Flashback Friday - 1973 and the dancing doll

Did you happen to watch Marie Osmond's doll dance on Dancing with the Stars? I know she got blasted for it all over the Internet, but hey, Marie and me, well we're about the same age and I'm pretty certain I couldn't perform a doll dance that included multiple twirls and lifts.

But, there was a time when I could! In 1973 I performed as a wind-up doll that came to life in the ballet Coppelia, shown here during dress rehearsal. The dance was actually performed en pointe so I'm not sure why I'm not wearing my pointe shoes.

I didn't dance the part of Coppelia, although I would have liked to I wasn't chosen for that part. It was only my third year of performing solos and I was given the part of one of the dolls in Doctor Coppelius' shop.

The doll dance I did perform was not an easy one to perform. It's difficult to dance "choppy" and "elegant" all at the same time.

Ah, I remember many of the steps in that dance. Holding my arms in a stiff bent fashion, angling my head just so, slowly coming to life after being wound up. I especially remember the teensy-tiny hops that were done en pointe. Standing on one leg, hopping on your toe, with the other leg in the air is much harder than it appears!

I also danced with my class as a Spanish doll - that was a fun dance and an adorable costume. There might have been another dance too, but after thirty some years I just can't recall for sure; the dance I'm thinking of might have been from a different ballet performance.

Because I had multiple costumes and the owner knew my family was a bit strapped for cash, she agreed to let me sew the costume for the doll. Time and money were issues so the doll dress was quite simple.

The costume began with a white cotton scoop-neck body suit. I added big puffed sleeves to the body suit and then sewed a mini-skirt to wear over the body suit. The gored mini-skirt, with a waistband and tiny ruffle at the hem, was sewn from the same fabric as the sleeves - a lightweight white cotton with tiny red flocked flowers.

While the skirt did not have tulle underneath it, the flare from the gores, combined with the lightweight fabric, gave life to the skirt as I danced. The final touch was long red ribbons on the bodice to match the long red ribbon that decorated my pony tails.

And yes, I had big round red cheeks.

Never seen the ballet Coppelia? Check out a few of the clips on YouTube.

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Yehaw! I'm back in the saddle again!

That's right baby! My sewing machine is home from the sewing machine hospital and she's all fixed up and ready to go.

After I finish baking a batch of pumpkin bars for hubby to bring to his guy thing this weekend I'm off to spend some quality time with my sewing machine. Pin It

I know I shouldn't have, but it's Fabric Mart!

When I read a Shannon's post about using these beautiful Anna Sui silk's for linings... well, what can I say? My fingers typed in Fabric Mart's web address on my keyboard and in minutes and order was placed.

The package arrived today and I must say, these silks are even more beautiful in person than they appear in the photograph. Oh how I love the way silk feels! Pin It

I'm back and still not sewing

Whew, what a whirlwind week...and we didn't even travel anywhere!

Well, that's not a completely true statement. We did indeed travel to the sewing machine dealer to drop off my machine for repair. But that was it. No shopping for us - even after we were given a newspaper filled with ads designed to tempt us to part with our hard earned money. Did you know that the paper that was delivered on Thanksgiving had so many ads that it weighed five pounds?

I didn't shop because I vowed years ago that I would not shop the day after Thanksgiving. If you've read my blog for awhile, you know that I was a single mother for many years. We rarely received child support so for ten of those years I worked two jobs. My second job was in retail which meant I always worked the day after Thanksgiving. I'm telling you - that was the worst day to be a retail sales associate.

So what did I do since I was boycotting the huge sales? I could have sewn if I would have pulled my old Kenmore out, but instead I choose to inventory my fabric stash. Now that was an eye opener!

I unburied a few beautiful pieces of fabric, but I also unburied too many pieces of cheap, low-quality fabric. I've decided that I'm no longer wasting my time and money on low-quality fabric. I don't like working on it and my sewing time is too valuable to waste sewing with it, especially if it produces a cheap looking garment. If I can't afford good quality fabric then I'll do without.

Now that the fabric closet has been cleared and the fabric categorized, I'm hopeful that I can convince my dear hubby to install shelving in my sewing room closet so I can neatly store all of my fabric. Pin It

Thanksgiving

We're hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our home this year so I won't be adding any new posts until next Saturday. I'll probably steal a few minutes to read your blogs, but most of my extra time will be spent cleaning, grocery shopping and cooking.

