Verena Fall Knitting

I think I mentioned before that I subscribed to the digital version of Verena Knitting beginning with this issue, simply because I loved Pattern #1, a pullover and skirt. The link will take you to their Flash Player, and this should be the first one, it's in gray with a diamond-lattice pattern. I've been sort of looking for some yarn for this, and found some lovely stuff that a friend had. She was donating it to the church knitting group, so I traded them for some nice yarn I had that I wasn't going to make up, so we're all happy. This is a 2-strand yarn, and I'm splitting it into a single strand. So far, I've done the lower edge on the back, so there's a ways to go yet, but it's interesting. I'm hoping to get it all done before gray is no longer an 'in' color.

That's my progress so far, and as you can see, it's pretty meager. This is a size 4 needle, but I'm about to change to a 2 for the body of it. The pattern calls for a 6 and a 4, so this is my usual go-down-two-sizes change. I'm always surprised about this, as I don't think I really knit that loosely, and I can't imagine knitting so tightly that I could go up 2 needle sizes and get the right gauge. I guess I'm a relaxed knitter.

I took a photo of the latest Ruffled Shawl too. It's a mystery content yarn from Mangelson's. I'd bet on a high cotton content though. It's more of a DK weight than a worsted, so it's very drapey. The ruffle doesn't stand quite as well as the worsted yarns have. I love the colors.



I woke up at 4am this morning out of a sound sleep and was instantly alert and getting an early start on my worrying. You know what those kind of nights are like. I got up and decided to sew after about 45 minutes. I cut out and did the first step of the pockets on 2 pairs of narrow pants last week and then stalled. I finished them both this morning except for the elastic, which I will try to do tonight. I'm excited to have them in my wardrobe. I'm a little short on casual pants, and these are going to be nice. Photos when they're done.

Narrow Pants – Marfy 0913 & Jalie 2682

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This is what I wore on Thursday of the Textile Symposium.

This pattern (Marfy #0913) turned out to be 'the one' for the narrow pants I was looking for, as far as I'm concerned. It's one of the free patterns included with the 2009 catalog, and is for woven pants, with a zipper, back darts, and a faced waistband. I used knit fabric, a blue mystery knit for the first pair, and a brown ponte knit for the second.

I added 4" in length for the blue pair, 2" above the knee, and 2" below. For the brown pair, I added another 2" below the knee, and did a straight hem instead of the curved vent. I think I might like the curved vent with a little more length, so I may try it. For the brown pair, I actually added another inch for a hem allowance, and so they're really great with heels, but I wore them with flats for the Symposium, so I just turned up the hem, with looked much like a cuff since I'd topstitched the hem both at the hem edge, and at the lower edge.

On both pairs I did a Hollywood waistband without a zipper, but still using the back darts. I didn't have to cut the waist straight from the hip since the knit has plenty of stretch, and in fact I ended up taking about 3" out of the CF at the waist, tapering to the crotch.

I used Ann Rowley's Flat Seat Adjustment, and re-did it for a little more flatness on the second pair.

I added side-seam pockets on the second pair, which will be automatic in future, I think. I should have put them in the blue pair too, but I've been wearing them with my fleece vest, which has lots of pockets anyway.

The knit top with the blue pants is Jalie #2682, lengthened. I really like how it turned out, especially with the fleece vest which was the perfect color all around. I had thought of making a brown vest from the ponte knit, and making it cropped, but I'm not sure how that would look. What do you all think? I remember a very cropped jacket a few years ago (Vogue pattern?) that stopped just below the armscye, and definitely above the bust point. I like the idea of that, but I'm afraid it would look really strange. It wouldn't take much fabric to try it I guess....

Here are the brown pants again with an older Jalie 2005 Tee. It was the right color for the Collar and Cuff set.
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This is what I wore on Saturday of the Textile Symposium.
Friday I wore my Burda WOF ruched 'twirly' skirt and blouse. It was definitely the right venue to wear interesting things, as everyone else was wearing interesting things too, and we were all interested.

