This is the La Sylphide from Papercut Patterns. I know, I keep meaning to make the dress version – it’s so pretty and floaty on the pattern picture, ahhh! – but this damn top keeps seducing me with it’s own version of awesome.

This is pretty similar to my Dude’d Up La Sylphide – I sewed a size XS, took 1″ out of the back and no other alterations. The sleeves are just rolled up in these pictures, btw.

The fabric is a chambray from – who else? – Mood Fabrics, which I bought while I was in New York. They have a lot of chambrays there and while I almost picked a gorgeous sateen-esque chambray that had just come in from some designer, I ended up with the more muted one because I wanted my shirt to be a little more rugged. Also, it was cheaper by like $2, ha.

Ok, CONFESSION TIME: I TOTALLY stole this idea (for a chambray La Sylphide) from my friend Colleen, who suggested it first. Although, to be fair, she also voted pearl snaps – and this one just has grey buttons that I had in my stash. So, while not a 100% idea rip, it’s still an idea rip and I’m sorry.

Also, I just realized I really need to repress the tips of those bust darts. HIIII.

I wasn’t expecting to be able to wear this top with these linen shorts, but I actually quite like it.

I really love this pattern because the top looks just as good with the peplum tucked, as you saw during Me Made May. As much as I love the peplum, sometimes an outfit just doesn’t work with it – like the Kelly skirt. Too much flare going on! And as much as I love making and hoarding clothes, I don’t need two chambray shirts… so I’m ok to let this one do double-duty.

And I guess that’s it for this post.

OH WAIT NO IT’S NOT!!! We have a Bombshell winner! There were 354 total comments (my most commented-on post EVER, thanks guys haha), but I had to pull a few out for dupes/replies/no entries.

It landed on my lucky number! GOOOOOO 7!!!!

… Which makes our winner Joanne!

Joanne, I think this pattern will work out for you a lot better And I want to see that neon floral fabric, because it sounds awesomeeee.

Thanks to everyone who entered! The pattern is available on Etsy for those who did not win. Don’t forget to join the Sewalong, it starts today! I can’t wait to see everyone’s Bombshells!

I actually bought this fabric ‘way back when I was visiting Mood Fabrics in NY. I’m sure y’all are sick of hearing about it at this point, but heyyyy I’ll be working through that stash for at least the next couple of months. Just so we’re clear.

Anyway, fabric. As I mentioned before, I wasn’t planning on buying any wool crepe – but again, Carolyn talked me into it. She’s SUCH a good enabler! This wool crepe is actually a bit thinner and drapier than most wool crepes I’ve come across, making it a good weight for a smart summer dress (oh god, did I really just describe a dress as “smart”? I am totally stuck on this 40s thing…). With Carolyn’s advice, I underlined the entire dress in a lightweight cotton batiste, to combat the slight sheerness and make the dress more comfortable to wear in the heat.

I used McCall’s 6113 to make this dress up. Isn’t the pattern gorgeous!? A friend found it (along with an entire paper grocery bag full of patterns – ranging from the 40s to the 80s, all in my size. I MEAN COME ON, WHAT ARE THE ODDS) in her attic, and gifted the whole stash to meee! Yes!! The pieces are intact, but unfortunately… the instructions are not. Wah wah. Thankfully, I’ve made a few wrap dresses in my day, not to mention I feel fairly confident in my assemblage skills, so I decided to give it a go.

… this is what I found when I pulled the pieces out. Not only is everything labeled (thank you, printed patterns!), but there are construction notes printed ON the pattern sheet, AND the notches are numbered in the order that things go together. PRAISE THE LORD. Although, in all honesty… I probably could have put this together without the help. But MAN, it was nice to eliminate most of the guesswork!

Despite the pattern being in my size, I did have to make a few adjustments to get everything to fit nicely (I generally like to go down a size or two – sometimes more – since I find most patterns tend to have more ease than I prefer to wear. Yep, even vintage patterns. What gives; am I just in denial of my size or something??), mainly in the form of taking in the side seams and shortening the shoulders, as well as hacking about 5″ off the length. I made a muslin for fit, but it ended up also giving me a great idea of how the pattern was put together so I had less guesswork with my wool crepe. Which is good, since wool crepe can be a sneaky little bitch when it comes to ripping out stitches.

