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!

May 9th

J'ai pas l'air très heureuse, mais il fait tellement froid ici!

Ce patron me rappelle Matante Louise, je me rappelle parfaitement quand elle a fait la jupe B et je me rappelle quand elle prenait des cours de couture. J'était pas bien grande et j'étais fascinée! C'est sans doute pour ça d'ailleurs que j'aime le style des années 70, parce que toute petite, je la trouvais tellement élégante!

C'est son anniversaire aujourd'hui : Joyeux Anniversaire Matante Louise!

I don't look so happy, but it's been so cold here!

I distinctly remember my aunt Louise making the skirt in vew B, actually, I remember her taking sewing classes and I remember being fascinated. It was the 70's and if I really like that period, it's partly because she was so stylish!

It's her Birthday today : Happy Birthday Aunt Louise!

May 7th and 8th

This is Vogue 1132 which is a pretty spiffy pattern if you ask me, but I should warn you that not everyone was as successful as me in making it. Mary Beth even had a Blogger Meltdown making this.

I am a 12, but did a 10 so I could look like the girl on the enveloppe and even with that, in order to get the sleeves right, I had to take out a full 2 inches out on each sleeve.

I would like to say a special thank you to Kathleen at Fashion Incubator for her tutorials about bagging a jacket. They are the most comprehensible bagging tutorials out there and I can only urge you to go learn from them if you intend to make a lined coat or jacket. The lazy seamstress in me was so happy, I only had 10cm to hand sew and the result is amazingly professionnal looking.

The only thing I am sorry about is this cheap poly-rayon I used. I was stash busting.

 

This is the pretty generic pencil skirt with a big pleat in the back I made to go with it. I won't wear both at the same time though, too dowdy.

May 6th Merci Suzanne

Il y a quelques années de ça, alors que je paradais une de mes tenues, mon patron de l'époque a mentionné que sa belle-mère était une excellente couturière et qu'elle avait plein de tissus dans son grenier dont elle voulait se débarrasser. J'ai dit "amène!". Des 2 sacs poubelle pleins que j'ai reçu, j'ai gardé les plus beaux et les autres ont servi à faire des essais. Le polyester est parti au recyclage.
Voici un des tissus qu'elle m'a laissé, un magnifique voile paisley en laine avec des couleurs d'une richesse incroyable. Le Java de l'Oscar de La Renta vient d'elle aussi.
Merci Suzanne!