MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHER

 

 

My beautiful Mother passed away quietly on July 21 2014. Her gentle heart just slowly stopped beating. I am completely bereft with sorrow. So many tears fill my waking hours and I bathe in her perfume while I sleep.

I miss her so much.

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Cargo pants muslin finished

I'm happy with my pants.

They still need a lot of work to get them to where I would like them , but for now they'll do. This is a bad picture of us but it's the only one I got with my feet in it. The others look like I have tree trunk legs!

Just to recap, this was the pattern I used.

The Velcro fly front is amazing!!!!! I plan on using this technique when ever possible from now on, because it's so easy and because some where along my trails I acquired a large amount of Velcro! I also love the waistband. In keeping with the bad picture theme, here's a shot of the fly application in case you're interested.

The pant legs could still stand to be narrower, even though I removed 4 inches. The next pair will have some cargo pockets. This fabric has stretched out from wearing, so maybe a nice firm twill will suit them or perhaps I could just make them a little tighter? I think I need a good book or course on pant alterations- any suggestions?

Moving on....

I just made the little top I'm wearing last night. It's a Burdastyle twisted tank from 07/2013#130. This was a very popular model and I know why, it takes less then a meter, it's quick and easy, and is now one of my faves. I already have another one cut out and ready to stitch up. Great for the little left overs.

 

I also learned how to line the bodice completely by machine from this nice lady's YouTube video. Picture tutorials just don't cut it for me, I need to see it done in person. She demos on a child's dress, and gets to the point about half way into the 5 min video. If anyone else gets confused about this, like me, maybe watching will help. I love YouTube!

The Burda pattern tells you to cut it out twice, one for the lining and one for the garment, but I didn't have enough of the same fabric, nor did I have a compliment to it, but I did manage to squeeze out a half lining. That worked just fine as my fabric was not transparent. Saves on fabric too. The one I have cut out to make next has a full, contrasting lining, and I've omitted the CF and CB seams. This one was also a size to large, but I was able to correct that by taking in the side seams. For the next one I cut the next size down. I hope it works out.

 

Well that's it for today. I'm going to Las Vagas next week, and I'm hoping to pump out a few quick skirts and t-shirts for my trip. So I better get busy.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and your comments are always welcome!

 

 

 

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Cargo pants - making my muslin

Just thinking maybe this should be called "Making Another Wadder".

I haven't had great success with fitted pants lately but I picked this little gem up at Value Village for .99 cents. You can't beat that! So here I go- again.

I have traced out the front and back onto a separate pattern so I don't ruin the original, (which is a pain in the backside), and I can already see these are going to have very wide legs. I like wide legs for summer, I find them comfy and cool. Well, really I just like wide leg pants all year round. The fabric I chose is from my stash. It's a beautiful bottom weight, cotton slubby piece in an olive or avacado? green, and I'm not overly attached to it, so if I wind up chucking them I'm okay with that. But if they turn out nice I will wear them.

Fast forward a week.

Well the green pants were cut out basted up and laid on the garbage bin for a few days-they were gigantic!!!!! I am a lazy sewist and was not in the mood for any challenges after making my military jacket, but as I was looking through my mountains of patterns, magazines, books and Pinterest for another project and not being interested in anything, they kept calling me back from the bin, "Make me, make me". Then I realized there are so many great features about these pants I just love. I must make peace with them or they will haunt me forever.

I love the wide legs, they are too wide but I think I can get them under control.They don't have a zipper they have Velcro and I have never done a Velcro fly before. The fly is self contained with facing and underlap- all one piece. They sit at the right spot on my hips. They have a faced waist band but it kinda looks like a waistband, which makes them skim over my figure rather then chop it into bulging bits. There are lots of pockets but they are optional as are the belt loops.

They are so big I decided to use the original paper pattern and recut them to a size 7/8- throwing all caution to the wind! From here on in any adjustments will have to be made on the garment.

When I recut them I didn't have quite enough fabric for the fly extentions so I Frankensteined some fusible interfacing together to make up the loss. Don't laugh! No one will see this except me and I hope it will survive the wash!?

This is the fly- look! No zipper. How cool is that!

For the large pockets on the front the pattern called for a partial facing that I wasn't thrilled about so instead I faced the whole pocket, using a printed cotton scrap, turned them inside out and top stitching them on. Much nicer I think and no bulky seams. The pocket is suppose to be a belt loop as well, but I "forgot" this step there by saving a lot of extra work. There will be no belt loops at all for my version;) or any more pockets for that matter. I'm more concerned about the fit and the construction then the add ons.

As far as the fit is concerned the crotch depth is perfect at the size 7/8 but for the side seams and back seams I used only a 1/4 inch seam. If my math is correct that added a lot to the over all size.

