Sew Long Summer, Hello Fall

Call me a basic white girl all you want, I will own it. Except for Pumpkin Spice Lattes, those are gross. Fall is my absolute favorite season. I enjoy summer for its sunshine and lovely greenery, but its heat and humidity can go back to where they came from. I want none of that crap. So, it is with open arms and a big ole smile that I happily welcome fall. I was so ready for fall back in July that I actually took the time to fully plan a 10 piece fall collection for myself. I shared the quick and dirty sketches on Insta with descriptions of each. I then added a couple more garments after sharing that are not pictured. The collection is a little bit of 90s grunge with modern design silhouettes.

I will eventually share some more about coming up with my collection once I get another piece or two completed, but today I am excited to share the first garment. First up in my Smells Like Fall Spirit Collection (thanks Nirvana) is my first York Pinafore from Helen’s Closet. This is also my first time using an HC pattern. I must say, they do not disappoint.  Her instructions are well written for new sewists to easily pick up on. She has included lots of tips and why it is important to follow them. I am interested to try the Suki Robe at some point in the future.

For this version, I reached into my more recent stash acquisitions and pulled out this rusty coral brushed cotton twill. I picked this up from Cali Fabrics in end of 2016. I was going to use it to make a Kelly Anorak but decided it was a bit to structured for what I was going for.  Thus it made its way into my stash. I think it was the perfect fabric to pick for my first York. It sewed up really easy since there are not a lot of seams in the garment and the armholes and neckline are finished with double fold bias tape. That really helps to eliminate a lot of bulk that would otherwise happen.

I made view A with the large scoop pockets. My measurements put me into an XXL and I made that size without alterations. The pattern does say it is drafted for a 5’6″ frame and I am 5’8″. I did not add any length to it because I wanted it to come up a bit higher than my other dresses. I wanted to able to pair it with leggings for fall like I did in these photos.

I do want to say I used less fabric than the pattern called for. The twill I used was about 60″ wide, so I was able to fold the selvedge edges to meet in the center. This created two folds allowing both my front and back pieces to be cut on the fold side by side. The pattern called for 1.6 yards and I ended up using just over 1 yard. I still have 1.25 yards of this fabric left. I also used a package and a half of gray double fold bias tape as mentioned above. Total materials cost for the bias tape and fabric is $11.60. I put about 2.5 hours of time into cutting and sewing it including breaks. I value my time at $20 per hour, so the total garment cost equates to $61.60. Honestly, I think that is fairly close to what I would pay retail for a similar garment from Torrid.

I plan on styling this for fall with the leggings, t-shirt, and striped vest like I have here. I also want to pair the York with a close fitting striped shirt that is on my to do list for my collection.

Have you made a York yet? Share them with me if you have, I want to see them!

Welcome to the Sew Long Summer blog tour. We’re going to have a fun one this year.

A nice group of sewing bloggers are going to share with you how we say “Sew Long Summer” and we’ll be asking you to join in with a Social Sew too (read on for details and prizes)

Sew Long Summer is all about getting those transitional wardrobe pieces ready; finishing up all those things we meant to make this summer; and well, basically whatever Sew Long Summer means to you.

 

Share what you’ve been making to say “Sew Long Summer” to be entered into our random drawing.

Continental US participants will be entered to win a $20 store credit from Simply by Ti Fabrics.

All other participants will be entered to win a pattern of choice from DG Patterns.

To enter, please tag your sewing project with #SewLongSewcial18 on Instagram or facebook. You can also leave a link in the comments on the mahlicadesigns intro post. Please limit your entries to items you’ve sewn between Sept 10th and Sept 28th 2018. Winners will be notified and announced shortly thereafter.

We can’t wait to see what you’re making.

The full tour includes these talented sewists, so I hope you’ll follow along this week.

Sept. 10th Sewing A La Carte, Tenille’s Thread, A Custom Clothier, Made for Little Gents, Miss Marah Sewn

Sept. 11th Manning the Machine, mahlicadesigns, Sewing Vortex, Crafting Fiend

Sept. 12th Auschick Sews, Aurora Design Fabrics, My Heart Will Sew On, Vicky Myers Creations

Sept. 13th Flaxfield Sewing, Sewing with D, Musings of a Seamstress, Make it Sew with the Bear and Pea Atelier, Petite Font

Sept. 14th Sewing à la Carte, Sewing by Ti, Stitches by Laura, Sewing with Sarah, My Sewing Roots