SarahLizSewStyle

 For about 18 months now I have avoided making a pair of more formal pants although I will churn out casual pants quite happily.  I guess casual pants have been used for learning how to make and fit pants, what my body shape is, and what sort of pants might suit it. These pants were made using McCall's pattern 6711: I have made this pant as a trial version and as a pants sloper with which to assess other trouser patterns.  I made these pants in exactly the same way as the trial pair, including adding extra to the back waistband in case alterations are needed around the middle - a very common problem area for some of us :) You can find the post about the trial run pants, including crotch alteration,  here..... For those of you that just want the bare information, the pants are darted front and back, have pockets, and I added a front zip/false fly, and a waistband instead of a faced waist.  I cut size 8 legs and graded up to 14 waist. The pants  were made in a (s

 I've finally finished these trousers in between bouts of sinusitis and tax paperwork. The plan was to make a simple pant that was fairly straight up and down in order to get some idea of what fits me well.  I will then be able to use the resulting altered pattern as a sloper for other  pants. I used the pants from McCalls 6711:  These are a simple pant with front and back darts.  I have worked out that with my tummy curve a dart is needed.  There are front pockets - a plus. The pants are faced and have a back zip.  Back zips annoy me - too much fiddling around to get there, I'm an in and out in a hurry type of dresser.  I also like a waistband as it helps to hold things up on me - I have very small hips at 33 1/2 inches and faced garments just tend to fall down on me. I cut size 8 outside leg,  size 6 inner leg and size 14 waist and trued the in between area.  The crotch curve was size 8.  The pockets were cut to the size 12 line.  The pattern did not

The last few days have seen me missing in sewing  ( angst) action.  I decided I had better get busy and sew the garments I needed before the semester starts.  I also decided I better sew DH's birthday present.  His birthday isn't until May, but I don't want a sewing deadline ahead of me during semester time.  So I did some fast and furious industrial attitude sewing and have run up two flannelette nightshirts. Since I took these photos last night, I have done the hems and turned up the cuffs.  All the loose ends are darned in and I am ready to mark the buttonholes.  I'll have to do these on my industrial zig zag, which means the old fashioned operator skill approach.  I just think that the big machine will sew the thicker fabric with more ease than the domestic machines.  Any imperfections will get lost in the fluff in any case. The nightshirts were not without some angst.  I found that my overlocker did not like the curved edge of the facing and ran o

It's my goal to find a style of pant that suits me.  I need to make a pair of formal pants and I also need some casual corduroy pants to go with some nice hand knit jumpers.   I have made lots of casual pants over the last year or so, but  they are still not quite right.  They look okay-ish and no worse than RTW but there is just an uncomfortable feeling around the crotch.  I have this problem with RTW as well, and all in all, my me-mades are more wearable. Also, many trousers now have the waistband slightly below the waist.  While a slightly below waist band may work on curvier shapes as they have bigger bottoms to hold the pant up, this principle does not work so well if you have a tummy that is quite large compared to the hips. I am also very slim in the leg, so most pants are just baggy and unflattering on me.  I did think I might try Burda 7017:   This looked like an okay sort of pant for a relaxed corduroy pant.  The waist was high, which I like, and th

  Everyone sews at a different pace depending on energy levels and other life demands.  This month I was able to make three simple tops and one pair of pants.  Which was an okay effort for a blah feeling sort of month.   So, the round up: The first top is not really me -the colour is - but I think it will be cute to wear on a hot day.   The second two tops are more me. And the pants are very me. In total, I managed to sew 7 metres of fabric from my stash.  Unfortunately, I stashed a few metres more: This is only a small part of the stash accrual during January; there was more.  I'm not sure how much, but I do know that I am now turning to me stash first in order to sew, rather than stashing more fabric in lieu of sewing.  And all purchase were made because they go with other fabrics or are in colours or patterns  I need to consider wearing more. Progress indeed. And of course, there was BeaJay's lovely silk satin seersucker: