Pants bender

I realized this week that winter is coming (insert Game of Thrones meme here) and I don't have any pants.
No, I really do have pants. But they're all shorter than I like for winter wearing. So I'm going on a pants spree! Mostly these will all be variations on patterns I've rubbed off my favorite RTW pants. I've finished my brown on black cotton sateen trousers (pics as soon as my photographer is willing!). On to the stretch denim!

Sewing happiness

Is variegated top-stitching thread!

Brown on black on black!

So, I ran out of black thread. And couldn't make it to the store... So yeah, I totally switched to top-stitching with dark brown thread. And I like it! Somewhere Bob Ross is smiling and saying, "Happy accidents!"

Mystery Pattern

My mom was helping my grandma go through her pattern stash a few weeks ago, and Grandma thought I'd like this one.  I can't find a copyright date on it, but the instructions include an email address and website, so it's since the mid- 90's.
Anyway, I was looking at the garment measurements. The pants have a leg width of 24 inches! I assume that's across the cuff? Maybe disco made a comeback in the 90's...  I'm loving that jacket, though. Thanks, Grandma!

Black on Black on Black

So I saw a post the other week (maybe on Closet Case Files?  That sounds right, but I can't remember...) asking why we as sewing bloggers don't show more Works In Progress pictures, and I thought it was an interesting question.  I love seeing WIPs-- it helps me learn, and it helps me not feel so lame when I see other people doing something just as crazy as I do sometimes:)  Also, I have a serious lack of Works Done pictures!  Maybe this will help me find a way to get more finished project pics.

Anyways, these are going to be a copy of one of my favorite RTW pants from White House Black Market.  I've been wanting a good pair of not-jeans, and the impending season change made me want to go black. The fabric is a cotton sateen that I bought from Pacific Fabrics this spring.  I love how sateen handles!  It's kinda lightweight for fall, but I'm Alaskan.  I'll deal:)

For the top-stitching, I'm going black.  It's unusual on a jeans-style pant to go tone-on-tone, but I saw a picture of some GORGEOUS green pants with an ever-so-slightly darker green embroidering job on the pockets (it was forever ago and I can't remember where it was or I'd link), and I've loved the subtlety of the effect ever since.  Plus, I was feeling too lazy to switch machines!

Also on deck:
More of the one T-shirt to rule them all!  Vogue 8536 is my favorite t-shirt pattern EVER.  And it fits me straight out of the envelope-- I don't even have to lengthen it (gasp).  And it comes with three different necklines and three different sleeves and aaaaaaaah.  It's such a relaxing sew.

McCall's 6800!!  I'm so excited to try this beastie.  I bought the most beautiful purple wool coating from Mood, and it gets back from the cleaners for preshrinking tomorrow.  I'm slightly concerned about putting that much fabric around my hips, but that's what a muslin is for, right?

Thursday, Thursday, Thursday!

Hi all!  I promise this blog will get up and going once summer vacation is over-- my little guys get most of my downtime during the summer.  BUT, I saw that Amy had mentioned my Thursday morning get-togethers for sewing, so I thought I'd put details up.

I host a sewing club at my home every Thursday morning, and all are welcome!  It's free (which seems obvious to me, but I've had people ask, so there you go).  Sewing Club is strictly BYOP (bring your own project), or bring no project-- I have one friend who just comes to chat (hi Kim!).  And kids are welcome, with two caveats:
A) My house is only kid-proofed to the level of a five year old (my youngest), so if you're bringing any people littler than that, you may have to keep a bit of a closer eye on them.  That said, I've had 2 year olds running around here in happy abandon; my house isn't a death trap, it's just home to two little boys who love Legos, a seamstress who loses pins, and a man who loves tech and big speakers.
B) If they want to play with my kids' toys, they are more than welcome to, on the condition that they help clean it up!  Otherwise, MY kids' whining becomes truly epic.  And operatic.  And... several other adjectives.  You get the picture :)

Anyway, the festivities begin at 10:00-ish every Thursday morning.  Feel free to email me for an address and/or directions, and I hope to see some of you!

The Jeans, They Fit!!

I MADE PANTS THAT FIT!!

Okay, now that's out of my system.  Getting down to business.  I've made multiple pairs of pants before, but I've never been able to make a pair that fits.  When I make all my usual adjustments, it seems to throw everything out of whack on pants.

This was a major problem, considering that I signed on to the RTW Fast over at Goodbye Valentino, and I am not the type of woman to wear dresses and skirts every day.  So, after considerable frustration and five or six pairs of pants that didn't fit, I bought Kenneth King's Craftsy class titled "Jean-ius".  He teaches you how to clone a pair of pants that you already have that already fit (without destroying them first).  Ladies and gents, I HIGHLY recommend this class.  I am lucky enough to have two pairs of pants (one pair of jeans and one pair of trousers) that fit me perfectly-- in the summer.  They're too short to wear with anything other than the flattest of flats.  So, following Professor King's method, I got all the information I needed to clone the jeans (they're the Blanc Jeans from White House Black Market, if you're curious), and made myself daisy duke muslins-- see my previous post for more one that.  Once I got the fabric chosen, I got to work.  Professor King walks you through every step of creation, adding in several new tips that I hadn't heard before.  Here they are!

Don't you like my purple tie-dye socks? :)  

Now, all this is not to say that I did perfectly.  I somehow managed to mess up the applique pattern for the pockets, resulting in this:

I am SO happy I managed to make it look like it was on purpose, but that little layering effect is actually a second applique sewn down on top of the first!  Without it, you could see the pocket material, which looks like this:

Note to self:  Next time, use pocket material that's similar in tone to the pants.  From some angles, you can see the tiniest of white lines around my pocket openings on the outside.  But hey, those are CUTE little pockets :)  Emphasis on the little-- these are fairly low-rise jeans, which equals itty-bitty pockets.

I am really pleased with the interior construction of these-- it's the first time I've really used my serger that my wonderful husband bought me for Christmas, and I was SO happy with how RTW it made my pants look:

With that, I suppose it's time for some shots of the jeans in action, huh?  Fair warning, I took them with my cell phone, so the quality isn't great.  And, by the way, it is spectacularly awkward to get a shot of one's own caboose.  Here goes!