I didn’t want to lie and make it seem like my Reed Trousers were a success. They were not and I have A LOT of feelings surrounding this. This was my first month and time leading the Sew My Style Challenge and I was really excited. When I was asked to lead, I had all these great ideas and I was prepared to take MY BIRTHDAY MONTH by storm.
But then I met the Reed Trousers and it went to hell.
What Happened With The Reed Trousers?
Let me preface this by saying there will be complete honesty here. So let’s get into it.
The Pattern Pieces Had Errors
This wasn’t as much of an issue. I’ve been sewing for long enough to be able to pivot when needed. The front piece for the trousers was labelled as the back. The tutorial referenced using interfacing for the welt pockets but the welt pocket pieces didn’t reflect needing to cut them out. When you print out the pattern, page 1 didn’t print in order. **Spoiler alert: It does print but it comes out between pages 18 & 19 of the pattern.
The Tutorial Didn’t Make Sense (To Me)
I’m pretty smart. I read directions fairly well and when I still can process it, I utilized Google because, well, we all should. When it came for the welt pockets, I looked up this video that was helpful because as I was reading the directions, I just didn’t get how this was supposed to work from the tutorial. Same with the zipper install. I read the instructions an obscene amount of times, installed the zipper a million times only to have to seam tear an equal amount.
Welt Pocket Fail
This was after my final attempt.
Not a fan of the pockets either.
Do you see this????
I gave up here.
And In Conclusion…
Countless hours later accompanied by many tears and a little blood, I have my first unfinished garment in my sewing history. This is the first pattern that has stumped me so much that I couldn’t complete it. I’ve made trousers before for myself and I could have deferred to those instructions but I wanted to follow the tutorial and complete it that way. The Reed Trousers were a big fail for me and I’m still sitting in frustration because they were going to be a birthday present for my husband.
Also, in complete transparency, the pattern designer did let me know to reach out if I had questions or needed help. I didn’t. Why? Because the tutorial ideally should have been something anyone could follow and I’m not a beginner sewist. If you’re looking to make men’s trousers, I don’t recommend these unless some updates are made.
This blog post contains affiliate links. I appreciate your support in using them.
I’ve sewn quite a few things for my husband since I’ve been regularly sewing. I’ve made him some shirts, hoodies, undies, and socks. But now I’m ready to take on a new challenge for him: the Reed Trousers from Laela Jayne. I’m not going to lie: this is a bit intimidating for me. Making pants that fit me can be a challenge but making them for someone else’s body that’s nothing like mine?
Super challenging.
But it’s also forced me to go back to the basics of sewing versus getting into my head. I know how to measure properly. I know how to grade patterns. And I know fabric–which is where I’m starting first.
Choosing Fabric For The Reed Trousers
My husband will be the first to share a judgmental glance when I huff and puff about not having fabric. Friends, I have ALL.THE.FABRIC–just none for men’s trousers! One of my biggest fears in sewing for others is that they won’t wear this garment that I’ve put my blood (yes, often a little big), sweat and tears into. So fabric choice for these is huge.
The pattern calls for bottom-weight fabric like twill, denim, corduroy or any suiting. Because we’re basically getting dressed with nowhere to go, comfort is key here. And also, he’s kinda picky. Any pizazz in his wardrobe has been as a result of his colorful wife lol.
I hit up Fabric.com to check out their options and these are some of my favorites that I found:
Suiting Fabrics
Gabardine Suiting in Black
Heather Wool Blend
Gabardine Solid Blue
Italian Tropical Wool
Twill Fabric
Black Polyester Twill
Camoflauge Twill
Navy Blue Polyester Twill
Brushed Twill
Now I’m absolutely loving this brushed twill. The color is everything and brushed everything is soft. But I’ve also made a couple pieces for my son and daughter in the camo and I think it would be cute for them to match daddy. So we’ll see…
What fabric option would you choose for your spouse or self?
Today I accidentally went down the rabbit hole of sewing apps that have the sole purpose of organizing your stashes–both fabric and patterns. Friends. I never would have thought to have my sewing stuff organized on my phone but after looking at the apps, it makes so much sense. I have fabric stored in my sewing space, random bins and then my garage and honestly, I don’t know everything I have! But an app that would keep my fabric swatches together without me having to cut anything?
Yes. Please.
Sewing Apps That Keep Your Stashes Organized
Sewing Patterns Lite
This app allows you to keep track of all your patterns. You can keep the pictures of the patterns, rate them based on difficulty, categorize them based on outerwear, bottoms, etc. Not just that, but you can also store how much yardage you need for each pattern too.
All About Fabrics
This app is really cool because it can automatically calculate the right amount of material you need for any piece, shares information about different fabric types AND finds the nearest fabric store!
Sew Buddy
This app can keep track of all your fabrics, threads, notions, and patterns. You can take pictures with your camera and upload or use saved images.
Fabric Dictionary
This app doesn’t organize your fabric BUT it does offer some loose definitions of the fabrics which is sew good.
Ok, so this isn’t a sewing specific app but it offers PEAK organization for your patterns. Have you ever accidentally purchased the same pattern more than once? This app can track all your patterns for you!
