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Sew Liberated Arenite Pants with Raspberry Creek Fabrics

Disclosure: The fabric used for my pants was provided to me by Raspberry Creek Fabrics. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Two blog posts in two days? Who even am I? The truth is I’m trying to squeeze in every bit of work in before my son starts summer break tomorrow. It’s been such a blessing this last school year to have a couple of hours (kindergarten is only half day here) to myself to sew and work in the middle of the day instead of late at night. It’s allowed me to connect and collaborate more without completely burning out. I don’t know what the summer holds but, hopefully I’ll still find some time to be active around these parts. Speaking of summer break, my wardrobe was in serious need of pants that don’t look like pajamas, coordinate with almost anything, AND keep me cool even when I decide to cover my unshaven legs. Enter my latest make…the Arenite Pants by Sew Liberated (I purchased my pattern through Indiesew here). Ready for all the details? Let’s do this.

Fabric

After a bit of internal debate and some time spent scouring the Raspberry Creek Fabrics website, I knew what I had to do. Is there anything that screams summer more than a good pair of linen pants? The sewist in me says “No.” For this pair I selected the Brussels Washer Linen in Leather Brown. I would characterize the actual color of this as a golden brown or toasted marshmallow, if you will. If you’re unfamiliar with the Brussels Washer Linen, it’s a lightweight rayon/linen blend. Most of the colors (check out all the colors RCF has available here), including this one, are made with two different color threads woven together which give extra dimension to the look of the fabric. It’s weight feels breezy and cool while still having just enough substance to be opaque (kind of important for pants). After the first wash it gains a perfect crinkly texture and is less scratchy than most 100% linens. Fabric spiel over. Let’s talk about this pattern.

Pattern, Sizing, and Alterations

The Arenite Pants as drafted are a bit oversized with huge slouchy pockets. I love the original design but personally don’t love too much extra bulk around my hips. Several ladies in the sewing community have been slimming down the pattern pieces and hacking them to resemble the Elizabeth Suzann Clyde Pants. THIS was a look I could get behind. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do too much in the thinking department because Meg of Sew Liberated has added the slim leg hack instructions in her Instagram highlights (find the instructions on her IG profile here).

These are the tired eyes of a mom who has been sick for a week hence, the sunglasses in most of the other photos.

I followed Meg’s hack instructions almost to the letter and it worked a treat. As per her instructions, I sized down 3 sizes (from a 12 to a 6), removed width from the side panels and pocket linings, and added length back in where needed. I made a slight deviation in adding 1.5″ to the top of the front pant, back pant, and pocket panel pieces. This raised the waist of the pants so it fits centered over my belly button and perfectly high-waisted. Long gone are my days of low-rise pants. To account for my height, I also added 1.5″ to the length at the lengthen/shorten line. I’m thrilled with the overall fit of this pair although I may opt to slim the calves just a touch more on my next pair.

Construction

I’ll admit that unless I’m unfamiliar with a technique or testing a pattern, I rarely follow instructions. For ease of construction, I opted to skip the flat fell seams and instead simply serge the raw edges and topstitch all seams down. I intended this pair to be an ace wearable muslin and didn’t want to spend twice as long making the pants if they ended up not fitting correctly. If I do use a rayon challis or tencel, I may try flat felling those seams for security. Since I didn’t flat fell the seams, these pants came together in about 3 hours. It was easy and relatively fuss-free. Perfect for a pair of pants that I plan to make again and again.

Final Thoughts

I’m currently sitting in bed still wearing my Arenite Pants. The comfort level is extreme. In fact, I could very likely sleep in these. My only qualm about the entire making process is that I definitely should’ve chosen to get 2.5 yards instead of the 2 I had. It took an epic pattern tetris battle and waistband pieced from scraps but, I made it work. The remaining fabric scraps fit in one hand. Next time I’ll save myself a bit of trouble and just order a bit more fabric.

Other than shorting myself on fabric, the process was seamless and I’m pleased with the finished product. The only slight changes I plan to make in my next pair will be slightly slimming the ankles and raising the top of the pockets by about 1 inch. I love this pair and have full faith that with the next pair I can achieve summer pant perfection.

