Monday's Mending Pile

Today's item is not actually a mending project, it's actually more of an addition. I made this dress for Mama R last year and ever since she has been asking me for pockets. I should know better than to  deliver to her a dress without pockets but that's what I did.  

And she waited.  

I actually did try to sew pockets back when I made it, everything was going well until...

I made a mistake clipping the corners. And then I gave up and moved onto other projects. I made up for that today.  

The first set of pockets that I tried to make were with polyester lining fabric. But these pockets are lined with leftover silk fabric from this project.  They feel sublime and best part is that Mom is happy.  

Happy Sewing!

September in Review...

Sewing:

I had big plans for National Sewing Month.

National Sewing Month begins tomorrow and the theme is to sew for the beauty of it. I have quite a bit of sewing to do for my beautiful Mom. She wants a new jacket in black. I have a lovely napped wool fabric set aside for that project and splurged on some silk lining. And then she would like another dress in a navy satin back crepe. There is an Eva dress to make for a friend. For myself I would really like to concentrate on sewing some comfortable pieces of sleepwear. I'll see how these plans work out.    

So how did I do? That new jacket for my Mom is in the works. It's all cut out, the underlining is hand-stitched to the fashion fabric and that's about it. I have two weeks to get it done. Yikes! I did manage to get her dress done this month. And same with the Eva dress for my friend. I actually made two, one didn't work out and then there was some unforeseen pattern grading before sewing a second one. Sleepwear for myself didn't even make it onto the radar.  

Clockwise Top L to R: Microwave cozy, no pattern used; (centre) linen Eva dress, Tessuti patterns; silk infinity scarf, no pattern used; satin back crepe dress, Simplicity 2372; (bottom L corner) linen Eva dress, Tessuti patterns.  

As seen above two unplanned items made it out of the sewing workspace. A silk infinity scarf when this beautiful fabric went on sale. And I sold another microwave cozy, this one was a made-to-order request.    

The Fasts:

I can't say that I stayed away from buying any fabric this month (see the silk infinity scarf) but I do believe I lost my desire to shop for fabric after recording my fabric collection in binders. 

Yes, it certainly was an eye-opening experience. This just might be the thing that helps me stay on track. 

The Stats:

Supplies	Quantity Used from the stash this Month	Quantity Used this Year	Added to the Stash this year
Basting Tape	1 metre	4.83 metres	0
Bias Tape	5.6 metres	21.2 metres	10 metres
Buttons		45	50
Chain		0	0
Cord Stopper		0	0
Elastic		32.3 metres	38 metres
Fabric	9.3 metres	103.9 metres	76 metres
Fusible Tape	2 metres	43.26 metres	6 rolls
Hand needles		2	0
Hook and Eyes		0	0
Interfacing	0.5 metres	7.2 metres	6 metres
Lace trim		2.6 metres	0
Pattern (new)		14	18
Pattern (previously used--TNT)	3	25	0
Ribbon		1.1 metres	5.3 metres
Serger needles		0	0
Serger thread		4	12
Sewing machine needles	2	4	9
Snaps		5	0
Thread	1	15	18
Trim		2 metres	7 metres
Velcro		0	0
Zipper	1	8	10

The Plans: 

I don't even know if I should attempt to make plans since this month's plans turned out to be such a disaster. But here goes, 

1. Sew that cardigan style jacket for Mom.  This one is a priority.  
2. I need a fancy dress for an upcoming event in two weeks.  I was thinking about another Eva dress in a grey silk fabric but I'm not all that excited about sewing another version of the dress. I might have over-dosed on the pattern. But if I don't sew it, I have no idea what will replace it.    
3. A jacket to go with said fancy dress. 
4. I still want to sew some sleepwear.  
5. And could you believe that I entered the coat contest over at Pattern Review. I have OOP Vogue 1213 that looks like a fun pattern to try. We'll see if there is time.    

Happy Sewing!

Strawberry Fields Apron

I picked up this strawberry field print quilting cotton fabric and seam binding yesterday to make Mom an apron. She's been waiting for an apron for a long time a very long time. Mama R really liked the apron I made six years ago with OOP Butterick 5263. Except she didn't want a reversible one. She said it was too heavy to wear.  

