New Look 6808

This photoshoot business isn’t really working out well, is it?  Well, you can at least see it.  In real life, this is a bit more pink and not so orange.  I chose the collar from View C but left off the bow.  Here is the line art:

This was made from a really nice, lightweight cotton I found on the bargain table at Hancock’s.  I thought this fabric needed something with a vintage look. I would have made a dress if there had been more fabric on the bolt.  As you can see, this top doesn’t quite fit right but that’s okay.  Nobody can claim that I tend to over-fit patterns. 

 

I shortened the upper bodice and sleeve caps by a half inch, which I like because the armholes are higher and I can freely move my arms up and down – a bit of a novelty for me!  As usual, I had to broaden the back and I think that amount was 1.5 inches, total across.  That’s a lot!  I made that increase down the entire length of the back.  The bust dart on the right is higher than the one on the left, which has happened to me before.  I finally figured out yesterday that it’s because my right shoulder is meatier/higher than my left and it’s pulling the bodice up just a bit.  I’ll have to make that correction on the right from now on.  I think the increased muscle mass is from all the dope-slapping I have to engage in at my job.

I moved the zipper from the side to the back and made the collar adjustment accordingly.  My muslin had the zipper at the side and I found it to be very annoying.  Next time, I’m going to alter the back to have buttons instead.   

 

I found the neck facings don’t lay flat and they’re a bit narrow.  When I make this again, I’ll just use bias binding instead.  Also, the way they have you sew the sleeve facings is dumb.  They make you sew them in the round and that includes doing the slit, which is just a little V.  I did that on my muslin and it was not easy to maneuver that V! This time, I just applied the facings flat.

One other thing about this pattern: it’s long.  I usually have to lengthen all tops and jackets a full inch, but this thing is long all by itself!  That’s very unusual.

This pattern would work in a lot of different fabrics, from casual to fancy.  This would be nice in a stretch velvet, I think.  I wonder where I could find some?

Hot Patterns Wong-Sing-Jones Marrakesh Drawstring Pants

Clearly I need to work on my photographic technique.  But let's get down to business.

It’s about time I finished these things!  I made these months ago and they’ve been sitting around waiting for a hem, which is pretty sad considering I put the rest of the pants together in one day.  I guess I wasn’t as crazy about them as I wanted to be.  I finally did the hem last night.  These were made from a crisp linen that looks a bit like denim.  I underlined them with silk organza and did my usual contrasting zipper.  They really do add the pounds, don’t they?

 

These offer fly-front styling with drawstring comfort (the drawstring has elastic in the back) and this is about the fourth time I’ve made this pattern.  The first time, I made them in my size out of a nice drapey green linen (as suggested) and they were so big that I could put them on and take them off without undoing the drawstring, the button, or the zipper! (C’mon – who’s going to make a muslin for loose, drawstring pants?)  I had some ugly, why-the-hell-did-I-buy-this? dark salmon-colored linen laying around so I made them again about a half-size smaller.  This time I had to at least undo the drawstring.  Then I made them in a flimsy linen with silk organza underlining a full size smaller. Success! 

It’s a good thing I’ve made a lot of pants in my life because these come with the absolute worst instructions I have ever seen, bar none.  I would have fired the person who wrote and illustrated them along with the printer who couldn’t seem to print the envelope without the text bleeding off into oblivion.  A beginner would get totally lost in these instructions.  It’s like someone dictated them over the phone to someone who doesn’t sew.  And there aren’t any useful notches and the crotch points don’t match up properly.  I had to redraw that part before cutting them out. The drawings for how to do the fly are the size of a postage stamp. I’m not kidding, man.  A postage stamp!  If I still had them, I’d show you.  I could draw these instructions out on a paper napkin in a bar after a couple of margaritas and do better than Hot Patterns did!  Okay, I’m done.

