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!

Jessica Sews | Made Again Patterns Joey Tank

First things first - you guys are the best. Thanks for the encouragement on the launch of Made Again Patterns. I’m soaking in loads of good vibes and putting them to use on the creation on the first clothing pattern. And this is it!

Introducing the Joey Tank! Inspired by summers from the late 90s - a time when days were spent at the neighborhood pool, with tan shoulders and daisies in our hair, cruising around with way too many people in the backseat of the one guy who had his license, 11 pm curfews, the sound of dial up internet and managing 26 different conversations… and finally… cue the Dawson’s Creek theme song.

To me, this tank captures all of that! It’s upcycled from a men’s button down (check out that pocket in back) and so easy to throw on with a part of shorts (which do not pass the regulation finger tip length circa 1999).

So here’s where I’m at in the development phase - I have the digital base pattern created plus the written and illustrated instructions drafted. What you see here is version one. I’ve made a few updates like continuous straps and binding which will be in the final version. Plus there’s a straight hem cropped version as well! I’ll be grading it and sending out to my testers in the next week with a hope to debut in July! (if you’d like to volunteer to stitch a sample and make notes in exchange for a free pattern, you can do that here) You can also follow Made Again Patterns on Instagram and Facebook for release updates. I’m also doing some behind-the-scenes of the process there too. Until then… happy summering, sewing and spending your time doing what you love doing most!

Jessica Sews | Matilda Dress

Today I’m excited to share a project that took me a while to jump into, but when I did, I couldn’t stop myself from stopping! This is the Matilda Dress from Megan Nielsen Patterns. After starting with the Dawn jeans (I know you’re tired of me going on and on about them), I decided I’d try another of Meg’s designs. This dress caught my eye. It really has the feel of something I used to wear a lot back in my NYC days and feels very me. So with the pattern in mind, I started to think about what fabric I might use.

Loads of sewers have been posting their makes using this linen blend blue and white ikat from JoAnn Fabrics. I even used it for my Hayden tee in the reverse color scheme (which I also used for my inner yolk, collar stand and waistband!) ! I’m glad I scooped up so much yardage when I did because on my last visit in store I saw it was sold out. So I have this gorgeous fabric and this multi piece pattern and my challenge is at hand: matching that pattern.

Guys - I loved it. To make it work, I had to cut out each piece individually (versus cutting the left and right at the same time while the fabric is folded) to get everything to line up just so. I started with my skirt back next to the selvage edge and went from there. To get two seams to match up just right you have to take your cut piece, fold back the seam allowance and place it down on your flat fabric. From there lay down the piece you want to match 5/8” over that pressed back SA. Place the new pattern piece down, remove the original piece and cut. And over and over and over.

And I was so proud of all that matching when I discovered… I cut the wrong size. I had printed the PDF pattern, taped it up and cut two sizes too big when I put the pattern away a couple of months ago. I can’t believe my measurements would have changed so much in that time and I made the dumb mistake of not measuring twice before cutting. Luckily I was able to recut the bodice by trimming off the necessary extra and I added a couple of pleats to the skirt back (instead of taking in the CB, which would have messed up the matching) and in the end it all turned out ok.

I made a few other modifications as well. For the front pockets to get the perfect ikat repeat, I made an inverted box pleat rather than the standard pleat instructions in the pattern. I also cut the top collar as to pieces to they would mirror one another at the front collar points.

I really loved making this dress. The pattern is excellent. The fabric was really great to work with and because the ikat is woven into the fabric (instead of just printed on top) it made my matching up less time consuming than I anticipated. I really wanted to stretch this project out over a week but it ended up coming together in just 3 days. It pressed out so nicely and all of that topstitching is what I love about sewing. Perfect little straight lines give me so much satisfaction!

ALSO! I attached my buttons by machine!! I’ve never done this before. Meg mentioned it in one of her tutorials and I thought… I bet I could do that. I just set my zigzag to the same distance as my buttonholes and held it in place until I had gone back and forth 10 times. I don’t know if I can ever do buttons by hand ever again (I will…when my historical sewing gets moved to the top of my list!)

Has anyone else done a project with this fabric too? I’d love to see what you made! DM me on instagram or shoot me an email!

Jessica Sews | Upcycled Swiss Dot + Refashioned Levis

When it comes to my sewing projects, I usually finish them within a couple of days of starting. If it gets set aside for too long, it becomes lost in the abyss/I feel guilty and hide it with other fabric. These jeans were just about to meet the same fate until I found myself nearly caught up in my sewing agenda and thinking… maybe I can get these to work. But before I tell you about that, let me rewind to the beginning.

If you’ve seen my last handful of posts, you know I am really into harvesting fabric from thrift store pieces to remake into modern styles in my own size. I LOVE DOING THIS. There aren’t a ton of local options for fabric near me and we have a really two really great Goodwill stores in town. I’ve found typically expensive fabrics - wool, silk, linen, Swiss dots, seersuckers, eyelets - the list goes on and on.

After making a good assortment of tops (like the one in this post!), it crossed my mind I might be able to find some men’s jeans that could be upcycled into a new pair that fit me. Raw denim is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but it takes a lot of wearing and washing to get it to fade into a soft vintage blue. And that’s what I had in mind for this pair of jeans, so imagine my crazy good luck when I found a pair of men’s Levi’s in a size 50 for under five bucks.

I wanted to try to keep some of the original elements - the red tab, big back pockets and front coin pocket all came along into my new pair. I was able to cut most of the rest of the jeans out but had to go cross grain in some places, or use different fabric all together - like the inside waistband and belt looks. But I LIKE the way all of the different elements come together. I finished the bottom edge with a raw hem and the fit on these is really relaxed. Perfect for milling about the house, working outside or whatever.

The issue that gave me trouble was using thick thread in conjunction with thick fabric. My home machine just couldn’t wing it. I finally thought maybe regular thread would work and I’m glad I did because it came through. With the extra bar tacks and top stitching I think this pair will be plenty sturdy and I don’t mind going back into mend if need be.

So both the top and denim in this post are upcycled plus the band on my self made hat! You’ve seen the blouse worn here (Simplicity 8391, out of print) and the jeans are my favorite denim pattern (Dawn Jean) from Megan Nielsen patterns (literally every pair of pants i make are this pattern. What am I up to? Eight versions?)