wore the FBA version of the tank with Moxi bike shorts.

The blue rayon spandex for the dress was purchased from Phee Fabrics. The Wash Away Wonder Tape and the 1″ knit elastic used for the back elastic casing were purchased from Wawak.

No matter what options you choose, I am definitely all about the Azure!

The links to GreenStyle may be affiliate links (if I did them properly!) which means that I may earn a few pennies if you use my links without it costing you anything extra. Since this is my blog and represents me, I always give my honest opinion about any patterns, fabric, or supplies that I talk about. I hope the time I spend writing posts actually interests people enough that they take a look at the patterns I review. I write to share my love of sewing, fabric, patterns, and notions, and hope that sharing helpful tips encourages others to love sewing as much as I do! 🙂

Mashing Patterns To Suit Your Body And Style

People sometimes comment in Facebook sewing groups that they can’t find a pattern that they like, or they want a certain style for the top, but a different look for the bottom. Do you have patterns with certain elements that you absolutely love, and wish that you could mix and match them with elements from a different pattern? Have you ever tried mashing those patterns together to give you a new look? I find myself mashing and hacking patterns all the time. It’s generally a good idea to make the pattern as designed at least once, to judge how it fits and looks on you. Once you know how it fits, it’s easier to start playing with your patterns.

A pattern mash can be something as simple as using the contour waistband you love from your favorite workout pants on a different pants or shorts pattern. I use a modified version of the Patterns for Pirates Peg Legs contoured waistband on P4P SOS Pants and it works great, blogged here. Mixing and mashing sports bras with workout tanks can really personalize your gym wardrobe. Like using the GreenStyle Power Sports Bra and mashing it with the body of the GS Lille or Jillian Tank to make a workout top. It’s always fun to turn a top into a dress, like using the Stitch Upon A Time Aushui Tank and mashing it with the skirt of the Calista Bra, Top, Tunic & Dress.

Sometimes your mash will require a little bit of adjustment in order to work. Like tracing the armscye from a pattern onto another pattern to ensure that the sleeves you want to use will fit the jacket, top, or dress. Sometimes it’s a matter of making your best guess as to what will work, then trying it on and adjusting from there.

That was my experience with last week’s pattern mash. I wanted another new dress, and loved the flared skirt from the Sinclair Yasmin Dress. Temperatures are still in the 90’s here, so a strappy dress seemed in order. The Stitch Upon A Time Water Faery Twist & Swim Top (blogged here) fits well, so I figured that mashing the plain front version with the Yasmin skirt would make a super cute dress. And I think it does. But it took a little bit of basting and trying on to perfect my fit. I knew that the V-shaped waistband from the Yasmin wasn’t going to line up with the bodice of the Water Faery, so I cut out the crop length Water Faery body to use as a waistband. Since it’s technically designed as a swim top, the body is quite fitted, so that it won’t float or ride up when you go in the water. Since I don’t plan to swim in my dress, I want the waistband fitted, but not too form-fitted. Since I’ve been known to bake (and thoroughly enjoy indulging in) apple crisp this time of year, I decided to size up one on the “waistband”. 😉

Knowing how a pattern fits, and taking note of any changes you make to the pattern really helps the next time you make it. When I made the Water Faery into a workout top, I narrowed and lengthened the straps and liked it, so this time I knew that cutting out strips 3″ wide & 14″ long would give me the perfect finished size. Sewing up the bodice (which is an inner and outer layer of Phee Fabrics Tricot, with a layer of powernet sandwiched between) and straps was pretty quick and easy, and the fit was spot on. Since I hate seam ripping, I just basted the “waistband” pieces together, and tried it on. It was too loose under the bust. So I graded the front waistband piece from my measured size at the top, and somewhat straight down, rather than angling in which gave me more of a rectangular rather than tapered shape. With the width figured out, I stitched the side seams together and basted the outer waistband to the bodice, right sides together. Then I pinned the inner waistband to the inside, effectively making an enclosed waistband. It’s easier for me to keep all of the layers perfectly lined up by basting one layer on before pinning on the other layer and stitching everything together. Before folding the waistband pieces down into place, I zigzagged 1″ wide elastic to the seam allowance, using the length recommended for my size in the Water Faery pattern. This ensures that the waistband and skirt will stay down under the bust.