Symposium Here I Come

Yes, tomorrow I begin attending the Textile Society of America's Biennial Symposium. It's being held here in Lincoln, Nebraska, and registration actually began this afternoon, but the first thing I'm involved in is the Conserving Textiles on the Plains tour. I'm excited about it, and it should be a very interesting day as we go from the International Quilt Study Center to Omaha and The Gerald Ford Conservation Center, then on to DeSoto Bend and the Steamship Bertrand site.

I've been working on narrow knit pants (in lieu of leggings), and finally have something I'm pretty happy with. I've made two iterations of Marfy #0913, the pants shown in this drawing below, in black, pink and lavender. I made the first pair after doing a Flat Seat Adjustment, and adding 4" to the length (2"above the knee, and 2" below). I did the curved hem vent, as shown.



The second pair are the ones I'll repeat. I added side seam pockets, and re-did the FSA, making it a little more-so, and added another 2" to the length below the knee, plus an inch for a hem allowance. The brown ponte knit was a good fabric choice, as they seem to have good recovery. I may do them without the extra hem allowance next time, just adding the 6" total to the length, and turning up an inch. These kind of puddle on my feet, which is nice too.

I'm planning to wear them tomorrow, so there may even be photos. It's going to be an early start for me though, as I have to be downtown by 7:45am.

Trendy Top & Pant

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Well, I think it's kind of trendy, anyway. I've been thinking about the whole leggings or no-leggings question since it's been on Stitcher's Guild for a while, and I went so far as to buy a pair of leggings and wear them around the house. I love them for the comfort, but I haven't quite been able to get out of the house in them, and I think that's probably a good thing. I like the general idea though, so I thought maybe I'd try some very narrow pants. This is what I came up with, along with the top from the print knit I got in California.

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I haven't quite decided if it's better with or without the belt. I think it needs something, and I thought of pockets or something, but I hate to break up the print, as I think it's very graceful, but perhaps the belt breaks it up anyway?

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The top is FSG#1960 once again, but with the funnelneck from Christine Jonsen's Travel Basic #3 added. I also lengthened it by a couple inches, as I think it is imperative that a top worn with these pants must fall below the rear.

Since the pants are a kind of trial pair, I used some old doubleknit fabric I had, and pulled out a couple of simple knit pant patterns. This one (Stretch&Sew #100) has an 11.5" hem circumference. I faced the hem, and then used a twin needle to stitch around once as an edge-stitch, and once at hem length. Together, this gives it a little bit of a band effect, and I remember seeing this kind of finish on Givenchy knit pants in the 1980's. I would think about putting a vent in the hem if I make more of these, which I think I will. I think a fairly high spandex content would be appropriate as well. This fabric has none, and I don't expect it to hold up terribly well, at least in the knees. I'm basically happy with the style though. They could be a little narrower toward the thigh, and that's something I may experiment with. I feel comfortable wearing these however, which is a good change from leggings.

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Jeans Again, Finally

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I've been without any jeans for quite a while now, and I've been meaning to make another pair, but just wasn't getting to it. Finally, I cut them out and sewed them up, and I don't know why I waited. They're just what I need for what I call 'wearing around', which is my main wardrobe need right now. With the gardening season truly upon us, I think these are just in time. Here's a side view.

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Nothing new, special or fancy about these. It's my usual Burda TNT pattern and I think it's actually the same denim I used in the last pair I made about 2 years ago. I bought a whole bunch of denim several years ago and used a lot of it for tractor seat covers, car seat protectors, and anything I needed a big piece of heavy fabric for. I have enough left for probably one more pair of pants, and that's about it. Unlike the last pair, I didn't put on back pockets (I don't think I ever used those pockets anyway) and I didn't do any interesting topstitching on these, where on the last pair I used variegated thread and had a good time doing it. This time I just wanted pants to wear, in a hurry. I did do my usual size zipper, with a pocket stay and side pockets on both sides.

