Wearing History Smooth Sailing Trousers

As promised, I wore my new trousers today.  I think I like them.  What do you think?

Sorry about the quality of pictures, it's dark when we leave for work/school and when we get home, so I can only take indoor pictures.  Color correcting them for the tungsten lighting makes the quality go down.  I think I'll do a proper pattern review for these as it's already 10 PM, meaning I need to get my tired self to bed.  (I have been up since 5 AM with the littlest boy.)

Pattern Description: The shorts and trousers hit at the natural waist and the waistband creates the high waist effect. The pants are darted in the back and the front has a single long release tuck at either side for a flattering slim cut. The waistband can be made with self belt loops and belt. The trousers can be made with or without cuffs and the shorts are cuffless. The rise is cut long for a vintage look, but not so long as to be baggy like many originals. They are very flattering!

Pattern Sizing:  I made the size 20 with no alterations.  My measurements are between the 18 and 20, but as I was lining them, I figured the larger size would be better.  They are a tiny bit loose in the waist, but not enough to make me change it.  They stay exactly wear they are supposed to.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.  They looked exactly like the photograph.  They were extremely well drafted, and simple to sew. 

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, if I had followed them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  I loved everything about the pattern, except for the crotch curve. It's not exactly right for me, so it sits a bit funny.  I think that I'm going to buy a flexible ruler, so that I can fix that par for next time.  There will be a next time!

Fabric Used: Amacale Wool/Cashmere blend flannel in seagull gray and silver bemberg lining.
 
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:  I lined them.  I also did a buttonhole and button instead of a hook and eye. Last but not least, I changed the waistband so I could use coutil on the inside, so I didn't have to use interfacing.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  I am definitely going to sew it again.  They are so comfortable to wear.

I wore them with a pre-blog Deer and Doe blouse made with cotton from Brazil.   In order to keep it less straight up retro, I changed my updo a little bit, so that it didn't have the rolls in the front.  I did still get comments on how 1940's I looked.  Oh well- it's a look that fits me.  Now here are some more photographs:

Not the shoes I wore to work, but it's now that time of year in which I amass quite a collection of shoes under my desk.  I tossed on a pair of heels to properly show the length of the pants.

A goofy face, but it made me smile

A closer look at my hair.  You can see the rubberband, oops.  It's not quite long enough to hide it all the way yet.

The requisite back view.

So those are my new pants.  On the apron front, all the pockets are on.  A third of the waist ties are completely done.  The rest are sewn, but need to be turned right side out.  I hope to finish tomorrow, so I can start working on my Tilly and the Buttons Fracoise dress- she's holding a contest so I have to get it done by December 14.  Here's a preview of the fabric I am using.  It's cotton/silk faille.  I am excited.  But aprons first.  They have to get done.

And here are some pictures for the grandparents- it will make my mother happy that we got Alex's hair cut today.  She thinks that we grow it too long- when in reality it's that he will not sit still long enough to cut it.  Well and I am lazy about it.  Until next time- happy sewing!

Charity Sewing and a Pair of Pants

Oh my poor neglected blog.  I have been remiss in writing lately, mainly because as I've been busy crafting.  Well busy crafting and this:

 Yes, I decided to host Thanksgiving this year.  I figured that this would be one of the few times that I have a full size oven, so I should take advantage of it.  We ended up with about 15 full size eaters and a bunch of little ones too.  I spent a good chunk of Wednesday night and Thursday cooking.  A lot of work, but boy was it tasty! 

Anyway, what else has been keeping me too busy to write?  Every year the International Women's Club in Kyiv holds a Christmas Bazaar.  My good friend is running the American booth and talked me in to helping out by making aprons. Aprons, I thought, that can't be too difficult.  Of course.  We'll dear readers I have been making aprons for the last week and a half and they still aren't done.  And there is only twelve to make!  Why you might ask?  Well, we were restrained in how much money we could spend (roughly $23.00), and it had to be American themed- so red, white, and blue.  We'll just say that the fabric left a bit to be desired, so I decided to get my painting on.

These are the two designs that I decided to do.  I used the Lumiere paint, but this time was a little more difficult, mainly due to the fabric.  The red fabric soaked up paint like no tomorrow.  And each stripe took forever.  I enlisted the help of the same friend to do the rest of the painting.  We spent three hours straight painting on Tuesday night.

