We’ve just come back from a holiday in Alaska, USA and British Columbia, Canada; had the most AWESOME-est time of course! but more about that later… I made a few bits and pieces to fill in some gaps in the “mucking about in the great, but wet n’dirty, outdoors” areas of my wardrobe. Specifically, I needed some things that were both quick-drying and warm… which means, and I apologise right now to any strict natural-fibrarians reading this … polyester. #ohtheshame
Hehe, just kidding, of course polyester has appeared here on my blog before and no doubt will again. When you are roughing it out camping, and particularly in extreme climates, then unnatural fibres are definitely the go.
I made five new things prior to going on our holiday; a zip up fleece hoodie, a fleece sweater, some shorts for kayaking, a fleece neck warmer and a new sunhat. I made some other new things too, while we were actually ON our holiday, but I’ll save those for another post!
In the order that I made them…
White fleece sweater
wearing beanie, sweater, hiking pants
location: Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska, USA
Pattern is Burda 09/2010; 121, fabric is 100% polyester fleece from Spotlight.
I’d bought my polyester fleece back in the height of hot hot February during their 40% off all fabrics sale, made it straight away and actually posted it to instagram way back then too, although it didn’t get truly worn until our holiday…
wearing sweater, skirt
Mods; made the sleeves a little longer, and I pinned the side seams out to fit it directly on me so it’s shaped and fitted to my taste. After the first few days of wearing it I found the turtleneck to be extremely strangliferous. This is not necessarily a criticism of the pattern, since I’ve always felt strangled by turtlenecks, ever since I was a child; I really should have known this one would be the same too, doh! Fortunately it’s an easy fix. I simply borrowed a pair of scissors from the owner of the lodge and snip snip!! just chopped the turtleneck-y bit right off! No hems or seams, well, I was desperate! but hey, fleece doesn’t really need edging anyway and now it’s a funnel neck, and only about a thousand times more comfortable.
I really really LOVE this.
Pink zip-up hoodie
wearing hoodie, white tee, grey tee, black jeans
location: the Khutzeymateen Wilderness Lodge on the Khutzeymateen River, British Columbia, Canada
Pattern is Burda 8042, the same 100% polyester fleece from Spotlight
Mods; in lieu of the patch pockets, I added welt pockets which were absolutely great for shoving my cold hands into… however I thought they gave a rather lumpy and thick look to my stomach region, even when said hands were not shoved into said pockets, and like most women I am not very partial to a lumpy thick look to my stomach region! But it was awesome to have the pockets? I dunno.
wearing hoodie, sweater, skirt
I wore this thing so much, like practically every day even though it’s not in all my pictures… and I pretty much hate it now. It’s not really my colour, I only chose it because I actually had the perfectly coloured open-end zip in my stash already, inherited at some point from one of Mum’s periodic sewing-room clean outs, and I rationalised that the colour would be cheerful and fun. But now I cannot stand the thought of ever wearing it again. Can’t quite put my finger on the problem… as well as not suiting me, the colour feels somehow wrong for my personality, and then there was the lumpy stomach pockets thing. It was a good thing to have though, perfect for camping, beautifully warm and it dried off very quickly. Maybe I’m just sick of it. I’m giving it a bit of time out at the top of the wardrobe, and maybe another wet and freezing cold camping trip will crop up again, some time in the future…
Black poly kayaking shorts
wearing hat, tee, shorts, raincoat
Please excuse the lack of an exotic location here … I didn’t realise until we got home that I neglected to get even one photo during our holiday that showed my new shorts ! thus a re-enactment of a holiday outfit and yes I am absolutely freezing 😉
My new shorts are refashioned from out of an old pair of Tim’s work pants, rescued from the refashioning bag… I knew from many years of washing these things how quickly they dry, so thought they would be perfect for the kayaking camp. And they were absolutely brilliant…!
before, the observant will notice straight away that these have been nibbled at previously; that’s a pocket lining for something or another cut out of the bottom there…
To make them: I kept only the fly front and the button closure intact; unpicked most of the waistband and sliced off basically every single other seam! taking it in at both side seams, the centre back seam, and altering the crotch curve super drastically to fit. Approximately 7″ is taken out of the waistband overall tapering out to almost no width from the legs so they are nicely flared, just the way I like them. This also means that the hip pockets have a pretty tiny opening now! but I figured that’s a small price to pay for free new shorts and funnily enough I don’t really find occasion to put my hands in my pockets while kayaking 😉
I cut down and reattached the waistband, re-positioned the belt loops and created a cuff for the bottom hem of the shorts. I think they turned out quite cute! I’d planned to wear these with black leggings for kayaking, but as it turned out the days we kayaked were warm enough so that the leggings were not necessary.