Then it was time to determine how long the waistband needed to be. I wanted the flared skirt to start right at the natural waist. Starting the flare at the narrowest part of the body gives the illusion of an hourglass shape. My natural waist is quite high, pretty much right at the bottom of my ribs, well above my belly button. It was surprisingly easy to find the perfect spot. Since the waistband also had powernet sandwiched between the layers, it was definitely going to find the narrowest point for me! Literally just bending side to side, forward and back, caused the waistband to roll up to the height of my natural waist. I used my hem gauge to take note of the fact that the waist seam needed to be 1″ up from the bottom of the waistband in the back and on the sides, tapering to 1-3/4″ up in the center front. Since I prefer using 3/8″ seam allowances, I trimmed 5/8″ off the back waistband pattern piece. I used a ruler to taper from 5/8″ at the sides to 1-3/8″ at center front on the front waistband pattern piece. Then I very carefully matched up the side seams of my bodice, lined up the bottom edges, pinned the bodice together so that the center front and center back were on the two outside edges, and used my rotary cutter to trim off the excess fabric.

Adding the skirt was super simple, sew up the two side seams, match center points and side seams, pin all around, and stitch. The most time consuming part was pinning up the hem. I finished the hem with a simple zigzag stitch. And Ta Dah! I have a brand new fun and flowy dress! Because I used powernet in the bodice, waistband, and straps, and elastic under the bust, I didn’t need to add swim cups or wear a bra with this dress. And I’ve already had two random strangers ask me where I found such a cute dress.

See how the seam where the skirt is attached runs perfectly parallel across the back?

Laughing while modelling your makes is half the fun!

And of course I had to twirl! Whenever you make a twirly skirt, you can’t help but twirl!

This pattern mash was a complete success, and something I’m bound to make again. After sewing it, I realize it’s probably pretty close to the Water Faery Retro One Piece dress option, and that’s ok, because it looks like a great pattern. Since I already own the Twist & Swim Top, and would never wear a one piece, I don’t feel like I have to buy the pattern just for the dress option. (Although if you’re not yet comfortable with pattern mashing or hacking, it is a great option).

One of the best things about sewing is being able to personalize patterns, mixing and mashing, and hacking them to suit your body, and your style. Are you ready to try a pattern mash?

This post may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my links. As always, I only give my honest opinion. After all, it is my blog, which represents me! 😉 Thank you for reading and sharing my love of sewing, patterns, fabric, and pattern mashing and hacking. ❤

Grandma For A Year

There’s nothing like being a Grandma!

There is nothing like being a Grandma. I’ve always heard people say that and wondered what they meant by it. I love being a Mom. We were blessed with great kids who are truly wonderful people that we always enjoy being around and spending time with. So of course I would love being a Grandma, as it’s our baby’s baby.

Dan and I were fortunate to be at a stage in our lives that allowed us to be close by at the crucial time. We had sold our house in Michigan, and hadn’t yet found a new home in Florida. So we rented an apartment for three months that was about 12 minutes away from our daughter and son-in-law’s home. We were able to help with some last minute baby preparations, and to be there with Jennifer through 3 days of labor. The excitement of our granddaughter’s birth was topped off when I finally got to hold her in my arms. Her warmth, her smell, her soft baby skin, still covered in birth fluids. My heart was overflowing with love.

I made breakfasts and dinners, and cleaned and did laundry, and waited impatiently for my share of baby snuggles. Baby Lila wormed her way deeper and deeper into my heart. The daily visits ended when we moved back to Florida. But I am so grateful that we had the opportunity for that early bonding time.

We fly up for visits every month to six weeks or so, and Lila is always happy to see us. We’ve watched her mature and grow, and seen the milestones and developing talents in person, in photos, and via Facetime. It cracks me up how she tries to reach out through the phone or iPad to touch us. The first year has flown by.

When Jennifer started planning Lila’s first birthday party, I was hoping that Lila would be able to wear the dress Jennifer wore on her first birthday. Unfortunately, there is a stain on the front of the dress that I don’t think will come out after 30 years! Since I like to sew, I knew I could make her something pretty to wear instead.

Jennifer chose a “She’s a wild ONE” jungle theme for the party and I instantly knew what fabric I was going to use. I had ordered the palm print leaf matte nylon/spandex from Phee Fabrics intending to make a dress for myself. But I hadn’t decided on the perfect pattern yet, so the fabric was stashed and waiting for me. I thought it would be fun to make something for all three of us to wear on the special occasion. I also thought that I had three yards of fabric stashed, but in reality only had two. Yikes!

That ruled out the possibility of making dresses for all three of us, so Lila got a birthday dress, and the two of us got tanks. I have made my daughter tank tops before, and have three different patterns cut out in her size. Her favorite seems to be the Patterns for Pirates Essential Tank, so I chose that for her. Its flattering, simple, yet shapely design is also great for layering, so I knew she would be able to wear it year round. I debated between the Essential Tank and the Made for Mermaids Women’s Mya pattern for myself. I decided on the Women’s Mya since it’s a bit roomier, I knew it would be a busy day, and there would be snacks and cake involved!

