Cali Faye Hampshire pants x 2

It's long been on my list to make these pants again, sizing down.
I made an XXS this time - down from an S.

The model in the photos wears an S, has my measurements, and yet the pants fit her. When I made my first pair (here) they fell off me and were dangerous to wear in public for that reason.

This fabric is a most delicious shade of terra cotta, stretch corduroy. Unfortunately the piece on etsy was 70 cm long, and the piece I measured after washing was 61 cm long.  So I made do and cut them as long as the fabric allowed - I'll have some great long shorts for summer (and conveniently enough, summer is on its way).  I recall liking the instructions for the fly, and now I have to say after making Persephone pants this fly didn't seem quite as great.  I sewed the crotch, and then cut into the seam allowance to fold that SA over separate from the fly.  Seems like I also um sewed the fly shut but anyway that was fixed rapidly enough.  I overlocked everything and didn't do any french seams.  I'm sure when the novelty of the overlocker wears off I'll be french seaming stuff again but I'm not there yet.

I couldn't sew the buttonhole in Arizona, so these fell into the black hole of travelling luggage and emerged in time for summer.  I managed to get a buttonhole into them because I've learnt how to use a bartack to just sew my own buttonhole.  Trying them on for these photos I think I will hem the bottoms because they end awkwardly right at my knees.  The pockets gape a LOT but these feel luxurious!  They are a bit stretchy and the pocket bags are silk noil. 

In the meantime I thought the fit was fine, so I cut into my secret sweatpants material - from Miss Matabi on etsy, this was described as sweatshirting, with a hard exterior, like it's painted on, and with no stretch. After a full wash and dry cycle, the material does have a (very) little stretch and although the blue exterior is smooth, it's not hard or boardlike. I would maybe have benefited from raising the mid-back a bit where it dips towards my bum, and what I did do was a kind of on-the-fly quadriceps enlargement - I just pulled the pages of my taped pattern apart to add some room in the front of the thighs. I thought that might make the pockets pull less. Plus my massive muscular thighs always benefit from extra space.

The fabric really does have some give and these now match the photos of the designer, despite sizing down 2 sizes from the recommended chart. And excuse me from totally reusing photos of a tank top I have talked about elsewhere, I reckoned after so much effort the pants deserved their own post! This fabric has a fluffy inside which sheds onto everything, but they are otherwise really lovely and cozy.

The side pockets of these stick out quite a bit, and now that I've made them a few times, I'd probably stick with XS in future but I think in the meantime I'll look for pants with more flattering front pockets.  Oddly enough, my very first pair, oversized as they are, remain among my favourites...

Patterns for Pirates linen loungers in silk wool houndstooth

I made a bunch of major changes from version 1 (here) to this version.


I went from S to XXS.  I lengthened the legs by 2 inches, and I used the yoga waistband.  I also switched up the pocket options.

This pattern went pretty smoothly the second time around. The fabric is a silk-wool blend which tends to be slippery and shreds.  I went for as many french seams as possible though I did not enclose the waistband.  I realised my mistake and went back over it with FOE (not sure this was the best option.)  It looks a bit ridiculous inside but holds everything in.

I still used the shaped hem, I had to cut the straight edges off it since my lengthened leg pieces continued to narrow, but they still matched up at the important curved bits.  

I could definitely have gone with the XS instead of exaggerating!  These are a snug fit.  The pockets are useless because my thighs need that space.  And this drapey light fabric also creates really a different kind of fit.  Once I made these the weather changed and I didn't get a chance to wear them.  They were sitting around waiting for me to take photos and decide what to do next, when my housemate saw them and fell in love.  She is slimmer than I am and they look great on her - the slightly shiny fabric suits her aesthetic perfectly so I donated them right away and I think she has been wearing them for 2 days straight : )  I'm pretty happy with that result.  If I can get her to take pictures I'll add them!