If you celebrate Thanksgiving I wish you safe travel and a wonderful time with your family and friends. Pin It

Make it Mine magazine winners are...

The random integer generator gave me numbers 14 - TwilaO (The Amazing Mrs. O), 6 - Stacy (Stacy Sews), and 3 - Kasizzle.

I'll send each of you an email so I can get your mailing address and get the magazines out to you right away. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I am.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment. Some of your blogs were new to me so I've found some new blogs to visit, which I will be doing this week while my sewing machines are being repaired. Pin It

The Sharon recipe - a bit of fun mixed on high

Sewing update
No sewing going on in this household as I haven't yet had time to get my broken sewing machine to the dealer for repair.

Today was the day I was going to do that, but I had forgotten that I made plans spend time with two of my sisters after my morning face painting gig. The dealer's store is on the other side of town from where I'll be meeting with my sisters so the machine will just have to wait.

Sharon recipe
In the meantime, to amuse myself, I took this completely useless (but fun) personality quiz that I first saw on this blog.

sharon - 1 1/2 cups of trustworthiness - 2 teaspoons of seduction - 1/4 cup of fun Mix on high, and serve immediately.

'What is your personality recipe?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Not sure how seduction, trustworthiness and fun blend together, but it sounds pretty interesting doesn't it? Besides it's a online quiz so it must be extremely accurate, right? LOL

Patternaholic blog
By the way, if you like viewing vintage and retro patterns I've begun updating my other blog again - Patternaholic - with photos of my huge pattern collection. I calculated that if I posted a pattern a day I could update that blog for over eight years. You do the math, LOL!

Giveaways
Do you like giveaways? Then you'll be want to browse through this list of giveaways on this blog. I haven't had a chance to go through the list yet, but maybe there's some Christmas gifts just waiting to be won.

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Flashback Friday - 1979

The weather is turning colder here. In fact the past few days we've been teased with intermittent snow flakes - nothing really noticable, just enough to remind us that winter is almost upon us. As the weather turns colder I find that I have an urge to bake desserts. Apple pie, banana bread, pumpkin bars....you get the picture.

I've always had an urge to bake just as the weather begins to turn cooler. That's evident by this photo of me making one of my all time favorites - Special K bars.

I can tell I'm making Special K bars because of the upside down box of cereal in the background. See it? It's on the counter of my extremely messy kitchen.

The blouse I'm wearing was sewn using McCall's 6555, a Carole Little for saint-tropez west design. The one I'm wearing is view C but I also sewed view B (the red one on the envelope cover.)
That blouse was a great blouse. Very versatile and comfortable. It could be dressed up and worn with a skirt or dressed down and worn with skinny jeans and high heels.

The fabric was a polyester something or other with a lovely floral print that was predominately purple. As I write this I can almost feel that fabric beneath my fingers - it had a bit of stiffness to it yet had enough drape to make up well in this style blouse.

I'm certain I purchased from Minnesota Fabrics even though this would have been the time period that I was still working at Joann Fabrics in the mall. Minnesota Fabrics was the closest fabric store to the apartment where we lived and the fabric was much cheaper than the high end fabrics at Joann's. My how times have changed...

As much as I still enjoy baking when the weather turns colder, I no longer make Special K bars. One of my sisters developed a peanut allergy so the bars are no longer brought to family events, the kids no longer are home to devour a batch and my husband and I certainly don't need to eat a batch of bars by ourselves. Not that I'm saying we would, or even that we have, but we might be too weak to resist the temptation and I wouldn't want us to feel guilty about eating an entire batch of bars by ourselves. But here's the recipe just in case you have no problems decide to whip up a batch. And it's be our secret if you decide to eat the entire batch by yourself.

Special K Bars
1 c. sugar
1 c. light Karo syrup
1 c. peanut butter
6 c. Special K cereal or corn flakes

Boil sugar and syrup together. Add peanut butter and mix well. Pour mixture over cereal. Pat in jelly roll pan. Melt 6 ounce chocolate chips and 6 ounce butterscotch chips together and spread over bars.

