Several months ago, I enrolled in the Pants Fitting Class at Craftsy. I've been watching the videos at a leisurely pace, and I finally dove in and made a muslin. Then altered the muslin. I'm not going to show you the first one. It was SO. BAD.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Catching up: muslins and pockets and presents
Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I posted last! The mojo has taken a bit of a nose dive, although I have been sewing some, just all behind the scenes sort of stuff.
Several months ago, I enrolled in the Pants Fitting Class at Craftsy. I've been watching the videos at a leisurely pace, and I finally dove in and made a muslin. Then altered the muslin. I'm not going to show you the first one. It was SO. BAD.
No bad, eh? So, I transferred all of the changes I made to the pattern, and sewed up a second muslin. I never do that, but I wanted to follow the class and get the muslin right before I plow right in to the fashion fabric. I'm glad I did because the second one was WAAAAY too tight. No pictures of that either. I couldn't bear to take any. I slashed open the front princess seams and made some more alterations. Then I ran out of steam. I just don't know if I am going to move forward with these pants.
So naturally, the most logical thing to do when you can't get a pair of pants to fit is to make a pair of jeans, right? Since I know the Jalie pattern fits me with minimal alterations, I traced the higher waist version and just cut. No muslin, no tissue fit. I just wanted to sew. I'm sure this will bite me in the butt, but I'm actually having fun with these, so I don't care. Like my pockets? I was feeling a little wild, so I went with asymmetrical, a la Tanit-Isis.
In between, when I couldn't decided what I wanted to sew, I decided to do some reorganizing of the stash. Whenever new fabric comes into the stash, I immediately pre-treat it so that it will be ready to cut whenever the mood strikes. The exception to this is pure wool and silk (and blends of the two). I've always been nervous about just throwing these fibers in the wash, but I know I won't take finished garments to the dry cleaners, so I need to find a way to make them conform to my clothing care style. I've decided that I'm going to wash all the silks on a delicate cycle and hang them to dry. That way, even if I lose a little sheen, at least I'll actually wear the finished garments. I'm contemplating doing the same with the wools. I've even tried out a wool that wasn't too dear and it came out well, so I'm pressing forward. I really want these fabrics to have a home in my closet and life.
But I saved the best for last! The lovely and talented LadyKatza sent me this wonderful package, and it arrived a couple of days ago. Myra immediately grabbed the Princess patterns and carted them around the house all afternoon, asking me when I was going to make them for her (and me!). The fabric is a fabulous embroidered twill with a generous stretch that runs with the grain. Myra wants it, but I think it may end up as a pencil skirt for me. It's so fun!
Several months ago, I enrolled in the Pants Fitting Class at Craftsy. I've been watching the videos at a leisurely pace, and I finally dove in and made a muslin. Then altered the muslin. I'm not going to show you the first one. It was SO. BAD.
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9 comments:
Frankly, dry cleaning clothing and children just don't mesh. I wash silks on delicate and then hang to dry (which drives my dearly beloved nuts, but I ignore that). I don't wear wool because I just can't stand the itch. That twill really is pretty, and will make a wonderful skirt for you. Depending upon how much there is, of course, there could be a twirly skirt for Myra in it, too...
Love the pockets for your jeans - fabulous! Myra will look darling in her new Princess outfits.
Heee! I'm so glad those found a happy home. I need to post more about what you sent, too. My blogging mojo has been.. meh.
Silk I prewash in the sink with shampoo, and hand-wash the resulting project. For wool, I turn on the faucet in the tub until it's hot, and then sort of dip the wool into it so that every part is damp but it's not saturated. A lovely, splurgey wool I did this to recently ended up seriously water-spotted, so I tossed the whole thing in the washer on delicate because I didn't have anything to lose. It came out of the washer just fine, so I may switch to that for the future.
Love Myra's mermaid costume! It's so adorable!
Fun pockets! I haven't started my pants from the class but the shorts were good, so fingers crossed! Your second muslin is nice; I hate that the third went downhill. I know how you feel though, I gave up on my first button-up shirt after 4 muslins, and I haven't made one yet! At least you got back on the horse...
I've just signed up for the same Craftsy class but waiting for the pattern to come. I don't know if it will suit me but I am going to give it a try. Those jeans pockets are super. Did you use couching on them?
Brenda in the Boro UK
I'm sorry that you're having a rough go of it with drafting a muslin for the pants fitting class. But I love the jeans pockets you're doing!
Hand dyed silk scarves are washed in hot water to remove the sizing and then steamed to transfer the dyes and then washed again in hot water to remove excess, hung to dry, and then ironed on high to remove wrinkles. The end result is a soft hand and sometimes some soft wrinkling. You can see this on the scarf that I featured on my blog a few days ago. Click on the picture to see it in more detail or email and I'll send you the jpg. I wouldn't be afraid to wash the silk. You may want to add something to set the dye - vinegar is a choice.
I'm less knowledgeable about working with wool. Sometimes it felts in interesting ways, other times it's just fine. I don't keep any fabric that doesn't make it through a hot wash/hot dry. Sometimes I need to figure out a new purpose after seeing how the fabric morphed in the process.
It's a informative and enjoyable article. Hopefully it help me in my professional life.
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