There has been sewing. Pants. Bob Pants

 As its probably apparent, there has been a bunch of stuff between me and writing about sewing. 

there has been mending. there is always mending.

I have been writing and researching for my last class, the one that stands between me and a certificate that proves I know another set of things that will be of little use in  terms of a job but useful in terms of 1) amusing me 2) using family school credits  3)useful in keeping the job I already have.

June 17th was the worst day I have ever had at work in ...almost forty years. This graffiti on the bus stop did cheer me up, and whoever drew it, I love you.

I have been sewing pants, in ten minute increments.

As dearly as I love a dueling set of prints that work together,

trying to brighten up the taupe on toast color scheme at work

but maybe not at work, I've made some 

Plain Bob Pants.

Where it gets fancy is on the inside.

I learned from previous versions that the Essex will fray but is so so so soft and drapy. It's divine and makes these into real secret pajamas.

https://stonemountainfabric.com/product/essex-wide-natural/

And I have bound all the interior seams.  Not all the binding matches. I'm just not quite that kind of girl.

Binding binding binding

Frida is watching over this

So much binding. Otherwise a normal set of Bobs. I have a 45" booty now, and I can make a pair out of 2 yds of anything as long as it's crossgrain.

I think I like the shirting fabric better for binding; the stripes look cool, it's lightweight and presses like a dream.

Edge stitched the top seam, stitched in the ditch most of the way around for the elastic channel. Using 1.5" elastic for the Bobs. I put a lot in my pockets, and I made the pockets bigger so I could put a lot more into them. 

Made a cardboard bodkin.

Oh my god more Bobs. This fabric is from Stonemountain too. https://stonemountainfabric.com/product/textured-yarn-dyed-cotton-seed-stitch-stripes-golden/

The pants could match the shirt made  from this AHenry print. They do go together

More more more binding. The  binding could have matched the pockets.

but the binding is what I have out so  here it is. It's a big lump at the crotch but in such a place that i can't notice it.

Put a tag on the back on this one. I also put a button on the front so I can find the front faster.

Reused the cardboard bodkin

and after threading the elastic through, I had an idea.

why use cardboard, which is hard to feel for in the channel while I'm feeding/feeling for it.

And that's the next post! BODKINMANIA

Some new sewing, broken into five minute sessions

 Is it sewing if it's altering?

It was a hot mess of fray inside and I fixed it

The Sven holiday sweater: I haven't worn it yet, but it needs to be shorter. I have folded it to where I want it to hit. I may just cut off the lower snowflakes and reattach the ribbing. I would miss those test tubes, and it makes an easier cut than adding a ridge and removing the MeTV logo.

And I seem to have bought more pants fabric

Ventana Twill is the diggity bomb of winter pants fabric. It softens right up, the colors are deep, and it doesn't seem to pill or distort (although remember, I don't put the finished stuff in the dryer after I prewash and dry the bejebus out of it.
It also comes in solid colors and I need some boring pants. Prints and prints are too busy for my boss' eyeballs, and I have other fights to fight at work these days. He actually commented yesterday that this was the first time I dressed normally for work (leggings and a big sweater is normal?). I reacted to it as  if it was a compliment although I don't think it was meant as one, and today I made sure I wore something in too many colors. Sorry, didn't have time for photos.

It was nice to have a couple of actual days off this weekend, so I focused my energy on finishing a shirt.

 I have a couple of long sleeved shirts cut out and half sewn, but it's too cold at work for shirts unless i can wear a down vest over them. Is a down vest not normal clothing? Still puzzling over that....

Which explains why instead of working on the sweater, I am handbasting  the fly on the new Ventana twill pants. Still too much work to do, so this is happening in five minute blasts. This is a skill I developed when the kids were toddlers, and while it's not as satisfying as a long bath of sewing, it scratches the itch.

Summing up summer sewing and summarizing autumn's: more of the same stuff from last year

Summer sewing is starting to skip a season. 

 I have rebuilt this dress collar twice, and am going to try a third

This dress was started last summer in August 2020, worn once, redone, worn once again, and hated the way the stand collar felt. So I ripped it out and am going to scrap together a collar similar to the Italian spread collar that Peter Lappin has been working on. For next summer.

Peter Lappin, from Instagram

This Felix dress is stalled, as the print I made for it on Spoonflower just doesn't work with the big print (cute idea, wrong color) . So I have a different solid fabric for it, but .... it's going to need picking apart and...well, it hasn't been warm lately. It's not raining, it's just cloudy and cool. So after all the redrafting and tracing I did to make this pattern work better.... it's going to be a next 2022 summer dress. Like the Tokyobots dress was 2020, finished in 2021.

Hair touching selfie style. The whole building is in shades of depressing beige and gray.
Dune: office planet 

Shown above: made and worn pants. Same one piece baggy pants, now in brussels washer cotton/rayon, which is a fabric that will not wear well in the long run as pants, but will be comfy and beige in the short run.

Shirt! Made shirt! Made some REALLY AWFUL BUTTONHOLES and that was awful. The test ones on the faux placket with the Bernette buttonhole device were beautiful, and when we got to the actual placket, totally stalled out. Nothing to make you really feel your sewing oats than failing at buttonholes.  I'm going to use spring snaps on every damn shirt from here on out (and you'll notice the pullover shirt does not need buttons or fasteners FOR THIS VERY REASON.

Bought new to me corduroy jacket, considered replacing ring snaps (which jingle) with spring snaps (that don't) and just sold the jacket. Ring Snaps are off my list now. Having supply issues with Gold Star and KAMsnaps regarding size and material, but isn't everyone everywhere having trouble finding things? I am pretty sure I will survive.

More darts in RTW jeans. Seems to be my specialty.

Fun with zippers? Replaced zipper; hated it, replaced that zipper with different zipper. Did it for each jacket.

 

BT's jacket

Doug's jacket

The key thing I learned this summer is that I need to handbaste a zipper with thread. Not pins, or clips, but thread. And be very cautious about sewing it in with the machine.

I think they are lovely. Certainly sworn and sweated over.

Mending crotch of pants that has needed mending for longer than I should admit (so I won't)

Pre ironed facing foldover, so fewer fiddling

It's the basting buddy.

Made work jacket. This replaces work jacket I used to own, smoked in, and gave up on it's ever not smelling like an ashtray. It is boring and poly crepe, just like previous edition, big enough to wear over regular clothes on work nights. And it has SNAPS because buttonhole fail. Eventually it will be made out of wool crepe, and have welt button holes.

Miyake shirt still in time out pile.

And the dresses are arriving. Actually I am almost done.

So that's been the sewing. Oh, traced off a pattern from a pair of Em's pants, mended pair with part of the other. That's another post, when I make the new pair from the pattern I made.