Curious about the shirt I’m wearing here? It’s one of my tester versions of the Perkins Shirt made in a Black and White Stripe Rayon Challis that I purchased last year from Raspberry Creek. Read more about it here.

Thanks for reading!

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Marilla Walker Isca Shirt with Indy Bindy

Disclosure: The fabric and pattern used in this post were provided to me but, all opinions are honest and my own.

Hello! I think I’m officially at the stage in life where everything feels like a whirlwind. May has been wild. Between family celebrations, Mother’s Day, our wedding anniversary, learning to care for our yard, and a week spent sick in bed, this month disappeared in the blink of an eye. My son’s last day of kindergarten is Friday and I can hardly believe it. How did I become the mother of a school-aged child? Ok, enough lamenting about the quick passage of time. Let’s get to talking about this shirt and especially THIS FABRIC!

FABRIC!!!!

Used an excessive amount of exclamation in that header because these fabrics deserve it. These prints from Indy Bindy Co. are designed by Manri Kishimoto of the Mannine brand and from the ‘Adorable’ themed line. They’re the Sakura Green and Sakura Owl prints which are not yet available on the site (will update links when they are) because they’re being released first to newsletter subscribers (sign up at the bottom of the page here). The fabric is 100% cotton and feels not quite as thin as a lawn but smoother than a quilting cotton. Practically perfect for semi structured tops and dresses. The entire collection is filled with bright colors and quirky characters but I just couldn’t resist using these two coordinates. The print and colors are an unexpected combination that feels worthy of a runway or Anthropologie window display (thinking of you here Katie Kortman).

Pattern

I’ve been eyeing the angled front details of the Isca Shirt Dress by Marilla Walker (the shirt version is a free add on to be used with the dress pattern) since its release, anxiously awaiting the perfect color blocking opportunity. Other pattern features include back contour darts, a curved hem, and 3/4 sleeves (which I opted to make shorter). There are just enough details to make the shirt feel special without going overboard.

Construction

I took my time sewing this shirt and sewed it up in small increments of time over about a week. There are a decent amount of steps, but nothing too complicated for an intermediate sewist. The directions called for lapped seams, but I opted to sew standard straight seams and serge the edges instead. I did, however, use french seams on the sides. I made a slight deviation from the instructions and decided to sew the shoulder reinforcement pieces to the outside (instead of the inside as instructed) for an added contrast detail.

Perhaps my favorite part of the assembly was the collar construction. I’ve inserted somewhere near forty collars over the last five years and never come upon the method used in this pattern. Don’t get me wrong, this method was new to me so the collar is far from perfect. Trying something new was intriguing and I think I’m going to practice this same method next time I construct a shirt collar.

Sizing and Alterations

According to the measurement chart included in the Isca pattern, my bust size was a 3, waist between a 4 and 5, with size 5 hips. Grading between sized was a breeze. I did, however, keep the back darts a straight size 3. I added 1″ to the bodice length and cut the short sleeves at the lengthen/shorten line. With these minor adjustments, the fit is probably the closest to perfect I’ve achieved yet. There are a few small drag lines around the arms that I could probably stand to do something about. Overall, I’m pleased with the fit and don’t know if fixing those lines would be worth the trouble.

Final Thoughts

This shirt feels like one of those pieces I’ll put on whenever I need an extra boost of confidence or a great conversation starter. In fact, I liked it so much that I used my scraps to make my son a coordinating Oliver and S Sketchbook Shirt. Now I think we might have to start our own Indy Bindy bowling team. I also experimented a bit with the styling and think my favorite way to style this is tied in front and paired with Persephone Pants. I contemplated just making a cropped shirt but, kept it long so it will have versatility and become a staple for years to come.

We certainly look like we could bowl away the competition, right?

Now that you’ve made it this far, I’ll leave you with a couple bloopers. Trying to figure out new poses and, well, it’s not going quite as I hoped but makes for a good laugh.

