Corduroy Pants

My last item for January is a pair of corduroy pants.  This is my 2nd pair of wearable pants for the year.

I used the same BWOF pattern as before.  It's from the May, 2007, issue.  This time I tried adding a little to the front crotch point, thinking it would help with wrinkles/folds just under the seat.  But, it didn't, so it's back to the drawing board.

For this pair, I added a fly front zipper, wide contour waistband and front scoop pockets.

 Here you can see the yellow and brown flannel I used on the inside.  Aren't the monkeys cute??

So even though I don't have the fit down yet, I'm still pretty happy with my pants.

For February, I want to work on cleaning up the sewing room and finishing up some UFO's.

Knit Tops

I've made 2 new knit tops.

 For the first top I used McCall's 6203 - which is now OOP. 

I tried to get a good close up picture of the fabric, but it's very hard to get it to look right.  It's a deep purplish blue with black stripes.

It's been a long time since I've had a top with dolman sleeves.  I wasn't sure about the style, but I really like it.  It's just loose enough to be comfortable, without a lot of extra fabric.

































I made a size M, but added some extra wide from the hip area down to the hemline.  I also made a swayback adjustment.  This helped, but I think I should have made a larger adjustment as there still a bit of wrinkles back there.

The fabric I used is a knit that I bought at Zinck's Fabric Outlet. zincksfabric.com The store is located in the Millersburg/Berlin, OH area, in Amish country.  This is a true, no-frills outlet store that's located in a warehouse type building.   I like that sort of place, so shopping there was a lot of fun for me.  The fabric looks like a typical poly knit, but the inside is so soft and is nice to wear.   It was $3.00 yard, and there was only 3 yards of it - naturally I bought it all.

I changed the neckline.  I cut the neckline like view "B" and then added a simple cowl neck collar to it.  I cut a rectangle of fabric 20" long and wide enough to fit the neckline.  I folded it half and serged it to the neckline.  I like out it turned out.
 

 

I still had some fabric leftover, but not enough for another top.   I really like the fabric & wanted to come up with some way to use it.   I love the look of knit tops that use contrasting fabrics, so thought I'd give that a try. 

I had this pattern in my stash and decided to use it.   This is Butterick 5925 - a Katherine Tilton pattern.  I made view "B: 

 

I had enough of the blue stripe to cut the front and the sleeves.  I used some solid black from my stash for the back.  And bought some gray tweed slubby knit at Joann's and used it for the pockets and as a binding on the neckline.  

I used a size medium, and made no changes to the pattern.  The neckline is a bit wide on me, so if I make it again, I will narrow it just a little.

Another Shirt Refashion

I took a plain red knit top and 1 yard of print fabric and came up with this:

First I cut the  off the shirt just below the bust and added a skirt-like panel.  This panel flares out at the bottom and is a little longer on the sides.  I also added fabric lengthen the sleeves.  And lastly added a small cowl neck.

Pressing Board and Carrier

I go to a monthly craft/sewing/quilting meeting and needed a press board to take with me.  I found this great tutorial on-line: Missouri Star Quilting  I used an 18" x 24" piece of plywood; wrapped an old towel around it; and then made a cover for it.  It works great & I use it a lot.

Then I saw this at Joanns  folding cutting/pressing mat

I really liked it, but I didn't want to pay that much for it.   It's kind of small and I already had a press board and a mat. But it did give me the idea to make a bag to carry my board and mat plus my ruler.

I just made a flat bag a little bigger than my board.  I used a piece of a fabric I found in my stash.  It's a tablecloth that I had bought on clearance at Kohl's for $7.00.   It's very sturdy and was leftover from when I made shopping bags.  It was exactly the right size to made it double thickness.  I made straps from some red 1-1/2" wide nylon webbing that was in my stash and just happen to match the fabric.

It's does a great job of carrying everything.

1st Project for 2014 - Pants

I decided to make a pair of pants as my first project of the year.   I'm working on pants again mainly because I have so few that fit me.  I always have better luck with BWOF pants patterns, so that's what I started with.  I used #112 from the May 2007 issue.   I really like this pattern.  The shape of the hip line and legs are just right for me.  Here's the line drawing:

Alterations I made:  added a 1-1/2" wedge to lengthen the back crotch seam; removed a little from the width of the back crotch seam; lowered the front waistline 5/8"; and removed 2" from back waist.  

I also left out the zipper and added an elastic waistband.  I made the waist just big enough to pull over my hips, so the waistband is flat when the pants are worn.

The fabric I used is a black with blue pinstripe that I  got at Joann Fabrics November 2011 and paid $2.50 yard as it was on clearance.   It's a woven "suiting" blend with a little stretch that I'm sure has some poly in it, but it is very nice.  It sews up great and doesn't wrinkle badly.  It drapes so nicely and feels great.  I wish I had more like it, in a different color.

Here's the front:

They are really comfortable to wear.

Side view:









































There's still some wrinkles in the back of the pants, but overall I'm pretty happy with how these turned out.