Love these, they were perfectamondo for paddling, and I expect they will be my go-to paddling uniform from now on…
Cherry red neckwarmer
wearing neck warmer, raincoat, skirt, tights
location; the dock in Haines, Alaska, USA
The most basic thing ever, literally a lined cylinder. The outer is the same 100% fleece from Spotlight, the lining was cut from an old Tshirt from my refashioning bag. Yes, that thing is still like a bottomless pit of fabric! It’s a monster, but a pretty fabulous one for someone like me who is always sewing 😉
For my own future reference, the dimensions are:
fleece; 65cm x 29cm
cotton jersey lining; 64cm x 27cm
I made it by stitching the fleece rectangle and lining rectangle together at top and bottom, pinned the seam edges and the fleece edges together, and stitched the side seam leaving a 10cm or so gap in the side edge of the inner lining. Turned the whole thing right side out through this 10cm gap, then slip-stitched the gap closed to finish.
Like the pink hoodie this simple thing got worn most days, but unlike the pink hoodie I actually still like it! Just goes to show, ignore “your” colours at your peril! And it went with EVERYTHING!
wearing neck warmer, striped tee, green tee, skirt, tights, raincoat
location: Haines, Alaska, USA
Olive sunhat
wearing hat, grey tee, shorts, raincoat
location; Hanson Island, British Columbia, Canada
Pattern is Vogue 8844, fabric is olive cotton rip-stop from an online store whose name I have absolutely no memory of whatsoever. It’s leftover from the fabric I used for my khaki army-style jacket… I bought it in a joint order with my friend and neighbour Megan, and all I can remember is that the postage fee was so horrendously high that maybe I’ve deliberately blocked the store’s name from my memory in post-purchase shock, haha.
I lined the hat with floral rayon, leftovers from my French Navy Forsythe dress, I thought they went quite nicely together! and the crown is stayed with a coffee-coloured cotton braid that is a VERY long term resident in my stash. Since I would be wearing the hat kayaking, I decided it would be a good idea to add a chin strap; this is an old, orphaned bootlace, snipped in half and stitched in each side underneath the crown stay. For some reason, I decided to go with an additional method of tightening the hat to my head, and laced a piece of white cotton cord through the crown stay. Probably not necessary and now it’s a rather over-engineered hat but oh well. Got it now!
Technically, I didn’t really neeeeed a new sunhat, since I do have my perfectly lovely ivory corduroy sunhat, made a few years ago…. but still I decided a new one was in order. Partly because I didn’t want my ivory one to get irrevocably dirty while camping, a khaki one would be more colour suitable for out in the dirt of the wilderness. As it turned out, the weather wasn’t actually warm enough for it until well into our holiday! laugh! the first few weeks or our holiday were mostly wet and very cold and the sunhat languished unworn… squashed sadly and disconsolately in my suitcase *sob* Then finally the weather turned warmer and we even got a bit of sun and I was like, hurrah, I CAN WEAR MY HAT!!! and was pretty glad I’d gone to the effort of making it after all.
wearing hat, raincoat
location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
lots of great pieces and and that white fleece top is really nice – and I love the story of snip snip. Vacation alterations – who hasn’t done that?
thanks Beth; and I’m guessing not many!
Fab travel wardrobe 🙂
I’m in the “you look great in hot pink” camp. I love hot pink worn by a redhead. I also understand when you’re done you’re done. Thanks for showing us the pix. I like the hat a lot too. The scenery is very spectacular.
thank you so much Barbara! I do love pink too… but I think preferably a warmer or softer pink 🙂
What a fantastic wardrobe for a fabulous trip! Love all your new makes…. but certainly understand not wanting more lumpy stuff around the stomach feeling…. though you certainly don’t have anything to worry about there!! Love, love, love all your oh-so-cool new things! 🙂
thanks so much Lisa!