She just wanted a simple single layer apron that could protect her dresses when working in the kitchen. I still used OOP Butterick 5263 to recreate one for Mama R. Instead of sewing two layers together, I finished the edges of the neckline, armhole and hem with red seam binding.   

I had some really cute buttons that I wanted to put on the back but Mama R wasn't having any of that, insisting that she's just going to pull it over her head and wouldn't want to fuss with buttons. The back is stitched closed, after using my seam ripper to remove the first attempt at a buttonhole. 

And look at how cute she is in her new apron!  

The Stats:  

Fabric:  2 metres 100% cotton  

Bias Tape:  2 packages of pre-made bias tape.  

Pattern:  OOP Butterick 5263

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, scissors, ruler, measuring tape, sewing machine, walking foot, buttonhole foot, tailor's chalk, iron, ironing board, serger, 4 spools of threads (cotton for the sewing machine and polyester threads for the serger), seam ripper, and coffee.  

Happy Sewing!  

Retail Therapy...

Okay, my birthday was low key this year. First year in almost a decade that I worked on my actual birthday. This is great news because I'm usually laid off for the summers. And lay-offs are difficult. But my birthday also fell when one of my oldest and dearest friends was packing up and moving away. Of course, I wish her and her husband well but it's sad to see them move. So, some retail therapy was in order. This is my excuse for breaking my fabric fast this month and I'm sticking to it.     

I found these lovely fabrics at my local Fabricland store. They are going to be made into things for others but they just make me happy.  

Seriously, how awesome is this print? I want to frame it but instead I'm going to turn this fabric into some reusable shopping bags. It was one of the home decor fabrics.   

This one is a quilting cotton that I'm reserving for some more microwave bowl cozies.  

Same with this fly print, I wish the colour showed up better, the background colour is actually blue. I thought it's a hilarious print for soup bowl cozies. 

I love this strawberry field print, another quilting cotton but this one is reserved for an apron for Mama R.  

I did do some selfish shopping as well. A little birthday present for myself.    

I do love a paisley design and this red and black knit caught my eye. It is part of the new fall line showed up at the store. And I picked up two metres to make myself another Marcy Tilton skirt, Vogue 9060. Now, I just need to get to work.  

Happy Sewing!  

My Day of Sewing Bloopers

I should have been able to sew up Simplicity 2372 with my eyes closed. I've made so many versions of this pattern, it should have been an easy peasy project.  

And to be honest, looking at it now you wouldn't believe the bloopers that occurred along the way. Maybe sewing while stuffed up and a sinus headache wasn't the best idea, but I had promised Mom I would sew this earlier in the week. And I was itching to do sewing after six days of not, I was starting to experience withdrawal symptoms.   

The first blooper came when I tried to zip up the zipper and realized it was all twisted. I wish I could say that this is the first time this has happened but that wouldn't be truthful. I haven't been sleeping well this week with being all stuffed up so we can throw in there lack of sleep this week. Now, that is being truthful. But sometimes you just have to feed the need to sew and work past the tiredness.  

  

I'm glad that I did because I was able to fix the issue before calling it a night. Everything was going well until it came to the pockets. When I clipped a big hole in it.   

Yes, I did. Snipped right through the upper corner of the pocket. It's amazing that Mom even has another dress hanging in her closet.  

The fabric is a fairly recent find. I found this beautiful floral print stretch sateen at Fabricland. The lining fabric is from the now-closed Mitchell Fabrics and has been in my stash for a long time. And the interfacing used was a light-weight fusible interfacing. Both fabrics were pre-treated with a tumble through the washing machine and dryer and pressed before they were cut.  

The dress pattern is from Simplicity 2372 and has been modified to Mom's requests,

• Zipper in the back
• Centre front seam removed and cut on the fold
• Hemline shortened
• Sleeve lengtened
• Neckline adjustments

Despite all the bloopers that occurred in the past twenty-four hours, I'm thrilled with how everything worked out in the end.  

The Stats:  

Fabric:  2.10 metres

Interfacing:  0.5 metres

Zipper:  22" invisible zipper

Pattern:  Simplicity 2372

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, threads, hand needle, seam ripper, blind hem foot, walking foot, regular foot, invisible zipper foot, zipper foot, iron, ironing board, scissors, thread clippers, rulers, measuring tape, pins, pin cushions, tailor's ham, sleeve roll, tailor's chalk, good tunes (The White Stripes), tea, coffee, and there was an attempt to take a nap.  