I made the waistband facing a bit too long which would not allow me to put a buttonhole on- thank you GOD! I've had my fill of those lately. I am very happy with the hook closure, it keeps the front flatter. I really should pay more attention to the instructions especially when they make sense. Duh!

I am so glad I retrieved these from the garbage. I think with a bit of work I can hone the pattern to a T. The instructions were sketchy on seam finishing, so for my next pair I will seam finish all my edges first thing.

The over all length came up shorter then I thought. I like a deep 3" hem on wide legs for the weight and swish factor, but I only got a 1" hem. Now that I think of it I could have put a contrasting facing in the hem that would have been so cute especially for a shorter model. This is what I like about blogging, processing the information a different way gives you a different perspective. I'm still not done, I have to stitch up the hem and add another bar tack on the fly. Then I will take some photos and post.

 

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Hooray! I'm done! Burda Millitary Jacket finished!

Wow- that was a long haul and I finished it just under the wire too! I think for my next Make A Garment A Month project I will make a scarf-LOL!

I am very happy with my jacket even with all her Flaws, and she has many-believe me. My husband has named this my 'Zombie Hunting Jacket'. But I don't want to get it dirty just quite yet.( huge fan of The Walking Dead )

This will be a good coat for running about town in, paired with jeans. I didn't really plan to wear it with a dress, but today I just grabed it and took it to work with me so my lovely girlfriend Denise could take my picture. Thanks D!

This is my Zombie grunge look.

I did add shoulder pads because I always remember a professional tailor telling me they are always in style when you are making a suit - and they reminded me of my Dad looking so statuesque and crisp going off to work.

I love most of all that I used his hardwear. On the epaulettes I used the RCEME pins which means he was in the Mechanical Engineers. The broach is actually a hat pin. I love this one , because the brass has been polished so much over time it is almost worn smooth. I have no idea what the ribbon stands for, I'll have to ask my Mom.

I used bright red lining In case I need to signal passing air planes and because this was a Value Village acquisition that I knew would come in handy one day! Yeah- stash busting. I wound up using very small button holes on my belt because for some reason I could not make the eyelets work- so much for having a very expensive machine, functions work wonderfully on samples but when it comes to the real thing that's a whole other ball game! The same with my keyhole button holes. Great sample, crappy reality. Upside - I am now an expert at removing button holes.

And yes it really does fit me. I made a size 40 which I thought would be plenty big but by the time it's lined and shoulder pads are added it was perfect, I won't be getting a bulky sweater on under it! There were no alterations made to the pattern, other then for my short arms. I'm lucky enough to still have my proportions balanced even if I have put on a few pounds. But if I were ever to make this again I would add about an 1 1/2" to the torso length to accommodate the belt a bit better. Or because I'm lazy, I'd forget the belt altogether!

 

I was going to point out the defects but have changed my mind, I'm over them now and I'm ready to make a new SCARF.

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a comment.

 

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A Small Distraction. McCalls 5998

I know, I should be finishing my Burdastyle Military Jacket. It's almost done, I just have to attach the belt loops, do the buttons and button holes, hem it and put the shoulder pads in. But.....

I got distracted. My friend Karen asked me to make doggy tuxedos as a shower gift for her daughter Kayla. Kayla has two Labs that will be hanging out at the wedding so they need to be properly attired too, right? Karen liked the idea of ruffles with the black lacy edge on it. I agreed - not having a clue how to do it. This is how I get myself into trouble!!!!

First, here is the finished look. Are they just not the cutest thing you ever saw?!

I literally started off with a sketch as per my conversation with Karen. This is how I envisioned them.

 

Then I found this pattern. Weird how close that is ... Right?

McCalls 5998 View B , size XL , fits a 20" Labrador's neck.

So it's simpler then I had in my mind but I bought it for the size and shape.. Never having made any dog clothes before I wanted a starting place. And the rest I just made up as I went along.

I had to figure out how to the edging - did you know they sell sewing machines that just stitch edges like this? Wow , you learn something new everyday. I searched around the web to find out how to do that stitch without buying the machine, but no luck. I think you can buy books that show you how to use your home sewing machine to do things like this but I needed it faster then buying a book. So I set to work playing with my stuff. I made lots of awful tangled thread messes but finally got something I liked and looked similar to my vision.

I used regular weight polyester thread in the bobbin and a button hole twist in the top. It was too thick with button twist in both and too fine with just regular thread. The stitch I used was a hem stitch A2:25 on my Husqvarna and I shortened it to 3.5 and left the width alone.

On the folded edge of a 2' wide ,( cut on the straight) strip, I laid a piece light tear away stableiser underneath and stitched away slowly . Then tore away away the front and back of the stableiser carefully.

