Pants or Trousers and Finding the Right Knits

Warning: This is going to be a long, rambling post with maybe a little bit of ranting.

First of all, before I get into the main subject I want to talk about what we call these things. I was born and have lived all my life in the U.S. so I mostly say "pants" but I understand that in the U.K. "pants" only means underwear. Is that correct? So, a while back I decided that, in order to be more international I should start saying "trousers". But I'm finding that I can't get comfortable with that. You see, in my mind "trousers" is an old-fashioned word for a male garment. That's not an official definition; it's just the definition I have in my head, right or wrong. It's stuck there and when I use it to talk about a modern women's garment I have the uncomfortable feeling that I'm using it wrong even if I'm not. I'm a little more comfortable with "slacks" but I think of those as a dressier garment. Again, not an official definition. But now I'm not even comfortable using the word "pants" on the Internet because I'm afraid someone will think I'm talking about my underwear. Of course, I'm probably just flattering myself to think that I have more than one reader. So anyway, I'm probably going to keep on calling them pants because that's what I am accustomed to.

I recently decided that I need more knit pants. A few years ago I decided that I was not going to wear knit pants anymore because "only old redneck women wear knit pants". (Hush! I am not! I'm listening to Bach's Cello Suites right now. Rednecks don't listen to Bach.) I started making pants out of stretch cotton twill, which looks really nice and is comfortable, though not "Am I still in my pajamas?" comfortable like knit pants. I still do have several pairs of cheap knit pants from Walmart and one good pair from L.L. Bean and I have been wearing them around the house when it's not too hot for pants. (I mostly wear dresses in the summer but this summer hasn't been ridiculously hot.) My problem is not that they're wearing out. Even the cheap ones are still in really good condition but the pockets are not big enough for my Galaxy S5. (Yes, I'm one of those people.) So, basically, I was down to one wearable pair of knit pants, the ones from L.L. Bean.

So of course I decided to sew a few pairs. My ultimate goal, more like my impossible dream, would be to find a fabric like or similar to the cotton/spandex fabric L.L. Bean uses to make their Perfect Fit pants. (I would buy more of those but they only come in a few dark, dull, and very uninteresting colors.) Ages ago I bought two pieces of cotton spandex knit from SpandexWorld.com and made a couple of long sleeve t-shirts. It was a fairly hefty fabric, thicker than the average t-shirt but it would be just about right for pants so two or three months ago I ordered two pieces for pants. One, burgundy, was a little disappointing, too soft and lightweight, but acceptable. The other, a nice olive green color, was perfect - sturdy with a firm stretch. Just what I wanted. I sewed the burgundy fabric first and I'm working on the olive green right now, almost finished. Just a couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted more. I need a grey pair and they have a lot of other nice, tempting colors so I picked out one of those just because. Here's what I got:

That green is apparently very hard to photograph. It looks nothing at all like the photo on the website (They call it Jewel Jade.) and not much like my photo. It's a very bright green with just the slightest hint of blue. It's not the color I thought I was getting but I like it. I love it. I'm just not sure if I want pants that color. They describe it as "heavyweight" but it is lighter weight than the olive. (which they no longer have) The grey fabric is extremely lightweight and not suitable for pants at all. Maybe leggings but I don't wear leggings. I could but I'd have to make something to wear with them. I don't have any tunics with pockets. Must have pockets.

Anyway, this is my issue with Spandex World and buying knits over the Internet in general. The descriptions don't tell you what you need to know and are very often just completely wrong. The grey fabric ("gunmetal") is described as being 6 ounces per square yard. The burgundy that I bought last time is also 6 ounces per square yard and they are clearly not the same weight.* And that's just the weight. Fabrics with the same percentage of spandex can have very different stretch and recovery. Spandex World does offer swatches and yes I know I should have ordered swatches first. I would say that "I will always get swatches from now on," but a further issue is that their shipping charges have gone up and are outrageous. Really outRAGEous! Almost as much as the fabric itself. I almost didn't order when I saw the shipping cost. Because of that I am done with Spandex World!

(*By the way, I also bought some cotton/spandex knit from Girl Charlee what was supposed to be "12 ounces per yard" and it feels exactly like the 6 ounce per yard burgundy fabric.)