Happy Sewing!  

Little Black Dress

Simplicity 2372 has made more appearances on this blog than any other pattern. It is the most trusted pattern in my collection and Mama R's favourite dress pattern. I've lost count how many dresses, let alone the other pieces, I've made with this pattern. I've used this pattern to make cotton house dresses and fancier versions. This one is the latest version in a crepe fabric. It is also the shortest version I've made. This one is truly a little black dress.

I don't know what happened, near the finishing of this dress, Mama R tried it on and it appeared to be too long and we agreed on chopping 1 1/2" and turning it up for a 1 1/2" hem. Boy, oh boy it's short! So right now it is heading to the mending pile to see if I can lower the hem. I found some single fold bias tape that I'll sew on and lower it an inch. It should be ready for another fitting tomorrow evening.  But for now...

The usual changes were made to the pattern according to Mama R's preferences.

• Remove the centre front seam and cut on the fold.  
• Insert zipper at the centre back (its a pullover style dress but she finds it easier to get out of it with the aid of the zipper).  

• Lengthen the sleeves.
• Shortened the length. Yeah, I went too far on this step.  
• Adjust the neckline width by resizing at the raglan sleeve seam.  

The fabric is a polyester crepe that has been in the fabric stash for years, okay maybe decades. I picked it up so long ago I can't remember where I picked it up. This crepe is unlike the crepes I've seen lately, it has a beautiful weight to it and even Mama R is quite taken by the texture and weight of this piece of fabric. And that is how this fabric finally became a dress for Mom. Well that and the fact that there wasn't enough to make another Vogue 1410 for moi. 

The Stats:  

Fabric:  2 metres heavy-weight polyester crepe

Interfacing:  0.3 metres fusible interfacing

Zipper:  22" invisible zipper

Basting tape:  44" two-faced tape

Pattern:  Simplicity 2372

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, tailor's chalk, ruler, measuring tape, polyester thread for the sewing machine, serger, thread, silk thread for hand stitching, sewing machine, walking foot, invisible zipper foot, regular zipper foot, regular foot, screwdriver, scissors, thread clippers, tweezers, iron, ironing board, tailor's ham, many breaks (for stretching and running errands), and some good tunes.  

Happy Sewing!  

I Wouldn't Let Her Steal My Tee-shirt

so I made her one.  

Mama R was quite impressed with how the Rayon/Lycra® fabric drapes with this design, Vogue 9057, and there was enough fabric left-over, so why not? I love my Mom but I wasn't willing to give her the shirt off my back, maybe figuratively speaking. 

This version is slightly different than the first. It still has a flare, but this one is flared 1/2" more.  The sleeves were lengthened 1" as well as the hem length.  I finished the neckline as I did on the others and that it. I can't believe I was able to squeeze out another tee-shirt from the left-over piece of fabric.  

The Stats:  

Fabric:  1.4 metres

Fusible Tape:  2.8 metres Knit-N-Stitch™ fusible tape

Pattern:  Vogue 9057

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, walking foot, pins, scissors, thread clippers, cutting table, iron, ironing board, sleeve ham, tailor's ham and love (not enough to give the shirt off my back) but rest assure there's a whole lot of love that went into this project because when it comes down to it, I love my Mom.  

Happy Sewing!  

For Mama R With Love

It might seem that I'm stuck on Vogue 9057 this month but seriously, it is an amazing pattern. Even Mama R became smitten with the fit (not the colour) of this one. It's rare to find something that fits us in the armhole straight from the pattern without cutting the armhole in a smaller size. So, with Mother's Day just around the corner, I had to make her a couple of tops. Here is the first one. Like I mentioned she tried on the yellow one I made and liked the fit the best but she wanted additional length on the sleeves.  

I lengthened the sleeve pattern piece an inch but if I haven't already cut the second one I would have lengthened it two inches so that I could give it a 1" hem. This one has a 5/8" hem. Otherwise, this has the same changes that I made to my last one, raise the neckline an inch in the front and tapered down to three-quarters of an inch at the centre back. No neckband or sleeve bands were used. The hem was straightened, shortened, and flared at the side seams by two inches.  