In hindsight, wool crepe is definitely a little on the bulky side for the gathers in this dress. I’m afraid I look a bit boxy at the waistline here Oh well!

I do love the little tucks in the back

And the curved hem at the overlap.

I don’t know what’s going on with this picture, I just thought it was funny. ~Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline~

Oh, did you notice my pretty embroidery? This all happened entirely on a whim – I finished the dress, put it on and looked in the mirror, and it just looked… red. Overwhelmingly red, and plain! I decided to add a small punch of (neutral)color by embroidering the shoulder detail. The embroidery is from the Hoop Love Vintage Transfers Flickr Group, and it’s all just a basic back stitch with french knots in the middle of the flowers. Ha, that sound so easy but it seriously took me about 6 hours to do. Embroidery is definitely a time-suck!

Here you can see the underlined inside, as well as the series of snaps and hooks that hold the dress together.

And there it is closed!

How many of you will groan if I finish this post with something like, “WELL I GUESS THAT WRAPS IT UP!!”

Sorry.
Not sorry.

The pattern has been released so I can announce it now… allow me to introduce the Bombshell Swimsuit, from Heather Lou at Closet Case Files!

And now, I’m going to post pictures of myself in a bathing suit, on the internet. Eep.
(Also, can we talk about how Landon laughed at me when he saw me tromping out the backdoor in this swimsuit with these shoes? Excuse me, but if I’m going to stand half-naked for pictures on the internet, I’m at least going to make sure my legs look AWESOME, ok??)

When Heather Lou contacted me about testing this swimsuit pattern, I hadn’t even finished reading the email before my yes response was being sent right back to her (ok ok… let’s be honest here, it was more like OIASDL;GAJSD;LFAJSDF OMG FUCK YES !!!!!). I’ve never made a swimsuit, although this year I was ready to try. I had bought some fun swimsuit fabric and lining while in New York, and had a 70s bikini pattern that I planned to make up. But have you SEEN this sexiness?! Bikini went on the backburner, Bombshell hit my cutting table.

I won’t lie, there was a minute there when I hesitated, and then got scared. Like I said, I’ve never made a swimsuit before, let alone any sort of lingerie. As much as I looove working with knits and stretchy fabrics, sewing on elastic with that a zigzag stitch is totally uncharted territory for me. Not to mention I didn’t have enough fabric to muslin this, so it was really a testament of trusting the pattern sizing, and crossing my fingers in hopes I got it right the first time.

Spoiler: I did!

This is PRETTY CUTE, amirite?! Let’s see, I sewed the size 8 – I fit exactly into the 34-26.5-36 measurements – and the fit is SPOT-ON. I did not many any changes to the sizing of this pattern whatsoever. Dreamy, right? I used a gingham swimsuit lycra for the suit, and a proper nude swimsuit lining for the inside. I put bra cups in the front to avoid any nippage. The only thing I did not do was use proper swimsuit elastic. Ahhh, I’m so sorry! Truth, I was pushing really hard to finish this before I went on vacation, and I didn’t have a chance to run to the fabric store for swimsuit elastic (if you are sitting here thinking, “wtf are you on, Lauren, elastic is elastic is elastic” let me tell you that swim elastic is different because it won’t break down over time like standard polyester elastic). I did have some cotton elastic that *said* it was good for swimwear, but we’ll see if that actually stands the test of time. If not, I can always replace the elastic later. Ain’t no thang!

I LOVE THE WAY THIS SUIT LOOKS ON ME, THOUGH. Look at how flattering it is – and fully covered! Like I said before, I was very hesitant to actually wear this in the water, for fear that it would… I dunno, disintegrate and float away into the ocean, maybe? Shouldn’t have worried, though, as this baby stuck to me like a comfy second skin and didn’t budge at all while I was thrashing around in the waves. And I felt SO SWANK sitting on my beach chair, reading a book and sipping a cocktail.

As far as the actual construction… I really should not have worried! The instructions can look a bit intimidating at first glance (Me: “OH SHIT what is all this elastic stretch percentage talk here I can’t math this HELP”), but each step made perfect sense as I approached it. Making this swimsuit was very intuitive – for someone who’s never made swimwear before – and there are lots of pictures and words in the instructions to guide you along and hold your hand. If you still need help, there is now a Sewalong to really clear things up!

