On the sewing front

Here is a view of the zip.....this is the best zip I have put in.....I used Sandra Betzina's fly front method, I must admit this fabric is lovely to work with and it is polyester.

I have taken a couple of pictures of this welt pocket. When I did my second sample of this welt pocket it was nearly perfect, but not quite......what happens when it's the real thing.....mistake after mistake. The corners of this pocket are not right by any means, I did the best I could and had to put some fray check into the corners to stop them fraying, which has left a mark, yes I did a sample first and it didn't mark, grrrrr. I don't think the mistakes are that noticeable but I know they are there. Never mind I will forget about them in time.

I couldn't get the right colour lining for this fabric, which was rather expensive for me at £15 a metre ( I needed 2mtrs 20cms), so I decided to make them a little bit special and line them with white silk( I bought 2 mtrs at £8 a mtr) .....it doesn't change the colour of the fabric so I hope I have made the right choice. I must admit it doesn't feel very sturdy for a lining fabric.

I have just been adding up...these are not cheap trousers, approx. £50 for the fabric then take into account electricity, thread etc. and lots and lots of time spent on them. I hope they last me forever lol lol.

Here are just a few details...side pocket, topstitched.

I am making another pair of my TNT tailored trousers.

Valentines flowers...ah sweet

This flower is a small ornamental cabbage on a stalk.....I have never seen a one this small before.

The colours are beautiful.

I got a beautiful bunch of flowers from my DH for Valentines day, I thought I would share a few pictures because they are sooo lovely.

Camera....ugh

I am afraid I can't upload any pictures as my camera is broken and I don't think it can be mended. I think we might be going for a new one sometime this week. We haven't had this Canon camera very long and it cost £350.00.....I am not paying that much again I can tell you, I hope I can get a one a lot cheaper than that.
I have made a second welt pocket and it is much better than the first one....the pattern I am using for my trousers doesn't have a welt pocket pattern so I have made one. I read all of the instructions the ladies from the Stitchers Guild gave me, then I altered the size to suit myself......I wrote all of my instructions down (needle positions, stitch sizes, every little detail I could think of) then I made a pattern. I can now add a welt pocket whenever I feel like it. When I make the welt pocket on my trousers I will take photographs (when I get my camera) and add them to my instructions.

Welt pocket

I couldn't get this picture where I wanted it so I have made a new post.

Here is a picture of my first ever welt pocket made with help from the ladies of the Stitchers Guild. As you can see there are still a few mistakes but I am going to have another go at it.

TNT trouser pattern

This is my one and only altered, tailored trouser pattern that I have. It is so easy to reach for this pattern when I need a new pair of trousers.

Everytime I make it I try to do something different with it. This time I am having a go at a back welt pocket, the pattern also needs another bit of tweaking. I still feel the legs of these trousers are a bit too wide so I am making 1" seams instead of the normal 5/8" seams. The waist darts will have to be narrowed to allow for the 1" seams ( then the waist won't be too tight ) I have narrowed all 4 darts by 1/8", then the size of the waist remains the same.

I had to ask the ladies of The Stitchers Guild to help me with a problem I had with my welt pocket. I didn't know how to handle the pocket having a long narrow dart at the back of my trousers. The dart can be cut through when making the welt pocket, the ladies also gave me some great tips on how to improve my pocket. Thank you ladies......you know who you are.

Fed up with building work.

This is the bay window and the window of the side of the porch. The photograph above is from the front door looking through to the dining room and right through to the garden

I am fed up with building work, it isn't going fast enough for me....I think to date we have had them in for over a month now, nearly every day.....you can't go anywhere or do anything...I can't even sew because there are things stacked in my sewing area and there just isn't any room.

Withdrawal symptoms

I haven't done any sewing for a couple of weeks now and I am getting withdrawal symptoms. The reason is we are having some home improvements done and all the dining room furniture is stacked in my sewing room, anyway I don't want to sit sewing when there are workmen in the house causing lots of dust........we are having patio doors put in the dining room.
I hope the rain eases a bit this week, it has been horrendous, the ground is saturated.....anyway I hope it eases because the builder is getting nowhere fast with the front porch and the plumber won't start with the new boiler until the builder is finished.......ugh......I hate the house being upset, not to mention having to get up early to try and make myself look presentable first thing in the morning, which is no mean feat I can tell you.