Now let's talk about this fabric. I picked this cotton knit at Fabricland with thoughts of sewing a completely different project but I'm glad I abandoned those plans for this one. Burgundy is one of Mama R's favourite colours and what makes Mama R happy makes me happy, so I'm happy to use this piece of fabric for her top.  

This project came together like a dream without any issues sewing this fabric. I stitched the seams with the knit (lightning bolt) stitch on my sewing machine. The edges were finished with an overlock stitch on the serger. The neckline, hems, and shoulder seams were treated with fusible tape.  

The Stats: 

Fabric:  2 metres

Fusible Tape:  3 metres Knit-N-Stitch™

Pattern:  Vogue 9057

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, tailor's chalk, rulers, measuring tape, sewing machine, serger, threads for the machines, thread clippers, iron, ironing board, tailor's sleeve ham, coffee, stretching breaks and some really bad television playing in the background (iPod needs to be charged).

Happy Sewing!

Butterick 5556: Vintage Style Robe

Vintage Butterick 5556 should have taken me no time to whip up especially since I had it all cut out and ready to go on Monday night.  

Butt it proved to literally be a pain in the arse to sew. You see the day that I had plans on sewing this project up after work, I fell and this week there hasn't even been an ounce of desire to sew. I have a bruised tush and my back is killing me. What should have taken me a few hours to sew took me the whole day. Moving the sewing machine on the cutting table abled me to sew while standing up and allowed me to avoid the prospect of sitting down to work on this robe. I finally have this project done after many hours of sewing spurts followed by some quality time with a heating pad and repeat. I'm amazed it's finally done.  

This robe is for Mama R. After she saw the little robes I made for my co-workers' kids she mentioned that she would like to have one but I knew that she's not one for the tie belt versions found in the pattern books and retail landscape. 

The request sent me on a search over at Etsy and it was there that I found out-of-print Butterick 5556. I'm guessing that it is from the 1970s based on the illustration on the pattern envelope and the detail in the construction of this robe. They don't make patterns like this anymore. This pattern is for a fully lined robe! This robe doesn't have a lining it but I might one day revisit this pattern and sew it up as intended. It is a well-drafted pattern and I really like the shoulder dart that extends into the sleeve area, it really gives the sleeve a lovely shape.    

I did make a few changes other than leaving out the lining. The sleeve length was shortened, more ease was added to the mid-section of the robe and the pockets were raised several inches.  

The waffle weave cotton fabric is the same fabric used in the previous robes. It was pre-treated with a tumble through the washing machine and dryer. It handled the pre-treatment process without any issues. The fabric was a 2016 find in the bargain centre at Fabricland. I scored it for a song because there was some fading at the fold-line which I couldn't avoid when I cut out the back piece on this robe. Mama R doesn't mind the fading and even though I offered to hide it with some creative trim detailing she wasn't interested claiming that it doesn't bother her. I think it bothers me more than it bothers her. The centre back is supposed to have a seam, but Mama R preferred if it didn't and wanted the back cut as one piece. 

Now that I have this project off the table and into Mama R's hands, I think I'm going to stop sewing until I'm all healed up. It might be a while according to the physiotherapist. I think I just need to listen to the physio-therapist and take it easy for now.   

The Stats:

Fabric:  3 metres

Interfacing:  1 metre

Buttons:  6 - 1/2" buttons

Pattern:  OOP vintage Butterick 5556

Time:  I invested 13 hours into the preparation of the fabric and the construction of this garment.  

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, threads (for the machines and hand-stitching), cutting table, sewing needle, scissors, pins, wrist pincushion, wrist brace, heating and massage pad, Magic bag, meds, a lot of breaks, tea, and a nap.  

Happy Sewing!  

Simplicity 2372: New Year, New Dress

Happy New Year!  

The first dress of the year is for Mama R. Well, it is her birthday. A lady needs a new dress for these celebratory occasions, right? I gave her the choice of any fabric from my stash and this is the one that she chose. I adore the colours in this print and I'm thrilled with this choice. It just seems like I've been sewing up a lot of dark coloured garments lately. It is a nice change. I actually picked it out thinking that I would make a skirt for myself, but I'm willing to admit that I have more than enough skirts in my wardrobe and that a new dress for Mom is a much better idea.

