“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”~Thomas Edison
Again, my apologies for being slow about posting! I have been sewing, of course, and also staying busy with other things that are fulfilling.
I’ve been wanting to make more beach outfits, since Mia lives by the ocean. She, naturally, also wanted to receive some beach outfits. She’s always wanted a versatile beach outfit, and of course, a vintage one! She picked out this 1940’s reprint pattern that I had. I also had this tropical fabric, and thankfully, enough of it to make the shorts, skirt, and the top of this beachy beauty! I got to work!
I decided that I would make the shorts first. They seemed easy enough, but I have not made very many pants or shorts. I was feeling triumphant since my success with Mia’s apple pants, so I had the confidence to tackle shorts.
If you missed my last post where the apple pants are featured, the link is below.
One Good Apple – Sewing With Grandma
I laid the front and back of the shorts pattern out onto the fabric.
These shorts have an opening on the side and are held closed by buttons. I cut out the underlap piece that would go around this opening. I wasn’t sure how it worked, but I was taking it one step at a time.
Marking the darts in the shorts.
Sewing the darts. I always put one pin in horizontally, so I know the end of the dart is coming!
Now, as for this side flap closure. It was something new for me, so I had to pay attention. It called or interfacing, which I ironed on. It also had a small hem on one side.
So there I was, sewing that on, and very unsure on how it was going to work.
Mia had picked out these beautiful vintage buttons. I’ve used a card of them before on a shirt I made for myself.
To see that post, click the link below!
The Threads That Bind – Sewing With Grandma
Now here is when it went awry! Please note that as things are going awry, I’m not taking pictures, but problem solving and stressing. What had happened was that I sewed the opening and flaps for the opening on the wrong side. This made the shorts open backwards. They still functioned but did not have the sleek, folded back look that they were supposed to have. They looked like one side had a pocket.
I decided to carry on with the rest of the sew. I would circle back around to the shorts when the other pieces were finished.
Next, I got to work on the wrap around skirt. I laid the pieces out, pinned them, and cut them out.
One side of the skirt had this beautiful pleating.
I got the skirt pieces sewn together, next would be some hemming and the waist band and tie.
Hemming it up. Some patterns call for things to be hemmed last, while others call for them to be hemmed before other steps. With this instruction I figure they know best, and I do what I’m told.
Prepping the waistband and tie straps. If you’re like me, you’ll be looking in the background for other things. Take note of Grandpa’s WWII fabric roll off to the side. Yes, I still have tons of it.
With the waist band attached there was nothing left to do but to makes one buttonhole for the inner skirt part to be connected to when wrapped around you. Luckily, I was able to use the same button on this as I had for the shorts. (The shorts that were backwards, let’s not forget I still have that to deal with.)
I moved onto the top. I had never made a bathing suit/bra type top, so I was excited to try something new. I took my time and read the directions thoroughly. Perhaps I always should do that, but I’m not going to lie, most of the times I glance at the directions and keep it moving.
Once both pieces of the bust front were sewn together, I had to create a casing for some “cording” to go through. That’s what I’m pointing at in the picture below.
So now I needed “cording”. Do I carefully read all of the required notions before I start a project? The answer is no. In my defense, if you saw my sewing room you would know why. Chances are I have what I need. I sometimes look around the notions sections of, well, Hobby Lobby, and take mental note that I have a bigger and better selection at home. I say “well, Hobby Lobby” because it’s one of the last places near me to get sewing notions and fabric. I have to admit that I don’t really like Hobby Lobby, however, these desperate times call for desperate measures.
I am rapidly seeing the decrease in sewing notions, even at the dreaded “HL”. Also, as most sewist know, the quality of the available products is at an all-time low. I prefer to buy any notions I find second hand, and squirrel them away. The notions of the past were made to last and are also beautiful. Some might call this “hoarding”. I call this “being prepared”. Case in point, during the pandemic and the frantic mask making of the sewing world, so many people ran out of elastic for masks. I never did. But now I’m just rambling, back to the needed notion at hand, “cording”.
This was one thing I did not have. I did however have a cord string that fell out of an old hoodie. I always save little things like that because you never know when they will come in handy. Well for this sew, that old cord was saving the day!
The bonus feature on this cording was that it had the metal on the end, so I used that to feed the cord through the casing and cut it off when I was done! Win win! I got the cording stitched down and got ready for the next step.
Cording cut and ready to add the side straps.
The side straps which crisscross behind the back, were in place. Now to tackle the front band. The cut of it reminded me of Wonder Woman. Who knows why, I can’t explain how my brain works! HA!
Getting it sewn together, and paying close attention to the directions!
Almost there….
Whew! I did it! All that was left was to add the buttons and buttonholes to the straps.
Now was time to deal with the shorts. I had already put the buttonholes into the pair I made, so taking them apart and resewing them wasn’t an option. I had just enough fabric to make a whole new pair. This time I very boldly marked the right side with tailor’s chalk. This was my last chance to get them right! (I did not take pictures of this, the process was like the first shorts, only correct this time around!)
AND…….
The outfit was complete!
Mia is ready for the summer in this adorable beach set!
The skirt easily unties revealing her shorts that were very well sewn, if I do say so myself! (After getting it wrong the first time, HA!)
You can see the button up side of the shorts, featuring her very vintage buttons
The perfect outfit for the beach, or the back yard!
It was good to get into a multi-part sewing project. Of course, I’ve got another project in the works as I type this. Plus the quilts I’m still piecing together, plus some embroidery projects, plus some hand quilting, plus some crochet for good measure!
Thanks for sticking with me faithful readers, even if my posts aren’t coming as frequently as in the past. I haven’t given up! As a teaser, I’ll even share that my next sew is a pattern from the 1960’s! So keep checking in!
As for me, onto the next!