Next time I will go with the XS.  I could imagine playing with the yoga waistband again, but I would wait until I could serge it (no overlocker was available when I made these.)  For now as the weather cools I have no intention of making more shorts. 

Patterns for Pirates Linen lounger shorts in ikat

Sewing day, episode 3.

My friend Tessa has been inviting me over once a week for a sewing day.  This has been very instructive.  First, to see how someone else sews.  Tessa is prolific.  Also she has returned my faith in just taping pdf patterns instead of tracing them.  But I have mostly been buying A0 printouts which is fantastic.

Second is that when I have a day to sew, and I really can only sew during that day, but it's also fun and social, I am very clear on what I plan to do.  And I do it.  And then afterwards I go home and I honestly assess if I care to wear that item and whether it was worth driving around and not surfing all day.  It's helped me to stay honest with myself about how sewing really should not be the centre feature of my existence. 

I decided to make some shorts for Sewing day, week 3.  Last week I was doing some pattern testing which was very stressful, and in fact Tessa will be lending me a sewing machine so I can do some sewing at home to finish all the pattern testing. So, will I turn back into overstressed sewing Sonia?  Remains to be seen...

These Linen Loungers looked great - so many options.  In fact other than the overly bubbly pattern presentation, my big problem with P4P is that there are so many options for each product that it can be hard to tell what you're doing, or follow instructions in a linear fashion.  For these shorts, you can make them short, longer, even longer, or as pants, with two different types of pocket, with or without a fly, with two different types of waistband...egad!

My fabric is a scrap of ikat I have been saving for shorts - purchased in Thailand.  It was a big step to go ahead and make untested shorts out of it!  But in a way that's why I sized up (if anything; my hips shrank in Nepal so now maybe they are 36") - because I reckoned for sure they would fit on my body, at least. 

I cut a size S based on my measurements.  I used the inside pockets and followed all the instructions for the bias binding despite initially thinking it seemed unnecessary.  It gives a great finish, and means the pockets are solid.  I used the curving hem bottom which also was a bit of work but is a nice finish.

And of course I went crazy over-overlocking, just because I could.  I now understand that you are supposed to straight stitch the seamlines, in order to get the correct seam allowance, and then overlock to finish things.  I get it now.  : )

My personal opinion is that there is a lot of fabric in these.  They are very relaxed fit.  And because of the waistband, and the ikat fabric being relatively thick, I feel like I ended up with a lot of fabric between my legs.  For people, anatomically speaking, who have thighs that don't touch, this is great.  But for those of us whose thighs rub together, I do not want extra fabric, because it turns into a big puddle right in the front of my crotch when I am walking.  So I was suspicious.

However everyone on instagram loved these right away and I have gone ahead and worn them every day to test them out...and they certainly function fine.  Nonetheless, for a second pair, were the right fabric to call my name, I would make the XXS, using the yoga style waistband, and lengthen them somewhat.  This length really is a bit on the short side.  Hah, ironically that means the excess fabric is sort of a comfort, if they are short at least they are baggy...

So at least for now looks like my friends hankering after these won't get them. 

Deer and Doe Chataigne shorts in Liberty cord

After my first pair of Chataigne shorts I was so excited to make a second pair!  I had this great Liberty fabric and the size 34 had fit really well in a stretchy fabric, other than being a bit short.  So I wanted to make them a touch longer, and thought in the nonstretch fabric a 36 would be perfect.

I had one meter of fabric, minus a bunch of little pieces that were apparently sent as swatches.  So I had to use lining from elsewhere.  I was nervous about ironing the cord but eventually stopped being very cautious about it. I generally tried to make sure I was ironing over two layers so that the pile wouldn't go flat, but it's pincord anyway and I could barely tell the difference when I didn't.

Construction went as before, except for a small caveat - in the meantime between cutting this out and finally making these shorts, about 3 months went by.  Wintery months.  So they never quite got to the top of my list and I only finally put in the effort and made them sometime in August. 