(I don’t know why these pictures turned the color all crazy. Sorry.)

So… a little tip about those bra cups. I actually tried to buy them while I was in NY, but I got SUPER overwhelmed by all the options available (Sonja and Oona can attest to the fact that I was lurking in the back of each store, putting cups over my boobs and trying to decide was size to get! HAHAHA). I ended up going home with none. Fast forward to this swimsuit, and part of my freakout was that I didn’t have any bra cups to put in – and no time to order online, let alone go to the fabric store. So how did I end up with cups, you might ask? I went to the thrift store, grabbed a bikini top from the 99¢ section, and cut the cups out! They fit just fine and I know they’re good for swimwear because, duh, they came out of a bikini

Now here’s the best part – Heather Lou has graciously offered up a freebie pattern to give away to one of y’all! YAY!!! BOMBSHELLS FOR EVERYONE!! Don’t let yourself get scared away from the concept of sewing swimwear – it’s really fun and YOU CAN DO IT.

For a chance to win a PDF copy of the Bombshell Swimsuit, leave a comment here on this post and let me know what fabric you’d use to make it! If you have a specific fabric in mind, or just a color or pattern that you’d love to see it made up in, do share! I’m nosy and I need to know! This giveaway is open worldwide – as long as you have email and can receive PDF attachments, you can win this pattern. I will close the comments next Monday AM, 6/17, so get yer entries in while you can!

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

If you want to go ahead and buy the pattern, you can do so here ($10 only, hells yes). Thanks to Heather Lou, for letting me test this amazing pattern and also for providing a giveaway copy!

Good luck, y’all!

Yep, Portia sent me a big orange sateen pencil skirt, which I turned into a cute little pair of booty shorts, a la Papercut Patterns Rite of Spring Shorts. Hot? You bet!

To see the full refashion in all it’s gory details, click over and check out my guest post! And do see the rest while you’re over there… Marie’s refashion in particular has me seething with jealousy. The good kind, anyway

Thanks so much, Portia, for letting me play this year! I’m so excited to see everyone’s makes!

For those of you who have been around for awhile, remember this amazing fabric?

It’s from Macedonia – my best friend bought it for me while she lived there last year. I’ve hoarded it for over a year, waiting for the ~perfect pattern to come my way. That proved to be a bit tricky – the paisley motif is fairly large (bigger than my hand), so it definitely needed to be made with a pattern that didn’t have a lot of little pieces. Since I look awful in shift dresses, I thought a maxi dress or skirt would be a good way to showcase the fabric – a lovely, floaty cotton voile. But, almost all the maxi dress patterns I found either required stretch fabric, or gobs of yardage (and I only had 2 yards). So I sat, and I waited as patiently as I could.

Then I got the Cascade pattern for my birthday, and it was like the heavens opened up and started singing to me RIGHT THEN.

I mean, that skirt is pretty heavenly, y/y?

I did have to make a few changes to get this pattern to fit on my short yardage – I had two yards at 60″, and the pattern calls for 3. I did take about 5″ off the back length (partially to preserve precious yardage, partially because I am not an Amazonian Long Legged Beauty like the model and thus did not need a skirt that came down to my ankles ); I also used the waistband option that buttoned, rather than the ties – again, this saved a lot of yardage. Also, just a head’s up, but I chucked another 2″ off the length once I had the skirt assembled, as it was still a little long. I love the length now!

I sewed the XS and other than taking up the length, I didn’t make any adjustments. This is a VERY easy pattern – it definitely has a lot of wow factor, but it’s super super simple to put together. Even with the french seams and the rolled hem that is FOREVER long, it came together very quickly.

I even had time to throw together a little tshirt to wear with it This is the Briar top, the cropped version with short sleeves. It’s basically the same as the ones I’ve made before, just shorter! I tucked the back into the skirt for these pictures, FYI.

But let’s get back to that skirt.

Fuck yeah.

This shit totally makes me feel like Shakira, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment.

And it’s perfect for showcasing this large print, so yay!

The button-band of this skirt is actually really great for using special buttons, since you only need two.