The birthday girl’s dress needed to be flowy and pretty and work with a knit fabric. Jennifer and I both liked the Ellie and Mac Be Dreamy dress, but I had a few concerns. Since Lila is a busy baby and a beginning walker, a floor length dress was out of the question. The high-low hemline is cute, but still not practical for a one year old. So it had to become a knee length dress. This would be an easier fix if they lived close by and I could compare the pattern to her and her other dresses to judge the fit. But she doesn’t, so I had to work off measurements. “No longer than seventeen inches” was the answer I received to “How long from her shoulder to hemline?” So I overlapped my pattern pieces by the seam allowance, measured down from the shoulder, added a hem allowance and drew my new hemline.

Now to fit all these pieces onto only two yards of fabric! I always take my time with pattern layout and cutting. Everything needs to be perfectly on grain, and I hate wasting fabric. Talk about your fussy cutting! Fortunately, the palm leaf fabric is a true 60″ wide, so I was able to cut all the pieces facing (what I considered) upright on the fabric. Since the leaves go in all different directions, it isn’t an obvious directional fabric and I could have made life easier by flipping things to fit, but that’s not how I roll!

The tank tops and dress sewed up easily, if slowly, since I just use a basic Brother sewing machine. I like to finish my neck and arm band seams with my machine’s overcast stitch, followed by topstitching to get a clean, professional look. (Someday I’ll get that fancy Babylock serger/coverstitch on my daydream wishlist!) 😉

The full circle flutter sleeves on the Be Dreamy dress were my other concern. They needed to be light and fluttery, and preferably out of a solid, since the underside of the fabric shows. Jennifer didn’t want to mix in a color with the palm leaf print, so that nixed the circular knit and tricot I had on hand. My solution was white powernet. I always use it to add support to the bras and workout tops I make, but it’s a versatile fabric. I’ve added powernet side panels to workout capris, and have an idea percolating for a top with powernet insets. Since it doesn’t fray, careful cutting with my rotary cutter was all the finish the fluttery sleeves needed. I carefully tacked on some organza ribbon rose trim around the bottom of the bodice and along the hem and the birthday dress was complete!

Let the “She’s a wild ONE!” party begin!

There is indeed nothing like being a Grandma! Lila fills my heart with joy and is a spectacular gift from God. Her big blue eyes with mile long lashes, her laughs and saucy little grin, her backward waves, and heart-stopping desire to walk up and down the stairs, the way she practically runs while pushing her walker, and her undeniably fun personality all combine into one beautiful bundle of wonder that has completely stolen this Grandma’s heart.

Happy 1st birthday Lila! I love you!

S.U.A.T. Brazi/Calista Mash-Up

Mash it, and hack it, and make that dress your own!

I love the Stitch Upon A Time Brazi pattern. I was so intimidated to try making my own bra that I eyed it for a month before I finally bought the pattern! Since then I’ve made several workout bras for myself, a nursing bra for my daughter and a Brazi dress that I wear all the time. I’ve hacked it for straight straps and removable bra cups and decided, why not mash it with the S.U.A.T. Calista? Once you feel comfortable with a pattern and know the best fabrics to make it with, it is easy to branch out and try something new with it.

Please note that out of respect for the designers, and protection of their intellectual property, I will not show full pattern pieces. I bought the cross-front add-on when I bought the Brazi pattern because I love the look and knew that it would be the most flattering for my body type. But you can do the straight strap hack on the original pattern. I simply marked my pattern where it curves from cup to strap, and folded it under 1/2″ above that. I folded the back straps under and cut out my modified pattern pieces. I cut four 2″x13″ rectangles out of my fabric as my strap and strap lining pieces.
Choosing the perfect fabric is always the fun part of sewing. And using high quality fabric is key when making a supportive and functional bra. I love using Phee Fabrics circular knit, nylon/spandex, and rayon/spandex for my Brazi’s. But the not-so-secret part to being successful at supporting “the girls” is powernet. And I’m not talking the decorative looking mesh stuff I’ve seen at a national fabric and crafts store. Phee Fabrics powernet is legit! It holds everything where it belongs.

I cut out my pattern pieces using the same fabric for the main and lining pieces and also cut all my pieces out of powernet. I trim the powernet 1/8″ to 1/4″ smaller on all sides except the side seams.

Pin the trimmed powernet pieces to your lining pieces and baste in place. Do not baste along the side seams! To make the pocket for your bra cups, lay your cups on top of the bra front and mark the height. Sewing a horizontal line across the height mark will keep your cups from shifting out of place.

Sew your main and lining front pieces right side together. The pattern tutorial recommends using elastic along the front edge of the cups. Using the elastic adds another layer of security if you are concerned about anything showing when you lean forward.

I marked and pinned my back pieces together and left the center 4″ open when I sewed the top seam so that I would have room to insert the straps later.