You can tell that I was lazy with ironing, but I was also lazy with the waistband.  They were so great, that I thought I'd hand sew the waistband down like I did on the first pair.  But I had so little time...so eventually I changed my mind and just stitched in the ditch.  This caused the waistband to twist a little and not lie perfectly flat.  It's not a big deal at all when I am wearing them.  Just the standard results of yet another move coming up - rushed sewing.

There was a tiny pleat right at the v front - I marked the front, I did everything right, and still I couldn't get it to come out perfectly!  But the busy fabric saved me as it's pretty invisible in there.  I also forgot to make them much longer so I used hem tape - just used about 2 mm of the hem and then folded the tape inside.

They are great!  I didn't finish them in time to take them on vacation to Australia, unfortunately, but in December when I get to Australia (semi-permanently) they will get lots of use.

However after making this pattern a few times, I think that the pockets are good, but the pleats in the front and the v of the waistband are less than flattering.  The butt bothers me a bit too if I am being picky.  I don't think I'd use these as a best-ever shorts pattern, but they are consistent with Deer & Doe sizing and definitely cute.

Deer & Doe Chataigne Shorts in stretch & flowers

Whenever I'm in The Fabric Store I lose track of my original set of plans and get a new set.  But after my last move I'm trying to be fluid with my projects and also move slower...less fast fashion!  Nonetheless while I was there I fell in love with some liberty cord that had flowers on it.  And I decided I needed Chataigne shorts. 

But this isn't liberty cord, you cry!  Yeah...in the leftovers bin I found a piece of this amazing stretchy sateen - I was totally eyeing it online last year but never bought any.  I thought I'd use it for the pockets on my Hampshire pants.  But once I got home I decided it would be even better to make practice Chataigne shorts from a stretchy fabric, especially when I realised I had enough original fabric for the Hampshire pants to do the pockets in the same stuff.  I'm totally milking the end of summer for all it's worth in my year of always-winter...

I have made this pattern before - in fact I think I bought it because I liked the waist detailing and I wanted to make pants.  What I learnt from that experience was that drafting a well fitted, shapely pant leg is not just a matter of extending lines.  Here is my Chataigne pants experiment, which I gave to a friend in Switzerland.  I didn't love the bagginess, the legs twisted a bit, and the hemp fabric didn't match my hopes but she loved it all.

The size 38 had also been way too big.  So I took a big leap and traced the 34 out of my pattern pieces.  Also I still had to get an invisible zip foot.  And as you see I didn't have enough fabric for the pocket facing or the waist facings so I had to get a scrap from elsewhere for that.  At the moment my stash is all future projects, no scraps yet so I didn't have anything lying around that I could use.

I actually french seamed the crotch on these and did some extra top stitching, mainly with the interest of everything lying smoothly.  The crotch seam idea is from my Hampshire trousers which will be up on my blog sort of soon...

I had a big hiccup when I was putting the front yoke in, naturally I didn't take it too seriously at first, sewed half of it, got the center V off center, and it was a big hairy mess.  The result does have a tiny crimp right in the middle but it's basically invisible so I left things at that.

I hand sewed the waistband down which was not really necessary but meant I could do it in the car.  I was literally finishing these at the last minute because I was only given a few hours notice to move out of my temporary housing, but I was so so keen to wear them!

Since then I've been nomadic waiting for May when I take possession of my new space...so things have stalled a bit.  I have about 12 projects to do and itchy fingers, mainly because of how I somehow didn't pack any tshirts.  (wtf?)

After wearing these I am so so so pleased with them.  I'm going to make some teal blue leggings to go with them for winter.  But I do think I'll size back up to the 36 for the non-stretchy version because the fit is so perfect I just can't imagine it being ok without stretch.  Or?  smaller seam allowance?    I might start to use this waistband to measure my size because I don't think I have ever had one that fit so well!