I love these buttons! I’ve been hoarding them for years; since I only had 2, I couldn’t find a suitable use for them. Nailed it
Also, I totally used purple thread. I didn’t have any pink on hand and I think the purple actually works really well

Cascades! One thing to keep in mind if you make this pattern is that the wrong side of your fabric will show at the back (that is, assuming you don’t line it). So make sure your fabric is pretty on both sides! As you can see, mine is almost the same – just a little less bright.

Not much else to say here (sorry for the picture overload, btw – I got excited I guess, haha), but I’m so glad I found a use for my special fabric!

As a side note, guess who IIIIIIIIIIIIIII hung out with on Friday…

Yep, that would be the lovely Elisalex from By Hand London!! EEEE!!! She was in ‘Murica for a week, and made an evening pit stop in Nashville, so OBVIOUSLY we met up and went dancin’! I also was there for her very first PBR (sorry, Oona! I know you hate that stuff, haha!) She’s just as fun (and gorgeous!!) and you’d expect in person. It was a magical evening and it was STELLAR to meet her and I’m already trying to figure out how to save up enough to go visit HER! So hopefully soon there will be a LLADYBIRD-UK edition. Yes? Yes.

Also, one last thing!!

The Refashioners is live, starting today! Head over to Miss P’s blog to check out all the posts for the next two weeks

The lovely ladies involved this year are Karen, Tasha, Marie, ME (!!!), Zoe, Sally, Joanne, Liz, Dixie, and Elisalex. I am DYING to see what everyone made up, can’t wait!

Actually, I made TWO!!

Oh, and another pair of Thurlow shorts for good measure

I mean, why would I pair my beautiful new tshirts with an old pair of shorts? AS IF.

This red one is the first one I made (and sorry in advance for the overly saturated pictures – red is hard to photograph!). I used a super drapey rayon knit from Fabrics for Less in NYC; it’s delicious and airy and PERFECT for this kind of top. I don’t normally wear such loose-fitting clothing (and I know y’all are laughing because this is hardly loose-fitting, but it is for meeeeeee ok!), but I LOVEEE this way this looks and feels. Must make several more.

This version has a tiny pocket (which, yep, you totally can’t see) and I finished the neckline with a binding – partially because the fabric is soo drapey, it wouldn’t work with the normal stretched bands, and partially because I wanted to try a new technique! I must say, I’m really happy with now the neckline turned out. It’s perfect and flat and looks really good. Megan Nielsen, you are a binding genius.

I was smacking a mosquito in this picture (the ‘skeeters were sooo bad this morning, ugh!), but I like that it shows the tshirt doesn’t gape out when you bend over. Nice!

For this shirt, I sewed an XS and took in additional bit at the side seams because it was a little loose. I also cut about 3″ off the length (I cut it off the bottom for this one, but for the next one I did properly slash and shorten the pattern pieces like a good seamstress ).

Oh, yeah, and I used the last of my neon yellow twill tape to stabilize the shoulder seams

I made the second version immediately after. Ha! This one is a fairly hefty weight knit from Mood when I was in NY. I’ve been hoarding this fabric for the months since and I’m so glad I went with this pattern because I think it’s pretty perfect! Of course, I got way too excited/ahead of myself and neglected to match the stripes at the side seams… oh well!

This version is pretty much the exact same as the red one, except that I finished the neckline with a band instead of the binding. I actually tried the binding first, since I loved it soo much – but my machine was NOT having it. The fabric was too thick, anyway. So, band it is!

I left off the pocket for this one, and also ended up taking in the side seams quite a bit – at least 1″. Since the fabric is fairly heavy, it looked weird all blousey. Like it was too big. This looks much better, and bonus – it looks great tucked in!

I really love this fabric and I wish I’d bought several yards of it, oh well!

For the shorts, I don’t have much to elaborate on as this is like my squillionth pair. Haha! I used my TNT pattern and whipped these up in a couple of evenings (they are RILL easy after you made a bunch of them, just fyi!).

For fabric, I used a beautiful, soft grey linen that I got from my new favorite local fabric source, Muna Couture. Muna’s shop is actually a dressmaking shop – and she makes some pretty incredible ball gowns and wedding dresses – but she also sells fabric. Not just fancy dress fabric (although there is plenty of that, and it is AMAZING), but also basic stuff for daily wear, like wools and linens and prints. I got this remnant from her and it was *just* enough to squeeze out some shorts. I love that they’re linen – so breezy and nice for summer! They do wrinkle a bit with wear, but not too bad The white lining is fabric leftover from my Madeline bloomers.