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Tired woman? Yes. Wonder woman? No

I certainly don't think of myself as a wonder woman. A tired woman - yes, a wonder woman - no. But my sweet friend Stacey does and she passed on the Wonder Woman award to me. I'm a bit slow in actually placing it on my blog as she passed it along a few weeks ago - Halloween to be exact.

She says I'm her favorite seamstress/clown/dancing librarian/puppy momma. Ah shucks, ain't she sweet? And to set the record straight. I'm not really a librarian...I just coordinate a library book cart drill team so we can amaze crowds with our cart twirling abilities while wearing tiaras and long gowns. Maybe I'll work in a Wonder Woman costume into next year's performance!

I think the part of my life when I most felt like wonder woman was when I was a young single mom. It was all of that juggling of schedules, and homework, and cooking, and cleaning, and entertaining, and just being a mom, along with a full time job that somehow was completed on a daily basis. Not always with a smile, and not always with my eyes wide open, but it was done. My kids knew I loved them and I knew they loved me.

So in honor of my wonder woman years I present to you my little rug rats in their superhero underoos. And no, I didn't sew any of these.


Hee, hee - hope they still love me after this one! Pin It

A Dress A Day announces new wiki dedicated to vintage sewing patterns

Did you all see the post at A Dress A Day about the new Vintage Sewing Pattern wiki? This is such a cool idea. I've heard of wiki's but haven't edited anything on them. So of course I had to try it out! I posted a vintage pattern from my disco days on the wiki just to try it out. Hope I didn't mess anything up!

If you haven't checked it out yet - get on over there! Pin It

Make it Mine magazine giveaway

I just knew all of you would understand my need to cry over my broken machines!

Since I can't sew I'll be busy deciding which projects I want to make from the new magazine, Make it Mine. This is the new magazine I shared with you ago a few weeks ago (click here for post).

The day after that post I received a nice email message from the publisher. They obviously could tell how excited I was to discover this new publication and offered to send me a complimentary copy of the first issue PLUS copies for me to give away!

The good news: I have three copies to giveaway to you! (I already gave one away in addition to the one I kept for myself.)

If you're interested all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I'll do a random drawing (if more than three of you are interested) on Saturday. If you don't leave me your email address be sure to check back Saturday to see if you won.

The bad news: As much as I hate to do this, for this giveaway I'll only be able to mail these in the United States. Sorry :-(

I said it before and I'll say it again. This is a great magazine if you're a creative soul interested in embellishment, jewelry, simple sewing or just general crafting.

There's an interesting technique of photo copying images onto polymer clay; needle felting on a handbag; bleaching as an embellishment on jeans; decoupaging jewelry; embroidery basics; transforming RTW skirts from nice to wow! where did you get that; and turning a tee into a tote! That's just a few that caught my eye right away.

My first project? The photo collage on a wooden serving tray. It will make a great conversation piece as well as a wonderful gift.

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post if you want to be entered in the drawing for a free issue of this new magazine!

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My machines are broken!

Did you all hear a cry of frustration about 9 p.m. CST? That was me.

My almost one year old Pfaff 2056 sewing machine quit. Right in the middle of a project my Pfaff 2056 gave up. I finished sewing a seam. Placed my next seam in place, put the pressure foot down, pressed the foot pedal and the pressure foot went up and the machine "whined".

I swear my sewing room must be jinxed as three weeks ago the foot pedal on my serger quit right in the middle of a project also.

Now I'm hoping I can find time this week to get the machine to the repair shop so I can get back to sewing. Pin It

Flashback Friday - 1974

In the early 1970's I began sewing for my father. I knew nothing about sewing men's clothing but, as a fearless teen sewer I thought to myself "how hard can it be?"

A leisure suit was one of the items I sewed for him. Oh how I wish there was a photo of that still in existence! I'm sure if I looked at it now I would see a gazillion faults, but my father wore it often always proudly telling people that one of his daughter's sewed it for him.

Another thing I sewed for him was a button down shirt using this pattern, Simplicity 6368, c. 1974.

At the time I didn't understand the importance of interfacing so I sewed this shirt just as the instructions told me to. That included no interfacing in either the collar or the center front.