The pattern is a go-to-favourite, Simplicity 2372. Mama R adores the neckline and armhole pleats.

The usual changes happened again:  remove the front centre seam, insert a zipper, lengthen the sleeves, shorten the hem, and add pockets. There were several stitches used to complete the dress. I used the straight stitch (also known as the basic stitch) to construct most of the dress including the zipper as well as locking stitch at the start and ending of my seams. The hem was completed with a straight blind hem stitch (also known as an invisible hem) on my machine. Hand-stitches on this dress included the basting (also known as the tack stitch) and the slip stitch to hold down the facing piece.

The fabric is a 100% cotton from Fabricland's home decor department. It was pretreated with a tumble in the washing machine followed by a tumble in the dryer and then a final pressing before I cut it out.

I'm starting off the new year using supplies already found in my stash. I would like to try to do this as much as I can this year. The fabric made it into my collection a year ago, maybe two? I'm not quite sure to be completely honest. The interfacing has been in my stash for a couple of years now. The basting tape was a much appreciated birthday gift. And even the invisible zipper and threads were found in my stash.

The Stats:  

Fabric:  2 metres 

Interfacing:  0.3 metres fusible interfacing

Zipper:  22" invisible zipper

Basting Tape:  1.12 metres 

Pattern:  Simplicity 2372

Time:  I invested about 5.5 hours into the preparation of the fabric and construction of this dress.

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, threads (for the serger, sewing machine and hand-stitching), invisible zipper foot, regular zipper foot, measuring tape, steam iron, ironing board, tailor's ham, scissors, thread clippers, pins, cutting table, and a few stretch breaks.

Happy Sewing!  

Wool and Cashmere Pants X's Two

I found a beautiful piece of wool and cashmere fabric at Mitchell's when Mama R express an interest in another pair of pants. Her request was for a pair in black. Boy, haven't we come a long way since this day.

I'm quite thrilled to be making her pants since I know how hard it is for her to find anything in ready-to-wear, never mind finding anything in that landscape that is made with quality fabric. I'll tell you, it's sad out there in the malls. But I digress... 

I totally lucked out on this trip to Mitchell Fabrics. They were having a 30% off sale and after they cut the yardage that I requested, I was offered the rest of the bolt at 50% off. I didn't think that it would be enough to make a second pair of pants but I was wrong. I'm surprised that I was able to squeeze the front and back pieces together and cut two pairs. Who would have thought? I was thinking that I might be able to squeeze another jacket out of the remnant for Mama R, but she said she prefers to have two pairs of pants.

These were made with Mama R's go-to pattern, Simplicity 2372. Easy peasy. I don't know what to say about this pattern except all the pieces are awesome. I did have to shorten the pant legs and extend the waistline but other than that it's a perfect pattern.

I just had to add a label to mark the back on these elasticized pants, as per Mama R's request. Whatever Mama wants.


The Stats:

Fabric:  3 metres (for the two pairs)

Elastic:  1.8 metres (for the two pairs)

Label:  2 (for the two pairs)

Pattern:  Simplicity 2372

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, threads (for the sewing machine and serger), clippers, scissors, pins, safety pins, steam iron, ironing board, cutting table, wrist pin cushion, tailor's ham, coffee, and wrist braces.

Happy Sewing!

Monday's Mending Pile

I'm thinking about changing the name of this series to Mama's Mending Pile because it seems like I've been doing a lot of alterations and mending for her lately. This may not be true, it just seems that way.  

This morning instead of eating breakfast (still not feeling all that great), I opted for some quality time at the sewing table. This dress made it to the mending pile all pinned when Mama R found it too long and wanted it shortened. She pinned, I pressed and hand-stitched the hem. We make a good team.  

Happy Sewing!  

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!

Pleated Pull-over Top

I'm revisiting out-of-print Butterick 5561 for Mama R, it is the third version that I've made for her. Interesting thing came up when I offered a beautiful polyester crepe to be make with this pattern. She hesitated and tried to talk me out of it.  

Insert #5, the perplexed face.

"What's up?," I ask. Mama R had said in the past that she likes this fabric and she never complained about the two previous versions of OOP Butterick 5561. Getting her to talk was like trying to unstitch a knit stitch from a scuba knit with a traditional seam ripper. Oh the pain! But finally the deep dark secret unraveled.

