Je Triche - Les Napperons Mis à Jour

Je triche!

Mon voyage prévu dans 15 jours est la semaine prochaine alors, les napperons qui devaient être attachés à la main sont cousus à la machine avec un grand point zigzag. Chut! Ne le dîtes à personne!

Voici l'inspiration de la jupe. Je sais comment je vais attacher la ceinture, mais je me demande toujours si ou comment je vais finir le ourlet. Si je ne le finis pas, j'ai l'impression que je vais ressembler à une vieille hippie qui n'a pas fini sa couverture.

Est-ce que vous savez si on peut embarquer avec un crochet dans un avion?

Calvin Klein - Vogue 2442 - La Jupe Ensoleillée

J'ai maintenant beaucoup de respect pour les gens qui fabriquent des jeans.
C'est ce qui arrive quand j'apprends des nouvelles techniques. J'utilise du cuir, j'ai du respect pour les maroquiniers, je fais une jupe façon jeans, j'aime Roy et tous les participants du "Male Pattern Boldness Jeans Sew-Along" qui se sont fait de très jolis pantalons en denim.

Comme cette Calvin Klein est du recyclage, il fut difficile de trouver assez de tissu pour couper toutes les pièces necéssaires. J'ai fini par utiliser le ourlet pour faire une ceinture en 4 parties et les passants ont été coupés dans la parmenture. 

J'ai coupé les pièces intérieures dans du coton jaune et vous voyez? J'ai utilisé la surjeteuse! J'ai utilisé des fausses coutures rabattues pour toute la construction.

Le patron est tellement 1980 que le dos m'allait parfaitement mais j'ai du retirer 2,5cm de chaque côté du devant pour avoir une jupe un peu plus moderne. Je la porte plus basse aussi.

Faire un jeans, c'est beaucoup de travail, mais ça vaut le coup. Si je décidais d'en faire un, cet hiver par exemple, je chercherais un patron à la coupe plus moderne, mais je garderais les superbes instructions détaillées du Vogue 2442 sous la main. Si vous voulez voir des beaux jeans, allez voir ceux de Patty chez The Snugbug, Elaine chez The Selfish Seamstress, le rouge de Yoshimi The Flying Squirrel, TaylorTailor en a fait une jolie paire pour sa copine et, Peter de Male Pattern Boldness qui en fait de très beaux pour son copain et lui.

Calvin Klein - Vogue 2442 - The Sunny Skirt

I have new found respect for people who make jeans.

This happens to me all the time, I try to work leather and I gain respect for artisans who make bags, I make jeans and I have new found love for guys like Roy or for the MBP Jeans sew-alongers who all did a great job. 

Since this Calvin Klein was a refashion, the hardest part was to wring out every bit of fabric available and as you see here, I had to resort to using the hem seam allowance to shape a 4 piece belt and I used the bottom of the facing to make the belt loops. 

The inside pieces, I made in matching yellow cotton and look you here, I serged! I used mock flat felled seams throughout.

The fit was so eighties! The back of the skirt fit perfectly but the front was an inch too big on each side! So I removed it to get a more modern looking skirt. I also chose to wear it lower.

Making jeans is quite labor intensive, but it is totally worth it. If I was to make jeans, which will be a winter activity I think, I would look for another pattern as this one is quite dated but I would dig out the explanations as they are stellar. If you want to see some really good jeans, you should check Patty's at The Snugbug, Elaine's at The Selfish Seamstress, Yoshimi The Flying Squirrel's red jeans, TaylorTailor made a very good pair for his girlfriend and of course, Peter at Male Pattern Boldness who's His and His white jeans are the best.

A Year Of Sewing

Hand Embroidered Portrait by Daniel Kornrumpf

A year of sewing costs €719.68 at CarmencitaB's.

This includes all the fabric, notions, patterns and machine maintenance. I should add to this a portion of the electricity, Internet, cell data and gas bills as they are intertwined in the "production" costs.

With this money, I made all my Christmas gifts, every birthday gifts for the girls, teachers, friends, some for the boys, a vest for Mr C, a coat, a jacket, some skirts, some bags, some dresses for me (I still don't make pants!). I refashioned, reused, recycled, but not always. 

Have I saved any money? - Probably, I don't know. It was never the prime objective.

Is it ecological? - Not really, having fabric and patterns shipped from elsewhere in the world has a high carbon footprint. I also made stuff I don't need, which is not ecological either. I made a much better use of my scraps, a small step. 

Ethical? - It didn't start this way, but it sure looks like it : I have bought, 3 t-shirts, 2 cardigans and 2 pairs of shoes this year. As I don't make boys pants and clothes, my record is not so great about cutting down on fast fashion. But I have a great record of buying and sewing fabrics from secondhand stores another small step.

Will I save the planet? - No.

Some people are much better and articulate about this subject than I am. Zoe at So, Zoe has written extensively on the subject of sustainability and ethics. I like her point of view, it made me think.

But I also dig Jacki's Modern Twist post on Why Do You Sew in which she says "sewing not as a hobby but as a skill that I am slowly cultivating".

So where do I stand exactly? - Right in the middle. I am cultivating a skill and as a corollary, I hardly buy anything.

Will I keep it up? - Definitely.