Upland Trousers

The blog has been on the back burner lately as I haven’t felt like writing. These trousers by Itch-to-Stitch are so amazing though, that I had to show them off. Aren’t you ready to get back into some real pants? They come in sizes 00-40!

Here’s a summary of the Upland Trouser features:

• High rise with waist facing (no waistband)
• Fit through waist and hip and relaxed at thighs and below
• Full length trouser legs with the hem hitting slightly above the ground
• Front slanted pockets
• Back double-welt pockets with loop and button closures
• Designed for non-stretch woven fabric

I sewed a muslin and discovered the waist was a bit big and quite a bit of pooling fabric underneath my bum. One of the other testers had done a flat seat adjustment, and I decided to try the same. This is the tutorial I used. I picked some chambray from stash to try it out. Oh my, what a difference! All of a sudden, I had perfectly fitting trousers without any other adjustments! This is Melrose Top with the blue pair.

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With such a great outcome, I had to sew another pair in linen. Unfortunately, I wasn’t paying attention and the waist “grew”, ending up way too big at my waist. I’ve figured out a fix though, and these two pair of Upland Trousers will be some of my favorite pants! The pinkish coral pair are paired with Chirripo Top.

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Get your copy of Upland Trousers while they are on sale!

Thanks for stopping by! This posts contains affiliate links. If you choose to use them, there is no extra charge to you, but I receive a small compensation to help with my sewing costs. All opinions are my own. See you next time.

Pine Cove Pajamas

Itch-to-Stitch finally has some pjs! I’ve been waiting for these, and am excited about the different than usual design of the Pine Cove Pajama top! They can be made up in flannel like mine, or many other woven fabrics. You can even mix and match different fabric for top and bottom, or do some color blocking. I used a solid flannel for the collar because of not wanting to match more plaid. lol

Pine Cove Pajamas come in the new size range of 00-40! Here are some features of the pattern from the listing.

• Designed for non-stretched woven fabric
• Relaxed fit with dropped shoulders and long sleeves
• Hip-length pajama top with side splits
• One patch pocket on pajama top
• Banded overlapped front with tie closures
• Long pants with elastic waist
• Layers feature—print only the sizes you need

As usual with Itch-to-Stitch patterns, I made size 2 for the top, shortening both bodice and sleeves, and size 6 bottoms, shortening the legs. They fit perfect with these adjustments.

It was difficult getting indoor pictures because the lighting is very bad. I’m very happy with my new Pine Cove PJs though, and will need to shorten the pant legs and sleeves to make a summer version. This pair is ready to pack for our Christmas trip to be with family.

Get your Pine Cove pattern while it’s on sale through December 7th!

This post contains affiliate links. Should you choose to use them, it will not cost you any extra; but gives me a chance to earn a little bit to put toward replacing spools of thread. 😉 Thank you for reading!

SEW BEAUTIFUL Fortuna Pants and Shorts

If you’ve been following along this week, you’ll notice some of the content in my posts are the same as the last. It’s because I want each one to stand alone for someone who stumbles upon one without the others.

SEW BEAUTIFUL is the title of Kennis Wong’s book of sewing patterns! What?! Yes, her first book filled with 8 beautiful patterns with 18 variations to complete a whole wardrobe! This is sooooo exciting! Each design has been carefully designed without zippers or buttons, making it a great starting point for a new seamstress. Of course, an experienced seamstress like me loves to sew up quick and stylish garments too! And what a value, 8 patterns, 18 variations for only $24.99! The book is on pre-sale now, coming out on December 8, 2020. It will also be available on Kindle for $11.99. Sizes included are 00-20 (the book was written before the expanded size range).

Today is day 5 of 8, showcasing Fortuna Pants and Shorts. It seems I always need a color of pants or shorts that I don’t have to match my overflowing closet full of tops, so of course I wanted to sew Fortuna! I started with the shorts to check the fit, and besides grading from a 0 waist to a 6 hip. In the directions, grading is not necessary with the elastic waistband, but with the huge difference from my waist to hips, it always works out better for me. I also lengthened the shorts by about 1 1/2″ for my personal preference. And that’s it!!! That’s almost unheard of for fitting bottoms for me!

The pocket trim is so unique and pretty! I used contrasting thread so it shows on the white.