The woman of mystery finally reveals, "this fabric is just like this one. It doesn't fit as well as the other one."

Still perplexed by this revelation I ask, "What do you mean?" I can't imagine that the fit would be any different since I used the same pattern and size for both tops.

"I'll show you," she said as she removes it from the hanger and tries it on. "It's wider here and lower in the front. When I bend down you can see down there," she shyly adds.

"Can you try on the other one?" And to my shock I starting to see that she's right. Okay, Mama R is always right but sometimes I like to think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to sewing. So wrong.

How did I not see it before? Or better question would be: how did I not consider that different fabric will affect the fit of a garment? I'm going to blame it on the current sinus infection.

I need a plan. At first, I thought I would change the shape of the neckline so that it would sit higher all around. But then the brain fog lifted and I thought what if I cut the raglan sleeve seams as a size smaller? I proceeded only with the thought that if it doesn't work I have enough of this beautiful polyester crepe and another copy of OOP Butterick 5561 to try again. I wasn't dealing with a whole lot of energy to copy the pattern or make a muslin.

Thankfully, the smaller sized seam was just the trick to raise the neckline. The pattern was also shortened in the sleeve and top hems. I didn't interface the facing pieces because I didn't have similar weight interfacing in my stash. And the hems were all finished with a 5/8" rolled hem.

The fabric has been in my stash for possibly decades? Let's just say that it has been part of the stash for a long time. I do believe that I picked it up when Fanny Fabrics closed down and I bought a whole lot of it. I actually have a dress cut of this fabric.  And there enough fabric left to make a dress or another top. It was pretreated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer. No issues with the pretreatment process.

Now, there is just one problem. This top will look great with my last sewing project. I might have to raid her closet. Just kidding Mom.


The Stats:

Fabric:  1.7 metres

Pattern:  OOP Butterick 5561

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, cutting table, scissors, pins, thread for the the serger and sewing machine, iron, ironing board, and a whole lot of love for Mama R.

Happy Sewing!

New Pair of Pants

Well, I've made a new pair of pants but this pair is not for me. Mama R asked if I could take her to the mall and when we got there she asked to go to Sears because she wants to look for a pair of pants. 

{Source}

Yeah, I know! Isn't that the craziest thing you ever heard? The woman tricked me into taking her to Sears.  

"But, I can sew you a pair of pants," I said through the hurt feelings that were building up inside of me.  

"You're too busy," she replied.  

"No, I'm not," I protested, thinking that I could probably sew a pair of pants in less time that it would take her to find a pair of pants that fit. 

And then she sent me away while she looked, hoping that I would stop nagging her. 

"I didn't find anything good," she said later at our agreed meeting spot, cheering me up a little.  

"Let me try to make you a pair," I quickly offered.  

"You have lots to do for work," she said.

True, I still have to sew those samples for work but my wrist is killing me today and my heart is not into hand-stitching. My heart ached to sit at the sewing machine and sew a pair of pants for my Mom.   

"I'm just going to try," I interrupted, "if you don't like them you don't have to wear them."

I pulled out Simplicity 2372, Mama R's go-to dress pattern because it also has a pants pattern that has all the sizes intact. She let me take some measurements and I got to work.

The fabric that I used was a left-over piece that was just enough for a pair of pants. I can't remember where, when or why I bought it but there it was and I thought it would work for a trial run. I suspect that it is a polyester by the way it frayed.

I cut a size 10 crotch length and inseam and a size 18 on the outer leg seam. The waistline was too short and the length was too long. And since I didn't have any more fabric, I cut off four inches from an already shortened legs and pieced it together to make a waistband.

Hand-stitching made its way into this project just to prep for some stitch-in-the-ditch action.

And guess what? Mama R now has a new pair of pants. Now that the needed alterations are all figured out, I'll make a pair in grey British wool this week.


The Stats:

Fabric:     2 metres

Elastic:    1 metre 1" elastic

Pattern:    Simplicity 2372

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, walking foot, regular foot, threads for the sewing machine, serger and hand-stitching, hand needle, scissors, cutting table, pins, iron, ironing board, and one patient Mom.

Happy Sewing!