The shirt was a favorite. It quickly became a Father's Day tradition that I give my father would receive a new shirt sewn from this pattern as a gift from me. There were even a few years that I sewed matching Grandma and grandson/granddaughter shirts that my kids loved to wear when Grandpa was wearing his. The sewn shirt gift continued for many years until children, work, and school obligations caused me to put it aside and begin purchasing gifts.

The pattern was tucked away but not forgotten and it moved with me many times over the years. It remained boxed up until a few years ago when I was preparing to move once more. I knew I couldn't take all of my old patterns with me, so I was sorting through them to see what would stay and what would be donated or discarded.

Well, of course this pattern stayed! In fact, that year I started the tradition up again and made a new version for my father for Father's Day. The only thing I did was narrow the collar a bit (and add interfacing to the collar and front).

In 2005 I decided to "pass the baton" and helped my daughter sew this shirt for her grandfather. They have a very special bond those two - she is the first grandchild and was born three months premature so it was touch and go with her for a long time - and his eyes teared up when she presented this to him for Christmas 2005.

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Abby and Sophia

Abby (5 months old) and Sophia (5 years old)
Best Friends Forever!

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The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure - The Class (post seven)

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure

The Class

Well, I guess my now you've all figured out that I'm a bit a perfectionist as well as an over achiever. I was one of those kids you got annoyed with when grades were done on a curve since I was always going for that A+.

I really thought I needed a decent fitting muslin before this class began and that tan muslin was not a good fitting muslin. It turns out I was fine. There were some woman that I thought their muslins fit very well but Cynthia ended up doing a lot of pinning and slicing to their muslins. I did not think my muslin fit that well, but Cynthia didn't make too many adjustments.

This morning, before I set off for the class, I had everything set up on my dining room table all nice and organized into plastic bags - seam ripper, hem gauge, tape, extra fabric, each altered pattern (each in a separate envelope), as well as the other required items on the supply list.

I tucked everything into two big tote bags and off I went. Imagine my dismay when I arrived at the classroom and reached into my bag to pull out my muslin only to find that I had everything I needed EXCEPT the blue muslin!!!

Can you believe it? All that last minute sewing on the muslin and it didn't get packed into my tote bag!

Since it was no longer rush hour it would only take me an hour (round trip) to get the muslin. Cynthia said it was my decision - so off I went.

Once home I hunted all over for my blue muslin. I remembered folding it up and placing it on the table with all of my other supplies. My mind was racing as to what could have happened to them.

Guess where I found them? Lying in the middle of the living room floor where my dear big 5-month old puppy had played with them. She must have pulled them off of the table and played with them until something new captured her attention and she forgot all about them.

I grabbed the blue muslin, raced back to class and watched as Cynthia performed her magic as I patiently awaited my turn.

When it was my turn she immediately noticed the dreaded pantie line.That's when she asked the class if we had all heard of Spanx. (Uh, oh. I knew I should have worn some gut sucking, cheek lifting something or other to class, LOL!)

She sliced my pant completely around the circumference of my body as I needed to add 1/2" depth. She then pinned out 1/2" at the inner leg at the upper thigh.I was instructed to add fabric into the area that was sliced and to sew the pinned area and then the pants would be tweaked again.

Pants being sliced and tweaked

After sewing a 1/2" band of fabric into the area that had been sliced, I awaited my turn for the second tweaking. This time she pinned 1/2" tuck underneath the seat beginning at the inner thigh tapering to zero at the side seam. She released the side seam at my high hip and added 1/4" fabric - beginning at zero at the waist, increasing to 1/4" at 2" down, tapering to zero at 4" down. The side seam was also adjusted -the amount stayed the same but the stitch line on the front was moved 1/2" forward and the stitch line on the back was moved 1/2".

Pant with side seam opened and taped in place. Back tuck under seat.

Adjusted muslin back . One side only is completed. I had a side zipper in that was cut in half when the pants were sliced.

She thought these fit well and they felt good when I was wearing them, but looking at the photo I'm not sure that I like the look of them. I saw such dramatic changes in the other woman who were fitted. Most of them appeared to loose weight once their pants were properly fitted. Almost all of the other pants had the fullness eliminated at their back. I still see some fullness at the back of my pants (the right leg).

