Deer & Doe Acajou pants review

I schemed these quite awhile before I could make the time to actually sew them. The fabric is a lovely green Japanese suiting from The Fabric Store, which fit my vision of slightly scruffy and yet very cool man pants just right.  I read through the (few) blogs available to help me out - is it just me or are old blogs vanishing as Google supplants them by paid search content??

Anyway those blogs were useful, and I ended up removing 2" from the rise. They have a very long rise. I cut size 36, no other modifications. 

I don't think I enjoyed the fly particularly.  As usual, reinventing the wheel is annoying, everyone does it differently, there are 1000 methods and I don't really KNOW one of them so well to use it all the time so I always follow the fly instructions.  The results are fine, the fly looks good.  

 

 

Pants are a satisfying sew!  Wool suiting is a great fabric to sew with, very well behaved.  I love how there is elastic hiding in the back waistband of these - which in my case is very barely doing anything, and yet it cinches my waistband in just right.  

Total success, I love these pants.  They are exactly what I hoped for - a high waisted pant that will go with everything cropped.  A new shape, because we are kind of sliding out of the old shapes and into the new shapes lately.  I've noticed that in my dissatisfaction with my current jeans.  It's good to have some basic shapes, but as the styles change it's *exciting* to have new and different shapes too, and that's where sewing comes in.  Now that my new sewing room is up and working it feels like I can do anything!  

Also a sad wave goodbye to Deer & Doe patterns - one of the best (for my body shape) and will be sorely missed.  I know companies come and go but it seems like we had a dreamy decade with indie companies backed by drafting education, and supported (or hashed apart) by bloggers with engineering minds.  Now everyone is selling a pattern on etsy and half of them are other people's patterns : (  

High waisted Ginger jeans, a review

So, I have gotten in to the habit of making "themes" with my jeans. These were to be the jungle jeans, with the cute animal print pockets and a matching colour scheme.  But I had some irritations along the way, and by the end I was not very enthusiastic about these.  Certainly didn't help that when I pulled them on sans waistband they were way too snug.

 But to start from the beginning 

I've made the low waisted Gingers a number of times. Always using really hyperstretchy fabrics, borderline jeggings style, and they have always opened up to a horrific gaping waist.  I expected this pattern to be the magic fix.  I compared the fit of the pattern pieces and they are the same.  I made size 4, and based on how much fabric I had bagging up on my legs, I shortened the fit: 1 cm at the rise, 1 cm at the mid-upper thigh, and 1" off the hem.  

This is pretty normal stretch denim - it has some stretch, but you aren't going to do yoga in it. 

So when I got to that try on phase and I couldn't get the jeans on: 

I opened up the side seams another 3/8" which has improved the fit enough that I can get them onto my body, but overall I think they don't have a good butt fit - looks like a bubble butt, and despite the marked pocket location being ok on previous versions these are way too low.  I've never had a pair of jeans I put on and thought were actually completely unwearable, so this was really a blow.  I guess the ultra-stretchy fabrics I was previously using made a huge difference.  It may also be that the snugger fit makes the butt fit look worse.  Since before they were loose in that area I think it sat differently.  

 Excuse some of the colours in the photos, I overexposed them in various ways so you could actually see the jeans.

 

 So, I'm actually going to make another pair of Gingers. The low waisted Gingers.  In another very light, stretchy denim. I think if I narrow them towards the waist by shrinking the yoke and removing a wedge from the front waist I might be able to get a better waistband fit.  I also noticed when I read through my blog that I did a wide quads and a wide calf adjustment. I'm not sure why I didn't notice these since I had the pattern pieces out - you just slash through the middle of the pattern piece vertically, and spread it open like a fishtail dart.  It is probably hard to replicate precisely the same each time since it's not taped into position.  They wouldn't have made these jeans a success but I might have fit into them a bit better if I had realised and added that adjustment. 

Pattern Scout Cozi jacket in designer plaid

 While musing over the Janis jacket and other patterns I should generally avoid making, I suddenly thought of the Cozi jacket for the opposite reason. This pattern came to my attention when it was newly out, but I got distracted by the Friday Pattern Co at that time and it sort of faded in importance.  It does however fulfill all my criterial for a jacket layer - zip, pockets, etc.  I have been very focused on finding a pattern for this small piece of doublefaced plaid that I got during my last trip to the States and it felt like a personal fail to not have sewn it up prior to visiting the States again.  A lot of ideas have been discarded, but this jacket seemed like a good match so, with no time to waste, I put aside other plans and spent an extended period of time cutting it out in the hopes that I might finally successfully match some plaid. 

Started with size 4.  Sewing up the jacket was quick and easy but I stopped before adding in the zip as I didn't quite have one of the right length.  Was able to get a longer one in Auckland while up north for work, and finished the jacket on my return - just before I flew to the States.  

