More Ocean!

Hello again friends!

Today I’m back with one of my favorite outfits of all time, because it’s all about my favorite place in the world: the ocean!

We often get asked where our favorite place that we’ve been is, and anywhere with an ocean easily tops the list for me. I grew up in Southern California and enjoyed all the water sports- surfing, kayaking, swimming, boogey-boarding, rowing, waterskiing.

Being on the water just feels like home, and while I enjoy the desert, the mountains, etc, the ocean will always hold a special place in my heart.

Spark Tights

I started with Sea Splash athletic knit from Sew Dynamic, and decided to sew a new pair of Spark Tights (Greenstyle Creations). The sparks are unique because they don’t have a center front seam, and combine the best of Greenstyle’s other leggings with flattering design curves, deep pockets, and a long gusset for ease of movement.

I highlighted the seaming with reverse cover-stitching (see YouTube tutorial here).

I’m absolutely in love with this pair, but I think I could still stand to take a little off the front crotch length- they tend to slide down and feel a little long there.

Pattern Modifications

I saved a bit of fabric by cutting the gusset in two pieces instead of on the fold. This is a simple change and works out well- just remember to add a little seam allowance to the fold part since you’ll need it to attach the pieces together.

My other modification was to use the fold over waistband from the Rally Skirt and Shorts.

I like how this contoured waistband feels without the elastic that you typically find in other patterns – no muffin tops or uncomfortable digging into my tummy.

The Sparks are designed to take about a yard of fabric in my size, but since I had been smart with my cutting, I was able to fit in a few extra pieces! There’s nothing that makes you feel more like a sewing badass than having only unusable strings of fabric left over at the end of a project!

Audrey Crop

Next, I chose to make up the Jalie Audrey Crop Top for myself, piecing together the Sea Splash print with some solid black endurance from Fabric Fairy.

This was my first time trying the Audrey and I’ll definitely be back! I’ve tried to accomplish a similar look by hacking the Elevate Crop, but it never turned out quite how I’d hoped.

Some of my favorite features of the Audrey include the easy burrito roll method, the length (hits just right with high waisted leggings), and the integrated bra. The pattern even includes options for adding cups, and would also make a fabulous swim or tri top.

“More Ocean” Melanie Dress

The Sew Dynamic ocean collection also includes some sweet little panels and coordinates, so I used the “More Ocean” Jersey panel and coordinate to make my daughter another Peekaboo Melanie in her size.

She loved running around the beach, doing her best seagull impression.

I always love getting the chance to match with her- she’s growing up so quickly and I want to soak up all the moments.

I could have stopped here…but I still had a small patch of ocean in my scrap bin. I dug for something I could match with it, and came up with a purple heathered print and some navy solid. This worked out to be exactly enough for a pair of Baja shorts for Sophia to match her dress.

I added a couple handmade tags to her outfits to help her easily identify front and back, which she appreciates.

Scrap Busting Cabbage Patch Style!

I was about to throw in the towel on this little capsule, but this tiny little patch of sea splash was staring back at me from the discard pile – so I whipped up another Peekaboo Melanie dress for my daughters Cabbage Patch.

The bottom is the Sea Splash print, and the top is the jersey coordinate.

Bonus Sews:

I also finally got a chance to take pictures of my boys wearing their new rashguards that I made them for Christmas. Their old ones were looking really sad, and desperately needed to be replaced. I used swim knit in “Green Lizard” and Mykonos blue for their shirts.

The Green top is made with the Jalie 2918 Mens Tee pattern, and the blue one is the Jalie Nico, both in their measured size.

It might be tempting to size down when making a tee into a rashguard, but swimsuit fabric has quite a bit of recovery to it, and ends up too tight and riding up if I make a smaller size. These ones are perfect, and offer great sun protection.

They also happen to match their Jalie Victor swim shorts really well! (see post here)

Oh, and Sophia’s still wearing her latest Jalie swimsuit (made from Fabric Fairy heart print swim knit), and she bought this little toy alligator floaty with her own money from the store to enjoy. She was so proud of it!

Travel Updates

These photos were taken on the beach at Fort DeSoto State Park in Florida- which is now easily my favorite campsite. There are miles of beaches, a bike trail that leads into St Pete for running and riding, and each site is surrounded by ferns and palm trees, making it feel like it’s own private oasis.

 

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The kids favorite part was the dog beach- and I think Ellie really lived her best life here, playing fetch by the water, and riding on my board on our evening paddles to watch the sunset.

 

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Isn’t it stunning?

If you ever get a chance to stay here- I highly recommend it! Aren’t the sunsets gorgeous?

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog! This post contains affiliate links, and I always appreciate if you use them, but mostly I just want to share a love of Sewing and travel!

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