 

Megan Nielsen Reef shorts

I bought the Reef pattern to make the top, but I had some of this fabric left over after making my Grainline Willow so I cut out the shorts (yes in August) on a whim.  However, I didn't have enough for the inside of the shorts hem pieces.  These two relatively small pieces literally held the process up for months, because the main fabric is a spongey, very drapey rayon woven, and I wanted something with the same fluidity.  Everything in my stash was sort of earmarked, and I wasn't sure I had enough yardage, so I waited.

I cut a size XS, and I didn't cut the pockets because I thought they would mess up the lie of the shorts, and anyway I don't need pockets in lounge shorts.

Finally after a possibly bad idea shopping spree online at Mood, I had fabric.  Enter the pale blue Rag & Bone stretch silk.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of it - I'm thinking of making a two-layer Briar...

Easy to put together.  I used french seams on the sides and zig zags on the centers.  I did sew in the ditch for the waistband, very painstakingly, but I admit I'm finally flipping sides on this issue.  Sewing in the ditch invariably misses something.  I like it in theory - I mean, I like the action of sewing in the ditch, but the results are not very nice.  You can see the line of stitching, missed fabric on the inside, and it looks messy.  So I sewed the silk hems up by hand.

I can't say these are the classiest, or that they are the most flattering, but I quite like my haphazard pattern matching, I love the luxury of a bit of silk in there, and they are super comfortable.  Of course, they aren't exactly season-appropriate...and it looks like I'm planning an endless winter this year, so it may be awhile before they become season-appropriate...but they were amazing on my recent trip to Thailand!

Ironically I think I will get a lot more use out of this shorts pattern than I will out of the Reef top.  I'm still kind of puzzling how to improve that top for a wide back, and how to avoid the facings, but for now it seems like too much work to tackle.

Grainline Maritime shorts in wool

Are you shocked that I'm finally making a summer item when it's near summer?  Never fear...I started these in February.  It's only on accident that they're being finished in a season-appropriate fashion.

This fabric is a lightweight wool that I found as a scrap from Nancy's Fabric Shop on Queen Anne in Seattle.  It's a lovely shop to go into but similar to Global Fabrics in Wellington it can quickly eat up your money!  The ladies there really know what they are doing and give thorough advice. 

I figured this pair of Maritime shorts would be a muslin for another pair that I want to make in another heavy fabric - a beautiful tweed that I have found...but first things first.  Everyone else had some fit issues with the shorts so I wasn't sure how mine would go.  Based on chats I had with Lizzy, I cut out a 6 to start.  I had some trouble figuring out the front pockets and I didn't feel like the Grainline photo tutorial helped at all.  It just showed more pictures of the same confusing thing!  Eventually I put all the pieces together in the right way, at least of the pockets, and I didn't have more trouble after that.

The rest of construction was straightforward until I got to the fly.  I was making my dad's Burda trousers at the same time, and with similar pieces, but the very confusing instructions led me astray.  (The Burda instruction should have helped, but didn't.)  Something about my fly is wrong.  It took me ages to figure this out, but shouldn't the zip be hidden by that bit of fabric?  

Oh and that bit of striped ribbon?  Yeah, that was where the waistband was totally not the same length as the lining...

Unfortunately these shorts languished while I was in Switzerland and so they became a bit of a UFO.  They were finished in short order, with no real further problems.  The waistband was too short.  And funny shaped.  I had initially put it together wrong but I'm pretty sure I fixed that, but still it has a few wrinkles - and again I found the directions less than helpful.  I left my Thurlow pattern in New Zealand but I think I'll buy it again because it has the most straightforward pants explanations, and I prefer to do the stupid fly first and get it over with, rather than leaving it for last.

Sorry about the spots, my mother fixed the camera afterwards but didn't take any more back views.

The size six fit fine, and I didn't make any adjustments. I am not sure I love these enough to make a lot of them (mainly because I don't wear very many shorts except one hideous pink pair that will last me another 20 years) but I might try lengthening them first into knee-length shorts and see what I think.

These were done in time to wear them for Me-Made-May, hurrah!