Sunday, 23 October 2016

Wool Pants

I've been talking about sewing Mama R a pair of wool pants when she gave the seal of approval on the pant pattern found in Simplicity 2372.


It should have been an easy project as Mama R didn't want the side pockets. But I messed up, and yes, I'm going to blame it on the sinus infection I had when I first started to sew these pants. It took me awhile to finally deliver a finished product. But I digress...


I should know better, not to sew when I'm not feeling good. Sometimes, I can't help it.


I raised the fold over waistband by four inches without checking back on the changes I made on the trial pair. And that was too much. I should have only raised it by three inches with a two inch fold over.

Note to self:  Record pattern changes on the pattern pieces.  (Three inches adjustment with a 2" fold-over!)

So, it's back to the drawing board to unstitch. What should have taken me an afternoon to sew took more than a few days. But I think it all worked out in the end. Once everything was unstitched and the elastic removed I trimmed off an inch on top and went back to work.


I couldn't remember how much I shortened the first pair but did recall that Mama R found the hem too short so I cut the pattern as it came out of the envelope knowing full well that it would be too long on my four foot-something Mom. I eventually ended up trimming five inches off the length and sewing a two inch hem. Of course, this time I wasn't taking any chances and made her try them on a few times before I cut them shorter.


Since these pants have an elastic waist and no pockets I added a "hand made" label to the back seam.

The fabric is a 100% British wool that has been sitting in my stash. I did pre-treat it with a wash on the delicate cycle and a tumble through the dryer. It handled the pre-treatment process wonderfully and this fabric was an absolute pleasure to sew.


The Stats:

Fabric:   2 metres British wool

Pattern:  Simplicity 2372

Elastic:  1 metre 1 3/4" wide elastic

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, sewing machine needle, scissors, thread clippers, pins, cutting table, safety pins, iron, ironing board, seam ripper, label, blind hem foot, regular sewing machine foot, a whole lot of patience, cough syrup, kleenex, and tea with honey and lemon.

Happy Sewing!


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