one pattern, 3 pants

This month I attended a baptism in London. My idea was to make a pair of pants for the event, knowing that the weather could be cold, maybe too cold to wear a dress. I really don't like being cold!

This is what I made. The fabric is a wool bouclette. At first I thought I would make a coat out of it. But, hey, I can change my mind no? It is really soft, I mean it feels like I am in my pyjamas, elegant pyjamas!

Maybe I should have stuck to my first idea because the fabric is a bit heavy. I have worn it a few time already, but not an entire day's work. Will see if it holds itself  when I 'll go back to work.

Contrary to normal I reused a pattern. I almost never do that.

Excuse the poor quality of the pictures, I took them in a hurry for the blog. Those pants are my favourite. The colour is really bold, a very nice green, and the fabric doesn't winkle or poach at the knees. They are sailor's pants.

sailor's pants

Hum, sailor's pants, it could be the subject of another post. But today I am talking about my beige pants, stay focused Kate!

 

As you can see I changed the front of the pants. No more sailing stuff, just a plain front with no darts (I know I said I would stop this non sense, and I have! I just made the pants before this life changing decision).

Instead I opted for pockets.

In my mind, I was making Chanel pants. The fabric, the colour. I screamed Chanel to me.

There are four pockets. The ones on the front are bigger then those on the back. I had problems figuring out the size of the front pockets. And the placement was not easy either.

I fixed them by hand. I didn't want any top stitching.  These are not sportswear.

Ha, the buttons. Gold seamed to be a good idea. But what golden buttons? I made a first selection from my personal collection :-)

I finally picked some elegant black and gold buttons. I think they are maybe a tiny bit small. I might try and find them in a bigger size this summer. The shop where I buy them has really a huge stock, I might be lucky!

After trying them on, I decided I needed a lining. I know, bad idea to decide that after finishing the last details... But I think it is quite compulsory with this kind of fabric. The weaving is so loose, I am sure that after only one hour of wearing them, the pants would have looked terrible.

And the lining is so comfortable, I smile of pleasure each time I put on the pants, it's divine!!

I added some bias to fancy up the inside. The bias is hand sewed to the waist band on the side where you can see it. Same for the hem.

bias at the hem

This is what I really like about home sewing. I can make myself fancy outfits I would never be able to buy, or maybe just one every once in a while. But never enough to make an entire wardrobe.

And also, I don't know if you have this problem, but in Brittany the weather can be cold in Winter, and our Summers are not the most warm either. But it is really hard to find wool clothes, or pants with a lining at moderate prices. It is sometimes hard to find sweater with sleeves, I am not kidding !

Here in Germany you can buy all sorts of gear for winter. I have to say it's really nice, but I am not staying in Germany, so a round of applause for home sewing and the ability to make clothes that fits us and the weather we leave in!

The pants were fast to make, just long straight seams. But I didn't wear them to the baptism.

Why? They look so good!

Instead I chose to wear my purple dress. Just because.

I thought it would be better for the trip to have pants who resist a long day of walking and who can be worn with flat shoes. Witch is not the case of my beige pants. The hem is for high hells.

That's all there is to say I think. I might call them my Chanel pants. They may not be worn again before Autumn, it seems that spring is already here this year. No complaints from me.

I have two winter related outfits to show you and I am of to spring sewing! Glorious dresses! I can't wait for it !

The dress I forgot I did, and I really don't know why.

Rock and roll everyone!!

How could I forget that I had made this super cool dress?? It's all part of my plan to sew more intelligently, and by that I mean, making things that fit into my life and are more current.

I know I said I was going to make a special unworn garments in London, but I figured, why not posting those pictures, who knows when the husband is going to be free?

I had some fake leather left from my previous shirt, and I also had some wool. I have to say that, when I bought the wool I was not really sure what to do with it. It's a bit thick and I didn't get a lot, so, what to do with it?

I had barely enough to make the dress. At fist I was going for a warm sort of shirt, but the winter is so mild, and I love short dresses. And also I was watching Project runway and really loved that dress from Michelle Lesniak Franklin:

I also had some studs, kind of, in my stash (I love having a stash, it really makes sewing easier).

