Made By A Fabricista: Tried and true summer basics that fit.

Happy Summer Friends!

As I am writing this, we are headed into a nasty heat wave…so the timing could not be better to share two of my favorite summer patterns and fabrics.  But first, let me tell you about the fail I had heading into this month’s blog…

As Fabricista’s, we get to pick out fabric for each of our blog submissions. I fell in love with this gorgeous lilac jacquard knit that I thought would be perfect for a pop of color in my summer wardrobe. But I made a fatal error - I grabbed a pattern I haven’t made for years, quickly went up one size to account for a few new pounds, and sewed them up. And they don’t fit, will NEVER fit, and will never be worn. Sigh…when will I learn?? Here’s a flat lay pic so we can at least look at the lovely fabric:

The lesson I learned (relearned!) is that just like with off the rack clothes, the things that worked well for me years ago don’t work well for me today.  And that’s the case with both tops and bottoms. So I went back to two patterns that work better with my body and those are the ones I will share today:

I added two patterns to my collection about two years ago and since then, I’ve made each several times. These designs work well for my body, which after menopause is a different shape – for example, more inches around the middle. And one of them is a free pattern! First, let’s talk about the tee pattern and fabric:

This is the Core Tee from Closet Case Patterns. It’s a free pattern when you sign up for the newsletter. There are two things I really love about this pattern. First, it has a cropped but not super cropped option, and I love that style with higher waisted bottoms. Nothing showing but I feel a little more put together with this length; I would often dress these tees up for work too.  And second, it’s a loose fit, so I feel confident and comfortable. Over the last two years, I’ve made several of these in cotton lycra. I love the structure it brings, and it washes really well, softening a little bit each time (FYI everything in this household goes in the wash AND the dryer). Here’s another shot of that first floral tee, which I made two years ago and still wear on repeat:

The pattern does have a relatively high neckline, but you can lower it easily if you don’t love that. Due to this, I prefer to do a binding instead of the intended band:

I LOVE a good ditsy floral – where you have tiny delicate flowers in small scale with lots of repeats. I made another of this style this summer and I absolutely love how it turned out:

I love to pair these cropped tees with my current favorite shorts pattern – the Windward shorts from Greenstyle:

Let’s talk about these shorts and my go to fabric for them. These definitely have an athletic vibe, but I also feel totally comfortable wearing them around town, out to dinner, and sometimes directly to bed! They have two waist options (I make the higher one) and two pocket styles. The back is cut in two pieces, which I think gives them a “store-bought” look. Here’s a shot of the back:

I love that they have a looser fit, but for me the shorter style keeps them from feeling too oversized on me. You can do no pockets, or welt pockets with or without a zipper. I like the plain welt pocket. It definitely adds some sewing time but I love the utility of them:

The pattern calls for a stretch woven, but my personal favorite is a very structured knit, like Liverpool or bullet fabric. Fabric Mart always has tons of great colors and prints for this fabric…which is how I was able to go to my fabric stash and still do this blog after I ruined my new nice fabric. Stash fabric for the save!

Here’s what they look like from the side:

And I love how the cropped tee works with the high waist of the shorts:

I’ll finish up by sharing the third cotton lycra tee I made from this pattern, which is probably my favorite due to the fabric. If you’re a Nightmare Before Christmas movie fan, you may recognize it:

It’s Sally-themed, the endearing character who sews! Specifically, she sews herself back together on a regular basis, so I very much identify with her. I snagged one yard of this fabric on the website a while back, and then when cutting, used the wrong cut line and ruined a big piece. So I cut the back of the tee in two pieces and was able to still make the top. I think you can barely notice:

Do you have a few go-to summer patterns and fave fabrics? And are you a Sally fan? 😊

Stay cool friends! I’m very lucky – my sewing room is one of the coolest rooms in the house!

Andrea | @happy.things.here