This is probably my favorite one on the list. It’s actively maintained and new releases are still coming out. In this app you can do so much including keeping your patterns, projects and fabrics organized WITH due dates when necessary!
Are you using sewing apps? Drop your faves for me!
I feel like I’ve been living in loungewear for the past 6 weeks. Whether I’m actually working out or actively maintaining my sanity, it seems like workout and lounge attire is my pandemic go-to look. But being plus-size, I can sometimes look sloppy and that’s not the look I’m going for. So here’s a roundup of my favorite plus-size loungewear looks that I’ve been sporting as of late.
Plus-Size Loungewear Patterns
Made for Mermaids Stella Sweatshirt
I’m not going to say how many of these I made in testing–it’s an absurd amount. But this year I’ve added even more to my collection. I love how there are so many options for this sweatshirt–my personal fave is the off-the-shoulder look. I love showing off my tattoo and it adds a little jazz to an otherwise possibly bland look. This isn’t a baggy sweatshirt–it’s more fitted and highlights my curves so that’s a plus for me.
Casually paired with leggings.
Dressed up with cargo pants.
High-Waist Bike Shorts
Last year my friend Katie said that bike shorts were everything for working out and living. I didn’t want to believe her or agree. And then I caved and made some because I didn’t have enough of the fabric to make full out leggings. Friends. I’ve been missing out on a big part of life! High-waist bike shorts + a sports bra or crop top is this plus-size girls dream! I used the Patterns for Pirates Pegs + Classic Sports Bra to create these looks. Another excellent pattern for this is Petite Stitchery Megara Leggings.
Patterns for Pirates Loggers
I remember when these went into testing and I was like, “yay… another jogger pattern!” I was wrong. I finally bought them and am so in love. Like I even taught myself how to put in grommets so I could have a cute little drawstring. Loggers are basically the love child of the shape of joggers and the fit of leggings. They are peak comfortable.
So Sew English Seattle T-Shirt
This is the one pictured above. I LOVE a good v-neck tee. But when your bust is 4 sizes smaller than your hip range, making your own t-shirts is definitely a thing. I love the curved hem and fit on this t-shirt pattern. If crew neck is more your style, they have that option too.
Petite Stitchery LAB Lounger
Lounging. In. Style. And yes, I made two versions that were both out of cheetah print–judge someone else. This pull-on jumpsuit is comfy enough to wear around the house and cute enough to style for an outing. For the off the shoulder look, I didn’t band or hem anything and I love the look.
Staying Put With The Patterns for Pirates Naughty or Nice PJs
Ok. So there’s a lot of days that I just don’t feel like leaving the bed or need to look like I’ve left. The Naughty or Nice PJs from P4P is my fave jammie set to make. I normally make mine in the cheekie style with long sleeves because I hate for my legs to be hot.
Ok friends. What are your plus-size loungewear go-to looks?
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know that the CDC has recently recommended that people leave the house with facial coverings. While there are a bunch of people that are still doubting the effectiveness of a cloth mask, it’s one of the recommendations that the CDC is making. Many people I know have sewing machines that they don’t use so go ahead dust that baby off so you can follow this super easy cloth mask tutorial.
5 Minute Cloth Mask Tutorial
This tutorial is for the easiest mask to make which is the accordion style. This style fits both adults and children and after watching numerous videos, I also covers the N95 masks with ease. This mask also features:
Two layers of cloth
A pocket opening for filters
Straps that tie
Materials:
100% cotton
Twill/Bias tape/Long piece of t-shirt material
Thread
Sewing Machine
Pins
Clips (optional)
Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
Directions:
Cut your fabric to measure 15 x 10.
Fold over in half with right sides together and mark 3 inches from either end (at the 3in & 7in spots).
Sew the bottom piece leaving the 4in open. This will create our pocket.
Flip the right sides out and have the pocket facing up.
Create 3 pleats on each side and pin in place. Your mask should measure 2.5 inches now.
Sew these pleats in place by stitching from top to bottom. Clip these ends with shears.
Fold the short edge over creating a casing for the ties. Sew in place and repeat with the other side.
Press the mask.
Insert the ties by threading the tie from the top down and the down up.
All done! Your mask is ready to wear!
Where To Source Materials
Right now, materials are suuuuper hard to come by. People are buying cotton, elastic, bias tape like hot fire. I got the twill used in this tutorial from So Sew English and last I checked they had hundreds of yards left in stock. You can also use elastic hair ties or shoe laces too. I’ve been cutting my ties at 45in minimum for adults and a yard for children.
How to Use and Care For
It’s important to note that these masks are will not protect against viruses at all. They provide a barrier making it harder for it to reach you but these masks should not be used in place of the recommended social distancing when you are sick. These masks work great for cutting grass, allergies, and normal dust by themselves. To add an extra layer of protection and filtration, HEPA filters are a great option to cut up and put inside of them.
Please make sure to wash your masks often as these will store germs. They should be washed between wears and handled with clean hands.
My name is Aaronica and I'm the sewist behind The Needle and the Belle. I started sewing when I was 13 and then fell back in love with sewing through PDF patterns. I now document my pieces I make here!