Besides the jeans, I'm participating in Sigrid's Lingerie Sew Along, and I've made another couple pairs of panties. These are truly getting addictive.

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These are a plaid mesh knit that I've had on hand for several years, and some stretch lace from my FabricDepot collection.

Finally, here's a photo of my garden that I took yesterday.
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Ironing Is Exciting Now

Yes, I got my new iron, which is a Rowenta Steam Generator. So far, I'm very pleased with it, and the amount of steam it puts out is pretty amazing. It's making me re-think my sewing area arrangement though. I think I need to put a table next to the window for the iron, and for the cat to sit on and look out the window. Right now, he sits on the ironing board, and I have a special elasticized cover on the board for him. I remove it when I want to iron. I've kept my iron on the floor for some time since I don't want him to knock it off, and the feeling is stronger now, but it would be nice not to have to pick it up and put it down when I want to use it. I think he'd prefer a table too, if I can find something the right height. No rush on this, but I think it would be nice to move things around a little.

I decided to make a quick pair of pants to test things out. I desperately need some very casual pants, not least because my only pair of jeans is biting the dust pretty quickly. They're actually a pair of my regular Burda pants, but in denim. The zipper pull broke off the other day when they were almost zipped up, and I managed to get them zipped the rest of the way, but when I needed to unzip them the next time, it wouldn't budge. I ended up working on them with a pliers while I was wearing them. Not good, but I did manage to get them off. So, I first replaced the zipper in them, since even if they're not too whippy anymore they're perfect for times when I know I'm going to get dirty.

When I had replaced the zipper, I moved on to the casual pants. I used a green poly/cotton bottomweight fabric in a small windowpane check, and my usual pattern. I suppose I'd better plan on replacing the jeans pretty quickly, too. It's hard to get along without them, especially in the winter.

Pattern Weights

 

I mentioned to my brother that if he had a chance, some of the metal scraps from his workplace would make really great pattern weights. Well, he found some very nice strips and buffed them smooth and here they are! The really neat thing is that they're stainless steel, so I don't have to worry about them corroding or rusting. They're heavier than they look, and I really like them. I've only had the little round ones that you see in the photo with them, and these are so nice for long pattern pieces.

 

He's also been trying to help me with some computer issues I'm suddenly having. (That's why it's been a while since I posted.) That's his field, and I'm probably going to have to get a new computer at this point, so he's searching for what I need. He's a pretty good guy!

I have been sewing a little bit, and am about to begin cutting out my coat since I finally found layout plan I'd made before ordering the fabric. I thought I was going to have to do it over, but I've been spending a lot of time filing lately, and going through the enormous crop of paper that comes into the house continually, and I ran across it. In a pretty logical place, actually.

I realized I'm really hurting for fall pants. I didn't need anything fancy, just everyday stuff, and I made a pair with my TNT pattern, adjusting slightly at the waist/high hip as per the tailoring book Claudine suggested, and I like the results very much. I used a stretch woven brown with pink pinstripe. As usual, the stretch part seems to cause problems at times. The back has some draping from the side hip down, which I thought was indicative of a lack of length there, but the front is perfect, and I couldn't figure how I was going to fix this. I wore them last night to choir rehearsal, and my friend Jane, the real expert diagnosed "baggy butt" and I think she's right. The pattern has a flat-seat adjustment already, which normally is fine, but with the stretch factor of the fabric, I think it needs more. I may end up with a stretch woven pattern and a regular pattern, which is okay. She suggested a diagonal fold from mid-hip to just below the crotch point, so I'll try that next time. For now, these are fine for every day, and no one is going to call the fashion police I'm sure.

I did side pockets on both sides, with a side zipper, and it worked just fine. I've usually done only a pocket on the non-zipper side before. I put a front stay in these because of the stretch factor and the pockets, and that was a real success. The bad thing is the fabric wants to crease rather easily. They're cute, though, and isn't that why we sew?

