Summer is in full swing here in South Florida, variating between high heat or some nice downpours. Time to put away my fall/winter projects and switch gears.  I’ve been working on my summer sewing plans for a bit now, sketching and making up mood boards.  Summer calls for light, breezy and easy makes. I have a pretty decent wardrobe at this point so only a few pieces will be wardrobe fillers, most will be just for fun. I tend to stick to a very simple palette in the fall and plan on adding some bold prints to my summer wardrobe. With the kids home my sewing time is limited so quick makes will take priority.

I’ve made a good start with a pair of shorts, my v-neck nautical top, and my orange and white Vogue 9312 dress (shown above-full blog posts coming soon!)  I’m currently knitting up a white organic cotton and silk knit tank top(half done now!) and working on an ice blue twill Burda flared skirt for a review for Organic Cotton Plus.

The kids just got some new swim gear so next up is some swimwear for myself.  Most of the suits I’ve made in the last few years were for pattern testing which means the fit/fabric wasn’t perfect.  Now that I have some experience I’m looking forward to making a few more perfectly fitting pieces.  Planning on a simple modified McCall’s M5400 bikini (I made one last year which I adore but never blogged about in a navy and white geometric print) as well as a sporty racerback tankini.  Plus a new rashguard with a longer length, a pocket for shells, and a higher neck for sun protection.  All in shades of light blue.

I love sketching my makes so here are some images from my sewing sketchbook.  I’ve found that my ideas change quite quickly so I’ve been doing much quicker sketches lately.  I know not all of these will get made this summer but planning them out is just as much fun as actually making them!

From my sketchbook:

I’ve been slowly building up a small stash of fabric to work with.  Normally I just buy for an individual project but to make summer sewing easier I’m getting my fabric set first this time around.  I have a pile of refashion fabric now to work with in a lovely palette and I just put in a big order for swimwear fabrics and some organic knits to have a good selection to work from.

Here’s my current stash-

Fabric from Organic Cotton Plus-

(for review, I’m making this into the Burda Flared Skirt and a white short sleeve scoop neck tee!)

Ice Blue Twill + Organic Stretch Jersey in White (not pictured)+ coconut buttons + coordinating thread

Fabric I ordered (on its way) from the Fabric Fairy-

Swimwear:

Baby Blue + Turquoise Boardshort Fabric (for myself and my son)

Sky Blue Nylon Spandex + Dark Turquoise Marl Swimwear Fabric( for a bikini + tankini + rashy)

Plus some lovely knits:

Riverside Blue + Dusty Mauve Bamboo Organic Cotton

Refashion Fabric (mostly from Goodwill)-

I can’t wait to get sewing now!  The Burda skirt I’m working on right now is going to be fab.  The interior seams are all bound with shirting fabric I repurposed from my husband’s old work shirts so it’s going to be pretty inside and out!  Happy Summer Sewing!