This is the only bummer about the shorts – I drew on the fly with my disappearing wax, and it didn’t disappear! WTF!!! I managed to fade it out a bit (put a piece of paper over it, applied heat, and then rubbing alcohol very sparingly, if yr curious), but it’s still pretty disappointing that you can see it. Sooo with that being said, important lesson learned here – ALWAYS test your marking utensils before marking on your fabric! DUH. I should have been doing that anyway, but I wasn’t, and now I know, and it won’t happen again. Learn from my mistakes

Side note, today is the last day to get 15% off at Sweet Little Chickadee, so get on it, son! Use the code LLADYBIRDBIRTHDAY and get to shoppin’! You could even get the Briar and Thurlows, y’know, if you wanted to be like me ha!!

Another side note, it’s my birthday todayyyy!! Yay!! Happy birthday to all my birthday twins (there were several of you, yay 5/21!!!) and all the other May Babies

Here is my gift to you, baby L with my dad AWWWW!!!

This is the Sewaholic Lonsdale dress. REAL TALK: When this pattern first came out, I had absolutely no intention of sewing it up as I assumed it would be mega unflattering on me. Not because of the bra issue, like most people pointed out – I have no problems with wearing a strapless bra, it’s like a staple in my lingerie wardrobe (and yay that I finally have one that fits!) – but because the bodice doesn’t have any darts, which I figured wouldn’t work with a large bust. Also, this pattern eats up a lot of fabric and I just wasn’t feeling it. So no Londsale for me, at least not while everyone else was snapping them up.

While I was in NY, we had a mini sewing stuff swap (which I’m REALLY sad I missed out on dumping into… I will have to come back with a suitcase full of patterns and we can do it again, ok?? Hmm plane tickets appear to be cheap right now…) and Sonja added this to the pool, encouraging me to try it. So I snapped it up and found this fabric the next day… it’s from Chic Fabrics, and it was $5 a yard. HELLS YES. Lonsdale, comin my way!

As I was trying it on (no muslin, and not really even a tissue fit… I just based my size off the finished measurements and started cutting), I realized that this dress is SUPER cute and flattering. A bodice with no gathers or bust darts, who woulda thunk?

I also totally get why everyone keeps freaking out over the skirt, it’s really flattering!

(Not really sure what I’m doing here… smelling the breeze, maybe?)

This is a size 0, by the way. I did not make any alterations to the pattern, except my zipper insertion (lapped instead of centered) and I cut something crazy like 5″ off the hem. I like my skirts to hit above my knee.

Sorry for the shit picture and my sad little droopy bow, but isn’t the back cute?? I LOOOOVE that the straps are adjustable, since I can never seem to get them right on the first/second/eighth try. Now I don’t have to worry, whoop whoop.

I definitely want to make a couple more of these – or even just Lonsdale skirts, gawd – as I can see myself wearing these aaaall summer. I think you could probably reduce the amount of fabric needed, too, with some careful planning. Part of the bulk of fabric yardage comes from the bodice being double-layered (you can see the second layer a little bit in my close-ups, as my fabric is slightly sheer), and the ties are one big long piece that goes into forever. I think this could be REALLY fun with the lining being a contrasting fabric – you’d see the contrast in the ties and around the neckline.

Here’s a terrible close-up. Sorry! The sun was REALLY bright and I don’t do that whole wait-until-it-gets-less-bright patience thing very well

If you’ve been holding out on this pattern because of the large bust issue, maybe this will sway ya It swayed me, anyway!

Can’t wait to bust this shit out on my vacation! LONSDALE 4 LIFE.

‘Scuze my white legs. Sorry not sorry.

These are the Rite of Spring shorts from Papercut Patterns and I am 1000% in LOVE with them. I couldn’t imagine how they were going to turn out based on the pattern art and photos – in some ways, they kind of look like underwear, almost – but having made them, I do they think they are definitely just like those pin-up style shorts that we are always gawking over in Time Magazine photos or whatever.

Just be sure you’re ok with showing a LOT of leg because, well, they’s short.

