My Turn / Mon Tour


It's my turn! After copying my neighbors' jeans, I am applying the Jeanius method to mine.
I've finally finished watching the class. I didn't really need to, I'm pretty versed on front flies after my bout of pyjama pants making for my brother and that vintage CK skirt I made, but I thought I might pick up a few tips along the way and I did. 
I also had more time to actually watch Kenneth King's face and I found it quite entertaining because you can kind of read him : I could tell when the class was filmed, when he is tired, when he is refraining from cracking a joke (Hey! Craftsy, let him have a go, we love sewing jokes and we are bright people, we can learn and laugh at the same time!), this all makes him totally lovable and human and it makes me want to meet him. 
He's also a good coach, the copying method works and I've seen tons of good results. It's a good class overall. 
Making jeans is a long process so, if you want, you can save a couple of minutes by :
- Using markers, I tried the color pencils, but I thought they were a pain. On the cargo-harem pants, I used Sharpies because the pants were going to be thrown out. This time, I used Jr C's washable markers then washed my jeans. As you can see on this picture, I'm using the same organza, it'll soon look like a Burda pattern sheet.
- I didn't thread trace all the seams because I could totally see them through the organza. On darker jeans you would have to do that but on older jeans you don't.
- I bought proper needles...
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C'est à mon tour! Après la copie du jean de mon voisin, j'applique la méthode Jeanius au mien.
J'ai aussi regardé toute la classe. J'en avais pas vraiment besoin, depuis la série de pyjamas que j'ai fait pour mon frère et la jupe CK vintage, les braguettes n'ont plus de secrets pour moi, mais je me disais qu'il y aurait bien un ou deux trucs à glaner et il y en avait.
Du coup j'ai un peu focalisé sur le visage de Kenneth King et je l'ai trouvé très ouvert et assez facile à lire : je savais quand la leçon a été filmée, quand il est fatigué, quand il se retient pour rester sérieux (et là je dis à Craftsy, laissez-le en faire des farces, on est intelligentes, on peut apprendre et rire en même temps!), ça me l'a rendu aimable et humain, du coup, j'ai envie de la rencontrer.
C'est un bon instructeur, la méthode marche et les résultats que j'ai vu sont très bien, c'est une bonne classe.
Faire un jean c'est très long alors si vous voulez sauvez quelques prĂ©cieuses secondes : 
- Utilisez des feutres, j'ai essayé les crayons de couleurs mais je n'ai pas aimé. Sur le pantalon cargo, j'ai utilisé des Sharpies, il allait droit à la poubelle de toute façon. Cette fois-ci, j'ai utilisé les feutres lavables de Jr C et j'ai lavé mon jean. J'utilise la même pièce de tissu comme vous pouvez voir, elle va ressembler à une feuille de patron Burda bientôt.
- Je n'ai pas faufilé toutes les coutures, je pouvais très bien les voir à travers l'organza. Je suppose que si votre jean est plus foncé vous allez devoir le faire, mais sur un vieux jean, ce n'est pas nécessaire.
- J'ai acheté de vraies aiguilles...


What? Had I been hand-sewing with stumps? I couldn't believe how easy it looked on tv and how hard it was in real life.
Now, I'm not the one pushing for buying everything the teacher says you absolutely need. I often make-do because I never find anything they talk about here and, with shipping costs, it can become quite expensive to import that special tracing paper and fancy rulers and interfacing and bits and bobs to make your sewing life easier. This time though, I listened to my inner sewing nerd, went to my corner quilting shop and bought expensive Japanese sashico needles. They make a huge difference.
Before, I was sewing with toothpicks, but that was before.
I also bought a pack of 10 seam rippers at my sailing wholesaler, I'll have one besides every machine and in every sewing kits and I won't have to look for one ever again. Oh! the sewing time you loose looking for a seam ripper!
I think I'm unconsciously preparing to undo all of my top stitching until perfect.
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Hein? Je cousais avec des bâtons? J'en revenais pas, ça avait l'air facile à la télé mais à la maison c'était horrible.
Vous savez bien que je ne pousse pas à la consommation et que je ne vous dirai pas qu'il faut absolument utiliser toutes les fournitures que votre instructeur vous recommande. La majorité du temps, je fais avec ce que j'ai. On ne trouve jamais rien ici et avec les frais de poste, importer ce papier à tracer ultra spécial, les réglets transparents, entoilages et autres bitonniots indispensables et qui facilitent la vie va faire de votre loisir un sport de luxe. Ceci dit, j'ai écouté ma petite voix de couturière et je suis allée chez la marchande de patchwork au coin de la rue et je me suis acheté des aiguilles japonaises à sachico à prix de fou. Ça fait une grosse différence.
Avant je cousais avec des cure-dents, mais ça, c'était avant.
Je me suis aussi acheté un paquet de 10 découd-vite chez mon fournisseur voile. Je vais en mettre à côté de chaque machine et dans tous les kits de couture et je n'en chercherai plus. Le temps qu'on perd à chercher son découd-vite est incommensurable!
Je pense qu'inconsciemment, je me prépare à défaire mes surpiqûres jusqu'à la perfection.






Deep Six


I'm pretty organized.
When I start a project, I gather all the necessary fabric, trim notions, in a ziplock and I whenever ready or in the mood, I start on the project. 
I started this three years ago and you know what? I am not going to finish it. I hate the color, I hate the fabric I chose, I hate the fit, I loath the crotch, I hate the tiny pockets, this style of pants doesn't suit me and I am never ever going to wear them even if finish them. 


So I unpicked the zipper and chucked it.
This is supposed to be liberating right? It's not. I still have so much work. Pants geometry eludes me. I have yet to make a pair that looks, feels and fit right. 
I keep delaying the toile making, but I'm running out of options my favorite jeans are about to die and I'll have to do something about this very soon.
So I bought a Japanese jeans pattern, my favorite pair is Japanese, and I have just received the pant pattern that comes with Sandra Betzina's class.
I'll eventually get to it...in a near distant future.





The Two Year Old Pair of Pants


My only 2010 resolution was to finish these pants.
I'm not good with pants, let me rephrase this, I am excellent at wearing pants, but not good at making them. I don't understand them, I can't see them in my head. Every attempt at making them has been fraught with hair pulling, teeth grinding and seam ripper madness. I can never get a good enough fit. There is a scrap heap of abandoned pant muslims hidden in a corner of the house. Once in a while though, I go throught this phase where I think maybe I should give it another try.
I must have been very depressed when I bought this pattern, thinking that view A would make excellent slim pants and I know I didn't read the description because it's got 17 pattern pieces!
Anyhow, I started on them, and against my better judgement and instinct, I followed the instructions in a fit of I'll-certainly-learn-some-more-if-I-do-it-like-they-tell-me-to. After a while, my instinct whispering abaited and was replaced by screaming : "This is wrong, It doesn't make sense, You'll get into trouble, You fool! Now go get your seam ripper and last, I told you so!"
So just in case, before cutting these, you should take a look at Sandra Betzina's video about the Flat Fly-Front which specifically tell you NOT to follow pattern instructions and Kathleen Fasanella tutorials on Welt Pockets which also tell you the same thing. 
Maybe I should trust myself a little more, I am sure I'd get better results than this : 



Seam ripper where art thou!



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