Trouser-shape experiment

You may have noticed it by now: I love my dresses. Especially in summer. Most of all those with retro flair.

But... yes there is always a 'but...' sometimes I just feel like taking on a different kind of look. More casual. Or more tailored. Sort of cool, with a slight girl-dressed-as-boy effect... In one word: trousers.

A wardrobe mainstay in winter, but, at least for me, less so in summer (I really don't understand those girls who continue to wear jeans when it's

30 degrees Celsius).

If you've been following this blog for longer, you may remember having seen a lot of my self-made trousers in colder months, and you may remember how I experimented with the belt pleated look.

Now, it was time for summer trousers. And for an even crazier experiment. Last month, I made this sketch, and that what I set out to make.

I kept in mind how I like my belt pleated trousers, which have what the pattern making book calls a 'relaxed' crotch line. I actually both used the pattern for those, and the normal sloper as starting points for this new pattern.

I had made the sketch because I had come up with the crazy idea that it would be cool to make wrap trousers with pleats in the leg. So, I really wanted to incorporate those elements.

The pattern is rather simple (and exactly the same as for belt pleated trousers) at the back. The left front has, as its only strange feature, a wrap-over bit instead of a fly. The right front is where things get a little crazy. I slashed and spread pattern piece from the tip of the wrap-bit to three points on hip and leg. This meant crossing over the normal crotch line and I had

to make a pretty weird pattern piece to let it all come together.

Sewing it was quite easy by comparison. Although I had to deal with those weird shapes and a lot of pieces coming together at the bottom of the

wrap, this pair of trousers doesn't include any of the usual fiddly, time consuming details like fly and pockets. The fabric, dark blue linen was fine to work with: easy to press and not too prone to fraying and creasing.

I'm fairly happy with the end result. I'm proud I pulled it off and the trousers are really comfortable. I would have liked to see the pleats a bit more, but I already know how I could change the pattern to achieve that. Not that that would have worked very well in soft linen. I was a bit surprised at how low the crotch looks at the front. The look had to grow on me, but I think it's Ok. Sort of cool and carefree. I guess. And thanks to my crazy pattern, I don't have what, in my view, is often the worst feature of all those harem and other low-crotch trousers: diaper backside.

By the way, I'm well aware that crazy trouser shapes are not for everyone. I'd agree with those who say belt pleated trousers almost only work for skinny women. And harem trousers can depending on their exact shape, be worn by different kinds of people, but you really have to be the 'type' for it.

The best advice I can give to anyone wondering about that strange new world outside the realm of skinny or bootcut jeans is this: go a store which stocks a variaty of styles and just try out. Try to go there at a quiet time and without impatient people (having help and second opinion at hand is good, nagging or whining is not) and pick any new style you come across (especially if you know you can get or make a sewing pattern just like it). Don't worry about the exact fit. You'll be sewing so you will be able to get it right.

Focus on the silhouet, you might be in for some surprises.

Problem solved

Remember this dress? I made it last month (and blogged about it here), but it suffered from 'bias hang', by which I mean that the skirt stretched out in those places where it, being a full circle, happened to be on the bias.

Yesterday, I fixed it.

After having let it hang for over a week, I unpicked the hem (which I had serged pressed to the inside and stitched down narrowly), marked a new hem, the length of the shortest straight grain seams, serged along that line and sewed it down again. I'm much happier with it now.

Of course, I had already worn the dress to a friend's party, where nobody noticed anything wrong with it, and received some nice complements for it... However, I just knew the skirt-issue would put me off whenever I'd consider wearing it. I'll consider it lesson learnt.

Guess what I bought?

My earlier posts, here, here and here, must, by now, have convinced all of you of my hatred for the pinstripe. So, let me please show you my most recent fabric purchase...

Pinstripe. Black and white, two different widths, in linen.

What possessed me to buy this stuff, you were wondering? Especially since I still haven't started to make anything from that other pinstripe fabric?

Well, just for starters, this stuff was only 1 euro/meter. The width of the fabric is normal, so that makes it cheaper than anything I would normally buy to make muslins.

Secondly, did I whine enough about how that glossy sheen is what really makes the pinstripe look cheap and nasty in the other fabric? This is linen. Matte and with a fairly rough, textured weave. Ok, the wide stripes may look a bit questionable none the less, but the narrow ones...

Which brings me to my third point: the narrow stripes are actually so close together that it doesn't look like 'cliche pinstripe' anymore. I will make a shirt for E out of this. He already saw it and thinks it would work (E seems to be getting more adventurous in the way he dresses, now that he's over thirty. Especially when it comes to colour. Just don't say I said that...)

Ok, reason number four: I've had the most amazing suggestions on what to do with pinstripe fabric. Too many for what I had. And some of them needed a fabric with a different hand. Like these ones. These will drape quite differently when cut on the bias, for example. Unlike my original pinstripe fabric.

