SSW - Julia Cardigan and Side Pocket Skirt

Selfish Sewing Week has come and gone, so it must be time to share what I made! First up is actually the last made, because my Hudson Pants ended up in the wash before I could get photos. At the end of the week, I whipped up a new Mouse House Creations Julia Cardigan. I've made a few of the long sleeved version, both for myself and as holiday gifts for my best friends last year. This time I went with the cap sleeve version to change it up.

Puppy kisses!

Because moms actually get time to lounge casually at the playground, right?

While I've seen some cozy looking versions of this in heavier knits, I chose a very lightweight rayon for mine. The pattern has an option to hem the outside, but I would consider hemming this stuff to fall somewhere around the pleasureableness of stepping on Legos. Instead, I chose to make the waist and collar in the doubled over option, which is two layers. Like using a banded hem, it makes a nice clean finish without hemming and worrying about stretching the edge out of shape. In a super light fabric, it also adds just a bit of extra weight to keep it hanging nicely.

The smile that says "Hurry up, the sun is in my eyes!"

It took an excessive number of tries to get reasonable a picture of my own leg.

The skirt I made without a pattern. I found a fat quarter of the flower print at a local quilt shop, and it sat around for awhile waiting for me to figure out what to make with it. At some point, I decided it would make good accent pockets on a skirt for me. The print is pretty large, so I went with pockets big enough to show it off. I made a pleat in the center of each pocket to keep them from hanging away at the sides. Trust me, that looks really odd. You could make a casing and use a bit of elastic at the top of the pocket for the same effect with a slightly different look. The main skirt is a very basic elastic waist skirt, but with four panels instead of two. The pockets are the same width as the side panels, and are sewn directly into the seams instead of being topstitched on afterward.

Nice try, but you are totally in the picture, honey.

I love how roomy these pockets are. My phone, keys, and camera all fit with room to spare for the inevitable other things I will aquire on walks or at the playground. Flowers, rocks, acorns, shells... This skirt will hold it all!