Panting in floral and flannel

I’m not in love with, I wouldn’t go that far, but totally delighted with Burda 7400. I’ve made two versions of it before, although the first was a bit of a botch up.  You can see them here. This past week I made two more pairs.

This fabric was a spontaneous purchase at a 70% sale at Fabricland. I was just heading out the door, empty-handed, when I spotted this in the home decor section. I think it’s a stylized floral design, and the fabric is double? two-sided? In the background it’s all woven together, but in the “bubbles” there are two light layers. It gives the effect of padded or quilted fabric, but it’s very light and flexible (viscose and polyester). It’s a different look, isn’t it?

Here’s a look at the inside. You can see I used some linen fabric for the pockets and inner elastic casing to eliminate bulk.

I was ransacking my closet, looking for things to wear with it, and found this old jacket.

Double-breasted is coming back, but the shoulders? Does the padding have to be removed?

I also had a piece of striped wool flannel, which I got from Fabrics etc. It’s old fabric, apparently, left over from a parent store’s warehouse. The manager, Tian, who is becoming a friend, was selling it at a severe discount.

I’m discovering that elastic waist pants are really quick and easy to make. This pattern is just short of fitted, despite the waist. If I were to put  two standard darts in the back, I’d have to add a fly or zip and I’d have a pair of fitted pants. I think this will become a TNT.

This is a really classic look, isn’t it? I think these pants will be really versatile. In fact I can imagine wearing both pairs at home with t-shirts, and then taking them out to the opera or dinner out. Yes?

 

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Just call me angel . . . in a napkin

I ended my last post by saying I’d be refashioning a table cloth for next time. I just can’t use that horrible, horrible phrase, “and now for the big reveal”. I can’t. You know?? It must be the ugliest phrase in the English language.

So, anyway, this is me, dressed in a table cloth.

Pretty angelic, yes?

It was a huge tablecloth, which I found at the local Sally Ann (does everybody know that nickname for the Salvation Army?) I almost left it behind (afterall, I didn’t know its provenance) but it was a fabulous, floppy, snow white cotton jacquard. It’s so hard to find nice cottons in Vancouver. Ninety percent of the cotton fabrics in town are quilting cottons, and maybe 8 percent are standard, basic, boring shirting fabrics. Which leaves the odd nice bolt scattered among the six fabric stores. So, I imagine it covering the long rectory table in some vicar’s cottage next to the oldest church in town, lilacs and violets in chrystal vases on its surface. Provenance, done.

The top is the first pattern I ever purchased through Pattern Review, because of reviews I saw at the site. When I received the pattern, and saw the envelope pix, I realized I would have overlooked it in the pattern book. It really doesn’t look like much. It’s Butterick 6024. I made a few changes. I raised the front and back neckline a bit. I replaced the elastic at the sleeve ends with a flat cord. I changed the hem design. The pattern has the front hem straight across, with a dip occurring only in the back panel. I cut the front and back to have the dip start in the front. A much nicer look, if you ask me.

This was my first pintuck operation, and my first woven bias binding neckline. I’m happy with how they both turned out. I love this top 🙂

The pants (shortened because I couldn’t get the whole length out of the table cloth after I’d cut out the pieces for the top) are burda 7400, which is a pattern I used once before. As I was laying out the (two) pattern pieces, I realized that I had mistakenly cut one of them for a size xxxxl! No wonder the previous pants I had made just weren’t right.

The pattern shows wide ribbing folded over at the waist. I didn’t do that the first time, and I didn’t do it this time either. Instead, I cut a rectangle and made a casing for elastic, sewing the casing to the top of the pants. It worked well. I have such a small difference between hip and waist that there isn’t much bunching. I may add belt loops so I can wear a belt with them too.

I was so happy with these pants that I immediately took apart the previous pair I had made, cut away about an inch and a half from each of the two back pieces and sewed them back together. I like this pattern because it’s a great compromise between fitted pants and elastic waist pants. The pants fit pretty close to the body, and a belt hides the elastic waist casing. The side seams are not at the sides, but closer to the front. That means the pockets lie flat and won’t bulge out at the sides.

These are obviously not “good” pants, but they are a general utility pant more comfortable for me than blue jeans. I love the green “railroad” stripes. For my next pair, I may put in a fly.