We ended up being able to do ten aprons with the original design, before I ran out of white paint.  We really wanted to make all twelve, so I decided to do Christmas themed aprons for the last two.

I free handed the Christmas trees, which used up 90 percent of the green paint I had.  It was kind of fun to glob it on though after having to be so careful with the white stripes.  Even with masking tape, we had to brush lightly, so that we could extend the white a much as possible. 

I decided to make the pockets into presents with a bow.  On the tree I was going to paint ornaments, but decided that lights would be better.

Being the overachiever that I am, I decided to finish the pockets and the apron with bias binding.  I had a bunch that I had bought from Jo-Anne's at I think 75% off.  I did part on Friday night and part on Saturday.  Ten aprons and pockets, that a lot of bias binding.  I did finally get it down without using pins.  Yay me!

I didn't think that the Christmas ones would look good with white bias binding, mainly because there was no white used anywhere in these aprons, so I had to go to plan b.  On Saturday, I went to a fabric store that I thought was maybe a 15 minute drive, but turned out to be closer to 25 minutes (as we had to drive a couple miles past it to turn around).  I thought that it would be cheaper than the lux ones closer to my house.  It was.  I got a meter and a half of thick yellow lining for $4.00 and a ton of trim for about $25 (34 meters of ribbon, two zippers, 12 buttons...), but I don't think I'll return to this store as it's difficult to get to.

The aprons aren't done, as I decided on Sunday that I needed some selfish sewing, so I made a pair of pants.  Wearing History's Smooth Sailing Trousers (found here) to be exact.  It has gotten quite cold here, so I wanted a pair of super cosy, but easy to wear pants.  I used the same wool/cashmere and lining as my Marine Ball gown.  (I actually bought more just to make the pants.)  I only made two changes to the pattern (well three if you count lining it).  First- as the wool/cashmere likes to shrink even with pre-treating it, I changed up the waistband.  Instead of using interfacing and folding it over, I made it out of two pieces.  Like my Marine Ball belt, I used coutil as the backing.  It came out nicely.  Second, I used a button and buttonhole instead of a hook and eye.  Here are some detail shots.

 My plan was to make a top to go with it tonight, but I am worn out.  My little guy has decided to not sleep.  He's been fighting going to bed and then waking up at 5 AM.  This has been exhausting me for the last week.  Luckily tonight, he was tired and went to bed fairly quickly, but I had no energy to whip up the top I wanted.  Oh well, I have plenty to wear with the pants.  I hope to take pictures tomorrow.  

And on a final note, here are some cute pictures of that little guy.  Oh and if you're in Kyiv and want to buy a patriotic apron- you should totally check out the IWCK bazaar this Saturday.  It's at Olympskiy stadium on this Saturday, December 6, from 10-5. It's for a good cause- all the proceeds go to charity.  Until next time Happy Sewing!

A Brief Pause to Finish an UFO

Oh unfinished objects, how do you taunt me?  Last night instead of working on my V1419 Coat, I set it aside and finally finished my muslin for the Prada style dress that I started all the way back in July.  That seems like a lifetime ago.  I really have been missing Sao Paulo, especially now that winter has pretty much set it.  I miss the sunlight too.  Anyway,  here is a reminder of what inspired me:

found on Pinterest on Instyle Magazine's page, better pictures can be found here

 

 

 

 

 

 My progress was documented previously here and here.  I got caught up on the sleeves, as they were too poofy and the poofs were uneven.  Luckily I had only basted them in.  I unpicked them, and took out at least an inch of poof, maybe a little bit more.  This made them much more wearable. There are some other issues, that I'll have to figure out for the final dress, but I went ahead and wore it today to see how it worked.

Excuse the pictures, they were taken when I got home, so it was already pitch black out.

