Moving along...

I had a busy sewing day yesterday, and managed to finish up Mitch's new pants. This is my extensively altered version of Burda 7841, AKA Mitch's favorite pants. The last pair were made out of a linen blend and I didn't do any fancy details. They were my wearable muslin. Who knew that they would become his absolute favorite pants?? While that makes me very happy, it means I have more sewing to do!! The man needs pants that fit!So, the second pair are a bit fancier, with side slash pockets instead of patch and out of a far dressier material. Mitch came with me fabric shopping and chose it himself. He even picked his own buttons! He wanted the patch pockets on the rear, which I was fine with, since the alternative is welt pockets and while I am capable, they take forever. The only problem is that the pants are just a smidge too big. Mitch lost 10 pounds between this pair and the last! Go Mitch, but that means that I need to alter the pattern again.

I also put together the father and son matching tees. Beth's serger made it a breeze!
Cute, eh? I love raglan tees! No sleeve to set in. They still need hemming, and I spent an hour this morning figuring out how to switch over the serger to do cover stitch. I got it all set up, tension perfect on my test swatch, and Myra woke up. I guess they'll get finished later, but at least the machine is ready! I can definitely see why someone who sews a lot of knits would want a separate cover stitch machine, though. Switching it over is an involved process!

Verdict:

They fit!!

And he likes them!!

Whew!

Slacks - take 2

Poor Mitch gets a bit neglected when it comes to my sewing. I've been trying to give the poor guy equal sewing machine time, but I've run into a snag or two here and there.My first snag was these lovely pants. They are fabulous flat front straight leg pants in a lovely pale beige herringbone fabric that Mitch picked out himself. They feature welted pockets, a fly front and attached waistband. They are fabulous. If only they fit... Also the fly came out a bit wonky, but still!! Also, they took about a week and a half to make. That's lot of sewing time, folks. Here is attempt number 2. Mitch requested that this time I make them with porkchop pockets on the front and patch pockets on the back. Sweet! Much easier than those stupid welts. I spent a great deal of time measuring and tissue fitting to get the size right. I'll let you know on that one when he gets home to try them on. I made a significant number of changes. We needed a sway back adjustment, additional space through the rise as well as a few extra inches in the thighs and leg for comfort.

Here is a closeup of the front. Porkchop pockets as requested and a nice un-wonky fly thanks to Sandra Betzina.

Pending the fitting I will say that this went much smoother the second time around. Only two sewing days in the making, and I really like this pattern. If Mitch likes these he will definitely get some more!

Fly front genius

I am in process on a pair of pants for Mitch. I really love this pattern, but my last attempt was less than successful. For one thing, they didn't fit AT ALL. And for another, the fly was wonky. See what I mean? The zipper isn't underneath at all, just hanging out there at center front, where a zipper has no business being. I was highly annoyed!! Fit issues are no problem - them I can fix, but I wasn't sure what to do about that zipper! The pattern instructions provided me with little help. What do you think?

Anyway, I was a little concerned... So, I went to BurdaStyle to see if there was a How-to and found that someone had linked this completely amazing video how-to from Sandra Betzina. She is amazing. The video is amazing and completely clear and easy to follow. Now I have a zip front fly!!