Nature Inspired - Ready for Spring

I was so excited to learn about Skirt Fixation's Challenge Create - Adult Edition! I need clothes and now I have some motivation to make it happen. Sew-a-longs are so much fun. I like the themes, the creativity, and the sharing with the link ups. I really look forward to seeing other people's interpretations of the themes.

For week 1's theme - Nature Inspired - I wanted to make something I can wear all day in hopes that I may just feel like working out at any moment. With spring on it's way (sort of) I'm hoping for more opportunities to be outdoors and get more exercise so I need clothes that multitask. Ya know, something I can drop and do push-ups in at a moment's notice. I have been know to do squats, lunges, etc while my toddler plays on the playground. I obviously don't mind funny looks from strangers or I wouldn't have had my husband taking pictures of me down by the river today on a lousy 40 degree overcast day with lots of joggers and dog walkers wondering what on Earth I was doing. (We are expecting 4 inches of snow later today by the way. Ugh.)

I started with the free Deer and Doe plantain tee and added circular pockets - more on that later. My first thought was to add a hood, but then, being ever practical, I thought, "Hoods are cute, but do you ever actually use it? And they take up so much fabric- twice as much to line it and make it look nice and then it just hangs there looking cute but not adding much function. What else can I do?" The neckline on the tee is quite low so I thought it would be nice to make an infinity scarf for while it's still chilly around here. After I put it on, and loved it, it occurred to me that I can pull it up over my head like a hoodie! Yay for happy surprises! And maybe I live under a rock or something because that was a novel idea for me but after a quick search, I see that I am not the first to think of that. Oh well.

 On the tee, I used 3 cotton/spandex fabrics from Girl Charlee - a charcoal on white floral print and a green and a "prussian" blue. The stripe for the scarf is a lighter weight cotton blend from Girl Charlee last year. They are all wonderful - soft, stretchy, nice recovery. So comfortable.

The infinity scarf is made from 2 pieces that were 15" x 58" - the full width of the fabric. I sewed the two long sides first and then turned it right side out. Slide one short end back through the tube to meet up with other end right sides together. Sew around that circle leaving a 3-4" opening for turning. Turn it and slip stitch the opening closed. So so easy. I watched this video first to get the basics.

To add pockets to the shirt, I went with a kangaroo style but it's behind the front layer. Take your front pattern piece and cut a semicircle out where you want your pocket on the side seam.

Do you like my pattern weights? They're ceramic coasters.

I used the 80% rule to determine how long to cut my banding strips for the pockets, but it depends on how stretchy your fabric is. Measure your semicircle and multiply by .8. For the width, I used the same as the neckband for a congruous look. Sew them on, trim the excess and topstitch the seam allowance down to the body of the shirt.

The pocket piece is the piece that will show in the openings and run the width of the shirt. I used my original pattern piece and traced from the bottom to about 2 inches above the top of my pockets. I matched that fabric to the elbow patches again for continuity. I used my lightening bolt stitch to attach it across the middle of the shirt. The sides will get sewn into the side seams and the bottom into the hem.

On this damp, cold day, I was ever so grateful to have a scarf, a hood, and pockets to keep me warm.

And now the really good news, I wore this outfit all day and I did workout a little. Besides running and pushing Elena around on the merry-go-round at the park, I did some planks during commercials while watching TV and some yoga poses too. It's a good start.