Hello Internet Friends!

Sweater weather is fast approaching, and while I honestly can’t wait (I have a ton of quarantine knits that I can’t wait to finally wear!) I want to also squeeze every last drop of the sunshine and nice weather before the rainy fall really starts! To help keep the summer vibes going I whipped up this summery Gilbert Top by Helen’s closet and another pair of Lander shorts (this time in a breathable linen) by True Bias patterns.

Let’s start with star of the show! The fabric for the Gilbert top! As per usual lately the fabric is from Blackbird Fabrics and is this amazingly soft and drape-y Viscose Challis and guys, I honestly can’t get enough of this fabric and print! It’s so, so, so nice to wear (so silky smooth feeling!) and it doesn’t crinkle that much while still being a dream to press while sewing! I honestly regret not snapping up more of this fabric when it was around for a dress or another flow-y top like the Romy Wrap top by Patter Scout. I do have a tiny bit left that I think I can make into an additional tropical tank top, fingers crossed!

For my version of the Gilbert top I chose View A, the short sleeves and tie front view, and cut a straight size 12 in the B-cup block. The only adjustment I made was to shorten the length by 1/2”. I probably could have shortened it a smidge more but I do like the way it kind of pools a bit around my upper hip due to the tie front, if I was to omit the tie I think I would definitely go shorter in length. This was another easy sew that came together in a night or two of evening sewing which is always super satisfying because you get to go from cut pieces to finished, satisfyingly wearable item in no time flat! After finishing and wearing the top for a bit I opted to add a snap to the front just for a bit more coverage, and I think I would take in a little of the front neckline length in the shoulder area for any future iterations, but that’s just me being picky lol.

Now some of you may have noticed that this top is noticeably similar to the Willamette shirt that I made earlier in the summer, they both have the ‘camp’ style collar (which I’ve really been feeling apparently since this is the 3rd Item this summer with this collar, my Yvonne Playsuit also has this collar….which I’ve also recently noticed is the same type of collar on most lab coats….is my day job bleeding into my hobbies??), both have a similar cropped style hem with the exception of the Gilbert having a front tie, and both have similar sleeves. Sometimes I get asked why I bother getting patterns that are similar, my answer is always that it’s in the details! For example the Willamette has a pleated back piece that works well for it but wouldn’t be very nice in a tie front, in my opinion anyway, and it also has a faux button up front (no buttons are actually necessary!). While the Gilbert has a slightly more boxy, vintage, and loose fit. There are also some differences in construction which i think is why I really like getting different but similar patterns from different makers, you never know when you’ll find a construction method that just suits you better! Or a sewing trick that you didn’t know about! It’s all part of learning and exploring your hobby to try things a different way, and it’s a big part of why I love my maker hobbies!

Speaking of swapping out constructions techniques, this is a perfect segue to the orange linen Lander shorts that I made as well! I made my first pair of Lander shorts last summer, and while I still wear them there are a bit sung in the seat and I was never fully happy with the way the front fly came together, it just doesn’t sit quite flat when worn and the part covering the zipper tends to fold out and expose the zipper. The method suggested by the pattern involves having the fly extensions being attached on to the font pant pieces instead of being part of the front piece originally. This leads to a completely different method of installing the zipper to the method I’m most used to which is where you temporarily baste the fly extensions together, attach the zipper, then remove the basting stitches to reveal a perfectly pressed, and installed zipper fly. I first came across this method with my first pair of ginger jeans and I’ve honestly had a 100% success rate with it with all the iterations of that pattern that I’ve made over the years. So for this version of the Lander shorts, in addition to grading from a size 8 at the waist to a size 10 at the hips, I went with my tried and true method and modified the pattern so that fly extension was part of the front pant pieces and then followed the fly insertion instructions from my ginger jeans pattern, the pictures below showcase how I added the fly extension to the front pant piece and the finished, perfectly installed front fly!

I hope you guys enjoyed this blog post and are making the best of the last bits of summer (if you’re in the Northern hemisphere anyway!) let me know in the comments if you’ve found tried and true construction techniques from a specific pattern that you defer to all the time now!