It was super comfortable to wear.   I think the changes I need to make are minor-ish.  I am going to take out some of the pleats- the ones closest to the seam on both the bodice and the sleeves.  I think that this will fix my couple of issues with it.  Here is the biggest problem I have:

Holy Batman- does it stick out in front.  Part of this problem is the lack of darts in the in the front, so there is excess fabric under the bust, making me look like I could be pregnant.  A belt would probably fix this.  I might also be able to sneak some of the fabric into the pleats?   I also need to add about a half inch- inch of ease in the sleeve.  The last thing I need to fix is the pleat on the side of the bust.  It's pulling forward too much, but I think that's just placement.  Taking out the pleat under the arm would mean I could scoot it over without any issue.

Here is the back.  Ugh, it's not looking so great in the pictures.  I promise in real life it's not so uneven.  The sleeves sit better and the hem isn't all wonky.  I had just taken off my coat, and made Conor take the photos.  It looks like I might be able to use just a smidge of room in the waist on the back.  It might be worth transferring a bit from the front, maybe that will fix the problem?

Anyway, I really wanted to wear it, because I adore the fabric.  In the end my love for the fabric outweighed the issues I have with the top.  Is it my most well done make? No way, but it's wearable, and I got loads of compliments on it it.   Let's take a closer look at some of the details.

See it's not just me- it makes my dress form look preggers.

The collar is even too, I promise, it's just not pressed well.  Ooops!

You can see the wonkiness in the side pleat here.  It will be fixed.  I think that it will end up at an angle to appear straight.

See the sleeves look more even here!

My first ever loop made with bar tacks.

The pleats I'm getting rid of, They just need to go!

There you have it, once I've finished V1419, I will probably go in and fix the issues and make the dress.  Or I might wait until spring/summer- since I can't wear it when it's 32F/0C.  I have also made progress on the coat.  The bound button holes are done, the pockets are in (I went with the side seam pockets), and the side panels are sewn in.  The sleeves are sewn and will be attached tomorrow, I hope, and then the back, and then the lining...  Here are a couple of the button holes.  They turned out pretty good.

 Well once again, it's well past my bedtime, so I'll have to leave it with these questions for you: do you finish projects for the shear love of the fabric?  How do you keep up with all the projects that you want to finish?  I have a list a mile long of garments I would like to make.  Anyway, until next time happy sewing!

Sewing Room Art

This week was a momentous week in my household, our art was hung.  Having art up really makes a space your own, right?  Especially when the vast majority of the furniture isn't yours.  It has made a difference in how I feel at home.  The biggest impact I think is in my sewing room.  I love how it turned out so much that the red carpeting isn't bugging me as much.  That is saying a lot!  (On that note, I think I have it figured out.  The issue has been bunching- both the carpet squares and the carpet have bunched up when I've laid it down.  But I haven't used a rug pad, which I think is the missing factor.  Maybe I'll pick one up this weekend to see if it makes a difference?)  Enough of me rambling, I'm sure you want to see how it turned out!

As it has turned grayer and colder, I have been missing Brazil more and more.  I thought that I would bring some of my favorite parts of Sao Paulo to Kyiv.  You may even recognize some of these photos from previous blog posts (Perhaps this one and this one?)  All the pictures are from either the Sao Paulo Botanical Gardens or Batman's Alley.

I had our picture hanger hang them on every dark blue stripe- it made the spacing much easier.  He and I went back in forth on how to ensure they were level and spaced correctly top to bottom.  He did pretty well I think.  Below the pictures are bulletin boards that I covered with batting, white cotton and then ribbon from Turkey.  You can't tell in this picture that the background of the ribbon is turquoise.  (I would take another picture, but it's late, so you'll just have to trust me on that!)

Here is the other side.  I split up both the bird and the flowers below them to keep all the pictures square.  When I was in college, my parents bought me a medium format camera- as I was a fine arts photography minor, and I've loved square photographs since.  To be honest, it really made me happy to create these photographs.  It really forced me to figure out who the newest version of photoshop works with my printer.  My printer is ten years old, but still prints amazingly.

Originally my plan was 16 photos on this wall, but I decided to use four in the living room, leaving me two photos short in the sewing room.  I had the carpenter put in the nails for the final two, which are currently at the framers.  I should be able to hang them up next week.  Now, I know you've been asking why would she have someone come and hang her pictures, when she can do it herself. 

