Pants, pants, pants.

So, I finally finished Vogue 2907. They've been sitting in my WIP basket for a few weeks now, through a variety of sewing machine malfunctions (I still have my doubts about technician man. The machine's working ok, but still seems a bit temperamental at times.)
I used a biscuit coloured cotton sateen with a bit of stretch, and some quilting fabric for the piping. Overall, I'm pretty happy with them - the fit in some parts is good, in others it's not good, but it's a pretty good jumping off point for a first pair, I reckon.

I like the shape of the legs, and the fit in the front is ok, I think. Front thigh width is ok, too; but I'm wondering if I need to take a bit out of the back thigh area? I definitely need to alter the pattern at the waist - I took out four inches at the top of the CB seam (that's not a typo) and at least an inch on either side, tapering to nothing just above the hip. Without it you could have posted an encyclopaedia down the gap at the CB. The waistband is different to how the pattern looks, too, because I didn't take a seam in it at the sides to accomodate the excess I pinned out at the side seams - I decided to fudge it and let the band wrap further around the front. Next time I'll do it properly ;-)

The main problem, as I'm sure you can see, is the serious wedgie I've got going on. This is straight out of the wash - after wearing them for a couple of hours, it's not so bad, but it's certainly not a look I was going for. I've scanned through good old Pants for Real People, but I'm still not 100% sure on how to alter the crotch so this doesn't happen. Ideas? I'm pretty happy with the fit across the rest of the ...what's the polite word they use?...."derriere"...but it's just not cool having that kind of wedgie going on. Not cool at all. There's also a bit of pulling on the fronts of my thighs when I walk, and I wonder if this and the wedgie issue are connected?
The bubble in the middle of the CB seam, comes, I think, from where I tapered up to the waistband at quite a steep angle to accomodate my sway back. I could try to smooth that out a bit, I guess. Can I fix the wedgie at this stage of construction by sewing a deeper crotch curve? Or do I just have to live with it?

I'll definitely try another pair - I love the style and apart from the obvious issues they're really comfy. I'd love to hear any fit advice you might have, though.

Spring on the inside

It's been a pretty long and grim winter around here...well, probably not by the standards of any truly cold and grim place, but for a soft-bellied Aucklander, it's been freezing. Finally, though, a walk around the streets has yielded glimpses of stuff like this:



...and this....



...which led me to think that this:



...would be a nice lining for this jacket, BWOF 2008-08-115, made in black wool:



...which I am looking forward to making at the Palmer Pletsch tailoring workshop I'm attending at the end of the month.

So there you go. A woolly jacket with a little bit of spring on the inside. Just the thing to bring a bit of fabricy good cheer to a cold day.

Fun with dangerous tools

Before....


After...


One of the things I have learned as a mother of two boys is that when it comes to tools, the pointier and more dangerous, the better. Apparently. Oh...and "sewing's boring" (unless I'm making a Jedi robe, or a lurex suit of Mithril mail a la Bilbo Baggins, among other costumey things.) Anyway, today I felt the urge to get crafty and avoid the mountains of laundry that need to be folded, so I decided that rather than attempting to sew for myself, and gritting my teeth through the ensuing whingeing and mischief-making, I'd attempt a project that spoke the kids' language a bit more. One with pointy dangerous tools.

Our computer chair has been in a dire state for quite some years. In recent times, it's been covered with a crochet throw from the op shop, but I've become sick of putting it back on to the chair innumerable times each day. I'd bought this short length of upholstery fabric from the remnants bin at Nick's fabrics months ago for $3, and so armed with a serious industrial-style staple gun, we got stuck in. A variety of pointy tools were poked in a variety of holes in the chair by the four year old and the two year old; a fair amount of paint was worn off with a rasp while I was downstairs getting more staples; and an old oak cabinet I inherited from a great-uncle came within inches of being "distressed" with a few choice hammer blows. Ahem. There was a close call with a hacksaw, but no-one lost any fingers or eyes, and we now have a chair that isn't a complete embarrassment.

In sewing news, my machine came back from its second service and is, I think, sewing ok - I've lost my sewing mojo a bit in this cold and miserable weather, and am instead spending the evenings in front of the fire with my knitting and a glass of red wine. I'm also slightly embarrased to admit that I've developed an addiction to Pam's white chocolate buttons. Low-brow in the extreme, but so very delicious. I urge you to try them before you laugh too hard ;-)

For the canals of Venice and the streets of Paris.

I made this quick half circle wrap around skirt for my Mum, as a birthday present (somewhat belated...sorry Mum) and as something new and fresh to take away with her on a trip to Venice & Paris. Oh how I wish it were me...it seems like such a ridiculously long time ago, pre-children, when my husband and I were in those places. Ahhh.... I was 5 months pregnant travelling through Venice. Wow. Aeons ago.

Anyway. Less misty-eyed nostalgia; more sewing. Ahem. Not much to say, really - this was so quick and easy to sew up it's ridiculous, and the perfect sort of skirt to sew for someone else because it fits no matter what. Half circle, bit of a waistband, buttonhole (don't be a muppet like me and accidentally run the buttonhole off the waistband and into the unreinforced skirt bit, though, cos you'll have to do the old "patch it up with a bit of interfacing and hope for the best" trick.) Rolled hem on the overlocker (I found the manual, finally ;-) )

The fabric is some cotton voile stuff from the dreaded Spotlight and that's pretty much all there is to it.

