Summer Sewing

At this point in the calendar, I'm really, really ready for cool weather. But the heat goes on for a while here in the SE USA. In fact, everywhere I've been this summer has been hot. Or hot and humid. I've had an unusually busy travel summer - Belize, Paris, the Alps. It was hot even in the Alps! My next trip is to the NE USA. The high there will be 98F.

So in preparing for this last trip, I knew I wanted another summer make. I chose the Cottage shirt from the Sewing Workshop. It's a little camp shirt. I made it last summer and that piece is still a favorite. This is partially because of the pretty light weight blue linen but also because of the pattern.

There are many things to like about the Cottage shirt. There is the classic collar and stand, but I prefer to omit the collar for this weather. There are the short sleeves, really just cuffs. There is a yoke in the back to provide a little interest. There are the side slits combined with a deep hem, giving it a little swing.

This fabric is a medium weight cotton print. I fiddled with working with the grain versus working with the print and then finally gave up and cut it out. I don't think either is a noticeable issue.

I lined the yoke with cotton batiste to reduce the bulk there. I also cut the yoke on the bias. This is both lazy and fun. It calls attention to the yoke and it means no pattern matching there.

I made no changes in the pattern and I am quite pleased with result!

I also tried to fix some things. I made this cotton pique Eureka top (also TSW) a while back. I don't wear it often as it feels like scrubs and the V neck was too high.

So I reshaped the neckline and removed the cuffs. The cuffs gave me enough fabric to bind the new neckline and the armholes. And I added a little something to the back.

I also decided to work on the lining of a hat I like and need to wear. The lining was becoming quite stained though the hat is still in good shape. I removed the lining, soaked and scrubbed it a bit and let dry.  It definitely looks better, so it feels better.

Then I tried to reassemble the hat. Now why didn't I make registration marks on the hat and lining so I would be able to re-align them?!? As a result, the reassembly took way longer that it should have. And then I just happened upon a youtube video showing that the entire hat is hand-washable!

Lastly I reshaped a tee shirt. I also goofed on this seemingly small project. I used the Grainline Lark tee shirt pattern that I've had good success with in the past. But my goof was that I failed to check the stretch on the tee shirt.

So now it is a little more fitted than I like. But it's better than it was as a shapeless man's shirt.

My next project will be the new Splice top from the Sewing Workshop. I acquired a copy of it during Sew Kansas a while back. I've made it twice and really like it. Then I lost the pattern. But, just in time, they finally published it. Hooray. I have my next one cut and ready to sew!