September 2017 - Merritts Makes

September 18, 2017

True Bias Lander Pants

Today I’m thrilled to show you my True Bias Lander Pants. I was lucky enough to be one of Kelli’s testers for this pattern and couldn’t be happier with my result. These are certainly not my first pair of pants, but there’s just something about the detailing and fit that makes me feel like my sewing skills are suddenly legit. The pants feature a wide leg, button fly, front rectangular patch pockets, and a flattering high waist. There are also three length options: short, ankle, and boot length. If you haven’t already seen them, check out the pattern listing here to see Kelli’s amazing samples and how great they look on her gorgeous silver-haired model.
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I opted to make the boot length option as I plan to wear these regularly throughout the fall and winter months. Wide leg pants have been appealing to me for years, but because of my waist to hip ratio and longer legs, nice fitting ones are nearly impossible to buy off the rack. When Kelli told me she was making a pattern for wide leg pants, I jumped at the chance to test them.

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This denim pair is actually my second pair of Lander Pants. During the testing phase I made an ankle length pair using Essex Linen. The denim is a Robert Kaufman denim purchased from Imagine Gnats (find it here). The fabric is a really nice medium weight and rather comfortable as well. I wore these pants on the plane to Denver last week (more about that trip here). My plane flew out of SLC at 7:30 am so I was nervous to see how my pants would look by the end of the day. Surprisingly, they still looked great by dinner time with only minimal wrinkling from an entire day of wear.

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One of the details I love about these pants is the size of the pockets on both front and back. They’re a great design feature, but it’s their practicality that really wins my heart. One of THE worst parts of many ready to wear women’s pants are the size of the pockets. Does anyone else hate when they’re so small you can’t even fit your phone inside? I mean, what are they? Pockets for ants? I don’t even have a giant phone and I regularly have this problem when shopping for pants. Not planning on having that problem again, because I’m just going to make an array of Lander Pants for all occasions.

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I could write a few hundred more words proclaiming my love for these pants, but I’ll let the photos and the fact that I’ve been wearing them multiple times a week speak for themselves. Kelli is hosting a Lander Pant Sewalong on her blog this week. It’s sure to be filled with lots of helpful hints if you’d like some extra wisdom while making a pair. Check out her first post here.

Thanks for reading! Want to see what else I’ve made using True Bias patterns? Check out my red Lodo Dress in this post.

Photos by my lovely friend Rachel of Little Fish.

If you’ve made it this far I’ll leave you with the gem of a picture below. This is what I look like when I’m afraid that I’ll be hit by a car while “acting natural” and crossing the street. Clearly crossing the street photos will never be one of my signature poses.

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September 16, 2017August 29, 2018

Noodlehead Range Backpack or My Weekend at the Church of Sewing

Last weekend I had the pleasure of traveling to Denver to spend the weekend with some amazing sewing friends old and new. Gabriela of Chalk and Notch found this beautiful AirBnB and I was lucky enough to stay there with Sara of The Sara Project, Michelle of SewJourners, Leslie of Threadbear Garments, Emily of Enjoyful Makes, my project twin Fleurine of Sew MarieFleur and honorary house guest Adrianna of Hey June Handmade. We also got to spend time hanging out with Kelli of True Bias, Erin of SewBon, and Allie of IndieSew. Basically, I spent last weekend feeling like a fan girl hanging out with her sewing idols.

Ok, sorry, I’ll stop name dropping and “fan girling” now and get back to talking about sewing. Several of the girls decided to sew the Range Backpack during the weekend and I hopped on the bandwagon because it seemed like the perfect retreat project. Besides the thread and notions listed on the pattern, I only needed a rotary cutter, mat, ruler, and my sewing machine to complete the project. The mats and rulers were thankfully provided by local ladies so we didn’t have to figure out how to get those on a plane. When we arrived in Denver, Fleurine and I realized that we’d both chosen the same Rifle Paper Co. canvas for our exteriors. I used an Essex Linen for my straps, lining, and contrast bottom, while Fleurine used a lovely waxed canvas for the contrast bottom and straps. Once we realized that our bags would match, we decided we had to finish our backpacks in order to take photos together.

In the beginning, we only had one ruler and mat, so I woke up early on Friday morning to cut out my bag. There are plenty of pieces, but cutting went pretty quick and I was able to cut out everything in about an hour. This included the time it took to soak in the beauty of the morning in our light filled AirBnB.

I’ve sewn a handful of bags in my years of sewing and always wonder why I don’t sew them more often. They’re a great middle ground for quilters and apparel sewists alike. They provide the quick satisfaction of an apparel project with the simpler seaming of a beginner to intermediate quilt. They’re also great for building skills like zipper insertion without the stress of garment fitting. If you’re looking to learn some bag making skills, I would highly recommend Noodlehead patterns because Anna’s instructions are clear and detailed.

Once I began sewing the Range Backpack, it came together fairly quickly. I can’t give you an exact estimate of time, because I sewed intermittently throughout the day and evening on Friday. Sewing time was broken up by outings for brunch, a visit to Fancy Tiger Crafts, and just general chatting. I finished the exterior of my backpack on Friday and completed and inserted the lining on Saturday morning.

I’ll leave you with a quick note about my fabric and notions. My fabric was purchased from (no surprise here) Suppose. I ordered the Range Backpack hardware kit from Noodlehead. My zipper was purchased from Zipit on Etsy. The zippers had to be purchased in a pack of five (only $5 for all five), which turned out to be advantageous when both Fleurine and Adrianna, were in need of zippers to match their bags and hardware.