 

I just glued them on the fake leather. Really fun to make. But I omitted them on the back, because I was afraid I would fell them while seated in a sofa. And sofa time is important!

lapped zipper

 As you can see, the front has no pleats. It had at firt, this was a big mistake! All those pleats, bah! It was awful. It created too much volume, I had to take them of.

The dress has no dart, the one you see is from the lining. I should really stop trying to make garments with no darts. I takes an awful lot of time to figure out, and the fit is always less good. Maybe it's a nice option for women with a small bust, but it's not my case, so I should just abandon the idea and begin loving darts!

I love darts!

Yes, just like that. 

But hey, I think I am doing not too bad this year considering that the weather is really not helping. In Germany Winter is supposed to be cold. So I bought fabrics for snow... And it has never snowed this year! See, I can take pictures outside without freezing.

That's all for this one, nothing complicated, it feels nice to wear.

I just wish I had a fabric shop nearby with normal prices, I think I would make a few dresses out of wool again, but in spring colors (I also wish I had bought those fabulous boots I saw in Rennes, they would look sooo nice with the dress).

Anyway, I have to do with what I have, my stock of warm fabric arrives to its end, so hopefully the weather will stay warm, and I will authorized myself to dive into spring sewing in a few weeks. In the mean time I have some interesting ideas, you'll see soon!!

cheers.

Again in London?

Bonjour tout  le monde!

I have been busy those last few week preparing a trip to London and being there! It's why I didn't post anything . But I sure did some work.

I love London, the buildings, the museums, the shops, and all that Britishness. I just can't get enough of it.
As you can see I went where all seamstress should:
-Savile row where I got to see Patrick Grant, one of the Great British sewing bee judge and owner of Norton and Sons one of the tailor shop on Savile row (and by seeing, I mean he was siting at his desk and I was on the street lurking inside to see people sewing!),

-and at the Liberty store. You know how much I love their fabrics. And the shop is really beautiful. It's Arts and Crafts decorated, and yes, you can buy all of their fabric, but no, I didn't buy any. I don't need any at the moment, I'll buy some when I'll be back in France.

I did made some garments for the trip, and ended up by taking none of them!! After all, I didn't really need new clothes. I am waiting for my photographer to be free and I will do a special London  non-used clothes!

Cheers!

vive les couleurs !

 Bonjour tout le monde,

in the spirit of my new year's sewing resolution, I made yet again another top. But this one is not purple! 

The colour is a bit bold isn't it? Looking at it on picture, I realise I colour-blocked it! How did this not occurred to me while doing it?? My my, I don't know if I should ever go back to work with this empty head of mine.

Anyway, I think I took the idea of the colour back in November when I window shopped for ideas, but I really don't remember where. Any idea anyone?

What I know, is that I got inspired by a blouse worn by Shirley in Community:

It's beautiful no? At first I wanted to have some gold as well, but after trying it on the mannequin I decided it would look completely costumy, princess of space costumy even :-)

It's so awful it makes me laugh!
Side note, I really want to do something with this lamé but it seems to have a very vulgar vibe...

Here is my pattern, minus the collar who is just a very simple officer collar, do you say that in English? The correct term in French is: col officier.

I think it differs from a Mao collar just by the round form of the tip.

I decided to make the side and middle back seams with a French seam. Witch turned out nice, but caused a problem when I realised I had to give in a little space. 

See the line at the arm's seam? It's taring because I was trying to change the shape of my arm hole and removed to much cm in the back. 

On the good side, this top allowed me (trough my mistakes), to correct my basic pattern. I think that I finally have the perfect sleeve and arm hole!! This is a big deal for me, I have struggled with those problems for a long time.

The fabric is so soft, in France we call it "peau de pêche", literally peach skin, is it the same in English?

I have noticed on TV that the dart on this sort of top are usually placed more to the side, mine just go trough the bust point. It's how my book says to make them, I suppose it is a bit old fashioned. As is my book probably, it talks about sheath!

I made the pants two years ago with a nice stretch wool, I wish I could find the same fabric in other colours, it is so perfect for making and wearing warm slim pants.