I was actually surprised that she did not slice and add at my high hip at the side seam. This was an adjustment that she made on half of the participants (along with the tuck underneath the seat). Those of us with high hips get a "c" shape that radiates out from the inner leg just above the knee to the seat area. It's caused by the high hip curve - so more fabric needs to be added in that area because of the curve of the body.

Many of the woman also had long vertical pleats pinned along the entire back leg which made the leg slimmer. I've always tried to make that adjustment by taking in more at the side seam, but you do need to take it out of the back leg - parallel to the grain line - to make the leg hang better.

She told all of us that she is willing to see us during the expo for a final critique of our muslins, but I was unable to get an appointment to see her as I was the last one to sign up. I'm still going to sew another pair of pants with the adjustments from this class and wear them when I go back on Friday in the hopes that I can catch her during a slow time at her booth.

The back muslins compared - before and after.

The perfect pant fitting adventure post one here; post two here; post three here; post four here, post five here; post six here.
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The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure - Muslin Number Four (post six)

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure

Muslin Number Four

Tomorrow is the all day pant fitting class. This is what I'm bringing with me (along with my first muslin and altered pattern in the hopes of finding out what I did incorrectly.) This muslin is sewn from the recommended fabric - 100% cotton twill - with the zipper and interfaced waistband added.

The front view of the blue muslin with side zipper and waistband added. I think the waistband is too tight.

The back view of the blue muslin with side zipper and waistband added. To my untrained eye, it appears to strain at the high hip and is quite baggy under the seat and at the lower hipline.

The side view of the blue muslin with. The back of the waist rides higher than the front - seems to be above my waistline. The front seam pulls to the front at the upper hip.

Well, there isn't much else I can do at this point. I received a lot of encouragement on the PR boards from members who had recently taken this same class in KC. They couldn't say enough positive things about the class and Cynthia Guffey.

Speaking of Cynthia Guffey - what a classy lady. I had sent an email message after my sewing my first muslin on the off chance that she would actually see it before the class. Her assistant responded to let me know she would try and reach Cynthia for me. Cynthia called three times today trying to reach me - unfortunately I wasn't able to respond to the calls - but she certainly did not have to keep trying to reach me when I hadn't returned her first call. I'm already impressed with her and I haven't' even taken the class yet.

Come back again for a report on the muslin critique and the pant fitting workshop.

The perfect pant fitting adventure post one here; post two here; post three here; post four here, post five here. Pin It

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure - Muslin Number Two (post five)

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure

Muslin Number Two

Not knowing what to do with the pant muslin I posted a cry for help on the Patternreview boards (you'll need to sign in to view the message boards). As usual, my cry for help was heard and answered.

Two members suggested I try a muslin using the pattern without alterations first - just add extra width to the seams.

It sounded like good advice to me so I quickly pulled another piece of fabric out of the stash to be sacrificed for the sake of a great fitting pair of pants.

I cut out the pattern - no alterations this time - with an extra 1" around the entire pattern piece.


I quickly sewed the darts, stay stitched the waist, and sewed all of the seams together using a 1" seam allowance. Essentially I ended up increasing my original pattern by 5/8" all around since the pattern had a 5/8" seam allowance built in. This worked out well as this Burda pattern is designed to be close-fitting and I don't want my final pant to fit that closely.

The front view of the striped muslin with no alterations - this appears to be a much better initial fit than the first muslin.

The back view of the striped muslin with no alterations. Obviously work will need to be done but the initial fit is much better than the first muslin.

The side view of the striped muslin with no alterations and before adding the elastic at the waist. I think this is probably too much ease to try and fit into a waistband so some adjustments will need to be made.

The side view of the striped muslin with no alterations and the waist elastic added. Again a better initial fit even though work will need to be done.

My next step is to make a few adjustments to this pattern and make the final pant muslin for class.

• Transfer my back crotch curve onto the back pattern piece
• Shorten the knee location to match my original pattern alteration
• Lengthen the pant leg to match my original pattern alteration
• Cut out my "real" muslin and sew it - complete with waistband and zipper before class Wednesday.
  

I sure am grateful for the generosity of Patternreview members!

Come back again for a report on muslin number two using the second altered pattern.

