Blog Tour: Working out with Rebecca Page

Hi! Welcome to my stop on the Working Out with Rebecca Page Blog Tour. If you are a regular reader here at SequoiaLynn Sews, “Howdy!” If this is your first visit, “Welcome!”
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You may be thinking I don’t look like the typical person who shares clothing geared towards “Working Out,” and that is ok. Exercise comes in all styles and at all levels. Some people run marathons and some people may park farther from the store  to gain a few steps as they walk inside. No matter where you are in your level of fitness, you deserve super comfy clothing!  Some people find yoga pants and a tank to be their happy place, while I love sweat pants and comfy shirts. Don’t worry, all week long you will see some great clothing on the blog tour! So make sure you click all the links and see what Rebecca Page has to offer you! Oh yeah, there are also prizes!!! Keep on reading, Folks!
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I picked a couple patterns that you may not even associate with any type of exercise, but they are perfect for it. Outside of sewing, I am obsessed with Geocaching and I love being in the woods so these two hobbies go great together. I made an ultra comfy cozy outfit for a walk in the woods. Let’s start with the Celine Trousers.
The Celine Trousers can be made from knit or woven fabrics which is kinda awesome! In case you didn’t know, there are a lot of Rebecca Page pattern that are drafted for both.  I knew I wanted to use this super soft and cozy French terry to make my pants. I had not made these pants before, but I jumped right in anyhow. I always suggest making a muslin before you cut your “good fabric,” but I didn’t have time because I am a procrastinator. If you have been a regular reader at my blog, you know that this year one of my goals is to master pants fit issues. These pants bring me one step closer. I can see a few adjustments that I want to make on my next pair, but am overall pleased with how these pants turned. I did a full belly adjustment because that seems to be one of my issues with pants fitting properly. I should have used a smaller size for the legs and used the belly adjustment to correct the fit. Next time, I will have these babies perfect! Another option that comes with the Celine Trouser is the stripe down the outer leg seams. With a lot of patterns, I am guilty of skipping the “options” because I am sometimes lazy and usually wait until the last minute to sew. I used a coordinating French Terry for this feature. I cut the stripe slightly wider than the original pattern suggestion because I wanted to be sure to have solid white stripes on the outside of my strip. I folded it in half wrong sides together (because the seam will be hidden and I didn’t want to turn the tube.) then serged the long sides together. I adjusted my tube so that there was white on stripes on the outside edges and pinned it in place covering the side seam of the pants. I stitched it in place using a lightening bolt stitch being careful not to pull or stretch my fabrics to prevent waves. These pants took me about 2 hours to make from start to finish. Not a bad evening project and so so comfy!
This plush French Terry is from Ksews AKA The Material Girls on Facebook! Honestly, Kailynn is awesome! I contacted her in a pinch last week because I was behind and I needed fabric ASAP! She shipped same day! I suggest you look her up on Facebook!!
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My Paris top has already made an appearance on my blog, but it has been awhile and in a totally different context! Last time I paired the Paris Party top with the beautiful Arabella Skirt and was super adorable and dressy. Now I am wearing the SAME shirt with French Terry pants and looking oh so casual and cool! I love adding versatile pieces to my closet! I love that I can pair these two pieces together and look great, but it is still winter in Ohio and it can be cold so I always pack my Circle Cardigan in case it gets chilly!
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The Circle Cardigan alone has tons of options, but as a core piece in my closet is an all purpose cardigan! I wear it with jeans and tees, over sleeveless dresses, layered over tunics and leggings. I made this one more than 2 years ago and still wear it at least once a week because it is so comfy.
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I have one last staple that I need anytime I am heading out. I need a cute bag to carry all my stuff in. Extra chapstick, a bottle of water, and my hairbrush are always on board and fit perfectly into the Toiletry Bag that recently released. It is actually still on sale!! This bag was quick to make, easily customized by endless options of quilting cotton prints, and just flat out fun! This pattern also comes in a 2 larger sizes which would make room for a change of clothes and sneakers!
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Be sure to check out all the bloggers Working Out with Rebecca Page:

Monday 24 – Sarcastic Sewist

Tuesday 25 – Sew Much Charm, Sequoia Lynn Sews, Modestly Dolled Up

Wednesday 26 – The Graham Crafter, La Casa Cactus

Thursday 27 – Sewing and the Trivium, Patchwitch

Friday 28 – Blooming Skies

Saturday 29 – Let’s Go Hobby, Just Sew Something

Sunday 1 – D’coudre, Patchwork and Pastry

Plus, enter to win a prize! Daily drawings and one big winner at the end of the week!! Enter HERE

 

I encourage you to take a few minutes to explore the Rebecca Page Website! I would love it if you clicked this afflink to get you there.