I cut these in the very smallest size – XXS – and shaved an extra 1/4″ off each seam to get a close fit. That’s it! I am actually surprised – and DELIGHTED – at how well these fit straight out of the package, especially considering how much trauma I went though to get my Clovers to fit. I was expecting to have to mess with the crotch length, the depth, the rise, all that shit – but they’re pretty perfect. So yay!

I have so many favorite parts about this pattern, I don’t think I can just narrow one thing down. I love the curved side seams that make your waist look half the size it actually is. Piping is optional – but if you’re making these, I strongly encourage the piping, especially if you’re working with a busy fabric.

I love how the back curves down too – for a little extra butt coverage. I think my very very favorite thing is that the back hem is actually faced with self-fabric – so if it flips up, you still see the right side. I mean, I might be showing asscheek or whatever but GOD FORBID you see the wrong side of the fabric amirite

Oh, and the rise is super high – like past the belly button high – so these are totally suitable to wear with crop-tops.

And look at how the hem flips out on the sides! DARLING, JUST DARLING.

Putting these together was surprisingly quick and easy. There are only a 4 pieces, and even with the piping and the zipper I still had them done within a couple of hours. They also just use the tiniest scrap of fabric (I mean, duh, they’re tiny as it is – but sometimes shorts suck up a surprising amount of fabric, you know?). I should’ve measured, but I think I used something like half or 5/8 yard. The fabric is actually leftover from my Miette Wrap Skirt, and the piping is leftover bias binding from my Blue Lace Robson Trench.

The pattern calls for an invisible zipper in the back, but I was in major stash-bust mode so I subbed in a lapped zipper. I think an invisible zipper would definitely look nicer, but this isn’t so bad!

I’ll confess, I was hesitant about adding a zipper right up the middle of that back seam because I wasn’t sure if it would backfire and look terrible. I don’t think it does, though – it’s totally inconspicuous!

I didn’t do the best job of putting these together, as they’re more so a wearable muslin (oh you just wait and see what I have planned for this pattern…), but I think they’ll actually get a lot of wear during Me-Made-May! Polka dot shorty shorts, yay!

Here you can sort of see the polka-dot piping. Unfortunately, my fabric had the polka dots printed so that they kind of don’t show up on the bias strips… so my piping is only half-assed polka dots. Oh well!

If you’re lurking on this pattern as hard as I was, be aware that Papercut Patterns is currently offering free worldwide shipping. HOT DAMN, Y’ALL. Butt shorts for everyone!

LOOK THAT GORGEOUS BLUE TRENCH COAT.

JUST LOOK AT IT.

For the full nitty-gritty of this project, see my posts part 1 and part 2 for the making of.

If you just want quick facts, here ya go! The pattern is the Robson Coat by Sewaholic Patterns. I cut a size 2 at the shoulders/neckline, graded out to a 4 at the bust, and then down to a 0 at the waist/hips. I removed about 3″ of length from the bottom, and about 1″ of length from the sleeves.

Both of the main fabrics are from Mood – the blue lace for the top (and yeah, sorry, but I bought the last of it! HA!), and the cotton sateen underlining. The polka dot batiste I used for the bias stripes came from my local fabric store. I’m sure Mood had something perfect in the store, but it’s hard to color-match from several states away (and if you were wondering… I had one of the employees help me pick the underlining to make sure I had the right color).

Fair warning: this coat eats up a LOT of fabric! Not the full 6 yards as suggested by the pattern envelope (at least not in my size!), but I still wouldn’t recommend this for a very expensive fabric unless you are just really really in love and willing to deal with the cost. I spent about $175 on materials for this coat – that includes the blue lace, the navy underlining, the polka dots that I used for the bias strips, the interfacing, the thread, and the buttons. Yes, part of this *was* subsidized for Mood as part of the Mood Sewing Network, but I still had to pay quite a bit out of pocket. I’m not saying it’s not worth it – because it isssssss – but be forewarned that this coat can get very very expensive, very fast.

Still, it’s a helluva lot cheaper than that $2000 Burberry trench I see floating around Pinterest. Forreal!

Plus, it’s not a boring neutral color. That fucker is BLUE.

