Her first language is German | Closet Case Kelly Anorak

It's been some time, friends. And in that time I had a LOVELY eurotrip vacation that I was DETERMINED to make a jacket for. I was working on this jacket up to a few hours before my flight. That's how close I was cutting it. It was a busy last few weeks of May, but I'm happy I was able to eek this out.

 Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Kelly Anorak from Closet Case Patterns. This features of this jacket were everything I wanted; the back yoke, the drawstring waist, a hood, nice big pockets, and I would be learning new things as I made it. That last one was huge for me, especially when I first started sewing. I used to try to learn a new technique every single garment. But over the years, trying to sew fast and just get things done kind of led me off of that path.

3x the Charm? - Black Gingers

Well, well, well... Look at who can't get enough lol. I have completed my 3rd iteration of the Ginger Jeans pattern from ClosetCaseFiles. First two here and here. I don't see myself getting tired of this pattern. I'm in jeans whenever I don't have to dress up and they're just comfortable. Plus the October project for the ThRed&Needles group on Facebook was jeans. This time around I really attempted to fix some fitting issues that I dealt with on previous versions (mostly version 2) and I think I did a pretty good job.

Ginger Separates and Dares

Hello, hello, hello!

I haven't been participating in The Monthly Stitch monthly challenges like I'm used to doing but today I'm back to jump in for Indie Pattern Month! Week two of the Indie competition is "Separates": basically sewing at least 2 things that go together. Perfect time for me because 1. I wanted to make a pair of high-waisted shorts and 2. Gillian DARED me to make some shorts or cutoffs... well look at them stars aligning again ;-)

*Disclaimer: This is going to be a very long (but informative ;-)) post!

For this outfit I used Closet Case Files patterns; The Nettie bodysuit and The Ginger Jeans. I told you I wasn't done with these here bodysuits lol I have another fabric washed and on the cutting table too.. but I digress.  For the bodysuit, I cut a size 12 in both the bodysuit and the gingers.

The Nettie of many Colors

"Bodysuit, I love thee. Let me count the ways...."

I am a sucker for a good bodysuit. Not just any bodysuit though. A bodysuit with a unique design element, one that's not too high cut and doesn't HAVE to be worn with something high-waist, and the most important thing: one with a snap crotch! My mom has passed down at least 7 or 8 bodysuits to me over the years but none of them has everything that I'm looking for. They're all 1 for 3 or 2 for 3. Never 3 for 3. Then Heather came along and put my heart's desire into one pattern: The Nettie Bodysuit.

Denim Never Dies in the Jungle....

It's February already!! But I've got a score to settle with January... The TMS challenge for January 2015 is/was "Denim Never Dies", which was perfect because I had decided that I needed to make more pants in 2015 and I had JUST bought the Ginger Jeans pattern by Closet Case Files. A little bit after the challenge announcement, they added a bonus challenge to celebrate their pink rebranding! I had some pink denim in my stash so I was just a "Ready Freddy".

Like I said, this is the Ginger Jeans pattern by Closet Case Files. I made View A, the low rise with the stove pipe leg. I cut a straight size 12. This was a wearable muslin for me so I just wanted to see what the pattern would look like made straight up. I made no modifications.  I did take some flat measurements of a pair of jeans I really like to see how they related and the measurements were very very close.