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 As always this blog contains affiliate links, which is a small commission I earn when you make a purchase from my blog links. This doesn’t change the price at all for you, but gives a small amount of the pattern price to me. Thank you for helping to support my sewing.

5oo4 – Calypso Dress for Momma Mia

Calypso may be a sea goddess in the Pirates of the Caribbean, but it is also turns out to be a pretty fantastic pattern from 5 out of 4. I didn’t test this one, I was taking some time off of my crazy testing schedule when it came out and initially it wasn’t a pattern “I had to have!” Honestly, I HATE gathering. HATE HATE HATE it! My machine doesn’t like sewing single layers of double brushed poly or any lightweight knits actually. It can be so frustrating. So I knew this dress would stress me the heck out!! Only it didn’t! Guess who mastered gathering with her serger…This Girl! Psst: I have a video coming for you.
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So let’s get to talking about Calypso.
This pattern actually has a lot of pieces. Each front piece also has a back piece, plus the sleeves, sleeve binding, sleeve ties and the neckband. Even with all those piece it was worth it. This is a great pattern and Momma Mia is beyond happy with it. She tried it on and didn’t take if off the entire time I was at her house. So back to all those bodice pieces, I am rather glad they did this. The first reason is that it breaks the length that needs gathered in half. When was the last time you needed to gather a 60 inch piece of fabric?? Trust me, it would be rubbish! Impossible to make even, you’d break gathering threads, you’d cry out of frustration, maybe end up in a fetal position. It could get ugly.  I also felt that the staggered layers made it fairly easy to grade between sections of the body. Either way, I like it!
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In addition to the girly silhouette of the dress, there are these epic sleeves. How pretty are the bound edges and the ties? Better than your basic sleeve, not a ton of extra work. I will be slapping these babies on some other garments! They are also giving me some hacking ideas…heck yea! I think I will make the ties slightly longer next time, as I have trouble tying neat little bows. I did knot the ends because my stitching wasn’t perfection on the tails.
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The Women’s Calypso Top and Dress pattern includes the following:

  • Short, 3/4, or long sleeves with a cute bow detail.
  • Top or Knee-length skirt length for the dress
  • Sizes XXS – 5X (see the last image for yardage and size chart)
  • Check out this awesome YouTube video of our testers’ creations!
This fabric nearly caused a knock down, drag out brawl (internet version BTW) when Laura offered it up to the promo team. Nanner! Nanner! Nanner, I got it first! I knew Momma Mia would love it and I wanted her to have a new dress. She loves the color green. The pretty pops of colors of the flowers was a bonus. This print is called Trixie! Stitchinpretties has this beautiful double brushed poly fabric and it is on sale 25% off (Code is in the Facebook group) right now! Run, Don’t walk and get it into your cart. Laura will get it shipped out to you in no time flat! I live in Ohio, Stitchinpretties is way up there in Maine and my fabric arrives in 2-3 days! That is service and that is why I support small businesses!
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 As always this blog contains affiliate links, which is a small commission I earn when you make a purchase from my blog links. Thank you for helping to support my sewing.

Guest Blogging – Wrapped in Love Skirt/Dress Hack

Hi Friends! My latest hack is live at Ellie and Mac today! This was the first project I have been super duper pumped about in week! I am so serious! I was sewing late into the night to finish this one up because I couldn’t wait to see how it would come together! I used the new Wrapped in Love Dress and the Be Breezy to make a mini capsule and it was worth every minute of missed sleep! I picked up this great brushed poly for Sew Blessed! Pop over on Ellie and Mac’s blog and show me some love! Learn how to make an exposed elastic waistband and create your own mini capsule.  Here is the link.

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Did I mention these patterns are BOTH on SALE!!! Please use my Afflinks above to save!!

