One of my favorite summer activities is hiding in the air conditioning and sewing! The past few weeks I have purged my fabric (again) and cleaned up my mess. Now I am trying to finish some of my many incomplete projects. I just need to FOCUS!!!

I had a pretty productive week and it turned out that everything I made was from a Sofiona Designs pattern! I promise this is not a sponsored post or anything. I just clearly love using their patterns. They have a lot of great details, but I actually used the simplest versions for quick sewing. I decided to do a little round-up post showing what I made this week!

Rocky Shore Tights

My niece has unusual dimensions and RTW clothes don’t fit her very well. For her birthday (back in April) I committed to making her some custom leggings. (You can see the last time I sewed for her birthday HERE.) She was hanging out at my house earlier this week so I decided to sew them up since she was here to try them on. I went with the full length, elastic waist options and sewed them up assembly line style. She ended up needing a size 2 waist, size 5 hip, and size 8 length!!!

The fun fabrics were from the Doodles line from Joann fabrics. The pink was from my stash and the dark gray was upcycled from a maxi skirt because it was neutral and thicker fabric.

Girls leggings made with Doodles juvenile fabric from Joann Fabrics.

When I bought the mermaid fabric I did not anticipate that height, so they were made as capris. I was having a hard time hemming because my machine is cantankerous so I added a cuffed hem.

Mermaid capri leggings- #sofihack of the Rocky Shore Tights by Sofiona Designs

I cut a cuff from the pink knit fabric that was slightly smaller than the bottom edge. Then, I folded it in half, quartered it and serged it to the bottom of the tights. I like them rolled up but either way works.

How to add a cuff to leggings for an easy finish- no hem!

Railway Joggers

Last fall I was part of the pattern testing for the Railway Joggers. The first pair I made used sweatshirt fleece and it did not stretch enough to make cuffs that would fit over my daughter’s foot. I got a remnant of black rib knit and it sat on the unfinished pile until she outgrew the joggers.

Luckily, I have a few younger girls who love joggers.

Sofiona Designs Railway Joggers - pdf sewing pattern in girls sizes 2-14

She loves how soft the sweatshirt fleece feels on the inside, so the rib knit was a great way to make this work. I cut the cuff a little shorter because that is what she prefers. They are a little warm for this heat wave, so hopefully they still fit her in the fall. If not, they will be passed down to the next one.

Use rib knit to make a stretchier cuff on joggers!

Aurora Raglan

In late spring I bought some name brand shorts for my daughters. They didn’t have shirts to match, so I found some to refashion in their sizes.

I have never made a knit raglan shirt like this before. That seems odd because they are fairly easy. I still managed to mess it up, though. The neckband is on backwards! My topstitching was not great (it could have something to do with the loud “BOOM” noise my machine made the other day) but this is just a sporty shirt and she likes it.

Men's polo to girls' raglan refashion with the Aurora pattern from Sofiona Designs

These shorts were supposed to be for her sister, but they were too small and got passed down. Eventually this is not going to work anymore. So the shirt is a little big on her, but again.. COMFY and she loves it. I am not taking the time to fix anything.

Aurora Raglan made by upcycling a men's polo shirt!

My favorite thing about upcycling is using the existing hem! I just tuck the serger threads in (tutorial HERE) and then I stitch the seam allowance down so that it lies flat.