There was a time when I thought I would never order fabric over the Internet because I want to be able to touch it before I buy it. But then I looked at online fabric retailers and I was hooked. I live in a rural area. There are only two places to buy fabric that are fairly nearby: a small quilt shop and Walmart. The next nearest places are in Tulsa, about an hour away from me and when I am looking for something specific, more than half the time after taking the time to drive all the way there it turns out they don't have anything close to what I want. I am entirely confident about buying quilting cotton online. There are variations in weight, hand, etc. but I always know pretty much what I'm getting but with knits I feel like it's a complete crap-shoot.

Simplicity 1803, First Try

Have you ever bought some cheap fabric just to try out a new pattern (a "wearable muslin" as some call it) and then fell in love with the fabric while you were sewing and really really hoped that it would turn out perfect? That's what happened here and, well, it's far from perfect but I'm going to call it wearable.

I want to use Simplicity 1803 for a great piece of fabric I have that I love too much to risk on a new pattern, especially one with a square neckline, which often does not work for me, so I bought this floral print at Wal-mart. When I bought it I merely liked it. Once I started sewing it I quickly started to love it.

The fit of the bodice is just all wrong and, as I feared, the neckline is a little wide for me. I'm finding it very hard to keep the bra hidden.* But, in spite of that, I mostly like it and I will wear it.

(*Forgot to mention, it does have strap keepers. Where the bra tries to show is at the corners of the neckline. I do have one that works with it a little better. Must buy more of that style.)

I didn't make the tie belt because I generally hate them and whenever a pattern calls for one I put elastic at the back waistline instead and it always works out beautifully. This one wraps around and ties in front though and I sort of like the way it looks on the pattern envelope so I might make one with the belt sometime. Other changes: I don't like unnecessary seams down the front of the skirt so I used a plain skirt from another pattern. And of course I added pockets. Must have pockets.

Here's a look at the back. Believe it or not, this is my first scoop back dress. I wasn't sure if I would like it. I thought it might feel weird because I'm not used to it but I do like it and I definitely want more like this.

I found something that looks helpful: Raising or Lowering the Bust Point on a Princess Seam. I have searched for this at least half a dozen times before and didn't find anything so I was thrilled to find this. It actually looks very simple and it's one of those things that makes me feel a little bit slow for not having figured it out for myself. I don't think this is the entire problem with the fit though. This will require some more experimentation.

(I had the hardest time getting good pictures of this dress. I took a bunch of pictures last week and didn't like any of them, and I had forgotten to take any of the back, so today I set up again and took more pictures and those were even worse so I ended up using the very first picture I took. The more sharp-eyed among you will notice that the facing was turned and peeking out a little bit. Oh well. I don't like to sew down facings because of the stitching showing but I might have to on this dress if it keeps being a problem.)

Never Too Old

This is not really about sewing but it is about clothing so, close enough? This delightful lady is 87. (article) I'm not on Instagram but I'm tempted to sign up just so I can follow her. Feast your eyes on the color, style, and confidence.

No, I'm not about to start dressing like that. Not really my style and besides, my fashion-conservative husband would either divorce me or try to have me committed if I did, but the point is, she's doing her own thing and enjoying what's left of her life. No matter what your age, life is too short to let other people tell you what to wear so wear what you like, what you feel good in, and don't be afraid to be a little out there. And one of the greatest things about sewing is that we can. We're not stuck with what the fashion industry thinks we should be wearing this season.

Just a List

This morning on my other blog I posted a list of 10 Ordinary Things That Bring Me Joy. Of course one of the things is fabric. Then it occurred to me that since I haven't posted anything here in what seems like forever and I don't have anything finished to show off yet I could just make a sewing related list, so...

10 Kinds of Fabric That Make me Ridiculously Happy

1. Brightly colored prints with a black background. I'm working on one of those right now.

2. Delicate, old fashioned floral prints.

3. Paisley. I have always loved it but the fact that someone thinks it's evil makes it even more appealing to me for the humor aspect of it.

4. Fall leaf prints. My mother was especially fond of these so they're sentimental for me as well as the fact that I simply like them too.