And ta da!

I think it turned out great. This could have so many applications, collars, cuffs, flat pipping. On a bias strip it would work on neck finishes. Baby clothes ,quilting and heirloom items of all kinds. If any one knows of some books or a website that explains more on how to do this kind of work, please feel free to comment with a link. Thanks.

I added a front placket, used Seam A Seam 2 to hold it all together and top stitched it to the front of the 'bib'. I also used interfacing . The pattern called for the bow tie to be made out of ribbon but I chose to make the bow ties with the black bridal satin. More stately looking, don't you think?

I also made the card using book pages,stamping, free hand doodles and torn paper and put all the neighbourhood family names on the little houses,including Kayla's soon to be last name. I wrapped it in tissue and jute and served it in a bird house planter box- Kayla collects bird houses. I have to say of all the beautiful gifts she received these doggy tuxedos stole the show! It's times like this when I'm very happy that I sew so I can make people happy with the things I make.

Thanks for checking in. Your comments are always welcome.

Stay tuned: the Military jacket will be finished very soon.

 

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Burda Military Jacket - getting close to finished....

In my mind I have finished my Military Jacket, when in fact it is not finished. I just want to move on to making some spring and summer clothes with all the wonderful colours and prints. I keep getting distracted looking at everyone else's blogs and all the great projects they are making. I feel like Dug the talking dog from the movie UP. The Squirrl scene:

That's one of my excuses, the other one is procrastination. I'm sure every seamstress is familiar with it. I'm procrastinating not because it's not working out or there are fit issues, the truth is, it couldn't be better. I was so worried about working with the pleather but it worked just fine. I sweated bullets over setting in the sleeves and they went in like butter! Now the lining- I machine basted the the shell in this morning and OMG, it fit! I thought I would have to fiddle and hand stitch, or do 'couture' work as I like to call it. But no, all is well. I'm doing it the old fashion way. I've looked up so many tutorials on bagging a lining and ya... I just don't get it, it looks so confusing to me. Here's a peek at the basted lining.

The top stitching has given me the most grief so far. I started out using a single thread and then using a double stitch that was okay for the pockets and flaps. However it's not so nice on the back side and there is a tab on the collar that flips over and is buttoned, so I had to get creative and sew portions from the back side- and I did it wrong twice so there was some swearing and unsewing going on. I switched to two threads in the top for most, with a single stitch .Then I had to put it aside for my sanity for a few days or there may have been a homoside! What I have learned for next time - use proper topstitching thread in top and bottom!

I had not planned on making the belt or belt loops but when pillaging through my many BUCKETS of buttons I came across a bag of brass Miliary buttons and hardwear that my mom must have given me at some point in time. Oh man what a treasure to find!

These were all from my very own Dads army uniforms. My Dad passed away over 30 years ago, so these are really special and I think he would get a kick out of me using them. Especially when he single handedley invented recycling- just a slight stretch..... Included is a brass buckle and a ribbon and some hat pins and other assorted pieces. After finding these I had to recearch what he did in the Army, he was in the Engineers- I had no idea! They are the guys that fix the equipment and vehicles, this was a great distraction! So now I have to make a belt. I have been looking for some brass grommets - no luck. So I'm going to try my hand at making some eyelettes for the belt. My machine is pretty fancy so I think it can be done. I just discovered it makes really amazing keyhole button holes too.

There we go. I'm all set, that took about 2 minutes. Some Frey Check, black thread and a black Sharpie marker and I'm good to go. Oh Man, now I gotta go to work- and I was just getting my Mojo back!

 

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Burda Jumpsuit 02/2013#124

It pays to clean out your closet every once in a while! Look what I found hiding. I made this Burda Magazine jumpsuit at the end of last season and then forgot about it.

It was very easy to put together especially because I didn't bind the pockets or the neckline. I had to adjust through the torso , it was long waisted and I am not. That was an easy fix. I just removed some length from the bottom of the bodice. It has elastic at the back waist and nice deep pockets, and is so comfy to wear- except when it's bathroom time.... The front waist does not have elastic or gathers so it sits flat over the tummy area which is more flattering then having a lot of excess material in that region.

Ok, she looks better in it! LOL. Mine gaped under the arms a bit so I threaded some shearing elastic through the hems of the arm holes and that seamed to do the trick- I won't win an award for that alteration but I was too lazy to take it apart and redo it. If I make it again I will do it properly. I think I could even make it one size smaller. Live and learn.

When I make it again I will use a weightier fabric, I have some nice red linen in my collection - humm..

If you have a nice long waist you could have fun accessorizing with belts but I just used a braided jersey tie, nothing fancy.

It was such a nice sunny day.... I gotta get out of the sewing room a bit more and get some colour!!

 

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