This is Kosice Top with my shorts. The shorts are made with Ponte and cotton for the pocket trim.

I should have gotten a few pics without my hands in the pockets, haha!

Next up was Fortuna Pants. I was thinking cozy and found this fleece backed sweater knit in my stash. It is so thick that I decided to skip the pockets and to use cotton lycra for the waistband. Well, that sure made them super quick to sew! It all worked out well and I’ve been wearing them every two or three days!

Here they are with Orono Top

This Orono is glitter French Terry from SimplybyTi.com. I bought it in several colors and it’s awesome! (This green is not available any more)

It looks like another 1/2″ could come off the length.

It’s easy to sew a coordinating wardrobe taking you from home to work to date night and weekends with the patterns included in SEW BEAUTIFUL!

Read about Carlsbad Cardigan from Day 4 here and Mornington Top from Day 1 here. I haven’t sewn the patterns from Days 2 or 3 yet.

The line drawings below show some of the details I skipped and the other views that I didn’t sew.

Remember to pre-order your copy of SEW BEAUTIFUL so you don’t miss out. Sometimes the publisher runs out of copies!

This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase from any of them, there is no extra charge to do so; but I get a tiny amount that helps me replace spools of thread from time to time. Thank you for reading!

SEW BEAUTIFUL Mornington Top

SEW BEAUTIFUL is the title of Kennis Wong’s book of sewing patterns! What?! Yes, her first book filled with 8 beautiful patterns with 18 variations to complete a whole wardrobe! This is sooooo exciting! Each design has been carefully designed without zippers or buttons, making it a great starting point for a new seamstress. Of course, an experienced seamstress like me loves to sew up quick and stylish garments too! And what a value, 8 patterns, 18 variations for only $24.99! The book is on pre-sale now, coming out on December 8, 2020. It will also be available on Kindle for $11.99. Sizes included are 00-20 (the book was written before the expanded size range).

All of the detailed instructions and quality you have come to love in Itch-to-Stitch designs are included in Kennis’ book. There are illustrations to show how to grade sizes, lengthen and shorten, and more. Join us for the next eight days as we show off variations of the practical yet beautiful designs! You can sew a coordinating wardrobe taking you from home to work to date night and weekends with the patterns included in SEW BEAUTIFUL!

Mornington Top is the pattern for today. I love the chambray dress Kennis made (and on the cover of her book, SEW BEAUTIFUL), but figured I’d wear a top more often. I love sleeveless tops in the summer and had just enough of this sweet embroidered pineapple fabric to make this one. Mornington is completely lined which is wonderful because there are no bindings to do at the arms and neck opening. I used a white rayon blend to line mine.

As you can tell, it’s autumn and I won’t get to wear my Mornington Top until next summer. But I’m looking at the bright side… I’ll have a new top to wear if an opportunity for a tropical vacation arises!

Look at the other Mornington versions below! You can mix and match the sleeve with the top too!

Remember to pre-order your copy of SEW BEAUTIFUL so you don’t miss out. Sometimes the publisher runs out of copies!

Kalispell Dress

There’s a beautiful new dress Itch-to-Stitch called Kalispell. I was so excited to be a tester for this gorgeous dress! The princess seams, little cap sleeves, and box pleated skirt caught my eye during the testing call. There is a flutter sleeve option if you’d like your shoulders covered a little more and gives a whole different look to the dress. Comes in sizes 00-20. Here are the features from the pattern listing:

Kalispell Dress Features:

• Options for A, B, C, D and DD cups
• Options for cap sleeves and flare sleeves
• V neck
• Front button closure with band
• Bodice front and back princess seams
• Full skirt with inverted box pleats
• Ample in-seam pockets

After my usual alterations to the pattern for my height, my muslin fit perfectly. I used some fabric from the 80s and like the fit and look so much, that I plan to finish it into a top.

The fabric for my final Kalispell Dress is a hefty pique with good drape. I have always loved this type of fabric. This one was found in Michigan when my mom and I went to a yard sale! It likes to fray so I had to be careful with the edges, but my dress looks perfect for spring in these colors. I love the fitted style of the princess seams and how it accentuates the waist. I am excited to have a new dress to wear for Easter since I’ve been wearing the same one for several years!

Get Kalispell on sale until March 31st. Do let this beauty get away! Thank you for reading! Until next time…