more on the dark teal pants

I'm trying to do a little bit most evenings. Tonight I made up and attached the waistband facing for the pants and also cut out some culottes/cropped wide pants in the leftover fabric.

I'll be out at my church group tomorrow night though I might be able to do a little before I go to that. Still to do...

1. machine stitch facing in place
2. check hem level
3. machine stitch hem in place
   

I try not to sew after 10pm at night as that is when all my stupid mistakes happen LOL.

Progress on teal pants

I put the zip into the dark teal pants last night. Its slow progress at the moment.
Steps still to do

1. iron interfacing onto facing pieces
2. sew facing pieces together
3. attach facing
4. trim and understitch facing
5. machine stitch facing in place
6. check hem level
7. machine stitch hem in place
   

I have reviewed this pattern before so I am not sure I will post a review on Pattern Review about it.

Then next will be the dark teal Loes Hinse 6 gore skirt and probably the Jalie cross over top.

I was tagged

Sew West (Nancy (nanflan)) tagged me on her blog http://sewwest.blogspot.com/ on 19th Jan but I was too dim to notice until now
Apparently the tag goes like this:-

1. someone tags you
2. you post five things about yourself that you haven’t already mentioned on your blog
3. you tag 5 people you’d like to know more about

So here's 5 things

1. I live in Cheshire, England, but was born in the far North East of Scotland when my parents lived there briefly. When I was still a baby they decamped back to England leaving me with only a Scottish birth certificate to show for it. So I'm not sure I can claim to be English, but sure can't be Scottish (unless I was good at something they have a National team for....)
2. I have a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science from the Univeristy of York, England and work for a large international IT firm.
3. DH and I have been married for 15 years, our wedding was at St Michael-le-Belfrey church in York, England which is next to York Minister. Our wedding was filmed by several tourists on their video cameras but we just have our still photos!
4. I took sewing class at school until I was in the school year before exams (O Levels), choosing extra Science instead and vowing to keep sewing on my own. Do you think the decision paid off?
5. I've been a Christian since I was 9 years old, with God graciously allowing me to take further steps in faith as I grow older and learn new things.

Now to find 5 people to tag...... obviously if you don't want to do it feel free to decline!
I heaby tag.....
http://laurasewingroom.blogspot.com/
http://www.lornajay.blogspot.com/
http://morzels.schneiderblog.de/
http://www.bluemooney.blogspot.com/
http://stephaniesews.blogspot.com/

Teal pants in process

I went back to the store where I bought the dark teal fabric to try to buy some more, but we were unable to find it. They admitted it might be there but they have no idea! They pulled down the ones which looked nearly right and I checked them out - no luck!
In the end I bought 3 small print remants, 2.5 metres of a black silk mix with self colour circle pattern destined for pyjamas and 3 metres of a toning teal fabric which I will use to make the gore skirt. An expensive lesson in calculate the meterage before shopping!

On a plus point I have started sewing the wide leg teal pants, and that is going well. I need some new ones of these in my wardrobe. The last pair were worn on a trip to see DH's sister and family, where I did crafts with 5 yr DNiece resulting in glitter paint on my pants which would not wash out! My fault for taking the craft set as a gift which contained the non washable paint.

I wonder if I could get some culotte pants (gauchos, cropped pants) out of the leftovers from the original teal fabric. The pants pattern has a cropped length which I have cut out before but never sewn up. I loved culottes when they were in back in the 80's and would like to wear a slimmer cut version again now.

Today I am musing about these two prints. I think I could wear them together. The fabric on the left (large leaves) is a drapey polyester and I think would make a lovely gored or flared skirt, the fabric on the right (small leaves) is a remnant of knit fabric which will be a tee of some sort.
I would not normally mix prints in that way but the colours, motifs etc work well together. The left fabric has a sheen to it so photographs a little lighter. The print works as a skirt with all the other top fabrics I have planned so the only question is if it works with the other print or not? And I think on reflection that it does.

Musings on the gored skirt

I don't think I'm so flamboyant a character that I can successfully wear the teal and green in a gored skirt together so I will take some scraps and go back and see if i can buy another metre of the fabric.
I would wear a dark teal skirt.

6 gore skirt thoughts

Ok I've moved onto my teal section of the SWAP. Its a very dark teal. I've cut out some wide leg pants (my TNT) and the proceeded to try to get one of the Loes Hinse Gore skirts out of the remaining fabric, and after 20 mins it is apparent that it ain't gonna work.
Then I recalled that I bought this same fabric (a drapey rayon????) in navy as well, so I had a mad thought. 'what if I cut out the 6 gore skirt, and 6 godets, 3 each in teal green and navy and alternate them'. What do you think? I have probably got enough of the navy to just make the 6 gore skirt all in navy.

Here's some similar ideas I saved from an old Boston proper catalogue, though try to imagine navy/teal alternate gores (and godets).

Orange blouse is finished

The orange blouse is finished since I sewed the button on today.
I previously made this same pattern (New Look 6315) in a dark green drapey polyester peachskin with collar, same colour machine embroidery and beading in gunmetal grey (it has a matching skirt and was for a Christmas formal party.

Orange blouse nearly finished & another applique layout

OK here's the blouse just needs hemming and buttons and the facing securing.

