Sewing my own jeans pt II

This morning I decided I don't need a full fly zip to try on my muslin so I quickly put the back and yoke pieces together, stitched the front and back together and added the waistband. And you know what? Considering I quite haphazardly made up a new waist height which went off the chart, and that I added room in the front waist by following Angela Wolf's suggestion on her blog, it almost fits!! The waistband at the back gapes by 2" and there's a few wrinkles in the front crotch area but that is all fairly minor and easy to fix. They need taking in a bit overall as they need to be tighter considering I'm using a denim with 3% lycra in it but they are very close to being right. No pics as I had to run out of the door to take Max to school but more later.

Have a picture of the cat instead!








- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sewing jeans!!

As my gorgeous boyfriend Sean is in Scotland for almost a week I'm selfishly sewing away. When he's home I love spending the evening with him but when he's away I do like playing. Not away but with my fabrics.

I've been enrolled on a few Crafsty jeans classes for absolutely ages now but the time has only just come to crack making jeans. I have such a funnily shaped body, no bum as such, no hips, no waist really and quite a belly, that RTW jeans rarely fit. I tend to buy size 12 UK but they fall down as I have no hips to hold them up. And I cannot pull them up higher than my low waist as that's where I suddenly get big. So custom made is the only way to go.

I've bought three separate jeans patterns. One is the Angela Wolf boot it one, she runs the Craftsy The Perfect Fit jeans class. Its a boot cut pattern and a bit too TOWIE for me with all the embellishment she loves to add. I'm also not fond of bootcut. It's skinny or flares for me! Anyway I thought it would be good to learn with her pattern. Of course I couldn't just let it be so I have already made the pattern higher waisted and the legs narrower. We will see how that goes. I've cut a very short pair of shorts out to see how the bum, crotch and belly fit in, not wasting much denim if I need to make adjustments.

I've also downloaded the Ginger Jeans which comes in low and high waisted & skinny versions. Quite wxcited about trying that. The reviews have been ace.

And lastly I have bought the Jali jeans pattern. Again a boot cut as I seem to remember but as long as the top fits I can adjust the legs easily.

I've stitched the pockets in and am about to do the fly. I need a long night's sleep before I tackle that so speak tomorrow!










- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Living a handmade life: plans for 2015

So. I did a lot of sewing last year. And read a whole heap of sewing blogs. Some of which were written by women who had not bought any clothes for a year, made everything they wore and written about it. And crazy as this may sound it appeals to me. Yes I know...masochistic? Maybe. But really I hardly ever buy anything new. I am not a shopper by nature, I hate proper shops, I feel like I'm merely pretending to be a grown up and have not learnt the most basic of rules. And because I don't do it I am always shocked by how expensive shops are. Not H&M etc but you know, proper shops. So I stock up on basics in the supermarkets (yes I know!) and I buy stuff in charity shops and cat boot sales. I like the pot luck-ness of it and I like that I can access expensive and unique stuff for a couple of quid. And that by the time I get my hands on its out of fashion which means no one else will be wearing it anymore. Now I'm almost 45 I am very comfortable with who I am and what I look like -mostly- and I have found my own style. Non style. Whatever. So making my own and wearing it mixed with other people's cast offs and something knitted and crocheted by me, it suits me.

All year last year I sat on some jeans patterns. And two Craftsy jeans making classes. I have started buying and using knitted fabrics. In November I got the bra making bug. I already know I can make dresses and skirts and tops and once I add jeans and culottes and shorts and bras to the mix, well, I should only have to buy socks and knickers. I could knit all my own socks and I do love sock knitting but they're usually a tad too chunky for the shoes I like wearing and as for knickers... Well. Life is too short for that, for me.

Angela Wolf jeans pattern all ready to go

So how long will I manage this? Will I get fed up? Tempted by going to Rome in April? Will it Tim me financially considering the cost of fabric in the UK? Who knows. But I have all these amazing patterns waiting for me and enough fabric to make several of them right away so why not give it a go?

two knitted dress patterns I've had in my stash for ages

Here's the jeans pattern I taped together this morning. Took bloody hours. I've also bought the Jali jeans pattern online so I have a choice.Now to find the right denim. It's so hard in the UK compared to the US, it makes me so jealous when I read all these blogs from women who just nip to their local fabric shop where they sell amazing jerseys and denim and designer cottons and everything is SO cheap. We are so short changed in the UK. Not sure why that is. It's very different in Holland where I'm from where fabric markets have never stopped being a weekly thing. I can't complain too much living in Walthamstow as we do have several amazing fabric shops but what they stock is so random and you can never just count on ever seeing the same thing again so right now I'm online trying to source just the right kind of denim.

Santa brought me this bra making book!

I actually made this yesterday. It was a real bodge job as I had lost a pattern piece, so I had to draft a bodice piece, I didn't have enough fabric for the whole dress so I had to use other fabric for the back bodice and sleeves, and I cut a few pieces not on the fold because of lack of fabric. So I have a join in the skirt front and back and in the snood like collar too. But it was just a quick wearable Muslin effort that has actually worked out so well I finished it all off proper and will wear it. And make it again. I love the big collar!

I bought some stunning rose linen to make this with. £3/ meter on the market!

Cute dress non? And I bought this floaty fabric covered in parrots. £1/m!!

delivery this morning, the Jali jeans and a nice top/ dress staple

I made this, that should really help!

some bags and quilt I also want to make

Oh and I finally bought the Gypsy Wife quilt pattern. It will take me at least a year to make it but I have lusted over it for about 18 months. I also want to make these bags and the tulip quilt.