Ch-Ch-Changes Blog Tour

Featuring: Vinegar and Honey Co’s May BeeBox!

Hosted by Sewing By Ti, this blog tour is dedicated to blogging about any and all changes. For me, I decided to talk about transitioning from fun to work or work to fun, since summer is finally (fingers crossed) here in Chicago!

I decided to use the gorgeous May BeeBox for my “fun” outfit. In case you don’t already know, the BeeBox is a monthly surprise fabric subscription box (2 yards) from Vinegar and Honey Co. These ladies sure know how to pick fabric, because I haven’t been disappointed in any of their picks! In fact, right now I am wearing my dress from the March box! You should get in on the action now if you’re interested and take advantage of the $19 price; it will be going up on 6/1 but you’ll be locked in now. 😉 For this month, we all received two one-yard cuts of different fabric, which was a new thing for the BeeBox so far.

I decided to make a pair of Mama Bear Joggers with my box. This may seem a bit odd to sew up in May (almost June), but if you have a husband who insists the house is freezing cold 24/7, you’d be making these too! I currently wear my camo joggers constantly, which are also from VHCO fabric, so I knew another pair was inevitably in my future.

And these do not disappoint! Insanely comfy and wearable, I know I’ll be sporting these pretty much exactly like this all summer. Except maybe also with a hoodie if it’s extra cold in the house. 😉

I used the stunning spun poly floral as the main fabric, just barely squeaking out the pattern piece on my 1 yard cut. I usually add 2″ for length with this pattern…I could add one in the legs and then added my second one in the french terry cuffs, since I didn’t have enough fabric to add another inch in the legs. This worked out great, and they fit well.

For the waistband, I changed up the construction a bit and used 1 1/2″ elastic instead of the 3, 3/8″ pieces suggested, and then just stitched it along length-wise in the casing. I prefer the feel of this, and it is also easier. However…I realized halfway through that I didn’t have quite enough of the elastic, so I pieced together two cuts of swim elastic. It actually worked really well! So, pro tip: you don’t need to go to the store, just sew elastic together. Ha!

The Mama Bear Joggers are paired here with the Favorite Tee – and this gray version is probably my favorite of all. It’s a lovely, soft triblend from Knitpop and I wear it constantly, for good reason, clearly! This is tunic length, but straight hem (to mimic one of my favorite store bought shirts). The pattern technically only includes curved or split hem for tunic length, but I just extended the edges down for the straight hem. I chose the v-neck option because I think it is more flattering on me than a scoop neck.

For my “work” look, I used the same Favorite Tee and paired it with a Pirate Pencil Skirt.

I got this fabric from a local destash last summer – I know it’s a custom print and I think she said it was from Smoogie? Not 100% sure, but it is certainly a very plush and thick cotton lycra. Super nice! I knew as soon as I saw it that it needed to be a pencil skirt, balanced with a solid top since the print is so busy. I love it because it looks a lot like Monet’s waterlilies.

I found the Pirate Pencil Skirt to be super easy to make and spot on with fit. I always measure into the P4P size chart exactly so this is no surprise to me. 🙂

In reality, I probably wouldn’t wear these heels to work since my commute includes a 45ish minute walk (roundtrip) but…for the sake of photos! I actually haven’t even worn this skirt at all yet because I made it in the winter and couldn’t get it paired right with anything that included tights or leggings. But I really like it with the Favorite Tee! I was also thinking about pairing it with my striped Penny Raglan too.

Today was nice, warm and breezy, but it looks like we have more 60 degree weather on the horizon (will it ever end?!) so I may also end up adding one of my trusty Driftless Cardigans to this ensemble too. I even brought one with me to Punta Cana and ended up wearing it at the airport and on the plane.