Love Notions – Sabrina Slims Gets Updated

Remember a few days ago when I said I wanted to sort out some fit issues I have when making pants during the new year? Well I made a huge move in that direction with these pants! These are the Sabrina Slims from Love Notions and they are so comfortable! It is totally acceptable to feel like you are wearing pajamas at work when the pants look this good. This slim fit pattern has just released in the larger plus size range which is becoming the LN standard! The pattern fits up to size 32 and is loaded with options.

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Let’s talk about getting a great fit. First off, Tami has worked really hard to put together a pants fitting guide to help. This comes automatically when you purchase the pattern. The fitting guide helps you to sort out issues and improve your fit. So let’s talk about my pants. By the measurement chart (hip measurement), I should be wearing a size 32. From experience I know this isn’t going to work for my body. You can look at me and see that I have next to no curves for hips or booty. I have all belly. So we are about to get really awkward and I am going to talk to you about some personal issues. I retook my measurements this time I went under my belly. Surprise! My measurement is 6 inches less! So let’s start there. I am now in size 24, but I need some belly room. First, I graded from the crotch point (size 24 line) up to the waist at size 28. I compared the measurement chart to my numbers to determine how many inches I needed to account for to fit my waist. I added a 1.5 inch full belly adjustment to the front of pattern piece only. Keep in mind that whatever number you use will get doubled. This is because you have one pattern piece for the front, but you will cut two of them. J So I added 1.5 inches to each side. Now I have gained about 4.5 inches in the front belly. I graded the back pant from the crotch point (size 24) to the waist (size 28). Now we have gained another inch! This will be plenty of room for my belly to fit comfortably.

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The next issue I needed to address was extra fabric pooling at my knees on my fit muslin pants. This was a much easier fix. I needed to remove some height. This isn’t as direct as cutting fabric off the bottom of the pant legs. I removed 1 ½ inches from the thigh area of the pattern front and back pieces. I then removed 1 inch from just above the knee on both the front and back of the pattern. That pattern has notch marks to indicate where your hip and knees should be. Next I removed 1 inch from the 26 inch inseam cut line. Lastly, I removed 1.5 inches from the rise to get the waist band resting over my belly button. The fit is much better now! I know this seems like a lot of adjustment for a pattern that is so wonderful, but trust me. My body isn’t typical and well worth all these little adjustments to get a great fit. It is worth it. Plus once you get the fit nailed down, you are golden!

Ok let’s talk about fabric! Simply by Ti sponsored my fabric and shipping for this size increase. The pattern requires a stable knit or stretch woven with 20% stretch. Think “bottom weight fabrics.” I picked this great ponte print! It is a lighter weight ponte that I used for my muslin, but it is still nice. It is so comfortable and feels like I am wearing pajamas!  Go check out SBT for some fun prints and great solids. Ti also keeps tons of bra making supplies available and has a great deal on needles for sewing machines and sergers. I think I ordered 4 packs of 10 needles! They were only $2 and $3 each! Thank you, Ti, for the beautiful fabric for my finals.

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The Sabrina Slims Pants instant downloadable pdf pattern contains:

  • Cigarette slims pants pattern
  • Pattern pieces for 2 different pant styles: solid front and back or seamed front and back as well as 2 maternity waistband options and three hem styles: plain, zippered and split hem
  • 2 pages of slims pants inspiration photos from pattern testers.
  • Cutting guide and the ability to print just your desired size(s) with the Adobe layers feature and a print chart to print the needed pattern pieces.
  • 14 pages of bright and clear step by step color illustrations and photos.
  • Downloadable fitting workbook designed specifically for the Sabrina Slims
  • Large format file for copy shop printing
  • Projector file for those using a projector in their sewing
  • Glossary of needed sewing terms.
  • Troubleshooting guide.

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So what do you think about my Sabrina Slims? I can’t wait to sew up some of the other options! I need the pockets and the zipper ankles! Please give my blog a follow for something really awesome coming to my blog a little later this month!

You can pick up the Sabrina Slims pattern and awesome pants fitting guide, while it is on sale for $9 by using my afflink. 

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 As always this blog contains affiliate links, which is a small commission I earn when you make a purchase from my blog links. Thank you for helping to support my sewing.
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