Drippin’ Rainbows
A LATE BUT COLORFUL START TO THE NEW YEAR
I finally managed to blog for the start of 2021 and oh how great it feels to share this creation with you all. If you have been following me on IG then you are aware that I am one of the new Spoonflower Ambassador’s for 2021! I couldn’t be more excited and thankful. 2021 is my year of rainbows! Each year I focus on expanding my wardrobe with one particular color that I’m craving or lacking. So it was only fitting that after all the rain in 2020, we deserve Rainbows in 2021, right?
Construction
Does this boiler suit look familiar? Well it is the same pattern used for my Fall Florals. You can check out deets and tips there.
In today’s blog I want to highlight this yummy Spoonflower Dogwood Denim™️ from the Katie Kortman Rainbow collection. I’ve made this boiler suit 3 times so far and this time I needed denim. I had a huge fabric haul from Spoonflower just before the year came to an end and I decided to try out the Dogwood Denim this go round. You can find this exact fabric here. I’m not disappointed at all and it softens once you wash. But let’s talk about color! The colors in this watercolor design are bold and vibrant. I had the most fun matching the prints. Luckily, I had plenty of fabric…well just enough fabric.
The pink shades in this print reminded me that I had an old pair of jeans that I could no longer squeeze into and I decided to use them for the under collar and back yoke. I added a third row of topstitching to give the suit a little more detail. It’s not my best topstitching but I survived!
So what did I do differently on this boiler? I did not add an inside zipper facing and I made the sleeves quarter length instead of full length. There’s also the obvious print matching which turned out lovely and very rewarding. If you can’t find the pockets right away then my job is complete.
The Dogwood Denim does not have any stretch by the way but I’m sure it will make a great pair of classic jeans.
Alright alright, I’ll let you finally get into the Rainbow!
I hope that you enjoyed my drippin rainbow and I’d love to hear from you below. Until next time,
peace & blessings
Jogger Season
Jogger Season
I can’t help but want to wear sweats and jogging suits right now but I also need my pumps. That’s the beauty of a jogger set! You can be comfy and sexy all at once or you can dress it down with sneakers. However you choose, these babies are staples in my wardrobe.
When ideas come to life
This project started with a sketch but before the sketch I saw an amazing designer named Prep Curry rockin his custom floral jogger set and I knew I had to make one for myself. So I shopped my stash and found floral, green, blue, and white fabric. I have had all these fabrics for a few years now and finally found something to create with them. I sketched out the jacket late last year and just never got around to sewing it up. Most of my ideas for contrasting fabrics arise because I simply don’t have enough fabric to make an entire garment so I think of ways to spice it up. This was the case with the floral print. When I purchased it, I had no idea what I was going to make and when it came time to create I couldn’t find the fabric anywhere (I looked for about 1 day total lol). So I had about 2 yards of the floral fabric and based my sketch off of that. Initially, I didn’t think I had enough floral to add to the sleeves but I’m so happy I was able to squeeze it in. As for my solid color fabrics, I had plenty for this project so I wasn’t playing Tetris. My initial design I added a pink contrast but when I went shopping for this shade I didn’t find the perfect fabric at local stores so I just scratched pink off my design. I also didn’t want to spend much on this project.
I’m often asked how do I come up with contrasting looks, mixing colors, and prints? Well sometimes it’s really me just making what I already have work. Other times I actually plan out color palettes and design and source from there. I really just like to have fun with colors and prints and don’t like following rules.
Let’s Sew
I used Mimi G’s Simplicity pattern 8702 for both the pants and the bomber jacket. I switched up the design in the front for the jacket a bit by cutting and taping pattern pieces in the direction I wanted for each contrast. When doing this type of hack, be sure to add or subtract seem allowance where necessary. It takes a little more time but the outcome is worth it. I shared some of this process for the pants contrast on my Instagram IGTV video here! I serged the side seems on the pants but I used a straight stitch for the contrast to help everything lay flat. The pants for this pattern are meant to be fitted and also have a zipper at the ankle. I went up a size because I wanted a slight loose fit and instead of the zipper on the ankle I added rainbow ribbed knit (purchased on Amazon).
Like majority of Mimi G’s simplicity patterns, there was a video tutorial for the entire set on YouTube. I have made this jogger set once before so I was confident sewing it for the second time.
The pattern doesn’t have pockets and ya girl needs pockets! So I added welt pockets to the bomber jacket. You could even add pockets to the pants. I personally found it easier to just add pockets to the jacket. I would’ve had to get a little more creative with pockets on the pants since the middle side section (animal print) is not perfectly centered for pocket placement on a seem. Whatever your preference, I say do you!
Welt pocket Install
POCKETS PLEASE!
Overall I had so much fun creating this look! The lining gave me the pop I wanted on the inside and I will definitely keep warm wearing this through the winter.
Will I make it for a 3rd time? Absolutely! I feel this pattern can be beginner friendly as long as you don’t get too intimidated by the zippers and follow along with Mimi. I hope you all enjoyed this creation. Tell me what you think below. I’d love to hear from you.
Until next time
Peace & Blessings
