Slant pockets

This is my pattern that I have drafted for my slant pockets.....I studied a pattern that I had for slant pockets and adapted my TNT pattern accordingly.

Here are a couple of pictures of my sample.....this is not the fabric I will be using, it is a scrap from another pair of trousers that I have made.....I dare not cut into the cord fabric that I will be using because I may not have enough for samples. I must remember to put a fusible interfacing stay on the diagonal of the pocket to stop it from stretching, it did on my sample.

These rivets are queer little things to put in.......this isn't the right fabric to try these but I wanted to practise before the real thing.

I received my moleskin fabric this morning, I only ordered it yesterday from Pennine outdoor so they have been very good at delivery. I am really happy with it....it was expensive but it is good quality fabric.....they also have really lovely quality knits for t shirts, no patterned only plain fabric.

New style

I am trying to make a new pattern from my TNT trouser pattern. I am making slant pockets in the side instead of my usual side pockets....the legs will also be narrower and I am going to try these studs at the pockets and a jeans button at the waist.

This is the fabric I will be using.....I have only ever used cord once before when I made my daughter a pinafore skirt when she was little...I can remember the bits and pieces that came from it when I sewed it gave me a terrible cough and I have never used it again. I will have to be careful how I press it because of the pile. I have prepared the 2 fabrics....I am doing a half lining and joining the cord and the lining together and treating as one.

I have made the pattern for the pocket and now I am going to make a sample to make sure I am on the right lines. I will post pictures when I have done it.

I have also ordered some moleskin (not real moleskin I hasten to add) this is very good for outdoor wear and is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.There are 2 weights so I ordered an olive green in the heavier weight and a navy in the lighter weight both together cost me £77.87 which is not cheap. I am trying this new style in the cord before I tackle them in the more expensive moleskin. I will post pictures of this as well when I receive it, I have a busy week so I will do it when I have time.

Better late than never

I have eventually finished my trousers......I have been so busy with my dogs lately that I haven't had much time for sewing. I had decided that 2hrs of sewing a day is quite enough for me and probably is all I have time for.....and I had also decided that if I couldn't manage the 2hrs one day it could be carried forward to the next day.....but I fell so far behind I gave that up as a bad idea lol lol.

I am quite pleased with these trousers, they are fully lined with white charmeuse, which feels lovely on my skin......it is like making 2 pairs of trousers when they are fully lined.

These are cotton and linen mix and they crease just looking at them, you can see the creases in the legs where they have been hanging over the hanger.

White trousers are very versatile and these go with lots of things in my wardrobe, I also invested in a new pair of white shoes.....I love these and they are very comfortable, they have a wedge heel (I am not very keen on wedges, but I love these) with a lovely big bow on the front, they were £40 from Next.

That is about it ......another pair of trousers next, for walking my dogs in......the one's I have got are really shabby. I have received samples of some lovely olive coloured moleskin which is pretty expensive but I like it a lot so I might treat myself.

Fitting

This is the answer to a question I received in my comments from Myartistry about fitting......It is not a favourite passtime of mine, I do it because it is necessary but it is very frustrating trying to fit a figure like mine. I mainly read books and other people's blogs trying to pick up fitting tips, believe me when I say it is just trial and error, I could never just make a garment up straight out of a pattern envelope, it just wouldn't fit me....I have GOT to make a muslin which could take me weeks to get the fitting right. Once I have fitted it to the best of my ability I treasure the pattern so I make it over and over trying to do something different with it everytime and using different fabrics. I am learning everytime I alter a pattern but I am far from being an expert in fact I am better at fitting the bottom half than the top. I am also very slow with my sewing, I have four dogs and most of my spare time is took up with them, walking them etc.
All I can say is I love my sewing, not so much the fitting.

White trousers

I have started my white trousers by making the welt pocket first.......I am still not confident making these pockets and am constantly following Ann Rowley's instructions. The picture above is the inside of the welt pocket, I like to pink the edges rather than overcast so as not to leave an imprint on the right side.

This is the underside of the pocket.....the lining is polyester charmeuse, originally I was going to make some lingerie out of this fabric, then I was going to make a blouse out of it now it is lining my white trousers. It is a little bit shiny for a blouse and I don't think I would wear it.

This is the finished welt...the tab is too long in my opinion and the corners are still not square...I can take a few stitches out and shorten the tab, that won't be a problem.....I didn't practise this welt on this fabric, maybe I should have.

These are my beige coloured cotton and linen trousers that I made last year. I have always thought that I took pride in my sewing and finished off my work to the best of my ability......when I saw this split I was a little bit taken aback because I thought My seams wouldn't come undone.....ha......look at the split in my trousers.

I have mended the seam this morning....when sewing the crotch seam the instructions tell you to stitch the seam and then stitch again 1/4" away.....I have sewn the seam again with a lightening stitch for a little added stretch then overcast it.....hopefully it won't come undone again.

Muslin

I have an update on the Calvin Klein blouse above .......I was onto my third muslin for this blouse and it took me three weeks of raxing my brains to try and get a decent fit, I know I said I was satisfied with the fit a couple of posts ago but I had another look and decided it wasn't right at all. I have put it away in my cupboard until a later date because I was getting irritated with it.....I may come back to it ....or maybe not.
At the moment I am making a pair of my TNT trousers in a white cotton and linen mix....I am going to put a welt pocket in the back again, hopefully the pocket bag won't be seen because I am fully lining them. These trousers will go with my new black top I have just finished......I haven't had it on yet, I will wait until I have finished my trousers.
Normally when I make these trousers I thread trace all the seams and the hems etc. then I thought to myself, I have made these so many times surely I don't have to do this every time. This time I have only marked the darts, zip and pocket markings to see if I can make them a little bit quicker....it normally takes me anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks ( because I have a limited amount of sewing time ) to make them and I am very slow.

Vogue 8151

I have made this top a few times before and have never been satisfied with it....the bands at the front have never been tight and figure hugging ....... I think this top needs to be tight to get the right effect. I did everything you are not supposed to do when fitting.
I made this out of fine black jersey in fact it was among the drapey dance fabrics. It is quite fiddley to work with and I had to put it down once or twice because I was getting quite annoyed and losing my patience with it.
I still haven't mastered my coverstitch machine yet some of the stitching still isn't very straight, more practise is needed in that department I think.

I have had to really lighten thes pictures so that some of the details can be seen. The back is really pulling tight but at least the folds of the ruching can be seen.

I like the extra long length on the sleeves....I love the way they hang over my hands. Some of the ruching can be seen at the sides.

The front bands are pulled tighter than I have made them in my previous efforts, I did this by cutting approx. 2" from the bands. There is a seam allowance of 1" but this time I made a seam allowance of 11/2" to make it tighter.

This isn't fitted right....but who cares?......I like the way it hangs and drapes. The side seams are pulling to the front because I didn't do my usual FBA so there isn't enough room in the front for my bust so the back is pulling tight. When I have made this before it didn't feel right and certainly didn't drape the way it should but because it is tight it looks better...who cares where the side seams are.