The perfect pant fitting adventure post one here; post two here; post three here; post four here.
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The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure - Muslin Number One continued (post four)

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure

Muslin Number One continued

As noted in my previous post I was going to try and fix the fit of the crotch curve by increasing the back crotch curve and decreasing the front back curve.

I have dentist and eye appointments lined up for this morning, so in between appoints I made some quick crotch curve adjustments.

Rather than cut out an entire new muslin, I did the additions and subtractions on muslin number one. That's one reason a 1" seam allowance is important to work with...I could easily let out the back crotch curve. I cut off the excess on the front crotch curve. I don't have the measurements of each handy at the moment, but it doesn't really matter because it did not work.

These are the type of photos I'd rather not post for the world to see. However, I need to document the process for myself and I have always found it helpful when others share their fitting experiences with me.

Adjusted muslin number one - back view. Notice the bagginess and folds of fabric? I'm not enough of a fit expert to accurately diagnose the problems but I'll be researching this more this evening.

Adjusted muslin number one - front view. This has so much bagginess at the center front crotch that at first glance you might think this is the back view. The sides have too much fabric at the hip level and there is too much fabric in the thigh area. The front darts appear to release fullness in an area where I don't need it so I may have to shorten those darts.

Side view of muslin number one - as you can see I'm dealing with a full tummy and an average back side with the fullness pretty low. This picture makes it appear that my front waist slopes down. I don't think that is accurate as hubby and I don't see that when looking at the pants. It may be the way I was trying to take photos by myself.

Adjusted muslin number one - back view with a pinned adjustment. I pinned a large triangle shape at the center back - with about two inches pinned in at the waistline. This throws the back darts off completely and I assume the back grain is now off also. The back crotch still doesn't look right.

Adjusted muslin number one - front view with a pinned adjustment. I pinned a large horizontal section across the entire center front and pinned out some excess on one side seam. The waist isn't actually off like this photo shows - I think I pulled some of it out of place trying to do a self photo.

I'm beginning to not trust my measurements, but I have taken them multiple times - both by myself and with my husband. It's possible that I'm not understanding how to transfer to measurements to the pattern to make alterations.

So what should I do? I have no idea what to do next. Obviously I'll need to try and come up with some solution this evening so I can complete a decent muslin to bring with me to class on Wednesday.

Come back again for a report on muslin number two using the second altered pattern.

The perfect pant fitting adventure post one here; post two here; post three here.

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The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure - Muslin Number One

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure
Muslin Number One

(No photos today as I've already ripped part of the first muslin apart.)

After dutifully taking all of the required measurements, transferring them to the pattern and making all of the required alterations I cut the muslin.

Knowing this was my test muslin (meaning not the pair that would attend class with me, but the pair that I would use to pre-test my altered pattern) I sewed the seams quickly - in the proper order - with a long stitch seam. I stay stitched the waist line but did not sew on a waistband, nor did I add the zipper.

• There's a number of problems with this first test muslin, but the crotch depth and crotch length appear to be the right lengths.
  
• The knee and leg length adjustment were also good.
  
• The pants overall are too wide at the hip, but I think that can be addressed in the class.
• To my surprise the side seam is in it's proper place. Which tells me I need more width in the back of the pattern and less in the front.
• Just as I feared, even though the overall crotch length appears to be correct, the adjustment between the front and back is not working. That 2-1/2" extension to the front crotch curve resulted in an incredibly baggy front crotch.

That obviously was not the right adjustment to make to the pattern so I'm going to try and fix it by increasing the back crotch curve and decreasing the front crotch curve.

Come back again for a report on muslin number two using the second altered pattern.

The perfect pant fitting adventure post one here; post two here.

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The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventures - measurements and pattern alteration

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure

Measurements and Pattern Alteration

My earlier post talked about my desire to finally obtain a pant pattern that is altered so that it will provide me with a pair of pants with the perfect fit.

Following the instructions in the pants fitting workbook, I enlisted the aid of my hubby to assist with obtaining accurate measurements. That involved wearing a piece of elastic around my waist as well as vertical strips of masking tape marking my center front, center back, and each side. Real romantic huh?

He helped me to get my front, back, right, and left waist to floor measurements as well as my waist to knee measurement. (All of which are really difficult to measure accurately by yourself.) We measured my front and back hip in 2" increments beginning 2" below my waistline. I also needed to measure my thigh circumference, crotch length and crotch depth. To get the correct crotch curve I used a flexible curve and transferred the shape onto a piece of paper.