Another Warm Garment - Fleece Pants

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These pants were inspired by the really nice warm fleece top I made at Thanksgiving. I found more of the same fabric, and bought enough to make pants, which were intended to be pajama/lounging pants, but which turned out looking good enough to wear in public if necessary, although around the house is where they will most likely be seen.

As you will see in the next photos, I did an unusual hem treatment. I wanted to have elastic at the hem so that if I did wear them as pajama pants, I could pull them down over my always-cold feet. I made them extra long, and put the elastic in loosely, and when I turn the elastic up, the pant hems appear normal. I am so pleased with this, as I don't think there's much that's flattering about elastic-bottomed pants.


Here's a close up of the hem in it's normal position.

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And with the pant leg raised to show the elastic.

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And here you can see the actual length of the pantleg, with my toe pointed, and just peeking out the bottom.

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Here's a Side View,

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And a Back View.

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I used my TNT Burda pant pattern, with my wide-leg pattern add-on. This leg falls straight down from the widest point of the hip, and I like it very much. I made these with a drawstring waist, adding a 2" high yoke-like casing at the top. This style always fits me better than just cutting the top of the pant higher to accommodate it, although for very thin, drapey fabrics I like that better.

The little patch pocket was definitely an afterthought, as I realized when I tried them on after hemming, that I had nowhere to put my MP3 player or a cellphone, and that would never do. So, a fast, quick patch pocket was my solution.

I think these are a real success, as they're not only warm and comfy, they look pretty good as well. What more can you ask for?

...Tan Shoes & Pink Shoelaces...

Actually instead of a polka dot vest, it's polka dot pants! I don't know how many of you remember that very silly song, but it takes me back to my 4H Song Contest days. Our group didn't sing that song, but we heard it a lot from another club, and it stuck. For us, our leader picked serious song literature.

................."Ja Da, Ja Da, Jing, Jing, Jing.".............................

Anyway, on to the polka dot pants.

Link here to this and a front view.

This is my favorite Double Burda pattern in polka dot embroidered linen from JoAnn's. I think they turned out kind of cute. I wore them to dinner tonight, and I have to admit that every time I looked down for my napkin and got a glimpse of the dots I was sure I had spilled something. I think they look cute with the windowpane blouse, and the linen is almost a perfect match for a gorgeous Sewing Workshop vest that I got from Pam. How amazing is that?

These have my favorite Hollywood waist treatment, a left side invisible zipper and a right side inseam pocket. I have finally learned that I have to hem the right leg about 3/8" longer to make them match. High left shoulder and high right hip I guess. I don't feel all squinched up, but apparently I am.

I got a new knitting pattern book. It's Anny Blatt: Timeless Classics from the Knit Collection
I saw a copy the other day, and it has some really wonderful patterns in it. The yarns will have to be substituted I'm sure, as it's not a terribly new book. I hope I'll actually get to knit some of them. Surely I can get to one of them at least.

Marfy 1294 Silk Chiffon Blouse and Silk Drawstring Pants

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Well, this is the result of my decision that I needed to add a few (or at least one) trendy piece to my wardrobe. The blouse is an edited version of Marfy 1294, which is one of the free patterns in the Spring 2007 Marfy catalog. Photo LinkPhoto Link
I liked it, but felt it was too young for me, and that I would look silly in it. However, I remembered a photo I had saved from a Fall 2006 runway show, and this pattern was perfect for making my own version. It's very similar except for the use of bands instead of elastic casings. The Moralioglu has the front band above the bust, which I very much like on the model, but I changed it to below the bust, which was much better on me.

The fabric was part of a free bundle from FabricMart, and was perfect for this blouse, so I was very pleased.

