Weekend Sewing Recap

This weekend I made the Sally pants by Vikisews, a Sylvan tank top to match, and then a second Sylvan tank right after that. Here's how it all went.

The Sylvan tank has been on my to-do list for a while already. I have a white rib knit fabric from the Joann's remnant section that I picked it out for, but I kept putting it off because it's a stretch fabric and that made me nervous.

Then I saw a post from Vikisews about a jersey knit webinar, and if you signed up you got access to a free pattern called the Sally pants. The post had a photo of a model walking around New York in a matching set made from it, a flowy pair of pants with a tank and a long cardigan in the same silky stretchy knit.

I decided to postpone what I was actually going to work on next, another Margot dress made from bedsheets (stay tuned for that one), and made the Sally pants instead, in a brown knit fabric I'd had for a while from Remainders Reuse in Pasadena.

The free pattern didn't come with instructions. You were supposed to get those by joining the live step by step webinar, and I ended up missing it because the original scheduled webinar time got moved. I've made pants and shorts before though, so I worked it out. Roughly how I put them together:

1. Sewed the front pieces together
2. Sewed the back pieces together
3. Attached the pockets to the front and back
4. Pressed the pocket seams toward the pockets and understitched
5. Sewed the front and back together along the side seams and pockets
6. Sewed the crotch seam
7. Serged the raw edge at the top of the pants, then folded it down to make the elastic casing, about the width of the elastic (I used 3/4" elastic) or just a little more. No serger? A double-fold hem works here too.
8. Left a 1-2" gap in the back when stitching the casing, then attached a safety pin to the elastic and used it to feed the elastic through.
9. Stitched the gap closed once the elastic was through.
10. For the hem, serged the raw edge, then folded up and stitched. Again, a double-fold hem works fine here if you don't have a serger.

Once I finished the pants, I wanted to make something to go with them. I was deciding between a bralette and a tank top and went with the tank. That's when I remembered the Sylvan tank, the free pattern from Mood Sewciety, and made it in the same brown knit for a matching set.

It was a quick, easy make. I did make one common mistake though. When I cut the arm binding and neck binding, I thought they looked too small for the circumference of the holes, so I cut them longer. The binding should actually be slightly shorter than the armhole circumference and stretched a bit as you sew it on, to keep the edge snug and prevent it from gaping. Mine gaped a little in one spot. I thought about fixing it, but it's minor enough that you can't really tell, and this is a loungewear set anyway.

The pants themselves were really long, so I hemmed them quite a bit. They're still on the longer side, but that's how I like them.

I can see myself bundled up on the couch, reading a book, sipping tea, in my new matching set.

Round two: the white Sylvan tank

After I made that set, I realized how easy the Sylvan tank was to make, so I pulled out the white rib knit fabric I'd had stashed away and gave it a go. It was such a quick make, and it ended up being so easy. I'm stoked with it, and I think it'll be a good everyday tank.

If you make either of these, tag me on Instagram @DesignsbyERB. I want to see it.