5. Antique document or ephemera prints, such as sheet music, handwriting, newsprint and advertising, etc.

6. Cotton lawn. It amazes me that something as ordinary as cotton can be so fine and delicate. I don't sew with it very often because it seems too fine for everyday wear. I always imagine that this must be the fabric that angels wear.

7. Fun or silly novelty prints, especially insects, chickens, sewing notions, and ordinary household items

8. Plaids, flannel or any other plaid fabric

9. Batiks

10. Almost anything pink

A Note About Comments

I have found out that at least one comment has disappeared. (or never appeared) To anyone who has had a problem posting comments here I apologize. I don't know what happened or what to do about it. I am pretty near tech illiterate. I have had the same thing happen to me on other blogs, including some that I am, for some reason, never able to comment on. This is extremely frustrating to me from both directions but especially knowing that people are having trouble commenting on this blog because I crave comments like a little kid craves candy. All I know to tell you is wait a bit and then try again.

Also, I have noticed some duplicate comments. I started to delete a duplicate and then stopped because I was afraid that it might delete both of the identical comments. This does not really bother me at all so if you accidentally post a duplicate don't worry about it. A comment is a comment and they're all welcome. (Well, except for the spam and trolls but, miraculously, I haven't had any of those yet on this site.)

From Old Disappointment to New Favorite

This dress is old - at least 15 years, maybe more - but I have not worn it more than three or four times. I found the paisley stripe fabric at Hancock Fabrics but there was only a little more than a yard of it so I picked out a solid fabric to go with it, not sure at the time what I would do but knowing I would come up with something. The "something" turned out to be Simplicity 5558.

(I was trying to look grumpy for the "before" picture but I just look like my grandmother.)

There was so little of the print, it had to be the bodice but there was enough left over that I could get creative with pockets and patches. Overall, I liked it but I had just a couple of problems with it. First of all the neckline looks nothing like the pattern illustration. I don't like a high, wide neckline and although this one wasn't extremely high and wide it was enough to bother me. The biggest problem, though, was the sleeves. They were not really too small but small enough to feel restricting when I raise my arms. Besides that, I just don't wear this length of sleeve very often. Around here if it's warm enough for short sleeves it's usually too hot for any sleeves. So the sleeves had to go and I lowered the neckline about an inch, maybe a little more.

And now, I love it! The neckline looks a little off in the picture but it actually is symmetrical. I could have gone a bit lower but I was being cautious and now it's fine. It feels much more natural to me. The pockets are a little smaller than I like; my phone just barely fits in one of them - not a consideration when I made this - but there's nothing I can do about that now. The length is below mid-calf, about 4 or 5 inches above my ankles. Sort of an odd length I guess but it's the length I really like for summer dresses.

Simplicity 5558 was always a problem pattern for me. I wanted to like it and used it several times before I finally gave up on it. I don't know why I kept trying. Besides the neckline being wrong I really don't much like the high-waisted look and the skirt doesn't seem quite full enough. But now that I've fixed the two biggest problems on this one and I'm really loving it I'm feeling some temptation to try it again. But I'm going to resist. I have other patterns that I haven't even used yet. Time to move on.

An Excuse and a Little Rambling

I have something to show off but we recently upgraded to Windows 10 and our PC no longer recognizes my camera so I will have to wait until my Tech Hero has time to fix the problem.

Now I'm trying to decide what to sew next. Back in the spring I had a mental list of things I wanted to sew this summer. I have not sewn most of those things. Instead it's been a summer of "Oooo, shiny! I want to sew that". (That's a figurative "shiny", BTW. I haven't sewn anything literally shiny in a long time) It's hard to believe it's August already! I'm starting to feel like it's getting a little late for summer sewing. Should I start fall sewing? So not in the mood. But at the same time, I'm thinking I really have enough summer dresses. (as if we have to settle for enough!)

It's funny... sometimes I look in my closet and it seems like I don't have enough summer dresses (or winter blouses or whatever I happen to be looking for) and other times I look and think, "Wow, I really have too many dresses." I have some that I made and have only worn once or twice and I always feel guilty about that. I feel like I should maybe get rid of them to make more room for stuff I will love but I just can't. If it's something I've worn and loved and don't love anymore that's different. I can let go. Usually. And it's not always a matter of not loving it. In some cases I do love it but for some reason I just haven't got around to wearing it much. Because I have too many. Except I don't have enough because I want something sort of like that dress but not that one because I wore that one just a couple of days ago, or like that but not that one either because I wore it recently too.

