Pink Blanca Flight Suit - Closet Core Patterns Test

Finally!  I've been meaning to get around to taking photos and doing this blog post for ages, and I've finally found the time and energy.



Back at the end of February/ beginning of March right before everything changed due to COVID-19, I was asked to be in the tester group for the Closet Core Blanca Flight Suit!!  I had signed up earlier in the year to be added to the group testing the 14-30 size range for Closet Core and I was SO excited to get this email.  It's been nearly a decade since I really wore a pair of coveralls (if you went to University for Engineering in Ontario/ Canada, you know what I'm talking about!) so I was stoked to make my own pair.  There have been a ton of coveralls/ jumpsuit/ boiler suit patterns out there recently... but none of them caught my eye the way Blanca did. [...]

Yellow Waxed Cotton Kelly Anorak

Well hey there!  Gosh it's been a while, hasn't it?  Here I am back again, with a sewing project from the spring to share with you all!  Yes, from the spring.  Good thing is though, that the yellow waxed cotton canvas Kelly Anorak I sewed up last spring also works PERFECTLY for the fall!  It's a beautiful early fall day outside today and I was feeling inspired to finally share this make, so perfect timing to take some photos of this jacket I love so dearly.  

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Jenny Overalls Shorts

I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical of this whole overalls trend that kind of picked up this summer... but the more I saw the different types & patterns popping up, the more they piqued my interest!  Aaaand, leave it to the ladies at Closet Case to release a pattern which was exactly what I was looking for.  I know there are tons of other options, but I typically have very good luck with the drafting from Closet Case, so I snapped up a copy of the Jenny Overalls, ordered the snaps & buttons, picked up some canvas from IKEA, and set to work.

The first pair was my "wearable muslin" in a bluey-green canvas fabric.  They turned out... just ok.  Having made the Ginger Jeans with little alteration to the pattern, I was pretty confident in going into these with no changes, sewing up a straight size 14 as my measurements were just about bang-on (40/33/42).  That was probably my first mistake.  The Jenny's are drafted using a different block than the Gingers, and the changes resulted in the waistband of these overalls being a smidge too tight, and the rise being too short (ouch!)

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Grey & Silver Dot Kalle Shirt

When one of your favourite pattern designers releases a pattern that is almost your name (it's actually the mis-pronunciation of my name I get all the time), you obviously have to make it.

Enter, the Kalle Shirt & Dress from Closet Case Patterns.  If I haven't documented my love for Heather's patterns enough... you should know that I looooooove her patterns.  She's really been killin' it this summer with the Kalle Shirt & Dress and the Charlie Caftan.


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Floral Rayon Charlie Caftan

YASSSS!  It's caftan weather!!!  Well... sort of.  Man, it's been a rainy summer here in Ottawa!  Now - before making this, I had never actually worn a caftan. HOWEVER - I have lusted after them something fierce, and just haven't found the right one. Thank goodness for the amazing Heather-Lou over at Closet Case Patterns.  Fabrications (local Ottawa fabric shop) teased this pattern a week before it's release in their IG page, and Gillian over at Crafting a Rainbow commented "please be a caftan!" to which I nearly lost my mind because that was the exact thing I needed to add to my summer sewing list.  ANYWAYS!  I literally bought this pattern the moment I got the email newsletter announcing it's release, printed it the following day, and had it sewn and ready to wear the following weekend.  Behold - the Charlie Caftan!

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Floral & Striped Ebony Dresses

What?!?  Two blog posts in as many days?  I have a ridiculous backlog of things I've been meaning to post, so I'm working through them while chillin' inside with the AC on since it's a million degrees + humidity outside this weekend.  Central air conditioning is pretty fantastic you guys.  Also, we rearranged the living room yesterday and I'm really diggin' it.  Wee!  

Ok, back to sewing.  This is a sewing blog after all!  Back in mid-winter when the Closet Case Ebony T-Shirt & Dress pattern came out I scooped up some knits I had in my stash and sewed up a couple different ones.

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Navy Softshell Kelly Anorak

When I first started my whole sewing-all-my-own-clothes adventure nearly a year and a half ago, I made the Robson Coat with a navy twill, and lined with quilting cotton for those chilly spring and fall days.  While I still really like that coat and am really proud of it... it really isn't that practical.  I feel like I'm being too fancy in it, and the length can be a bit cumbersome at times.  So!  When the Kelly Anorak pattern from Closet Case Patterns came out, I knew it had to be my next coat project.  It really has the right balance of being practical but also really stylish!  I wanted something that would go well with both work-wear, and casual weekend wear.  I finally found some fantastic navy softshell fleece online which is perfect for both warmth and a bit of rain protection.  A must-have for the chilly and wet spring weather!

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