Taking measurements only took about 20 minutes. Then came the time-consuming part - altering the pants pattern.

• I traced the pattern in my size and marked the 5/8" seam allowance and transferred all of the other pattern markings.
  
• Following the book, I began with the back pattern piece.
  
• This particular pattern had a center line drawn on it so I didn't have to add that.
  
• The waistline slope needed no adjustment.
  
• I shortened the crotch depth by 3/8"
  
• I placed my crotch curve over the pattern crotch curve and redrew it.
  

Pattern crotch curve compared to the new crotch curve created using the flexible curve.

Pattern crotch curve is underneath the new crotch curve created using the flexible curve.

• Added 5/8" to the back crotch length by extending the crotch curve (per workbook instructions).
• Made two darts instead of one, following workbook instructions.
• In 2" increments, measured the hip width across the back and added to the side seam as needed.
  
• Found the knee location of the pattern.
• Shortened the knee location by 2-1/2"
• Added 3" by adding tissue to the pant pattern halfway between the knee and the hem.
  

Knee location shortened by 2-1/2"

Added 3" to achieve correct pant length

The back pant pattern is now completely altered. At this point I looked at the back pattern and the alterations and I'm ready to toss the whole thing. The pattern piece just looks odd, especially the hip area that juts out quite a bit.

Completed altered back pant pattern on top of the original pant pattern tissue

Onto the front pant pattern alterations.

• The front pattern piece also had a center line drawn on it so I didn't have to add that.
  
• The front waistline slope needed no adjustment.
  
• I shortened the crotch depth by 3/8" to match the back pattern piece.
  
• Added 2-1/2" to the front crotch length by extending the crotch curve. This was per workbook instructions. At this point I'm looking at that curve and thinking that this will never work. I think it's too much to add at one point and I don't think it will work. However, there are no other instructions provided in the workbook for where to add to the front crotch length so I kept it as drawn.
• In 2" increments, measured the hip width across the back and added to the side seam as needed. This time instead of adding to the hip area, I decreased from the hip area.
  

Hip area decreased but front crotch curve increased.

• Shortened the knee location by 2-1/2" to match the back pattern piece.
  
• Added 3" by adding tissue to the pant pattern halfway between the knee and the hem to match the back pattern piece.
  

Completed altered front pant pattern on top of the original pant pattern tissue

I still don't think these are going to work as altered, even though I followed the instructions to a T. I'm going to go cut these out and sew up very quickly for a test muslin before I begin sewing the real muslin needed for class.

Come back again for a report on the muslin using this altered pattern. Pin It

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure

I know I'm not alone in this quest for the perfect fit as there are numerous books and DVDs and classes available to help sewers learn how to fit and sew the perfect pant.

I have read many of those books. I have viewed many of those DVDs. I have attended a lecture or two on fitting pants. Alas, I'm still in search of the my perfect fitting pant.

I will master the art of getting a pair of pants sewn that actually fit me.

That is why I set aside some money to attend an all day Pant Fitting class taught by Cynthia Guffey at this year's sewing expo.

This class required pre-work, which is expected. What I didn't expect was that the pre-work consisted of completing a pair of pants to bring with me to the class. Drat! I really just wanted someone to take my measurements and tell me what changes needed to be made to the pattern. You know, the easy method of pant fitting.

Since the class is next Wednesday I realized that I've procrastinated long enough and it's time to get down to business.

Rather than use an actual fashion pant pattern, I'm using Burda 3752 from my pattern stash. I think it has sat unused long enough - if you look closely you'll see I purchased it on 4/18/98. It's a basic pant shell, close-fitting, front and back darts, a waistband, and a side zipper.

As instructed, I'll be altering the pattern following the instructions in Cynthia's Pants Fitting Workbook, which arrived last month along with my expo class confirmation.

Step one is to find a helper to assist with taking many measurements, followed by the actual alteration of the pattern.

Come back later for progress on my latest sewing adventure.

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Only 52 days left to make or buy handmade gifts...

You know what I'm talking about.

Only 52 days until Christmas!

