My Comfy Clothes

I used to think that the goal of sewing my own clothes was to be glamorous all the time. Make the prettiest dress for the party! The most interest top for work! The best fitting slacks. And there are still plenty of occasions for glamour (I am designing a really fun wedding guest dress right now). But in my current job, where I work out of an office with some friends who aren't my professional coworkers, I mostly just want to be comfortable on a day-to-day basis. In fact, it's those casual days that make dressing up, whether for a client meeting or a party, all the more fun. And not having to care all the time about what I'm wearing can make way for getting other shit done.

Does comfort always have to be at odds with glamour? No, probably not. But I don't think I'm ever going to be as comfy in my dressy clothes as in my stretchy pants and loose fitting shirt. And that is what I'm sharing with you today: my comfy clothes. Hopefully, I have made them somewhat interesting, but deep down these are the functional fabrics of my wardrobe.



Pattern: Victoria Jones's Waimea Ranch Shirt and my trusty Mambo No. 5 pants block
Fabric:  2 yds windowpane plaid flannel and 1.5 yds stretch bottom-weight fabric
Cost: $22 for the shirt, and free fabric from our fabric swap for the pants

Both of these patterns I've made up before. The top is the Waimea Ranch Shirt, designed by Hawaiian patternmaker Victoria Jones to include lots of hidden shaping in a comfortable performance shirt. The pattern is a joy to sew up and has lots of great techniques, like how to cleanly attach the collar and stand. The only difference I made from last time, other than not sewing it in a horribly off-grain fabric, was to shorten the sleeves by 2 inches and sew a straight size small rather than grading out to the waist. I love the shaping in this shirt and how it is still curvy without being fitted. It can be sewn in sizes small (31-inch bust) to 2X (48-inch bust).

I am especially proud of my pattern-matching across the front and the fact that I finally bought a snap setter, which made this whole process a lot easier. The cuffs, collar, and pocket are all cut on the bias, too.


The pants are the same old pants block I have been playing around with for a few years: my Mambo No. 5. I picked up this rather thick corded stretch mystery fabric at the Bay Area Sewists fabric swap meetup and decided they would make the perfect pair of pull-on pants. To keep them looking more like pants than leggings, I was careful not to overfit them, using my pants pattern rather than a leggings pattern. The waistband has elastic encased inside to keep everything secure. These are by far my comfiest pants right now, and I have to try to not wear them every single day of the week.


So, this is my comfy, cozy, share-an-office-with-dudes, wear-every-day outfit. Do you have any favorite comfy patterns I should be trying? 

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