And here is another layout of the applique on the skirt

revised applique idea

Well I looked at some RTW items with embellishment and my petals seemed awfully large, so I am trying again with smaller petals.
Similar design layout, but much smaller petals, how does this one look?

Applique ideas

I cut some petal shapes out of the scraps of the orange fabric and arranged them with the cord on the brown skirt.
What do you think? Does it look like a huge price sticker or do you think it could work as a flower (I used all 10 petals I cut maybe 5 would be better?)
Maybe it would look more like a flower if I did stitching in the brown thread round each petal?

Maybe this version is better, you can see all the petals individually and a few up the stem as well.....

Orange blouse progress

See the photo of the now OOP New Look 6315, this was produced in 1994 when sleeves were looser and shoulders wider (fits me perfectly avoiding having to make a fat arm alteration). I have basically cut view B (on the far right) only with short sleeves as I was a bit limited on fabric, but in a size 18 so doesn't look quite as slinky as the drawings.

Progress has been slow sewing up the orange blouse as I have carried on being ill, but today I started to feel a little better and tried on the partly finished blouse to see what the fit is like. The back fits very nicely and I think it will work best as a light summer jacket over a camisole top though it can be worn alone as a blouse.

I marked the button cord loop placements, cut the lengths and fray checked the ends of the cords ready to apply soon.
I have some cord left over and some scraps of the fabric and they are saying floral applique to me. Maybe a tote bag or plain skirt...... something like this gorgeous skirt from Monsoon (http://www.monsoon.co.uk/invt/91183947)

Work on the orange blouse has begun

I have started on my orange blouse and boy is it orange! It's a mystery slubbed home dec fabric given me by MIL. The pattern doesn't overlap at the front, instead it meets and has an underlap to prevent show through with buttons and loops.
I think it could work almost as a jacket in the summer with a camisole top underneath and loose skirt or pants. Its a little short looking though, although cut as per the pattern (and I used all the fabric doing so).

The blouse's button loops are made from a bias strip and although I have made one successfully in this fabric it is still pretty chunky. I made thread loops as well but they don't look very good.
I did think I would go with the bias loop and maybe have 4 slightly larger buttons than the 5 smaller ones, but I had also thought of having ribbon loops, and Marji from Artisan's square suggested cord loops as used by Erica B, whilst KarenT suggests using rubber hair elastics in a toning colour. Being a borning brunette I only own hair elastics in dark brown!

I went to the sewing shop today and bought some orange cord for the loops and some darker orange buttons. I got 6 buttons as they are very small (maybe too small?)

Oops got the flu

This week I have the flu which is hampering my SWAP progress badly LOL! I haven't had flu for many years and I forgot how exhausted it makes you feel.
I shall try not to fret though, but just see it as having a sit on a bench whilst on my Woodland Walk.

Where next?

OK I've hit a wall with the brown extras I've been sewing and I think actually that once I have put the zip and waist finish onto the current pair of pants I will stop with the brown. Then change the serger threads to burnt orange and sew the orange blouse I have ready cut out. I only have one burnt orange garment to sew but its a top (which I'm short of thus far in the SWAP) and orange will be cheerful to sew in the gloomy rainy weather we are having right now.
Then the teal green stuff and hey who knows what will be happening after that.

Loes Hinse Gore Skirt

Pants were frustrating me and I still had brown on the serger, so I decided to sew View C from the Loes Hinse Gore Skirt Group. This has four slightly flared panels, a machine hem and elastic waist. I sewed an XL which feels a little loose around the hips. Any smaller though and I would not be able to get my hips through the waist to pull the skirt on so.....
I haven't pressed it yet, but the idea is as well as being a suitable bottom for the SWAP, I can sew a matching 'safari' styled shirt to wear with it as a summer suit.

Wearing the Simplicity 4375 pants

Well having worn the Simplicity 4375 pants today I can tell you I am not a fan of the ribbon waistband treatment as it seems to cut in at the waist rather. For the next pair I shall make my own shaped facing pieces as this style is more comfortable to wear IMHO.

I'm also not sure that the narrower legs are all that flattering if you compare them to the wide leg pants made from the same fabric further down the page.

And its better when I have my jacket on covering over my saddlebags!
Oh and I did look smarter at work in my kitten heel ankle boots but changed into my flat casual shoes at home this evening.

Another divert and then the orange blouse

I am back to work tomorrow, but over the next few evenings I hope to finish off another mostly finished pair of pants in brown with ivory pinstripe which would also co-ordinate but is not on the plan!
My orange blouse (part of the plan) is all cut out and I now have thread to match for serger and sewing machine so I think that will be the next item to sew. I resisted the call of some lovely faux leather in my stash, which wants to be a fitted waistcoat it says, as I can't see what occasion I have to wear a faux leather waistcoat!
After the pants and the orange blouse I think my next move will be the dark teal pants, skirt, print blouse (and non SWAP Part 1 Print skirt), and then the jacket......

Simplicity 4375 Pants

The pants from Khaliah Ali Simplicity 4375 are completed.
These are straight legged pants with a side zip and ribbon waist finish.
These are also made from the chocolate brown cotton/linen mix fabric as New Look 6054 wide leg pants and although not planned to be part of the SWAP could be incorporated.

I will try to do a photo of me wearing them as they hang strangely from the clip hanger.