And, finally, closely connected to the previous, I sometimes stumble across such great things as this on the wild, wide waves of the internet (this comes from the website of a vintage pattern seller, but I forgot which one. If you know, just leave a comment and I'll give it proper credit). Now, be honest, don't you think that would rock in mob-tastic pinstripe linen?

Glum ballerina to take on summer heat

I know I should be hard at work, making my Burdastyle coat. However, today may just be the hottest day this year, here in the Netherlands and I had already started on this little number.

Stash fabric, bought two years ago on sale at the end of summer. It's black cotton with eyelet-like embroidery (without the eyelets, obviously) in lengthwise 'stripes' and scallop-embroidered selvedges. The kind of thing you buy because it looks so nice on the bolt, but remains unused because it's just not very practical. A bit stiff, the pattern's too rigid, you want to use those scalloped edges but don't know how, etc. This week, inspiration struck: a strapless dress with a dropped waistline and a big gathered skirt! I managed to use the scallops along the entire top edge as well as along the 'hem' (haha, no hemming needed!). That meant having to cut everything on the cross grain and the back pieces even quite far that. However, this fabric is, as said, a bit stiff and therefore doesn't stretch as a result of that.

I thought about added thin straps, but I think I will leave it like this. Oh, it's self-drafted, based on my personal sloper, as usual.

The secret is out!

I've been really good at not revealing anything about this for the past months... But now, after the announcement has been made, I'm happy to reveal that I'll be making a coat for the up-and-coming Burdastyle book!

And if the posts popping up all over the blogosphere are anything to go by, I'll be joined by several of my favorite seamstresses in this exciting project.

I just received the pattern, and got all of the supplies last week, so I'm really looking forward to things to come. Note to self: Must remember to document each and every step in the process...

Proof of concept

Right now, it's that particular sticky summer weather, which seems to leach away all your energy. Of course, it doesn't get to really impressive temperatures here in the Netherlands, but other people, who have reasons to know, have ensured me that the humidity makes both heat and cold have more impact.

Why am I complaining about the weather yet again? Well, I need a bit of an excuse for slacking on the pinstripe project, don't I? At least you guys have almost brought me around to the idea of making a dress out of it... Goodbye practicality, hello fabric origami/tetris!

So, this weekend, I started work on another project which has been on my mind and planning for a long time: a retro bathing suit! I think I have wanted to make something like this (please excuse me for the very rough little sketch) for about two years now, being held back first by a lack of proper machinery and later by a lack of time.

I made the pattern (based on a stretch body sloper made last year), cut out the pieces, some in the lining and all in black lycra, planning to use both the matt and the glossy side. Today, I started assembling, only to be disappointed almost straight away.

As it turns out, this lycra, which has been in my stash for at least a year, is of a particularly nasty quality. Its worst feature just has to be that of 'recovery', or, more to the point, the lack of it. What I mean by this is the ability of the fabric to resume its former shape and look after having been stretched out. A quality one would look for in a fabric for a bathing suit, I would say. A quality which this particular piece of lycra sadly lacks... It already showed some odd bulges just from holding it, so you can imagine what happened when I tried on my half assembled bathing suit.

This is it, so far. I think the fit is basically OK, but I will need to tweek it a bit. The inseams on the panty bit need to be shortened, so they won't show under the skirt bit. The whole bottom, panty and skirt front, should be lengthened by about 2 cm because I like the length the way it is now, but I haven't hemmed anything yet. I'm not so sure about the cut-out at the back. It seems too wide, but it's really hard to judge it without assembling the rest of the top and applying all the needed elastic edging. And I'm certainly not going to waste more time, energy and supplies on an item which I'll never wear.

Last Friday, I was given a gift certificate for the local fabric store. So it shouldn't surprise you that right now, I'm feeling really tempted to grab it and run to the store for some proper lycra (I may have to go with a two colour look though, most lycras don't have a matt reverse side)

In the mean time...

Between figuring out what to make of the infamous pinstripe fabric, making my way through the nine little dresses, finishing off my assignments and getting back on the 'sewing shirts and summer trousers for E'-track, there are some small projects which just have to be dealt with first. This is one of those. The fabric left over from V's dress just called out to me. I wanted to make a pencil skirt in 6 gores, but didn't have enough fabric (extra seam allowances, you know...). After some consideration, I came up with this, which neatly used up all the fabric. (I hope the pictures look Ok, it's very hard to judge with the low sunlight coming into my room)

It's a simple (self-drafted) pencil skirt with scoop pockets (the tops of which are sewn down on the inside to stop them from gaping), a high waistband and a double box pleat at the back. I can't believe I had never made one of those before: it's quite easy and flattering and gives more room for walking (and even riding a bicycle) than a slit, without the risk of indecent exposure. That's a feature I'll definately use again.

Oh, by the way, the shirt I'm wearing in this picture is a thrift shop find from last year.

Because the details didn't show in yesterdays pictures, I've added these close-ups.