Wearable muslin?

I just completed McCall's 6515, view D.

The pants are too big everywhere except for my waist. I purchase size E5, the smallest is a 14... It is really not as bad as it sounds but the crotch length is too long.

I will most likely wear them one day, but I put the remake in my queue and use the Sandra Betzina "pants fitting techniques" Craftsy course I purchased awhile back.

I think I did a pretty good job with the waistband and zipper insertion, using one of Mimi g's tutorials.

Front view pleats and matched pretty good at the center front seam.

side view, invisible zipper and matching at the seam

hand-stitched waistband

machine finished waistband at the zipper

The hard and soft of it...

Well, I still cannot get my oldest daughter to pose for a picture in her pleather(purchased from Mood) skirt (McCall's 6706).  And now my youngest is unavailable to pose for pictures in her linen pants(Simplicity 2700). Here are some shots of the two pieces on(and I use the term lightly) Dora. Hopefully I can get a picture of both of them wearing the pieces soon.

 

I used cheap/wrong interfacing (see how wonky waistband looks)

First time using both button hole and button attachments

Leg with ribbon sewn on for a pretty hem

 

Next up is Mimi g’s Regal Maxi skirt. I found this yellow shantung at Jo.Mars in Philly. It fit right into the time of a ministry event that I am part of.

Fail: I am having trouble fitting my large abdomen while making skirts/pants. The trouble I had with was also due to time constraints(I was trying to make it to wear later that day! I am not there yet.. lol ) and I got frustrated when I attached the waistband on upside down. (I was trying to make it to wear later that day! I am not there yet.. lol ) I will finish this…No UFOs in 2013

Love and blessings,

Dawn
 

Serging (surging) ahead....

As a young parent I owned a sewing machine. My mother had always had one and I thought that it was a household essential. She would make clothes (mostly summer) for me and for herself.  She never really taught me any techniques and I cannot remember us even discussing sew, but I vividly recall her cutting out patterns at the kitchen table.

As I began my own family I purchased my own machine.  It was used primarily for sewing curtains, pillows and hemming pants (into shorts) that my children had outgrown.  As the children got older I started thinking about sewing apparel. I wanted to teach my daughters how to sew and so I took a home sewing course for apparel and received a new computerized Brother sewing machine at “graduation”.  

After a couple of years of occasional sewing, I began to seriously want to take my sewing to the next level. I was discouraged by the lack of classes available in my area. I found a group on meet-updotcom and joined, along with my mother. That did not last long because of conflicts in dates and travel difficulties.

I started purchasing how-to books, but many of the ones I really wanted were too expensive for my meager hobby budget.  I would ask for gift cards to Joann’s for holidays and birthdays to support my growing fabric/pattern obsession.  A few years ago I asked my husband to buy me a serger for Christmas.  I really tried to use that serger but fear held me hostage….fast forward to last night..

I was determined to figure out how to use it so I could finish the inside of the linen pants I am making for my youngest daughter using Simplicity 2700. Lately in church I have been hearing a lot about being bound by fear. I prayed about all of the areas that I can identify where fear is keeping from the best God has for me. I decided NO MORE. Last night I went in my basement, and dug out my serger. I cleaned it, re-threaded it and read the owner’s manual, and two other books that I had (one is The Easy Guide Serging Fine Fabrics and the other I cannot think of right now.). After about three hours total of cleaning, reading and trial and error, behold the fruit of my labor:

 

 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I did finally finish the pleather skirt for my oldest, but I am having a hard time catching her to get a picture. Of course the zipper was not installed as perfectly as the original one.

 

Blessings,Dawn

Where did the time go?....

It has been awhile. I wish I could say that it was all spent creating fabulous garment, but I did not finish one item until now.

I made McCall's 5393 for my oldest daughter. View C without the side or back pockets. I cut it out as a 4 but once I had her try them own I had to decrease the back seam allowance to 3/8. I still have not used my serger but I used an overcast stitch on my sewing machine to finish the seams.

I ran into trouble with the zipper/button hole so I sewed a faux button on and used a snap to close it. I will figure this out the next time I sew this, which will be very soon.

Other than that I really did not have any problems sewing this.