Thanks for reading! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Fleurine’s post about our bags here. For more Range Backpack inspiration check out Adrianna’s leather version (here) or Leslie’s made from Pendleton Wool (here)

September 5, 2017

A Dress for Date Night: Lodo Dress by True Bias

I fell in love with the Lodo Dress almost immediately after it was introduced (here) in April. I quickly purchased the pattern and ordered some fabric to make my first Lodo Dress. You can check out my first one here. I’ve gotten so much wear out of that first Lodo Dress and knew I needed another. My first dress is a bit more casual so I wanted my next one to look a bit dressier. I selected this red scuba knit from Indie Sew after seeing Allie’s blue version. The solid red was a bit of a bold choice, but I think it was the right one.

My husband and I got the rare opportunity to go out on a date last week and I had him snap a few photos in my parents’ backyard before we left. Never thought I’d love sage brush, but I’ve started to see the beauty in it after living in Utah most of my life. The promise of a date was all the motivation needed for me to get working on my Lodo Dress. Our date was on Wednesday so naturally, I started cutting out my project on Monday. Tuesday night I sewed a few hours after bedtime and was able to complete the dress. There’s just something satisfying about finishing a project that is both quick and stylish. It never gets old and I see another Lodo or two in my future.

This was my first time working with scuba and I was a bit nervous to use a new fabric. It was surprisingly easy. The only difficulty I had was when sewing the back slit. The fabric shifted a bit more than expected, so my stitching isn’t quite as perfect as I’d like. It is, however, such a small imperfection that I decided it was not worth the time it would take to fix it. I made one small modification to the instructions and sewed bar tacks at the top of the back slit and at the underarms. Hoping that the bar tacks will further secure the seams in areas where they’ll experience the most strain. So far, so good.

My red scuba Lodo Dress turned out to be the perfect date night dress. It’s stylish enough for a night out, but simple enough to wear to the local dive. This dress feels like wearing a light, soft sponge. It’s also got plenty of room for indulging in the large amounts of food I may or may not consume. What I’m trying to tell you is that it checks all boxes for an essential date night dress. Do you have anything specific you love wearing for date night? What do you require in clothing for a night out?

Just a quick note on sizing: My dress is a size 2 graded to a 4 in the hips. I made the midi length and added just 1″ to the length.

September 2, 2017October 15, 2018

Named Clothing Ronja Dungarees

I’ve loved overalls for as long as I can remember. In fact, last time I was at my parents’ house, I looked through old photo albums and found two first day of school pictures in which I’m wearing overalls. I even brought my newborn son home from the hospital in a tiny pair of overalls because teeny tiny overalls will always win my heart. Every time overalls come back in style I find myself poring over photos and planning all the possible outfits. Basically, I have a love affair with overalls and will likely continue to wear them long after they’re no longer “in style.” With that said, I’d like to introduce you to my Named Clothing Ronja Dungarees (find them here). The Ronja Dungarees feature front and back pockets, button closures, a cropped ankle-length, plenty of top-stitching, and tie straps. There’s no shortage of details and I love that about this pattern.

I added these lovely flower buttons (purchase here) from Arrow Mountain. I’ve almost exclusively used Arrow Mountain buttons since discovering them over a year ago. Good quality, stylish buttons are sometimes hard to find, but I find myself wanting to buy ALL the Arrow Mountain buttons (see more ways I’ve used them here, here, and here).

When choosing my fabric, I was presented with the dilemma of whether to use a print or a solid. I waffled back and forth between the two until I remembered that I had some of this Euclid fabric in my stash. This is a print designed by Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman Fabrics. It is printed on their Essex Linen which is a cotton/linen blend. The weight of the fabric is somewhere between a canvas and a quilting cotton. It doesn’t have much drape which makes it great for a bit more structured pants and skirts. As per usual, I purchased the fabric from Suppose.

These are constructed in a way that makes it a bit difficult to test garment fit as you sew, because of this I would highly recommend sewing a muslin first. Sometimes, out of pure laziness, I ignore my own advice. This was one of those times. I pretty much just held my breath and hoped the overalls would fit in the end. I was expecting my Ronja Dungarees to be fun but; I did not expect that they would actually flatter my back side. This was a pleasant surprise. My husband even remarked that these overalls were “very flattering.” I’m almost certain that the words “overalls” and “flattering” are rarely used in the same sentence. I mean, I definitely don’t usually reach for overalls and think “Man, I look good in these.” These Ronjas make me feel that way and it’s a fun change from my regular momiform of loose flowy dresses.

The challenge of sewing something a bit more advanced after many simple projects, was a great refresher for me. It’s sometimes nice to change the pace and sew something one small step at a time instead of all at once. This pattern reignited my love of overalls, and I’ve already purchased the Burnside Bibs pattern by Sew House Seven. How do you feel about overalls? Are you over them?

I’ll leave you with a few notes on my sizing and alterations: I am close to 5’10” and sewed a size 38 with few length modifications. Named Clothing drafts for a height of 5’8″ so I decided not to add any length to the rise and add elsewhere instead. I added 1/2″ of length at the bust, 1″ of length at the thigh, and 1″ of length at the knee. I’m really happy with the length and think it will be great for late summer and transition well into early fall.