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Business casual jean shorts

I never really used to wear shorts very much before a) the pandemic and working from home, and b) the Closet Core Patterns Pietra Shorts changed my entire view on wearing shorts. But I’ve made SO many of them now (5? 6?) that I felt like I should do something different.

So when the Closet Core Patterns “Poppy Camp Shorts” were announced recently, I felt like these could be another great contender for me! This was the July pattern for Closet Core’s monthly pattern club, Crew Patterns. Tbh, I loved the look of these shorts so much that I signed up for a month just to get this pattern! Though now that the month has gone you’ll need to sign up to their Unlimited Membership to get these shorts and other past months’ patterns.

Black Pietra shorts and a doubly soft Versatili-Tee

I’ve been doing a lot of sewing recently, but haven’t been very good at either documenting all my post-Triumph Suit makes or taking photos of them, so I’m going to start with some of the first!

Ever since I made my first pair of Pietra Shorts using the ramie from Textile Express, I knew I’d need more, specifically in black. So when their black ramie came back into stock, I pounced on it, buying enough to make Pietra trousers and shorts. This stuff is so great for bottoms – it’s similar to linen but wears a thousand times harder, doesn’t crease, and just goes with everything. So making this pair of shorts out of the remaining black ramie was very high on my “need this in my wardrobe right now!” list as soon as I could. But then our summer turned into 5+ weeks of cold and rain so it hasn’t been a big deal they’ve been stuck languishing on my To Photoshoot pile…

My Threads Luxury Loungewear Challenge entry!

Back in April I worked on a secret project, which I’m pleased to reveal – it was my entry for the 2022 Threads Digital Ambassadors’ Luxury Loungewear Challenge! I was thrilled to be invited to take part this year as one of only four entrants, and I’m super proud of the ensemble that I created.

Head on over to Threads to read about my inspiration and choices for the garments and then the actual construction and couture elements I incorporated into them.

Black ramie Pietra trousers

You know a pattern is a good’un when you not only find yourself making it multiple times, but feel a deep need in your wardrobe to make even more. This is my 5th time making the Closet Core Patterns “Pietra Pants” pattern – twice before as trousers and twice also as shorts.

My very first time sewing this pattern was a pair of trousers in black linen, almost exactly two years ago, which since then I’ve worn so much that the inner thighs literally disintegrated (even after patching). Thankfully my second pair, in grey wool, are still going strong (probably by virtue of only being worn in winter rather than all year round like the linen ones).

Ramie shorts and a mint ribbed top

I’m sorry guys, it’s my fault! I turned the weather to freezing, non-stop rain by sewing a pair of shorts. 😭 (insert jokes about English “summers” here)

But I was inspired by some recent fabric shopping at both Textile Express and Lamazi Fabrics and I really wanted to make this set as soon as possible – and hoped the weather would rise to the challenge, but it did not. In any case, the garments have thankfully turned out better than I’d hoped, and I know I’ll get a lot of wear out of both as soon as it warms up and dried out.

Pietra Shorts and a belated Kabuki Tee

I am not a great lover of shorts for non-exercise purposes. I feel that they’re not terribly flattering on me and tend to ride up or bunch up when I move, so I only wear them on the hottest days of the year, and only ever around the boat (never to work!). In fact, I really only ever wear one pair, which I bought at The Gap in 1997 when I was 18. Seriously. But even those are wearing out now with the fabric beginning to disintegrate in places, so I figured now was the time to make a few pairs of shorts for summer to wear around the boat.

First up I thought I’d try the shorts version of the Closet Case Patterns Pietra Pants since I’ve already made the trouser-length twice already and loved them, so it was a fair bet that the shorts would work for me, too.

Black linen Pietra trousers

I bought the Closet Case Patterns Pietra Pants pattern when it came out last summer, and even had it printed up in A0 shortly after, but only just not got around to sewing it up for myself, and I have no idea how I managed without them this long!

I decided to make them up in a black washed 100% linen from Textile Express (bought at the same time as the yellow ramie for my Cielo Top). My friend was like “linen trousers – in winter??” but this linen is a really nice, hefty weight that is perfectly warm enough for English winters. Absolutely not the thin drapey stuff you’d wear on a tropical holiday!! I’ve been trying to buy more sustainable and/or recycled fabrics and linen is one of the best sustainable fabrics out there. The downside, of course, is that linen = wrinkles! So please forgive that these are wrinkly in the photos purely because I’d been sat at my desk in the office for half a day before we took these!

Big Sleeve Energy – A yellow ramie Cielo Top

I was instantly drawn to the lantern sleeves on the Closet Case Patterns Cielo Top when they released it as part of their Rome Collection earlier this year, and specifically to the top as I tend to wear separates a lot more often than dresses. But I wasn’t really that into the samples they made using drapey fabrics – as soon as I saw the tech drawing I knew I wanted to make it in a more structured fabric to really draw attention to those sleeves and let them stand up on their own rather than have a more 70s bell-sleeve vibe.