Paying it forward and moving on again.

My niece Juli came over last Saturday and we spent the afternoon working out her pattern. The draft worked very well and then we pushed forward with copying off the draft, adding the fly, pockets, and pocket pieces so she could sew together her first ever custom pair of denim trousers. Here's a picture of the draft:

 

 

 

You can see some of the fabric bins in the closet behind her. Oops. A little messy. :P}] She was thrilled with her draft and couldn't stop giggling. She's really excited to have pants that fit her, not only standing, but sitting also, without pulling or cutting into her body. And I do believe there is another convert to sewing custom clothing here. She came not only with the denim for the trousers, but another piece of cotton twill for pants, a rayon knit, and also a piece of woven with polka dots that she loved. She is doing a "sister's week" in August with all of my nieces (six of them!) and their sisters-in-law (2 more) at the beach, so she wants to have some cute new clothes to show off.

 

She'll be back on Sunday when we'll start with her first Pamela's perfect tee shirt, and if time will also will be doing a woven shell probably from the free download of the Polly top at By Hand London. http://byhandlondon.com/products/polly-top I found the pattern from Rhonda's thrifty Thursday post, and think it's really a winner. For younger, svelte figures it will be really cute in the color blocking, and I want to make it up in a solid for me so as not to draw attention to my midsection. I've also sent her the link to the Sorbetto top, so she'll definitely have some options for her shells. We'll also make her a copy of the Margarita top pattern too, because that one IMO is the most versatile of all for knits.

 

Due to the previously mentioned sickness going around, I spent most of the rest of the weekend in bed. I appear to have a sinus infection going on, but I'm not positive of that. I like to let things go if possible because I think it's better to allow my body to cure itself than introducing drugs that cause other issues, but it may get to the point where I need to do something else. We'll see.

 

Because of the illness going on here, I missed my second Block of the Month club class. I did go by Monday after my inspection to pick up my instructions and fabric for the next block. This month it's two blocks instead of one. The first is this called "Chinese Coin" but different than I thought...

 

 

It appears we'll be using the same fabric for all of the blocks, so for right now picture this is the same colors as the last block I did. The second block is called Five Spot Block, and it looks like this:

 

 

Again it will be done in the original reds and whites. I've started the Chinese Coin, and have the first sets of blocks sewn together. I haven't pressed them yet or done the rows, so that may be done later today. We'll see how the day goes.

 

In other news, I've started on the cream silk jacket. I haven't done a tailored jacket in a while, so while foraging in my sewing room, I came across the Nancy Zieman video entitled Speed Tailoring Blazers. Then I realized I not only had the video, but also the written transcript with pictures of the same name. This is a circa 1980s video, so it is interesting to see the hair styles and big shoulder pads, etc., but there is some great information in it. I'll be using the methods from the video and transcript all the way through and anticipate a quick finish for this particular item. She mentions it is easy to speed tailor a blazer in a weekend. We'll see how that goes! LOL

 

Since my jacket pattern has been fitted and made more than a few times, there isn't much to tell as far as alterations. There are so many done that I can't even remember them all, but they have been noted in several previous posts. I do know it has narrower shoulders, wider arms, a sway back adjustment, a FBA, and I'm sure a few others I don't remember. (Last one posted 11/23/11)

 

I did follow the video instructions and made an "interfacing pattern" using waxed paper over the original and a seam gauge set at 1/2" to run along the outside of the pattern to get the interfacing the correct size so it only overlaps the seam allowance by 1/8". The entire front, side front, upper collar, pocket, upper back, and facings have been fused with Pro Tricot Deluxe from Fashion Sewing Supply. I still need to interface the hem lines, and then there will be a second layer of interfacing in several places. I'll keep you in the loop just in case you'd like to do your own speed tailored blazer.

 

That's all for now, but I'll try to keep up to date with my postings as I go through the blazer process. Hope your sewing is moving forward to!