Sew what do I wear? Holiday Edition

Hello mermaids, pirates and other fellow sewing friends!

I am thrilled to be a part of the blog series "Sew what do I wear?" hosted by the pattern companies Made for Mermaids and Patterns for Pirates.

This is the Holiday Edition of the series. Need some inspiration for an outfit to wear over the Holidays? Maybe you have family pictures, a holiday party, or a work event and you need a new outfit? 

If so, you don't want to miss all the blog posts in this series! And if not, check them out anyways, because staring at beautifully sewn outfits is always a good time. Hopefully your creative juices will be inspired either way.

Today is the third day of the series. Days 1 and 2 can be found here and here.

I decided to create an outfit for family gatherings that will inevitably happen over the holiday season. 

Sew, what do I wear for the family gatherings? 

A cropped Layer Me Up Shirt by Patterns for Pirates and a high waisted Mama Chloe Skirt by Made for Mermaids.

Honestly, my family wouldn't care if I showed up in pajama pants and a t-shirt. I mean, I might know from experience. I plead the fifth.

But as all of our individual families grow larger, it seems like the times all of the larger family, aunts, uncles, cousins, sometimes second cousins and people twice removed (or whatever that means) get together gets more spread out. So I wanted something I could wear that looks more put together for a large family gathering. 

I did have other requirements as well, such as:

-I want to be comfortable. I will be chasing after four kids, two of those being busy toddlers. We also play games and sometimes get pretty active. There might be an intense game of spoons and I need to be prepared. I'm not going to lose because of poor mobility. No way.

-I don't want to shave my legs. It's winter, come on, let's be real.

-I want to be able to show off something fun that I made. 

My outfit fits all of those requirements and it gives me a fun vibe. Polka dots and hot coral are so much fun, even if I'm an adult.

The top is made with brushed poly from Pretty Posh Prints. I am loving the brushed poly craze that has taken over the sewing world. It is incredibly soft and easy to work with. I have also used it for leggings, which are easily my favorite!

The skirt is made from liverpool from Knitpop. Liverpool is very stable and easy to sew. It is a heavier fabric, which makes this skirt feel expensive even though it cost me about $10 in materials. 

It also has great (2 way only) stretch! 

I think I will start recommending this skirt pattern to everyone who needs a beginner project. It is so fast and easy to sew. It took me about 30 minutes, including printing, taping and cutting out the pattern. That's crazy fast, especially considering I'm not a fast sewer myself.

It comes in both maxi length and knee length, has a few different waistband options, and the best part? There is a discount code available to facebook group members which allows you to get the skirt for free. Yep, it's a free pattern. You can join the group here if you want to take advantage of it. (Read the pinned post to find the code. The code is for group members only, so don't share it outside of the group.)

The pattern is drafted to sit at the preferred waist, where an average pair of pants would sit. I, however, wanted to make them high waisted, so I added 4" to the rise of the skirt. I measured the difference between my preferred waist and my natural waist to know how much to add. 

I have a secret. 

I still haven't hemmed the skirt. Shhh! 

I was going to do it, and then realized if I kept in unhemmed, maybe I could wear slippers under the skirt and no one would know. 

Or maybe I haven't yet because I'm lazy. 

(You caught me. That's the real reason.) 

I will get around to it soon.

I also slightly modified the shirt pattern: 

The options in the pattern are for shirt and tunic length, both banded or hemmed but I wanted it cropped so I cut the pattern where I wanted it. I also made the sleeves elbow length, instead of 3/4 length. The pattern has options for a tank, short sleeves, 3/4 length sleeves, or long sleeves. 

This pattern is meant to be a fitted top, which can easily be worn as an underlayer. 

It has a lot of options! Check out the pattern here. 

I probably should have graded out for the waist, which is a common modification I have to do for my clothes, especially if they are fitted. I am pear or spoon shaped and I love being able to sew patterns for my body instead of sticking with standard sizing. 

I am planning on making a few tunics next, and I will make sure I grade the waist out to get the perfect fit. I'm pretty excited about the possibilities of this pattern!

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to check out the other looks in the series! Here is a schedule of all the other great blogs to help inspire your holiday sewing:

Nov 14 - Wild & Wanderful/ What Does She Do All Day?/ My Creative Room

Nov 15 - Sew A Piece of Joy / Red Stitch Blue Stitch/ Sewn Of A Stitch

Nov 16 - MaMoose / Rebel & Malice / On Wednesdays We Sew

Nov 17 - It's Liesel / Stitching and Making / Sewn of a Stitch

Nov 18 - I'm Just Like Mommy / Lady and the Gents / The Crunchy Mommy / SewSophieLynn

**There are affiliate links in my post. I receive a small compensation for any purchase you make using an affiliate link. I have a sewing addiction, so I greatly appreciate it.**