52 ITEMS IN 52 WEEKS: WEEKS SEVEN AND EIGHT

Week Seven

I finished these last week before we went on holidays, however, since every day Chester came over it was so hot. I did not get around to doing a photoshoot of the boys.

Two pair of Monster Mash sarouels. Jarvis really loves monsters, plus he really loves have matching clothes to Chester. So these are a hit.

Week Eight.

After being away for the first part of the week, and then at work for the second half. I thought it would be a good week to catch up on repairs mending, and hemming curtains for my mother-in-law. A small week, of very boring sewing.

52 ITEMS IN 52 WEEKS: WEEK SIX

I know, I have always been a 'tad' OCD, but sewing up my latest project, I realised just how bad I am. I will sew, and re-sew something, until I feel happy with it. I am up to version three, of the shorts I drafted and I still have ideas on how I can improve them.

Pockets! Everything is better with pockets. Plus I am thinking some cute trims would work. My head is filled with ideas.

No, photos of me modeling my shorts this week, cause I am currently sweltering in this heat.

I found this blog posting " Ten Ways to Ruin Your Sewing" and thought it was great so wanted to share it on here. It was written by Sarai Mitnick, of Colette. I know I have been more than a little guilty of a few of them. 

MOD BOX SAROUELS FOR BIG KIDS

I could title this post many things...Styled by? Or Styled as my Three year old. Who wore it Better? Being a Big Kid...But basically I wanted to show the fun side of wearing sarouels as an adult. Most know I love my vintage inspired skirts and dresses.

I love getting dressed 'nice', but I also love being comfy. So sarouels are my favourite item to wear. What is not to love about an elastic waist? And a drop crotch? So much comfort.

After hours of drafting and re-drafting this pattern to upscale it from Jarvis size to me size I think I have perfected it.

So I present Mod Box Sarouels for Adults in coral. 

MOD BOX SAROUELS

I like to use fabrics for things that are not what they are meant for. Jarvis's new sarouels are a perfect example. Thick quilting cotton would not be a first choice for a relaxed pants style. But it works.

Plus colours, I also got this fabric (it is called Mod Box) in grey, but no, Jarvis picked the coral.

Jarvis got the first pair as I am experimenting with different pockets, and do not like to sell them until I have made couple 'practice' ones. Oh, and sad to say, I have a matching pair. Though I will not be rocking the skater boy look with mine. My look is more relaxed daggy Mum.

But I am thrilled to say the pockets have turned out perfectly. Amazing what you can do with a little guess work and basic pattern drafting knowledge.

So I present to you Mod Box Sarouels in coral. Modelled by my gorgeous boy. 

SHE IS A DREAMER A DOER A THINKER

Last week I showed the drafted pattern, this week... ta da! The finished skirt! My first ever straight skirt.

Sewing it together was a bit of a guess, so the seams are just overlocked. I was going to do a Hong Kong seam, but because I knew I had to do a lot of adjustments to get the fit just so, I did not bother.

Tamika has an extremely tiny waist, but the girl has booty. Tamika and I are perfect examples of no two bodies are the same, her waist is seven whole centimetres smaller than mine, but her hips are five centimetres bigger. But somehow we are both smalls?

To get the skirt to fit to the curve of her waist and back I had to put in an extra long dart.

Overall I am happy with the finish. I will take better photos soon, Teak came over to get her washing and according to her "looked gross", as she had no make-up on and was feeling seedy. Now if only we could all look that gross!

Footnote: The Hong Kong binding seam finish encloses the raw edges of the seams inside strips of bias. Both sides of the seam require two passes to sew the bias, and because it is so labor-intensive, it is mostly used in very high-end clothes. This method is especially suitable for heavy fabrics and for summer garments that you wouldn’t want to line.

SHE WEARS A STRAIGHT SKIRT OOUI OOUI OOUI

As I don't normally wear straight skirts, I have never attempted to draft one. But after a request from Tamika, for a straight skirt she can wear to work, I thought I should teach myself.

After much time was spent on google looking for a style of skirt she wanted, I got out my trusty 2B pencil and white paper and got to work. Most of it has been a little guessing and estimating.

I know the key to a great pencil skirt is fit. To get a good fit good measurements are needed. First, Tamika needed to decide if she want the skirt to go all the way up to her natural waist, or just to a low waist, or to a high waist. Teak choose the high waist.

For clarification: true WAIST is the slimmest part of a torso. It’s a few centimetres above the belly button. A LOW WAIST is probably where most wear the waistband of jeans, below or near the belly button. The measurement for HIPS should be taken at the widest part of someone's butt.

Straight skirts sit better if a stronger heavier fabric is used. Either with or without a bit of stretch. As this is my first time experimenting with this style of skirt I looked to my fabric stash and found one meter of "Safety Matches" that I had used to make myself a skirt.

I cut the pieces out, now all is left is to decide how to finish off the seams, I think my normal french seam may be too bulky for the fit of the skirt, may just have to go with overlocker seams that I use for boxer shorts.

Next time Jarvis has a nap I will sew the skirt together.

Oh, and just to show you where I got the title of this post from:

EGGS FOR CHRISTMAS AND WAYS ON HOW TO DRAFT A PATTERN

No I did not give them eggs for Christmas. I gave them matching boxers shorts. Tamika and Guy got matching robots. Guy is the robot fan, so poor Bubby got robots as well. Justin and Jarvis got vintage cars and caravans, which was Jarvis's choice of fabric.

Love Tamika's face in this image, she is like "what the? Mum gave me an egg carton?"

I have done a lot of sewing for Jarvis, but it was the first time I have done any for men. I drafted a boxer short pattern off one I already had, and adjusted Justin's to a 30 inch waist and Guy's to a 32 inch waist. Justin's fit perfectly. I could of added a touch of length to Guy's pair. Something to keep in mind when going up a size.

Drafting patterns can be relatively simple. Some different ways to draft a pattern are as follows:

1: The "cut and spread" option is one method for pattern grading. Begin by tracing your original pattern. I trace my pattern on to white paper (I have a large roll of this).

2: You can also cover the original pattern with transparent paper and trace that way.

3: Fusible interfacing will also do, but it is my least favourite way of drafting a pattern.

4: If you have an uncut pattern to grade, you can use dressmaker's carbon and a tracing wheel to transfer the pattern to paper.

Note: Be sure to transfer all markings, darts and grain lines. Labelling your pattern pieces as you go will help you keep things straight.

All of these methods are suitable when drafting straight from a pattern, if alterations are needed you will need further steps.

 Does Guy's face mean he wants the cars and not the robots?