Made By Me!

These aren't the best photos. They're a bit shaky, sometimes blurry, and dark HOWEVER... the pants are done. This is my first pair of pants in the eighteen months since I took the Palmer/Pletsch pant fitting workshop in Portland. It was a great class and the information stayed with me. I didn't even have to check their book. Love that - when we've absorbed information in such a way that our hands move with ease. YES YES!

The back looks great. The pants fall nicely from the hips without any wrinkles through the crotch. See that slight caving at the knees? While tissue fitting, I paid the most attention to the back since that's where I've had issues before. The dropped curve of the crotch seam is perfect only I added too much length to the center front seam. You can see that the crotch is a bit baggy in this front image and that there are some light wrinkles at the front hip. Those transfer to the back with that knee sagging. As I learn about fit, I'm amazed at what a difference even 1/4" can make.

This is even more. When I pin out the 3/4" that I added to the center front - which was dumb since I have a tipped waist - the crotch is lifted into a better position and the hip wrinkles and knee sagging disappears.




Next time I'll also narrow the front by eliminating the width of the dart all the way down from waist to hem. I should have fit the pants wearing pantyhose as they're a bit too wide, not a lot but I can pinch about 1/2" each side. I didn't realize the pantyhose sucked me in quite that much. LOVE them even more now - LOL.




Overall, I'm pleased. The pants aren't perfect but they're not horrible either. If I'd been willing to take off the waistband and lift center front 3/4" tapering to the side, they'd have been right on through the crotch. I wasn't - at least not right now - but I've made those changes to the pattern and it's ready to go for the SWAP.

On Saturday, I sewed the New Look 6149 wrap out of a grey t-shirt knit. I've sewn two New Look patterns recently and have enjoyed how well drafted they are. I'm not sure why but I always thought of this pattern line as cheap in terms of quality as well as price. I'm changing my opinion and looking at them more often now PLUS... they are less expensive which is nice.



Here's the wrap with the pants and the t-shirt from a few weeks ago. This is the first time in YEARS and YEARS that I'm wearing an entire outfit made by me. What fun.




I wore this outfit to the theater Saturday night, to church Sunday morning, and then gave the pants to my girlfriend. She's lost over 100 pounds in the past two years and is one size up from me. She'll wear them until she shrinks out of them and then I'll take them in.

I prefer fitted clothing so my changing weight is causing some issues - like constant fitting and re-sewing. Yesterday, I started on my Christmas outfit using the "Von Trapp Family" skirt pattern - Simplicity 2516 - and in just the few weeks since I tested it, my hips are 3/4" smaller. That's fine. It just means altering the alterations. I'll tell you about them later in the week. Tomorrow, more about the wrap.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - the last several Saturdays have been spent sewing in my studio. It's wonderful to feel so happy again. I'm grateful to have these skills and to be able to use them. I'm not sure how I went so many years without sewing fashions. It's obviously something I enjoy very much. I'm grateful to be able to do it again.

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Personal Growth - Years ago, when I would put out the nativity scene, the kids would move the characters around and it would irritate me. Back then, I was very particular about how the pieces looked. As I matured, I realized that it wasn't all that important and the shuffling became a joke between the kids and I. I'd set out the pieces, they'd move them, I'd move them back, and this would carry on for the season. Last year, the pieces never moved. So far this year, they haven't moved. What used to irritate me now makes me sad. I am reminded to enjoy fully the spot where I am right now, to not make a big deal out of things that don't matter, to focus on the relationships and not the "stuff", and to take a good look at what's irritating me. Is this something minor, something silly, something I'll miss a few years down the road and wish I'd immersed myself in more fully at the time?