Anyway, I used a little under 4 yards of 54″ wide fabric to cut the coat. Keep in mind that I did shorten the length (and my ONLY regret is that I shortened at the hem instead of at the waist because the pockets are a bit low. Oh well! I don’t use pockets that much anyway). My cotton sateen was 50″ and I used about 4.5 yards of that. For the bias tape, I bought 2/3 yard of 45″ fabric and made my own 1/2″ tape…. I did not use the whole 2/3 of the yard, as I stopped when I got to 20 yards. I did however, end up using about 15 yards of the stuff to bind my seams. I know the envelope calls for less than that, buy an extra package if you’re unsure!

I can wear the lapels up or folded down. Which one do you like better?

Here it is open. Omg I felt like such a flasher taking that picture, ha!

Ok, I’m running out of things to say so here’s a picture dump.

I could not be more thrilled with my finished coat – all the workings of a classic trench, but sewn up in a beautiful (and colorful!) lace! Yes!!

Special thanks to my friend Jenna for taking these gorgeous pictures (oh yeah, you didn’t think I took these, did ya? ) and capturing our beautiful city in the background. She is the best, and if you don’t already follow her you are SORELY missing out. Also, sorry not sorry for the picture overload… I’m just elated, ok!?

Yay Nashville!

As boring as this name is (“Peacock Pullover”? Really? Whatever, you should know by now that I’m not imaginative with my garment names), calling something a pullover will always make me think of this:

Which is pretty much one of the best things (from one of the best movies) ever, amirite? Unfortunately, this sweater isn’t very exciting. You could stop reading this post right now and still get the general gist of it. It’s a basic raglan pullover with a crew neck. Snore.

But y’all know I’m a big proponent of making ~basics~. And this is totally a basic sweater, but hey – the color is fun, yeah?

This pattern is the Ladies Classic Raglan Pullover. Obviously, mine looks a bit different than the pictures on the project page, and I’m not just referring to the color. Mine is much more fitted as I prefer to have a bit of waist definition with my sweaters. It wasn’t too hard to get the fit adjusted, although in my first go, I didn’t try the sweater on enough and after finishing the waist I realized that it was WAY too big. Ugh! I spent an entire week ripping out about 30+ rounds of stockinette. It’s still a little big – there’s some weird bagging on the sides of the chest where the ease suddenly becomes positive instead of negative – but it fits pretty well for the most part.

If this is starting to look like deja-vu, that’s because Tasia recently(ish) knit this pattern in brown. I swear, I had it in my queue long before I saw her finished project, buuuuut I fully admit that her pictures were what moved the pattern to the top of the queue. God, she always knits the best stuff. I gotta stay out of her Ravelry or else I’m going to start looking like a total creeper, ha.

Anyway, I’m just going to glean over the basics here (if you want the full deets, check out my Ravelry notes). This is a size 33, with modifications to the waist and arm width. I used Plymouth Galway in a lovely peacock blue; it’s similar to my beloved Cascade 220 except a bit cheaper (and this was REALLY cheap, as I picked it up during the after-Christmas sale at Haus of Yarn). I started it during my flight to NYC, and finished earlier this week. It would have knitted up much faster had I not spent a week unknitting my boo-boo, but oh well

Next time I make this, I will probably go down another size, as well as make more decreases. It’s still a little too baggy for my liking.

At any rate, this is a great pattern – quick to knit, easy to customize (look at the other Raveler’s projects; some people have made their with STRIPES. Ooh!), and fairly mindless stockinette. I think this would make a great first-sweater pattern. Bonus – it doesn’t use a whole lot of yarn! Which means I still have like 3 skeins of that peacock blue laying in my yarn stash. Uh.

Sorry these pictures are bad, by the way! I took these yesterday as soon as I got home from work. Lesson learned – wait until the brightness of the sun goes down JUST A BIT. And yes, I am totally wearing shorts with my wool sweater. Whatever, it was like 80* outside and this is my blog and you can deal with it :B

But hey, spring is totally in the air. Here I am looking at the birds fussing at each other in the tree above me.

And lest you think I live in a mud pit (naw girl, that’s just the one part in front of my nasty-ass shed, ha), here is proof that the rest of the yard has exploded in green. I just realized that bush behind me is honeysuckle, and you have no idea how happy that makes me.