Jessica Sews | Folkwear 229 Sailor Pants + Self Drafted Upcycled Tee

I’m so excited to share two new makes I’ve stitched up this week. Firstly, a super simple tee shirt - made from a thrifted dress I picked up for $7. I made this top from a self drafted tee shirt pattern I worked on earlier this year and gave it a scooped neck. It took me under two hours from cut to try on and now I want to make allll. the. knit. shiiiiirrrtts.

More excitingly (and far more time intensive) - my newest pair of pants. These are the 229 Sailor Pants from Folkwear patterns, which I cut in a size 30 (the smallest available) and slightly modified to fit. Firstly, I added a few inches to the leg length when I cut, resulting in a 35.25” inseam. Yes, I’m tall. Secondly, I took out a little fullness in the crotch simply by grading in from the inseam about 1.5”. The only other change I made from the pattern instructions was to do metal grommets at the back gusset versus hand sewn, although I tried (and after all those buttons and pulling all of the threads to the back), but decided I was sick of it and went with copper grommets I had.

These are sewn in a medium weight denim with a slight stretch. I wish I had used rigid but I still like these pants a lot! They’re very comfortable and I foresee myself getting a lot of use out of them in the future! I used thrifted buttons from my stash but miscounted and was one short - so I used a matching colored button at the waist and think it looks just fine!

Made Again Patterns | Joey Tank Launch!!

Today is THE day! My first official pattern for Made Again Patterns has launched - it’s the Joey Tank! She’s a simple but satisfying project - classic halter lines are combined with sleek finishing techniques to make this a fun one day project, best for advanced beginners to intermediate sewers. Joey is a PDF download that you can print at home and comes with two hem options - a cropped length with side vent and a longer option with a duck bill hem (cropped shown in these photos with the scooped version here!). Each download includes the printable pattern pieces in sizes XS-2X for both views plus a fully illustrated pattern instruction booklet.

BEST of all, this pattern is designed specifically to work with secondhand garments. The Joey Tank will work with shirting weight fabrics (like a casual button down shirt from your partner’s closet!) to a maxi skirt you’re not wearing anymore (this version is from a linen blend thrifted dress!). Or maybe you have smaller yardage of fabrics stashed up that you’re ready to use! (You can make this in a yard of 60” wide fabric or a yard and a third of 45” wide fabric!) THERE IS AMAZING FABRIC OUT THERE JUST WAITING FOR A NEW LIFE!

Guys - creating this pattern was an awesomely fun challenge and my notebook is bursting with ideas for what comes next. I cannot thank all of you enough for the support of this idea - I’ve never felt so uplifted on anything I’ve taken on before - so thank you thank you thank you. AND to my group of sewers who tested this pattern and gave me detailed and critical feedback - your time and talents are truly appreciated.

Lastly - would you help me spread the word? Have a friend who doesn’t do social media but loves to sew? Tell her! Would your daughter/sister/cousin/mom enjoy this project? Gift it to her! Just want to support another woman/mom/maker?

BUY THE JOEY TANK HERE and use code FRIENDS20 for a 20% discount!

Jessica Sews | Navy Swiss Dot Joey Tank

Hot of the sewing machine (and just in time to wear for the Fourth of July weekend!) - my latest version of the Joey Tank! I love navy and white together and if you’re thinking this fabric looks familiar - you’re so right. It’s repurposed from a thrifted skirt and it’s actually the second time I’ve found this same piece at the thrift store! The first time I chopped it up I made this top (see it here or here)

View B of this tank works really well for a front tuck while still letting the back hang out. Kind of like the mullet version of a tank top? Whatever! I love it!

Finally - some good news!! After refining the fit and working with my amazing pattern testers over the past few weeks, I’m excited to announce this pattern will go on sale Monday morning! I have really enjoyed the process of draping, grading and writing/illustrating the instructions - it just feels like a perfect fit of my skills and passions. And it feels extra good when friends near and far are encouraging me along the way. I can’t wait to release this pattern into the world and see all of the amazing fabrics you guys upcycle and the outfits you create.

Jessica Sews | Beach Comber Blouse + Dawn Jeans

Greetings friends! I wish I could say we’re still in sunny Florida, but we’ve traded sand castles for snowmen back in Indiana. It’s coming down right now as I write this, so I’ll just transport myself back to ocean breezes and beach combing with my kids.

For this trip, I made all my clothes. Ha! It feels so awesome to say that. I made all of my clothes! Minus a few knits and a swim top (I need more practice with stretch fabrics!) what you see over the next five posts are all things I’ve stitched up myself.

So without further ado, here are the details of my outfit from top to bottom!

The hat I’m wearing is an older style I made myself. I blocked the straw onto a custom brim and crown and finished it off with a vintage tie that I doctored up into a hat band. Fun fact: Stars + Field and all of it’s social media handles were originally for a hat company I started by the same name. This all happened at the time I had Felix and maybe I should have known having a newborn and trying to make handmade hats wasn’t going to occur simultaneously. Motherhood won out, but when I quit What I Wore I started using the Stars + Field name for my new blog. Viola! Here we are!

The shirt I’m wearing was by far my favorite of the trip! It’s a slight modification from McCalls’s 7387, view A. I cut the back using the pattern piece given, but did an inverted box pleat instead. I love the way the stripes form weird patterns because of it! On the front, I skipped the hidden button placket so I could do some fun covered buttons that match up perfectly. Speaking of! I worked really hard to make those stripes match up in every place I could and the end result was so worth it. This is an awesome pattern and I plan to make it up in white eyelet next!

I don’t have good close ups on the jeans (Megan Nielsen Dawn Jeans), but I ended up using the same pattern to make three more pieces, which you’ll see in more detail in the next posts. I also have some video on my Instagram highlights if you want to see them in motion. I LOVE THIS PATTERN so much! And I love sewing jeans SO MUCH. Part of that comes from a great cut and secondly, the amazing instructions. Megan has a Design Diary Sew Along and I used while putting these together. It’s so handy for visual learning and I had my laptop out right next to my sewing machine. In some of my later versions I used a zipper fly - I really don’t like putting in zippers - but the sew along simplified it beyond belief (many portions are written by another sewer I follow - Holly - she’s great!) These jeans made of some really heavy Cone Mills denim I had in my stash and done with matching thread. I cut the tapered leg in my regular size and did an exposed button fly. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

This vacation capsule came together in three weeks of sewing whenever I possibly could. In contrast to my historical sewing, this stuff goes so much faster! I can make a pair of jeans in a day and ditto with these simple tops. I am so hooked on making my own wardrobe - I don’t know if I can go back to buying my clothes from the store. Knits are tricky and will take me some practice but I have some ideas I want to play around with there. Now it’s just a matter of finding the time. Spring and summer are really busy for us outside, but longer daylight hopefully means later nights… of sewing!

Please let me know what questions you might have in the comments or on instagram!