I was really not in a smiling mood that day, my excuse is that it was only 7 degrees outside. But hey, I don't complain, it's warm enough that I can pose outside. Usually the weather is much colder in Germany at this time of the year, but with all the storms coming from the Atlantic, no need of my fur hat this year!

 

Oh, look! Is it Spring I see coming? 

Noooo, my dear husband reminded me that in Germany it can snow until April! April?? Are you crazy? I don't have enough fabric to keep on making winter outfits, and you know what? I don't want to!!

But I know I have to listen to reason, and make clothes according to the weather.

I think I might even make a coat, that idea really pleases me. And it might not even be purpule (or maybe just a bit:-))!

A bientôt !

Comfort sewing

Bonjour tout le monde !

Last week I tried to make a bra, but instead of following the instructions of my book I tried to make my own pattern, and let me tell you it was NOT a good idea.

So I decided to comfort myself by making something easy and nice to look at.

Some lavender bags! I have left overs pieces of Liberty fabric, too small to make a garment out of it and too big to through away.

Isn't it lovely? 

It's the easiest project ever. I took a rectangle of 26 cm x 9,5cm. Folded it in two, sew each side with a straight stitch. Used my zigzag scissors to cut the three edges turned inside out the bag. And that's all! Added some pretty ribbons to close them, and it felt so good to achieve something so easily.

Now my closet smells amazing and look super romantic!

Have a good week-end everybody.

Sticking to my new year's resolutions

Bonjour tout le monde !

As you know, I have vowed to create more current pieces. I felt that the clothes I was making, were a bit old looking, and this is not how I picture myself. So here we go, here is my take on a very current trend in fashion: leather!

new shirt and pants made by me.

My inspiration came from the series "Under the Dome". One of the characters had a nice wardrobe and this shirt struck me as being at the same time elegant and sexy (maybe because of the cleavage:-)).

The shirt has no visible darts and two patched pockets.  Soooo, I tried to make a pattern with no bust dart.

Yes, I roll my eyes! Let me tell you this: it was a nightmare. I don't drape, I create my pattern directly on paper, and the method I know to avoid having a bust dart was not working here, and as I don't know how else to do, I struggled quite a lot to find a way to make it work. Here is the technical drawing of the shirt:

And because a first draft can always be a bit, how can I say it? Challenging. Of course I made a rooky mistake: I didn't measure my side seams and guess what happened? Yep, the front was longer than the back :-(

But you can't see it don't you? Haha, I might not be right each time, but a few years of sewing and a fabulous wool fabric saved me. Did I tell you I realized my error when everything was already cut and partially sewn?

This is how I hid my forgetfulness:

 

First I had a fabulous fabric, bought in Rennes at TOTO soldes, back in November. It's a light wool, a bit sheer, soft, and really warm to wear in winter.

I gathered the front and attached it to the back, then sewed without making any folds. And then, I used my iron to flatten the gathers, and it worked. But I think it's only because the fabric was wool. As we say in French: "ça rentre". Meaning it takes the form that you want. Thank you marvellous fabric!

I decided to cut the collar in only one piece. As it is fake leather it holds on itself fine, Afterwards, I thought I could have done the same for the button hole plackets and the wrist band. But maybe because of the buttons it's better to have two layers.

I don't know why but I wanted to have pockets, but not patched pockets. So this is what I did.

 

I thought that maybe the pockets would show through the fabric, but no, so good for me. I don't think I should put something inside though!

wrist band

I have decided that I should have more shirts. But not like this one, I didn't keep the pattern, because of the problem with the side seams. I will make a basic pattern ( with bust darts!) that I can reuse over and over. A working lady never has enough shirt in my opinion :-)

In conclusion, I really want to make the most of this last months of freedom to built a collection of basic pattern who will be easy to reuse when I'll be back to work. Pants are also on the list. I already have a pattern for my bathing suits (I know, indispensable for work!), I finally have the sleeve ( also a nightmare, must have weird arms), underwear, shorts, Chanel vest. That's not too bad. Now I just have to focus on my goal!

I wonder if other people also built a collection of basic patterns?

à plus tard!