Some people like Hot Patterns because they’re printed on heavy paper.  HEAVY paper.  I had to use soup cans as pattern weights to cut them out because I am not spending almost seventeen bucks, plus shipping, to trace a pattern.  I’ve had tissue patterns I’ve used a jillion times and they’re still good.  Don’t get me started.

In order to torture myself further, I did buy another Hot Patterns jeans-style pattern because the reviews on PatternReview.com were good and I liked the style.  So stay tuned for those one of these days.  But this is probably it for me and Hot Patterns.

Burda Hemp Pants

(Sorry about the bad photos.  After I took them, I realized I should have turned on the overhead lights in that room.  Next time!)

These pants were thrown together using a pattern from the April 2000 Burda Magazine.  I’ve had it all these years and have never made anything from it until now, which is a shame since there’s a lot of good stuff in there.  It’s no surprise that I’m 10 years behind the times with this. 

These were made from a cinnamon-colored cotton/hemp I ordered from fabric.com.  Unfortunately, these are considered burnt orange where I live, so I have to wear them carefully.  I can’t say I particularly recommend this fabric.  It’s coarse, not at all very interesting and doesn't have much in the way of drape.  I also bought some in yellow and who knows what monstrosity I’ll make out of it.  The price was right, though: 10 bucks a yard for 54” wide fabric.  I think I’ll wash the yellow stuff about 3 more times to see if it softens up a bit.  I’d tell you to watch this space for an update but really: don’t hold your breath.

Because I fall somewhere in the realm of a Big 4 size 12 (I’d be a 13 if they made that size), I originally made this in a size 38 using some nice silk tweed I got from a fabric swap. But those turned out a tad too big and I felt my sanity slipping away from me all day at work when I first wore them.  I plan to take them in, which should be pretty easy.  Considering that,  I made these hemp ones in a size 36.  I love the shape of the wide, curved waistband and, if you look at the picture carefully, you can spot the little invisible zip pocket that sits in the seam between the yoke and the leg.  I do need to shorten the front crotch length a bit, though, but I think they fit pretty well.   They could stand to loose a bit of fabric in the back leg.  I'll fix that on the pattern next time.

These things were so easy and fast to make, I couldn’t believe it. The day I made the silk tweed ones, I came home from work and traced out the pattern from the magazine.  Then I added the seam allowances.  Then I chose my fabric only to find I didn’t have enough by, like, 2 inches.  So I agonized for about 15 minutes over what to make them out of and settled on the silk.  I ironed the fabric and cut out the pattern.  Then I made them up while drinking a glass of wine.  After two hours, I had everything done but the hem!  

These hemp pants have a side invisible zip.  I got lazy and machine-stitched the hems (I hand-stitched the silk ones, of course; what do you take me for?)

Odd Flea Market Find

What in tarnation is this crazy scene?  This was taken in a junk shop in Georgetown, Texas.  I'm trying to figure out what on earth these cushions are for, but nothing's coming to me.  I leave it up to you to ponder this.

Cocktail of the Month

Frosty Lemon

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I guess you can tell where this "sewing" blog is going when the first post is a cocktail recipe accompanied by a very poorly-photographed subject.  This concoction comes to us courtesy of my friend Carol and it goes a little like this:

3 ounces of lemon-flavored vodka

3/4 to 1 ounce of lemoncello liquer

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 Tb superfine sugar

Yeah, you read that right: sugar.  If you're drinking almost 4 ounces of booze, I can hardly see where you find a problem with a little bit of innocent sugar.  This drink really needs it, so don't leave it out.

Shake all this up in an ice-packed shaker (as shown) -- shake like mad! You might prepare your delicate drinking vessel by lining the rim with some more of that sugar.  In fact, I think you'll find this adds a touch of class to the drink.  You can garnish this with a thin slice of lemon or, for color interest, lime.  A bit of advice is warranted, here: go easy easy on the lemoncello or you run the risk of overpowering the drink with that flavor. Remember: you can always add more.

Enjoy!