And what to sew next? There's all that lovely fabric in my stash but I have a 10% off coupon from eQuilter and I've been looking at some knits at Girl Charlee and I need some more knit pants (slacks, trousers) and I've been looking at some solid color cotton-spandex knits at Spandex World. So that's three fabric orders, at least, that I'm considering. I am such a bad girl! I am definitely going into the stash for the next project. Yes, I am. I have to do something while I'm waiting.

In the Pink!

Here's the dress I mentioned in my previous post. The wind was blowing the skirt around quite a bit. I took some pictures standing in the sun but the colors in those looked very washed out.

I don't have much to say about it other than, it's my new favorite dress. I guess I should add that almost every dress I make that turns out good is my new favorite dress until I make the next one, but wow... Pink! I have decided that I need to wear more pink. At least, that's what I have decided this week.

Kwik Sew 2671 is more than a TNT pattern. It is my number one go-to basic casual summer dress pattern. I have made it over half a dozen times, mostly modified versions. I have other patterns that I like but these are the dresses I wear the most so I keep making them. This is View B bodice with View A skirt. Instead of the tabs I put elastic in back. I made a casing of the seam allowances. The pockets are just rectangles. I never can get those curved corners to look right.

Next up? Yet another dress using this pattern but with even more changes. Then maybe some toddler clothes.

UPDATE: Oops. Forgot to say that I also had to make the armholes smaller. This pattern was designed as a jumper so the armholes are huge.

Yes, More Fabric

What do you do when you just can't decide which project to start next? Well, go shopping, of course. Look what I found! I absolutely love every one of these.

The two pieces on the left are both 4 yards each and will become dresses. Unfortunately, Walmart, the only place within 40 miles of me that has zippers, did not have the right color zipper for either one. I was going to make the large floral first but I will definitely need a zipper for that one so I started thinking about the bright pink and came to an unusually (for me) quick decision to make yet another Kwik Sew 2671 - bodice of view B, skirt of view A with some other small modifications. It's all cut out and ready to sew.

I sort of have slight issues with pink. I love, love, LOVE pink but I feel a little self-conscious wearing a lot of it, like a whole dress, especially a bright pink like this. Is it too girly - I mean like little girly? Will I look like a freaky giant baby in it? Will I be taken less seriously wearing so much pink? (Not that anyone takes me seriously anyway) And, is it the wrong color for my complexion? Yes, it is but I don't really care so much about that and I'm trying to not care about the rest of it because I'm going to love this dress and I'm going to wear it to death.

The other three are 2-yard pieces. The top one is not quite as bright an orange as it looks in the picture. It's more a faded, antique-y looking orange. I don't know why because all the other fabrics in the picture look pretty accurate. I can make tops out these but I'm a little disappointed that there wasn't more than two yards of each. I don't really need more summer tops because I don't wear them all that often. I mostly wear dresses when it is hot. I might look for contrasting fabric to go with at least one of them. But I'm not going to rush. After the pink dress I think I might go into the deep stash and make something that has been waiting for a while.

Pink and White and Bratty Cats

My primary sewing motivation is awesome and adorable fabric. When it comes to patterns and styles... well, I think I can honestly say that I'm not completely lacking in adventuresomeness but I do always have 4 to 6 "safe" patterns that I use over and over again. This is one of those.

First I have to show you some close-ups of the fabric. These kitties might be adorable but they're also rather bratty. Just look at those faces. They are definitely up to no good.

Especially this one on the sewing machine.

Now this one in the flower pot looks sort of sweet but still probably up to something.

Of course somebody had to get into the knitting. It's traditional.

I bought the fabric from eQuilter over a year ago. The pattern is New Look 6963. At first I was thinking of making it with sleeves but I like my insect shirt so much I decided to do the same thing with this fabric. Which was a good thing because it turned out that I didn't have enough fabric for the sleeves anyway.

And I love it! I think it might look better with my black jeans but only crazy people wear black in Oklahoma in the summertime. But, with the jeans and a long cardigan this could work for early spring too.