 

I don't know what I think of the sleeves. They are wide all the way to the end; I didn't do the version with elastics due to how heavy the fabric is, but it doesn't bother me when folded over.  

The jacket is pristine, I actually did ok with the pattern matching, it is cozy at the neck, just the right length, the pockets are a great shape. I have no complaints.  The real question: will it get worn???  Remains to be seen as all my stuff is now packed for an extended period of homelessness, followed by summer.

Greenstyle Veltori top, take 2

 After my first Veltori experience I knew I had to try again.  There's so much potential in a sporty zip front top!  Unfortunately I realised I was going to use a totally different size, and I am lazy, so the efforts waited until I sent some other things to the print shop and could get another copy of this printed.  This time around I went with size C, whereas my first version was size D.  I also chose a lovely textured merino knit from The Fabric Store (I have used it in white and was excited to see another colourway available). 

I was going to shorten it 1" plus 1/2" at the waist and I was thinking so hard about this that I...somehow forgot to shorten at the waist.  As before, the pieces are very confusing.  It's not clear until you are putting it together that you don't need the side inserts if you are doing a 1-colour back, but you always need the sleeve inserts no matter which version you make. 

The fit is much better than before.  It's still very roomy in my merino.  I find the neck sits much further out than I would like it to, since the point of the high neck is to be snug.  Even though I didn't shorten at the waist, the length isn't too bad. 

I used my own advice and interfaced along the zip, which helped, but I used knit interfacing and actually heavier woven interfacing would have been even better.

As is, this is a totally wearable top, but when I put in the zip I saw that I had managed to get a colour that is ALMOST but not quite right, and that put me off so hard.  A friend of mine saw my pictures and asked for it so it's going to her.  I'm oddly picky about my exercise wear - I prefer old, holey things to new stuff - and so I am perfectly happy with what I currently own.  This was still a really useful detour! 

Goldfinch studio Simone overalls - zero waste pattern review

 This pattern has been on my radar for a long time - I had some really specific desires in a pair of overalls. I hate loose ties, so the Burnside bibs are not quite right.  I wanted something with an oversized feel, to wear over my tight cropped sweaters which are otherwise getting neglected in my wardrobe.  The zero waste feature wasn't my priority, if anything it made these feel more daunting. 

I did at some point realise they had reached the top of my list this winter.  I've tried to really focus on a few super important seasonal projects and this was one.  I had also been inspecting the linen options for awhile. I wanted a heavyweight linen that matched the sweaters.  A dark grey was tempting but I couldn't find one that was the right weight. Eventually I splurged on this navy from Guthrie and Ghani when I was already buying some knits from them.  It was actually slightly cheaper than buying linen in New Zealand even when I calculate the shipping charges.  

I used the smallest of the provided sizes. You have options to use provided sizes, or to measure yourself and create a tailor made pattern.  I hadn't realised this - thought the tailor made option was the only one - and it did make me relax a bit. I still am uncomfortable just measuring and cutting fabric without pattern pieces, but at least I was already provided with the measurements. 

I started right at the edge of my fabric, assuming that's what I was meant to do, and so I caught the selvedge in one side, visible in the pocket.  My fabric was slightly wider than the zero waste measurements and I could comfortably have cut off the selvedge before proceeding.  

I also didn't really know how much fabric I needed - since I thought I had to measure myself, I hadn't read the instructions closely, and so I had too much. I can't really tell how close to zero waste it was. I believe I needed 2m and had bought 2.5. 

Once I did the measurements and cut my fabric out things definitely stopped feeling stressful. I used chalk on the linen and it all was pretty straightforward to measure and cut.  

Sewing was fun and simple. However more instruction on the ties would have been nice. How are they supposed to be tied? Are they better as two ties or as one long one?  I don't really understand!  I threaded one tie through the back, and one through the front.  I have tied them on each side. This gives me the ability to tighten the front and back to different amounts, and the ties don't make too obvious bows which would drive me crazy.  However, I always wear bags and purses on the right side and that tie is painful when it hits my bag, so if I made this again I might prefer a single long tie that only came out on the left side.  I have managed to tie the top so I can get in and out of it without untying. 

 

The front pockets are too shallow. I am going to sew the pocket opening higher a bit, as it's too big anyway, but I agree with the recommendation I have read to make the pockets about 2" longer. 

A bib pocket would have been useful.  I would actually put things in it.  Now I know. 

Learning moments aside, these have been great.  The crotch is too droopy for long walks but aside from that I really like these overalls.  I've experimented with various fitted tshirts as well as my sweaters to wear under them.  In the winter I can wear tights under and in summer the linen is like a nice cooling tent (I went to the States for two weeks, hence getting to experience both summer and winter within a month.)  The droopiness is a problem though as my legs rub together and so that limits their usefulness, and my crossbody bag rubbing over the right side tie has been pretty uncomfortable too.  Still they were a fun experiment and something I will definitely wear for lounging and short social outings.