Earlier than discovering that I may sew bespoke “cool shirts” for Matt, we purchased him the best shirts we may discover on the charity outlets. One among these cool, secondhand shirts had a neat blue-and-red geometric print that I actually appreciated.
Sadly, the shirt had a dye-related mishap that took it out of Matt’s rotation final yr. The print was so cool although that I added it to my cloth stash for future use. I did not have a imaginative and prescient for it, however squirreling away useable cloth is a part of my technique to keep away from shopping for it for my stitching endeavors. It’s a apply that’s equal components thriftiness and sustainability.
| A photograph with our crew and the Hillberry signal on the ultimate day of the competition. 10/8/2023 |
As I used to be gearing up for the Hillberry Music Festival final month, I acquired my flash of imaginative and prescient. I might make a pair of flouncy, patchwork, harem pants. They might be billowy, comprised of enormous, daring squares of material, and cinched in on the ankles so they’d lots of flounce.
Dancing pants! Pants that felt like carrying nothing in any respect! Pants that will swoosh and transfer like a skirt! Pants that I may layer leggings beneath on the cool southern nights!
With pleasant ease and rapidity, my imaginative and prescient got here to life.
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| Miranda, me, and Val on the final morning of the competition. |
For the undertaking, I upcycled the geometric shirt together with a pair of worn-out stretchy, purple pants (that I acquired at a clothes swap). I supplemented these with a pair of remnants–a brilliant blue and a deep blue–from my stash. The upcycled shirt was the star cloth. It simply took slightly poking round to give you some coordinating companions.
The pants have three pockets. There’s a pair of primary, in-seam pockets. Nothing fancy. I used to be notably happy with the knee pocket although. The knee pocket is the unique breast pocket from the geometric shirt! I reduce the shirt into blocks just-so with the intention to seize the pocket in a single, useful piece. It cracks me up. At Hillberry, I saved filling it with sweet!
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| The shirt breast pocket, turned pants pocket! |
As with my color-blocked lounge pants, I used a (closely) modified model of the Simplicity 7501 sample to make my harem pants.
I completed the flouncy, patchwork celebration pants the day earlier than we left for Arkansas. Simply in time! They have been a superb addition to my competition. I imply, the place else would I’ve saved an limitless provide of Mike-and-Ikes?! Critically although: They have been wonderful dancing pants. Higher than I anticipated. It felt like carrying nothing in any respect! I imply, the legs are so big that the material actually solely touches me across the waist and ankle. So comfortable and so breezy!
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| The legs on these items…big! Cozy, cozy, swooshy, and HUGE! |
Sporting them into the outhouses was barely much less wonderful. It was definitely doable however necessitated some extra consideration on my half in order to not drag them on the ground, say, since they have been so voluminous. The layering with leggings went fabulously when the evening temps dropped to the low 40s. Golly does humidity make the chilly a lot colder! (And the warmth a lot hotter!) Having lived my total life within the arid west…I do not understand how individuals do it!
All in all, a slam-dunk of a stitching undertaking. And the geometric shirt lives on!