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Helen’s Closet York Pinafore

Hello! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind and, although I’ve been sewing, I haven’t had much time to document it. I fully intended to sew up a York Pinafore during Sew Bibs in March until other sewing plans got in the way. One month late, the Helen’s Closet York Pinafore is finished.

Fabric

Mmm…This fabric. In early March, I took a little day trip to my favorite local-ish fabric store, Suppose. It’s one of those beautifully overwhelming places where the project possibilities feel endless. I often spend over an hour browsing and dreaming up ideas (much to my son’s dismay) until reminding myself that my sewing time nor my wallet size are unlimited. This time I was smitten with the subtlety and dimensionality of this print. Designed by Carolyn Friedlander for her Polk collection, this cotton/linen blend has enough weight for the York while still being light and breezy enough for summer wear.

I’ve been a fan of Carolyn Friedlander’s designs since her Doe line released years ago. Although I liked Doe, the line that endeared me to her work was Carkai. I made my favorite Scout Tee and two shirts for my son from Carkai fabric. A tear or two may have been shed when my son finally outgrew those shirts.

Carkai and Doe were both printed on quilting cotton which somewhat limited my pattern choices at the time. Then Carolyn and Robert Kaufman did something phenomenol in her next few lines releasing prints on cotton/linen blends, lawn, and knits. Since then, I’ve used her fabrics for a Farrah Top, Ronja Dungarees, and even included her first cotton/linen blend prints (the overalls and jumpsuit pictured below) in a children’s clothing collection I designed to show at Utah Fashion Week in 2017 . I guess you could say I’m a fan.

Sizing and Alterations

Ok, I know, you probably aren’t here for the trip down memory lane. You’re here to talk about the York so we’ll get back to it. Using the size chart, I determined that I would need to make a 6 at the bust, graded to a 12 at the hips. That is exactly what I did and it seemed to work perfectly. Helen’s closet recently updated the sizing on the York to include a wider range of sizes and I think this made size selection more accurate than the previous S-M-L-XL sizing. Since I didn’t make the previous version, I can’t be sure of that but, it’s an assumption I feel somewhat justified in making. My only other sizing alteration was adding four inches to the length at the hem.

Two other non-sizing alterations were made. One intentional and one not. Tiahna of Ammon Lane made her first York last summer and her self-drafted angled pockets persuaded me to give the York a try after initially overlooking it. So, I copied her almost exactly in making these angled pockets.

My unintentional alteration was the addition of a center back seam. Unless I’m testing a pattern, I almost never look at pattern layouts or cutting instructions, paying attention only to grain lines. This time, my haste and haughtiness caught up with me. I was laying out the pattern pieces on the fabric when I realized the only way the pattern pieces would fit on a folded 45″ wide piece of fabric was if I added a seam allowance to the center back, not cutting it on the fold. I cut out the fabric, silently wondering why the fabric requirement chart didn’t note the need for more fabric. That is, until I went back to the instructions and realized the pieces were meant to be cut in one layer on 45″ wide fabric. Lesson learned. Perhaps next time I’m feeling puzzled about pattern layout, I’ll actually check the instructions before cutting.

Construction

Sewing the York took the better part of one afternoon. In fact, making the bias tape may have taken almost the same amount of time as the rest of the construction. It really is almost as easy as attaching the pockets, and then sewing the front and back together. The most difficult step: Attaching the bias tape. That’s it. If you’ve never attached bias tape, I promise you it’s nothing to fear. The bias tape adds a polished look to the insides and provided a fun opportunity to play with a contrasting print. I used other prints by Carolyn Friedlander for a fun, scrappy bias finish.

Final Thoughts

I just might become a pinafore person. You know my undying love for overalls and this pinafore fever feels like an extension of that. My favorite part about this pattern is the simplicity of it all. Clear instructions and a straightforward sew make this a pattern I will gladly recommend to my beginner sewing friends. It was a quick sew that, paired with the right fabric, feels casual enough for daily wear and dressed up enough for church or family events. Yesterday the deep pockets came in handy for hiding snacks, safeguarding my phone, and carrying small toys. All necessary things at this stage in my life. Now, how long do I wait before sewing another one?