Thank you so much for sharing your new wardrobe pieces in all their functionality! The white sweater is really lovely, what a clever fix 🙂 I can see why you are tired of the hot pink hoodie but you can really wear it! The red shawl has such a lovely colour and so good you made this new sun hat! Your pictures are stunning!
thank you so much SaSa! The countryside we travelled through really is so magnificent, I thought it a pity there had to be me and my creations standing there in the pictures 😉
What a fantastic holiday you had! I love all your makes and the brilliant way you layer your clothes and the color combinations. Every time I see that you have made a hat, I think to myself, “I need to make a hat!” I haven’t actually made any for myself but I use to make them all the time when my girls were little. I’m so ready for winter here in Oklahoma. I want to pull out my leggings and my jade skirt–one of my favorites. I actually bought some red fabric to make another this winter.
thank you Shirley! oooo, I can highly recommend a red Jade for winter… I made one this year and it’s no sooner dry off the line than I’m wearing it again… 😉
I’m with you Carolyn…turtlenecks feel strangliferous! A funnel neck is the only way to go and I see yours under your pink hoodie looking fine! And…about that pink hoodie. Adorable; YES! I don’t see the lumpiness so rest easy. But. I would agree that the particular pink doesn’t match your energy type. You probably feel like you should be all bubbly and airy when you wear it and I think you have a more still calm energy.
Your photos are fantastic by the way. Thumbs up to the husband!
I want to make a beret…a proper beret…but I haven’t found a pattern yet. hmmmm….do I even need a pattern?
thanks so much Sue! and mmm, I like what you say about energy type… that resonates with me I do think warmer, softer colours suit me better, I should totally have given the pink hoodie to YOU, because you would look awesome in it!
Sue totally nailed it, Carolyn. I’m sure it’ll find a home or an alternative use. I love the way people all have their individual colour preferences. Mine tends toward charcoal, mud and orange!
Your garment creations are always superb. These are no different. What I’m concerned about is that you’re standing in a forest of moss covered trees and wearing FLIP-FLOPS! Snakes weren’t a concern? Here in the Southern U.S. I’d be very frightened of being bitten by a rattlesnake, copperhead or the like.
No nasty snakes in the Pacific Northwest!
thank you so much Yvonne! … and like Elle says; there are actually no snakes in that part of the world. It’s unusual to me too, but pretty awesome!
Carolyn, your wardrobe as always is awesome. Loved the hoodie and the color is just right for southeast Alaska where it is cool and damp.
No snakes in Alaska, but we have a number of 4-legged critters that you need to be aware of — bears and moose. Were you able to get much fishing in?
I live in Juneau, Alaska and have travel through out the state. Great photos too.
thanks so much Annette! no, we didn’t do any fishing, I believe you need a license? We’re both supremely disappointed that we didn’t see a moose! A year living in the US and several months worth of holidays in the years since and we still have not clapped eyes on a single one in the wild. Well, I spotted one from a sea-plane on this trip, but it was pretty far away. We saw TONNES of bears, which was so awesome and thrilling. Don’t worry, we were in sanctuaries and accompanied by guides and rangers the whole time so felt very safe 🙂
Welcome back! Having followed your holiday on IG I can see that you had the most awesome time. Love all the clothes you made for the trip and looking forward to seeing the ones you made on the trip.
thanks so much Sue! xx
So happy you’ve had a chance to see this beautiful part of the world. And your clothes look just right for the adventure–except for the pink which I think needs to find a happy home in someone else’s wardrobe.
thanks so much Elle! you do indeed live in a most beautiful part of the world. We spent as much time in the wilderness as we could, and a month just didn’t feel long enough
You must have been the most stylish camper by miles and put all the others to shame! I love your holiday wardrobe and look forward to hearing all about the trip. That shop was Fashion Fabrics Online by the way!
aw, thank you Megan! I did get a few compliments on my raincoat during the kayaking trip and people seemed quite impressed when I said I’d made it, which was very gratifying!
I really like the pink hoodie but I can understand why you would only like it in small doses. When I am camping I also tend to prefer quick drying fabrics but for everyday life natural ones are more my go to. Your pre holiday makes all seem to have been very successful even if though one of them required a little modifying.
thanks so much Andrea! I should send the hoodie to you, I think the colour would look fabulous on you 🙂
I really enjoyed reading about your holiday wardrobe. I especially like the bits where you reused existing things – the shorts are a particular success! The cutting down of the neck on your jumper gave me a bit of a giggle, I have done things like that on holiday, temporary fixes which I wouldn’t do at home and it’s always a relief when things work better! Hope you had a wonderful time and are settling back in to every day life happily now.
thank you so much Philippa! I really love refashioning, it’s fun and such a pleasurable challenge to rework old things into new.