This is why.  We don't have power tools, as we move from country to country and the voltage is different in every place.  (Also we have weight restrictions on what my work will pay for moving.) Well, that and I thought that the walls were concrete, but they're merely plaster, so I could have done hanging that just required nails.  However, my job will send out someone one time to hang all the artwork, so why not take advantage of it.  My sewing room has limited storage, so I needed a place for my patterns.  They are now above my sewing table and easily accessible, meaning I might actually put my patterns away.

This is a more accurate picture of how it looks.  After the carpenters left, I realized that I missed putting up one of my favorite groups of pictures.  In either my first or second photography class in college, the assignment was to make a mini-collection with photos from one square block.  This was D.C. in the late 90's/early 00's, so back when Chinatown was just one block and before the revitalization of the area.  I wrote a sentence in photos- Forbidden beauty equals enlightenment. 

Its a good reminder to find a little bit of beauty every day.

I have been progressing on coat, albeit, very slowly. I thought I had finished one front, and was about to move on the second, when I realized, there are too many layers to fold the lining back neatly.  So I set it aside and started the belt- trying the bound buttonholes there differently, but still using both fabrics.  That didn't look as nice as I thought either, so I went back to the drawing board, and decided to just use one fabric for the button holes.  I ripped out all the ones on the front, and redid one.  I think it will work.  I haven't actually sewn it in, but you can fold the fabric even with the masking tape still on the back of the button hole.  Hopefully this weekend I'll get some sewing done.

I'll leave you with one last picture- I moved all my sewing books.  They now have a storage spot in the closet, rather than on the windowsill.  This will save them from my lovely darling son.

How do you decorate your sewing room?  Do you store books in odd spots?  Let me know in the comments, I love looking at and hearing about other people's places and how they are utilized.  Until next time, happy sewing.

Shoe Tuesday, Shoes as Art?

Woah Nelly, two post in two days, and the third one this week?  Something must be up.  I've been wanting to write this post for the last couple of weeks, but haven't gotten around to it.  On a whim, about a month ago I bought a pair of shoes from ashburyskies.com.  These shoes were over the top ridiculous, but the thought of them made me happy.  I was super excited to get them two weeks ago, and on a Tuesday went to wear them.  I was so excited for shoe Tuesday, but then, I left for work.  I made it almost to the parking garage, when I realized that there was no way I could physically wear these shoes.

The heels were too high, and there was no give in them.  They made my ankles turn.  Dejectedly, I hobbled back home and put on some more sensible shoes.  Now, what to do with these lovely things?  They've been hanging out on my dresser, just chilling.  My coworkers have suggested that I bring them to work so I can sit there and stare at them during the day.  What do you think?

You may wonder what is so special about them, but you have yet to see the heels. 

Yes.  I spent a fairly significant sum on bambi shoes.  They're just so happy.  Here are some more shots of them.  What do you suppose I do with them?

The pictures in the background are part of my art collection.  The abstract was given to my husband by his father.  The one on the right is our art purchase from Brazil.  It's by an artist named Jaca.  We bought two of his lithographs, because his paintings are out of price range.  Hopefully all the artwork will get hung up this week.  Then our apartment will finally be fully in order.

Moving on, I started my next project today- V1419  I am late to the sewalong run by Meg from McCall's and Lauren from lladybird, but hopefully I can finish it before next week. 

 

I've decided on a couple of changes- first and foremost, I decided to line it.  The pattern calls for finishing all the seams with bias binding- which my fabric is a brocade that is printed only on one side.  The other side is bright white, so it would look weird.  I also reduced the flare in the sleeves by a four inches.  They'll still be plenty flare-y, but not as much as the original.  The other change (which I am debating as I look at the line drawing, was the move the welt pockets to seam pockets.  I think that might do the welts.  The repeating horizontal lines would be interesting.

Here is the fabric I am using.  One of the most interesting features are the button holes.  They are bound,  I spent most of the day figuring out how to make them with the lining.  I think I got it figured out.  Hopefully it will work out.  I am about 3/4ths of the way done with the first one.  What do you think?  Do you think it will work?  Of course the basting will go away.

 

 Well, it's past my bedtime, so I'll leave it here.  I am super excited for this jacket.  I have my fingers crossed that it turns out as cool as it looks in my mind.  Until next time happy sewing!