Which means all of the stores are now playing Christmas music and the aisles are filled with Santas, and snowmen and sparkling decorations. All in an attempt to tempt us to buy early and buy a lot.

I don't know about you but I find it all quite annoying considering it is only November 3. Does anyone else remember when the stores saved their holiday display until the day after Thanksgiving? It was magical!

Holiday Sewing Podcast
I just finished listening to the Sew Forth Now podcast, Let's Get Started Sewing for the Holidays, where she reminds us that the holidays will be here before we know it! If you haven't had a chance to listen to it yet take a few minutes to do so.

Give HandMade Gifts
Maybe this is the year to the take the HandMade Pledge. Every year our favorite gift is the handmade jams, seasoning packages, and caramels that my talented youngest sister gives to us. I haven't taken the pledge - yet - but I'm liking the idea more and more for my Christmas gifts this year.

Handmade Gift Ideas
If you, like me, might be looking for new ideas for handmade gifts, be sure to check out Sew Mama Sew blog during the month of November. The 30 Days of Gifts to Sew is underway - a different inspiration every day this month.

HandMade Gift Shopping
If I find I don't have time to actually make all of my gifts myself I could always attend the third annual No Coast Craft-o-Rama being held in Minneapolis the end of this month. The place will be filled with handmade items from many talented indie designers, including Rebecca Yaker, the designer of the sock monkey dress that I photographed at the state fair. (Click here.)

Handmade Nation Trailer
Speaking of indie designers - once again I'm late to the party. I just recently came across this youtube trailer for the documentary that will be released in March 2008 - "Handmade Nation". Pin It

Been having trouble viewing my blog lately? I think I've fixed the problem.

Woof Nanny was kind enough to send me a note letting me know that when she tried to view my blog it but it crashed her computer. Yikes!

She suggested that it might be because I had Java script on the blog, adding that blogger isn't working with it anymore. Well, that's the first I had heard of that but being a novice at all of the 'behind the scenes" codes I took her word for it.

I removed an item from my sidebar that ran on Java script. I'm hopeful that takes care of problems you may have encountered trying to view my blog.

Thank you Woof Nanny! Pin It

Flashback Friday - 1976

November 2, 1976. Thirty one years ago.

I don't remember what I was wearing, whether or not snow had begun to blanket the yards, or even where I kept my sewing machine. I was too busy being a very young mom of two children under the age of one.

That day my son was 15 days old and would not be released from children's hospital for another week. He had been born two months prematurely and the doctors weren't sure he was ready to come home.

My daughter was 10 months old and progressing well in her development. She too had been a preemie. If you haven't read her story, I shared part of it here.

This photo of her was taken at her Grandmother's home while I was at the hospital visiting her brother. The blur is because she's busy bouncing her hand up and down very quickly. When you have a child you marvel at everything they learn to do. When you have a child that you aren't sure will develop "normally" you celebrate everything they learn to do.
That's one reason I love this photo so much. It captures her being a baby. Doing a normal baby thing.

The photo also captures the fact that she is wearing little flannel pj's that I had sewn for her. I remember setting the snaps into the legs of these pj's. It was early on a Sunday morning and I was busy pounding the snaps into the fabric with my hammer. Having never lived in an apartment before I didn't realize how much I was disturbing my downstairs neighbors until they began pounding on the ceiling. Oops! When I realized what I was doing I was a bit embarrassed and made sure I was much more considerate of my noisy sewing projects in the future.

There's another sewn item in that photo. The Kitty Kat! Sewn from the remnants of a dress, with felt eyes and nose, hand embroidered mouth and whiskers, satin ribbon adorning it's neck, and filled with polyester fiberfill and lots of love.

I stumbled across the pattern, Butterick 4573, a few months ago, and I just had to purchase it for a scrapbook page.

Who knows? Maybe daughter will want to sew one someday when she has children. (Hey kiddo, if you're reading this no pressure on the grandkids thing okay? LOL!) Pin It

New online sewing resource - Sewn Magazine

Sewn Magazine is a new online magazine for those of us that enjoy sewing garments.


From the website "SEWN started as bright idea. Why should patchworkers and knitters have all the fun, we garment sewists wanted a magazine of our own! "

Have you signed up for your free subscription yet?

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