Welcome back! Sounds like you had a great holiday, and all these things will remind you of it every time you put them on. Love how you make use of every little thing, and nothing goes to waste!
thank you Sheryll! yes, only those of us who sew understand the need to hang onto even the smallest scraps of “useful” fabrics, hehe
Love all your sewing! You look so feminine even in cold wet outdoorsy situations 🙂
Love your trip too: have been there at age 13 with my father, made a huge impression. Alaska, BC, Vancouver Island. ♡
thank you so much Multivroon! that’s so kind of you to say xx 🙂
Gorgeous photos I love all the things you made! Just found your blog today and I have to say it is lovely to see you getting so much wear out of all the items you made. Super location shots too. x
thank you so much for the lovely comment Dianne! 🙂
Welcome back – and pleased you had a great holiday!
thank you Juliet! xx
Does anyone really like turtlenecks!? Maybe if you keep still and not move your head. Beautiful photos as always. Looks like you had a fun holiday.
thanks Vicki! I know, turtlenecks are so uncomfortable, right? The only one I’ve ever liked was loose and of very very soft and stretchy fabric… maybe that’s the secret 🙂
Unnatural fibers really are the best for outdoorsy things! And you’re much braver than me, wearing a white top in the wilderness. It’s a shame that you don’t like the hoodie anymore. I can understand not liking the color, since pink isn’t my thing, but the style looks cute. I enjoyed seeing your Instagram photos, though this just confirms my conviction that the only way I’d survive an Alaska trip is to do it in the summer! I hate being cold!
thanks Becky! I thought about the wisdom of white, but you know what? polar fleece washes beautifully and it is still snowy white! I really feel the cold too… it’s funny, I love using the weather app on my phone, and couldn’t help by notice there were quite a few days that were warmer here in wintery Perth than we were experiencing in summery Alaska, haha.
I was happy to follow along on your Alaskan IG journey. I am super curious as to how you decided on Talkeetna and Vancouver Island destinations.
It looks like you had a wonderful time exploring.
thanks so much Kathyh! We spent many many MANY hours on the internet researching and fine-tuning the many many things we wanted to fit into our holiday. Priorities were spending maximum time in the wilderness, and seeing as much wildlife as we possible could in their natural habitat. We are both very happy with our choices and how it all turned out. I’ll give more details in my travel wardrobe post when I write it, if you like 🙂
You look 100 times better ‘roughing it’ out camping than I do when I make an effort. I can quite understand the holiday alteration – I hate to be strangled by necklines too – but I can’t imagine too many people being prepared to cut into a beautifully made garment like you did 😉
aw, thank you Kim, that’s so sweet of you to say! Slicing the collar off was no biggie, it really was annoying me, and I reasoned that if I was going to continue to wear it I just HAD to do something! It’s a pretty easy pattern, when I make another one I will definitely widen that neck area!!
I love the hack you did on your turtleneck. Done and done! Whew.
I like turtlenecks – they make me feel safe…?! And warm. And I can hide my chin in there.
I would think you were one of the best-dressed people on your trip, not that that counts at all when you are in full-on experience mode – the scenery is spectacular. But it probably made you feel good, except for that pink thing you detest now. Heh. Another one for the pile.
thank you Melanie! You’re so sweet, as far as best dressed, sometimes I was just wearing EVERYTHING, you know? just to be warm and the heck with how I was looking, haha. I just wish now I’d brought something that didn’t scream “roughing it!!” or “grubby little traveller” for when I was meeting up with you fabulous ladies xxx 🙂
Sounds like a wonderful vacation and you were very well dressed for the area. I totally can relate to the turtleneck, haven’t worn one since 6th grade when it gave me the worse feeling! Love how you took a pair of scissors to yours.
thank you so much Lori! hehe, I think back in 6th grade was probably the last time I’d worn one too! It’s my own fault really, for not test-driving it before our holiday 🙂
I’ll put in a quick plug for a fiber from your part of the world – we are backpacking around Scandinavia at the moment and I sewed each of us four merino wool tops, and we purchased merino wool socks and sweaters. They are THE BEST! Super stylish looking (at least I think so!) and quick drying, anti-microbial, warm in the cool, cool in the warm. I am so, so happy that I bit the bullet and paid the crazy postage from NZ for the fabric!
thanks Melala! and yes you are right, merino is a totally beautiful fibre. I love wearing it too! The mountains of Alaska though, it really is extremely cold by my standards, even in the middle of summer, and I was actually very glad of my multiple layers of fleece.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful outfits! We were also in Alaska a month ago. The weather started out nice and sunny in Kenai, but ended up cool and rainy in Denali. Wearing layers was a must!
thank you Annabelle! I know, right? the weather changes on a dime, as they say. We were amazed at how it could be freezing with sleeting rain one minute, and then the sun break through the next. Weatherwise you have to be prepared for literally ANYTHING!
Pingback: Alaska USA and BC Canada; a travel wardrobe - Handmade by Carolyn