My Lard Butt Jacket!

Every once in a while I make something that I am super proud of…. This jacket is one of those items!

It started out a gray hoodie that was 2x too big and had Lard Butt XXXL written across the front. Let me explain…. There is a fun run here in Seattle called ‘Lard Butt’ because it’s only a mile and they serve donuts and beer. Sounds fun right? Well it was and I got caught up in all that fun and decided to buy a sweatshirt 3x too big to memorialise that fun!….. and then never wore it because … well…. Having a XXXL “Lard Butt” sweatshirt really isn’t that funny outside of that fun run.

So the sweatshirt went in my sewing room because I thought one day I would make Sweet Grace a dog sweater from it. However, after I came across my 100th bin of scraps while cleaning out my sewing room I decided I would sew some of the scraps to the hoodie and make a quilted jacket that are all the rage in the Quiltisphere these days.

I REALLY wish I would have taken pics as I went along but it’s one of those projects where I wasn’t sure what I was doing until I was doing it! I started by cutting the hoodie up the Center to open it up…. And then I removed the pocket(s) (there were now two of them since I cut it open), took off both sleeves, and finally the hood, so that I could lay everything flat.

I then started sewing cotton scraps together until I had pieces large enough to cover the different sweatshirt pieces. I then quilted the scraps down to the sweatshirt pieces and trimmed them down to size.

I used the new pieces to cut out the lining fabric which was some knit fabric I had for a few years… I think at one time I was going to make t-shirts, but decided that the fabric didn’t have enough stretch in it…. But it was perfect for this project. Finally, I added a zipper, sewed all the pieces back together and attached the lining!

I decided to leave the hood gray, as it reminds me that it was once something I was embarrassed to wear outside the house…. And now it’s not!

Botanical Leggings

I love leggings, even before the pandemic I was living in leggings outside of work.  I have lounge leggings, leggings that I wear outside the house (other than working out), and of course workout leggings.  

I’m pretty proficient at making them, in fact the hardest part for me is finding the right fabric.  I’m pretty picky when it comes to workout leggings, the fabric has to have wicking, without being suffocating… and have the right amount of ‘grab’.  

After I finished the first round of the Whole 30 Fabric Challenge one of my first purchase was this Arete fabric from GreenStyle Creations  which is a new fabric that I was curious to try.  The pattern is “Botanical Bliss” which is so pretty and feels so nice!  The blend is Polyester/spandex, it has a nice hand to it and is ‘squat proof’… very important these days!    

Left side

Back side

Right side

The best thing about this fabric is it matches my Seattle Kracken sweatshirt (Go Kracken!!) which was a happy surprise!  And, can I toss out there that aqua is my favorite color and for that alone I love our new hockey team!     

The pattern I used for these leggings is the Simpatico Leggings also from GreenStyle Creations.  The pattern comes in three lengths which is nice as it saved me from having to add length like I typically have do.  The other modification I usually make is a ‘full butt adjustment’ (otherwise they tend to ride low in the back)… but since this was the first time I made these leggings I wanted to see how they fit before I made the modification – and so I would know how much I needed to add.  To my great surprise these leggings fit great in that area – no FBA needed.

 I also like how the pattern allowed more room in the calf area which most leggings I’ve made don’t account for. I noticed by having that extra allowance in the calf I don’t have bagging between my calfs and ankles.   

I have more fabric on the way so more to come – soon!  

My Whole 30 Fabric Challenge Part II

This past summer I participated in @Pinkmimosabyjacinta #whole30fabricchallenge – the premise being to use up 30 yards of fabric in your stash, and not to buy any more fabric until you do. I had so much garment fabric that I had been hauling around that it felt great to finally cut into it and make all those items I have been putting off for one reason or another. By the time I was done I had sewn up so much fabric that I could finally ‘see’ what I had left and confident in my decision on whether to keep it (because I knew I would use it), or let it go (admit that I would never use it).

I was happy to see that there is second #whole30fabricchallenge because this time my goal is to use up 30 yards of this:

This is about 80% of my quilting fabric. I made fabric bins to sort the fabric by color, but even doing that the bins are overflowing and I’ve had to put some fabric in bags and bins underneath the hutch. My sewing room is not as large as the one in my old house so I’ve struggled to ‘store’ it all AND I had to make space for my home office at the start of the pandemic which added to the storage issues.

At any rate, my goal this go around is to make a bunch of zippered pouches (at least 30) to use up all the bits and pieces of fabric I’ve accumulated. I’m realizing I have a real issue with throwing away ANY usable pieces… the smallest I’ve found in my bins so far is about 1″ x 1″… of course that was Tula Pink fabric so I can see why I saved it.

I started with a few smaller pouches as ‘warm up’, and then I dug out some leather hides I’ve been storing for a few years and paired it with some Halloween fabric from Alexander Henry. I am really liking the combination! What do you think??

I’m thinking there are so many design possibilities with all the fabrics, and bases I’ve accumulated throughout the years that I’m looking forward to seeing what I come up with. I have about 6 bags cut out on my cutting table, and am waiting on some labels that I will sew into the bags – because I’m trying to be legit here.

I’ll be listing these zippered pouches on my Etsy page as I complete them so if you are interested in any let me know.

Till next time!