In other news, my machine has just been taken back for its second visit to the technician. It unfortunately came back from a service with a whole lot of problems that it never had before the service (bobbin thread breaking; needle position out of whack) so I had to take it back. Fingers crossed it's all good when I get it back or I might be in the market for a new Mr. Fixit. I've got a nearly-finished pair of Vogue A&O pants that I really want to wear, so I'm hoping it's soon.

Blame it on the boogie (and the riesling)

Technically speaking, I probably should say "Courtesy of the Boogie" but since the King of Pop doesn't have such a song in his oeuvre (and I can't say I blame him) I'm sticking with my original title. Which means, in a roundabout kinda way, that thanks to a couple of late nights sewing whilst nostalgically rocking out to old-school Michael Jackson, glass of riesling in hand, I have finally. Finished. The. Nappies. Actually, that's not entirely true. Me, Michael and the riesling did spend a couple of very long nights with the nappies, but I also had a full day when Mum watched the kids and I sewed like a maniac to finish them. Productive times....can't say I ever want to be a machinist - I could hardly see nor straighten my arms afterwards, but it was great to just be able to get stuck in to get them finished.

I can hardly believe that they're no longer on the "must sew before doing fun stuff" list. That list is totally gone. I am a free woman, sewing-wise, no longer bound to the shackles of PUL and resin snaps.

Anyway, suffice to say, I'm pretty happy they're done - all 24 of them. 10 have already made their way to the UK; these 14 will be winging their way there (via a brief sojourn in Venice and Paris) this time tomorrow.
Just in case anyone's interested in making nappies, the pattern I used is found here, and all fabrics and gadgets I used (PUL, microfleece, lastin, resin snaps and snap press) are all found here. The pattern is one of the newborn ones, sized up to a small, and tweaked slightly to fit my chubby babies - I'm hoping it'll fit my twin nieces for a decent length of time.

Sigh. Many fun sewing times have been had to the sound of a bit of good ol' Michael Jackson. I sew so much better with a good bit of music in the background, and it's funny how evocative some songs are. I still have really vivid memories every time I put on a particular Prince album that I played a lot while making my wedding dress...I can exactly picture crawling all over our hard wooden floors in our old flat in Melbourne, cutting out the huge skirt, whilst watching the Melbourne cup on TV. Weird.
So...what music keeps you stitchin? Anything in particular?

Zen and the gentle art of unpicking....

I really wanted to give this post another title, but I think I would have had to change the "uses rude words" setting of my blogger profile. I'm hoping you can smell the sarcasm on my breath...



I decided to tackle my first BWOF pattern, and chose an easy, 3-pattern-piece, knit top 02-2009-108. Traced it off during one of Mr 2 years old's rare daytime naps; added seam allowances; cut it out that evening. Tried to sew it up last night and a combination of tired eyes and brain led to a whole lot of swear-inducing unpicking. Grey thread on grey marle knit, at 9 pm, with a pair of eyes that I suspect need to visit the optometrist, is not a good combination.

Anyhoo...I got it finished. I used a cheap $4/m cotton/lycra-ish stuff from Nick's Fabrics (Dominion Rd, AKL) as it was supposed to be a wearable muslin before I cut into my merino stash. Very happy with the fit, though I might just lower the front neckline a smidge as it's a bit snug against my throat.

I cut a 36, and added about three inches to the body length (not due to a pattern malfunction; just because I've got a really long back and and am no longer of an age that I like to show off my belly button ;-) )I added clear elastic to the neck edges (which I inadvertenly stretched on the back neck edge and ended up with a slight gather)and stabilised the shoulders with same clear elastic (serged on). I also shaved about 1.5cm off the top of the sleeve cap (as per suggestions on PR) and sewed it in flat...with the overlocker. Which I probably won't do again as it was a tiny bit stressful...or if I do do it again, I won't try to do it whilst simultaneously cutting off the 1.5cm seam allowances. Duh.

All in all a great pattern, and one that I see myself making again and again. It'll be great to have some high-necked merino tops to wear for the remainder of the winter, since most of the styles I've found in shops this season seem to be low cut. What's with that? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of it being a warm woolly thing? Or am I just being a nana?

They don't look this bad in real life, honest...

Sewing mojo has been seriously absent in my house over the last little while, thanks to that winning combination of winter lethargy, sick kids, and the boring bits of life in general getting in the way. I've also had a pile of "must sews" glaring at me which have been aggravating me to the point of total craft-inertia; this weekend will hopefully see the end of the nappy-sewing marathon and I'll be good to go with the projects that have been buzzing around my head for the last few weeks.

Anyway, I have finished one thing. A couple of weeks ago I attended a Palmer/Pletsch pants fitting workshop and it was fantastic. I learned so much and am really looking forward to a future wardrobe of pants that fit. We spent a lot of time altering the fit pattern, but despite flaring the legs out by a factor of lots, and dropping the waistband about 5 cm, the pants have managed to retain a certain je ne sais quoi that reminds me of their supertapered, stopping way above the ankle, high waisted origins.

I cut a 10, but then took out about 4cm through the back; I think I'd actually be better off cutting an 8 and adding the required extra to the hips. They've also sagged out a bit in the back and the knees, and are not helped at all by the fact that the photo was taken in harsh afternoon sunlight in all their unironed glory.

So, all in all, not the coolest pants in town; but in the spirit of blogging and sewing verisimilitude, here they are, in all their unironed (but very comfy)glory. I'm definitely looking forward to having a go at the alterations on a funky pattern, and I've got a couple of the Vogue Alice & Olivia ones in mind. Will endeavour to be back soon.