I really like the back neckline treatment, and the fact that the back is straight.
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The pants, which just happen to be a perfect match for the blouse, were made before I even decided to make the blouse. They are my regular pant pattern with a drawstring waist, in a corded silk fabric, which I like, but it does wrinkle almost like linen. They're very nice and cool though, so they'll be great for summer, which is what I wanted. It's supposed to be 90 degrees tomorrow, so I guess it's about here.

You can see some detail shots of the blouse here.

Flat Seat Adjustment Success

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I finally hemmed the pants I tried Ann Rowley's Flat Seat Adjustment on, and I rather like them, to say nothing of the fact that the alteration is just pure magic, in my opinion. I wanted a pair of pants that I could wear pretty high heels with, and the ones I have on in the photos are about 3 1/2", and the hems just almost brush the ground, so it's best if I stand up very tall. I had drooled over some of the cuffed pants in the runway shows last fall, and I'm finally getting to doing a pair. I haven't had cuffed pants for years, and in fact, unless I made them myself, if I bought a pair of pants with cuffs, they would almost always be immediately let down so that they'd be long enough, and there went the cuffs.


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This fabric is a polyester which is supposed to imitate linen, and it has a little shine to it. I like the color, and it goes with a lot of things I have. I think they'll be nice clear into summer, with heeled sandals. I just think there's nothing more swishy feeling than really long pants, with heels.

I think the folds in the backview are from the way I'm standing, but perhaps not. I never noticed them when I was looking in the mirror, but that doesn't always mean much.


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This is my favorite Double Burda pants pattern, which is two Burda patterns I've put together to get what I want. It has a side invisible zipper, side pocket, and Hollywood waistband.

Yarn Order Arrives & Pattern Alterations

 

This is the yarn I ordered from Bendigo last Tuesday. I think it is amazingly fast to get yarn all the way from Australia to Nebraska in less than a week. They have always had very fast service though, so I wasn't terribly surprised, and I did hope it would arrive soon.

The dark blue (Midnight Tweed) is much more heathered than it appears in the photo, and is for the cabled sweater pattern shown in the previous post. The dull purple is Agate, and will be a Norah Gaughan Ram's Horn Jacket. They are both wool. The Latte is Cotton, and will be a Norah Gaughan Spiral Shell.

Ann Rowley, whom I count a dear friend, and who is a very, very expert seamstress, posted her Flat Seat Adjustment for pants, along with photos of the process, on Stitcher's Guild, on her Ann's Pearls of Wisdom board. I immediately had to try it, and I've been anxious to start making some pants again, so the timing could not have been better. I did the pattern alteration, and cut on Saturday night. I sewed the pants up yesterday except for the hems, and am hoping to finish them tomorrow. I am very thrilled with the results of the alteration. It seems to be just about perfect. Very, very thrilling!

New Jeans

I had decided that I wanted to make a pair of pants which would "read" as jeans under things, but which would actually be a nice pair of flat-front pants that just happened to be made out of denim. The whole point was to get a pair of casual pants that would be suitable for any kind of hard wear I wanted to throw at it, and yet would look somewhat less casual than actual jeans. Since I generally wear something over the top of pants, the fact that jeans have all the detail and layers of fabric at the top doesn't do anything for me except add inches, and that is not really what I need. I wanted something that would be slim-fitting above the leg.


Front View

This is what I came up with. I used my favorite Double Burda pants pattern, leaving the leg width and shaping alone, and leaving the zipper on the side seam. I added an inseam pocket on the other side, and patch pockets on the back. I stitched the seams and then serged the allowances together, pressed them toward the back, and topstitched on the outseams, for a fake flat-fell look without the bulk. I also topstitched the patch pockets, around the inseam pocket opening, and the hem.


Pockets & Topstitching

I used the Hollywood Waistband technique, but I used a much wider elastic than I usually do since the denim needs a pretty sturdy underpinning. This is Textile Studio's 1 1/2" elastic. The top of the elastic sits at my waist, so it's almost a contour waist.

Inside Waistband


I wore these all day to see how they'd feel, and they're just as comfortable as I'd hoped.

Side View