Monday, 17 October 2016

Another pair of pants


Recently I sat down and did some wardrobe planning for my fall clothing. I collected pins (this pinterest board) for inspiration, I wrote down all the clothing that I owned and came up with a list of things that I want to sew to fill in gaps. Naturally, there are more things on the list than I will have time to get to this year, but I am alright with that - I am good at prioritizing... sometimes.


Anyway, that was all to introduce my latest pair of pants! My colours for the fall are shades of burgundy, shades of green/blue, and neutrals. I already have black, navy and maroon pants, so these pants fall in the shades of green category, at a teal-like colour. I actually went to the fabric store to buy more of an olive-green woven material to make a pair of pants, but I didn't find anything that I liked, and fell in love with this fabric (in part because it was $4 per metre). I was testing the chi-town chino pants at the time, and wanted to use that pattern to copy the concept of this pair of pants.


These pants went together really easily. Try two of a pattern naturally goes better than try one. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of them. I like them well enough to wear them, and they are really comfortable, but for some reason they look a bit nineties to me. They also are going to start pilling really soon. I'm glad I finally made a pair of pants with back patch pockets and a button for the front closure. I discovered that I can make buttonholes on my sewing machine without a special foot (they may not be perfect, but they do the trick!), and I even installed the button with my machine.


When I told Alina I was planning on making these pants, she suggested that I might want to use a pattern that was meant for stretch fabrics instead of trying to modify this pattern, and she was definitely right. You don't learn if you don't try though! I used a woven quilting cotton for the pockets and waistband, and while it worked fine for the pockets, the waistband turned out wavy, and I should have added some more interfacing.

Details

PatternChi-town pants by Alina (Free because I was a tester)
Material: Teal knit fabric from Fabricville
Modifications: Full seat adjustment, added about 4 inches in length and took them in a lot so they have negative ease.
Learning: Listen to a pattern designer when she suggests a different pattern, she's probably right. On the bright side, I learned to do a button closure and patch pockets, and that sewing a knit to a woven is as difficult as people say. Also, I finally figured out that when the back piece is longer than the front piece when putting together pants, you should ease them into being the same length, not just attach and cut off the extra.

Bonus picture of the view from our trip to York Redoubt
I still like the fabric, and I think I have enough left to make myself a dress :) Next up: finally getting around to making the Adelaide I've been meaning to for months!

Monday, 3 October 2016

Sea-foam Green Charleston Dress


I have been looking for mint coloured fabric for a Charleston dress since I bought the pattern, specifically this version. It's a colour I love for wearing in the summer, but don't have nearly enough of in my wardrobe. I managed to find this scuba knit for buy 1 metre, get 2 free at Fabricville, and came home with 3 yards of fabric instead of just the zipper and buttons that I went to purchase (Don't be surprised if you see a sports bra and capris in this fabric in the future. 3 metres is a lot). I sewed this in the 2 weeks leading up to a friend's wedding in my rare spare time and cut it pretty close, timing wise. There was a lot of basting and adjusting to get it just right, and I'm really happy with the result.

I'm a little sad that I didn't find this fabric and make this dress at the beginning of the summer so that I could wear it for the summer months, but I'm sure I will love the colour just as much next year. I made a point not to rush this dress, despite the deadline, and did my absolute best to line up the seams on the skirt and bodice. As you may be able to tell in the pictures, that didn't happen and I was tired of taking out basing and re-sewing at that point. I'm not super thrilled about the armholes and needed to adjust them a little to get rid of some gaping, but some steam helped say them flatter and made the topstitching less visible.


This is hands down my best neckband yet, I think I have it figured out finally! We will see when I make the next dress (I'm an addict, I know) or shirt, but I am cautiously optimistic! I'm hoping to get better at sleeveless binding, but I think my next few will have some sort of sleeves, so I'm not concerned yet. The fabric is borderline fluorescent, which I love.


Ally has gone back to school and our frisbee season ended, which means getting together for pictures is more difficult, but I found another photographer to help me out. Thank you so much, Ruth!

Details

PatternCharleston Dress from Hey June
Material: Sea-foam Green Scuba Knit from Fabricville, $15/m and buy 1 get 2 free
Modifications: Added 2.5 inches to the body, 3 inches to the skirt, increased the size of the armsythes to accommodate my shoulders properly, and graded in at the waist. I still didn't add a zipper since the fabric has about 50% stretch, and I added an elastic to the waist to add structure.
Learning: I'm still working on getting the binding right on knit clothing (neckbands and armhole finishings are still a pain), but I get better each time I do it. This dress gets easier every time I make it.



Next Up: More pants!