Open up your front main and lining piece and match it up with your back main and lining. Here’s the tricky part: sew the outer main fabric together, sewing down about an inch into the lining and then sew the bottom inch together. Pull the lining fabric of the bra front out of the seam line and tuck it out of the way as you pin the powernet and back lining pieces together. You may need to use your finger to hold the fabric out of the way as you sew the other 3 layers together. This will give you the opening on the inside of the side seam for you to insert and remove a bra cup.

Repeat the process with the other side seam. At this point you can follow the pattern directions about matching your center front notches, adjusting strap length, sewing on your bra band or skirt and adding the elastic.

Since I was adding the Calista skirt to the Brazi top, and the bottom of the two bras are different shapes, I knew that I might need to make some adjustments. You might like the look of the dipped hem my mash produced, but I am kind of old school, and like my hems to be level with the floor. I had an easy fix for my problem.

I laid the skirt pattern on the skirt, pivoted it up from the center front fold to 2″ above the side seams. I flipped the pattern over and repeated the process on the skirt back. I hemmed the skirt and my Brazi/Calista mash-up was complete!

In hindsight, I should have just traced the top curve of the Brazi skirt instead of following the straight edge of the Calista skirt. But since the skirt was already sewn on, and I didn’t feel like seam ripping, cutting the bottom worked. I’ll definitely use the Brazi skirt curve in my future makes!

Although I can add bra cups if I want, I wore my new dress all day and took these photos without using any cups. THAT is how well quality powernet works! So hack and mash and sew away! And enjoy wearing your comfortable, personalized creation.

*This post may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my links. As always, I only give my honest opinion. After all, it is my blog, which represents me! Thank you for reading and supporting my love of sewing!

Sewing for Men

Man Up!

Do you sew for the men in your life? I used to sew cute shirts, shorts, and pants for my son when he was little, but haven’t made him a thing in over 25 years. I made my husband a bathrobe a good 15 years ago, but that’s it. I sew for myself and my baby granddaughter all the time, and have made quite a few things for my daughter. But the men in my life seem to get left out, until now.

I decided it was time to let them be the beneficiaries of my makes. Since my husband now funds my fabric and pattern budget 🙂 and tolerates all the time I spend sewing, he deserves something nice. My son was kind enough to help me finish setting up my website (as I am definitely not a technogeek) and deserved a reward for his help and patience.

So I decided to make my husband and son Sinclair Patterns Men’s Kai Tee Shirts out of Phee Fabrics rayon spandex. Wow! Normally I am not a fan of rayon spandex. It’s not that I don’t love the softness of rayon spandex, but generally speaking it is not a fun fabric to work with. It’s thin and flimsy. It gets all wrinkly. It stretches and gets bagged out of shape. It’s slippery and a pain to sew.

Since I really like Phee Fabrics and have always been impressed with their quality, I decided to give their rayon spandex a try. Wow! It is so much nicer than your typical rayon spandex. It’s way more substantial (13 oz.), has beautiful recovery, doesn’t come out of the dryer as a wrinkly mess, and even makes great bands on your tees. I am using their rayon spandex for all kinds of makes now!

My next question was what pattern to use? Some of my favorite “go-to” pdf pattern companies have shirt patterns, but most of them seem to be raglan sleeve styles. Also, my son is tall, and my husband is not. It’s not that I’m not used to having to lengthen patterns, since I am tall, but really, who wants to use their precious sewing time having to adjust their pattern? Enter Sinclair Patterns. Their patterns come with height options! Regular, Tall and Short. How amazing is that? So I bought, downloaded and printed off the Men’s Kai in Tall and Regular. Traced off my husband and son’s sizes and got to sewing.

The shirts came together quickly and easily, and the neckband lengths in the pattern were perfect. I don’t know about you, but I always wait until I have my shoulder seams sewn together to cut my neckbands. I measure the opening and calculate the appropriate length, and frequently have to make longer bands than a pattern suggests. It drives me crazy, but I have been burned too many times by a tight, gathered looking neckband to trust most patterns. The Kai pattern neckband was perfect on both sizes. It makes me confident that I will have the same success with their other patterns.

All that was left to do was photograph my makes. Getting my guys to agree to be photographed took a minute, but they had fun at my quick photo session. And I snuck into a selfie, since who wouldn’t want to be photographed with these two cuties? So give new patterns and fabrics a try, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! Happy sewing!

Flutter Sleeve Hack

I wrote a guest blog on the Phee Fabrics Phee Blog, so I thought I would share it here. Have you ever tried taking a photo at the beach on a windy day? Let me tell you, it leads to laughter and crazy photos as you can see above! I hacked the Made for Mermaids Women’s Mya Top, Tunic and Dress Pattern to have flutter sleeves.

via Flutter Sleeve Hack