Sew Long Summer Blog Tour

We’re kicking off the annual Sew Long Summer blog tour this week, which is all about transitional wardrobe pieces, finishing up things that didn’t get done over the summer, and whatever else Sew Long Summer might mean! Thanks to Mahlica Designs for hosting!

I had so many ideas floating around my head for this tour – sewing things for corralling toys that keep ending up under my sofa 😠, making swimsuits for my kids (they swim year round), sewing up a bunch of Pearlie dresses, or generally adding to the lack of shorts/pants supplies in my kids’ closets.

In the end though, I decided I would share a summery outfit I made a couple months ago but hadn’t yet blogged about! (What can I say: I’m still not ready to bust out my knee high boots and brown based wardrobe. And my kids will happily wear shorts and t-shirts year round!).

I had been sitting on this Simply By Ti pink stretch faux leather for ages and thought it would be perfect as an unhemmed circle skirt! The Jalie circle skirt pattern came to the rescue – this is a very fast sew with two length options. I opted for the midi (longer) length, and used Ti’s pink glitter French Terry for the waistband. This glitter is made from a metallic thread that is woven into the fabric, so it doesn’t shed or scratch.

The Jalie Circle Skirt is a very versatile pattern! It can be made in either woven or knit (switch out a couple of pattern pages to make the template woven friendly). It can be attached to a leotard, dance costume, or bathing suit, or add it to a too-short top to turn it into a dress/tunic. And being Jalie, it starts at 2T and goes all the way up to adult plus sizes.

My plan was to pair the skirt with the Jalie Bobbie V-Neck Tee – which I made with some strawberry print mystery knit that I picked up ages ago in a Lancaster, PA fabric store. This is considered the “magic tee” because the deep armholes are cleverly non-revealing with an inbuilt crop-top inside. I foolishly used white cotton lycra for the crop top though — I should have used nude to ensure it wouldn’t be seen through.

I love the wide band on this skirt! The pattern has various elastic waistband options, and I chose the widest – 2″.

When I went to photograph this outfit, I was also ready to photograph the Diane Swimsuit that I’d also made for my daughter. I actually love how the swimsuit looks under the skirt and would love to make a bunch of bodysuits that she can wear as tops under this skirt and other bottoms!

I’d love to hear how you’ll be celebrating Sew Long Summer! Have you completely switched into pumpkin spice weather, or are you still, like me, kinda in denial?

Links

• Jalie Circle Skirts
• Jalie Bobbie V Neck Tee
• Simply By Ti Rose Stretch Faux Leather
• Simply By Ti Rose Glitter French Terry (NLA)

More Inspiration!

The full tour includes these talented sewists, so I hope you’ll follow along and comment on their posts this week.

Sept. 9th Sewing A La Carte, mahlicadesigns, Sewing Vortex, Sewing With Sarah

Sept. 10th The Bear and Pea Atelier, Auschick Sews, Stitched by Jennie, Miss Marah Sewn

Sept. 11th Sew Cute Couture by Kathy, A Rose Tinted World, mahlicadesigns

Sept. 12th Little Heart Threads, Lulu and Celeste, The Crafting Fiend, Fils Anddraps

Sept. 13th Petite Font, Sew 4 Five, The Sewing Scientist, Sew Cute Couture by Kathy, Kitty Makes It

Disclosure: I’m a Jalie Patterns Creative Ambassador and received this Jalie pattern complimentary for purposes of review and promotion.