Named Alpi Chinos - pattern experiments.

Digging through my big dropbox of patterns, I found this. I recalled that back in 2015 I was really keen to make these trousers! So excited! And somehow, time ran out and they didn't get made.  So I became again very curious how the Alpi chinos are doing and wanted to see for myself. 

I have this very pretty light corduroy fabric from The Fabric Store.  A bit wild.  Hm, if I got more, I would make a wee jacket, in fact...but I decided it would be good for these pants.  I made size 38 according to the size chart.  Seems like when you buy a Named pattern, you only get a few sizes?  Or did I print layers?  It doesn't matter - seems that this pattern has gone off their website, so it's no longer available.  I did impeccable pattern matching on both the front pockets and the back.  And I do love the tui and kowhai inside the pockets -it's really my favourite of the New Zealand quilting cottons.  Overall the parts of this project please me so much.

Simple pants, I don't recall my opinions on doing the fly - since everyone seems to reinvent how to do a fly zip, but I got them done and put them on and realised...2015 was a long time ago.  And that low waisted trouser style from 2015 was hard to fit then and it is both hard to fit and kind of unstylish now.  By which I mean the upper hips were way too big.  So I added in some big back darts and took in the back waist before adding the waistband, and I got them to the point where they wouldn't fall off.  It made me lose my interest in these a bit.  I already have the Cali Faye Hampshire pants - I don't believe Cali Faye exists anymore, but the trousers are a great fit on me if I want that kind of style.  Basically, I don't need any Alpi Chinos in my life.  And higher waisted things look way better on me. 

 

 

 

Went to a friend who has gotten a bit hippier than I am. Yay friends!  Thank you so much for loving what I make!

another Greenstyle repeat: the Lumia hoodie, take two.

The Lumia hoodie, version 1 (see it here), was an ok fit but still very long on me. 

It also seemed like it could handle pretty heavyweight sweatshirting. 

I hated my mixed fabrics (a friend loved it, so it went to her!)

So I got this nice heavy sweatshirting from The Fabric Box and matching rib as well. I remembered to shorten my rib!

Still size C. This time I shortened it further in the front by just cutting the bottom upwards a bit, and lengthened the back hem, since it seemed to sit relatively high on me compared to the front. So that was functionally a hi-low hem alteration. I didn't shorten it further through the middle, since I didn't want to shorten the design feature too much.  I think I could shorten it above the pockets if I still wanted it shorter next time.

It was an easy sew. I still didn't use twill tape on the back of the zip, but I'm happy with this hoody. It's heavier than current Lululemon ones since the hood is lined and my fabric is quite heavy (and of course because the current Lululemon quality has become super shit!)

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.