On Friday, I'm driving him about an hour and a half out of town to work at a summer camp as a counselor for kids age 8-16. All of my children attended and then worked at this particular camp so I've been driving back and forth for the seventeen years. This may be my last year as I imagine if Kyle goes again, he'll be driving his own car. Right now, he doesn't have a driver's license. He will stay three weeks, come home for two, go back for another three, and after that, he plans to work for a year while he decides what's next.
For years, I thought of this last last day as the day that I could make a shift in my own life only I made it in January when I opted to take a job. It's been a good decision. I'm really enjoying both working and where I work. When I started, I decided that I was going to like everyone, that life was just too short for politics. That has been a good choice.
The end of Monday's saga at work was starting Aryck's pyjama pants only to discover that there wasn't enough of one of the fabrics. It was short by about 8". So (sew) frustrating. The Buy 1 Get 1 Free sale was on until today so yesterday I picked up two more flannel pieces, one for Aryck and one for Kyle. I wanted two pieces for Kyle only there wasn't a third choice that I liked. After inventory, there will be new stock and eventually, it'll be on sale and I'll get something else then.
Pyjama pants are the only thing I sew for my boys. I follow the same order of sewing every time so that I'm mostly sewing in the flat. It also makes hemming and inserting the waist elastic easier. I use 1" non-roll waistband elastic in black or white, whichever works for the fabric. In case you're interested, here's the order...
1. Sew and serge finish the in-seams
2. Re-enforce the in-seams with top stitching 1/8" from the seam line
3. Sew and serge finish the crotch seam
4. Re-enforce the crotch seam with top stitching 1/8" from the seam line
5. Serge finish the hem edges and the waist edges
6. Press up the hems 1 1/4"
7. Press down the waist 1 1/2"
8. Open the pressed edges, sew and serge finish the side seams.
9. Press the side seams in the same direction.
10. Fold up and top stitch the hems in place.
11. Fold down and top stitch the waist casing in place leaving a 2" opening.
12. Mark and insert elastic as described below.
13. Insert back marker.
14. Sew opening closed. DONE!
The back marker is a piece of colorful ribbon sewn into the stitching for the waist casing. It's easier to see something contrasting although in the past - when I didn't have anything else - I've used a scrap of the fabric. It doesn't really matter. The boys just like to have some way of identifying the front from the back since I don't bother sewing a fly front.
Before I insert the elastic, I push a pin through each end from top to bottom. That way if I'm overzealous and pull the other end back into the casing, I'll have another pin to carry it back the other way with. When I insert the elastic, I go in the direction the seam allowances are pressed so that I'm not hitting any of the edges and the elastic inserts easily. I also mark the "top" with a felt pen so that...
... when the ends emerge from the waist casing, I can easily tell if they are twisted and know that the colored markers are going to be placed one over the other and stitched together. It saves a lot of hardship.
Aryck's last pair of pyjamas totally ripped to shreds through the crotch and across the leg. It wasn't the seam. The fabric had simply had enough and gave up. HOWEVER... just in case... that's why I re-enforce the seams.
Kyle loves purple and plaid. He bought this shirt for $5.00 at Wal-Mart on a year end clearance only the sleeves were long. Since it's summer, he asked me to shorten them. On one, the plaid ran around nicely and I could cut on the line. On the other, it was skewed and I had to measure carefully. It's done and he can take it to camp with him.
After breakfast, I'm having coffee with Lorri, the lady who cooked twice a week for us for the past few months. Last Thursday was her last day. At coffee, we will talk about how it went, what our family liked, and what we'd like done differently so she can think about it over the summer and decide if she'd like to cook for us again the fall. If so, I imagine we'll be happy to have her since we've really missed her this week already. Monday, when I got home, there was no meal waiting. Same thing tomorrow. Darn.
AND THEN... the t-shirt pictures. AND THEN... sewing.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - the last last day of school
Safety pins on both ends of the elastic is brilliant! I can't believe I never thought of that before. So is marking the elastic so you can tell if it's twisted or not. And marking the back with a piece of ribbon. I've always just relied on leaving the casing open at the back as an indicator. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! I like to think of it as the first day - not the last :-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the end of school!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind comment. I have thought about comparing in one post the numbers of ways I've used a pattern, and your comment has encouraged me to get around to it. Thank you for the vote of confidence!