Sometimes simple is really really great

I made a flannel t-shirt, and I love it.

You read that right. A flannel t-shirt.

Years ago, I used a vintage t-shirt pattern to make the stegosaurus tee, and wore it to death. I loved the vintage fit and the way the center back seam fitted the shirt much better than my more current patterns did.

Then more recently, I found this vintage pattern (Simplicity 5523) in my stash and made up this quick lobster tee to see how it fit. The shoulders were very wide (something I've noticed a lot in my patterns from the seventies; I think maybe it's because their knits really didn't have much stretch) but I loved the shirttail hemline, the scoop is just right, and so I have been stewing on the needed modifications ever since.  When you get to the bottom of this post, you'll see my plea for help.

The boys and I made our way to Joann's Saturday morning to buy flannel for their very first sewing projects. Both of my boys plus two of their friends want to learn how to sew! I can't tell you how excited I was to hear that. I thought pajama pants would be an easy first project that they would also really like to own, so we hunted for flannel.

While at Joann's, I found this plaid flannel for myself, from their Plaiditudes line. It pills quite a bit, so I can't say I'm super impressed with the washability but it is very warm and cosy and super soft. So that's the upside.

I will literally buy anything that combines gray and camel. Anything.

Anyway, while thinking about how that pattern fit, and thinking maybe it would be better suited for a woven instead of knits, I decided I needed a flannel tee. Something I can wear under my cardigans on days that are frigid, but without the collar and buttons of a more structured shirt.

It took 30 or 40 minutes to pop this baby together, and I love it! I was right, the fit is spot on in a woven.  I did a little slash and spread for a dart at the bustline, and narrowed the shoulders by 1/2" on either side. For this one, I cut the back on the fold instead of shaped with a center seam.  I also added a ribbed neckband and used bias tape for the shirttail hem. I had a doctor's appointment today, and my nurse said "That is the cutest top! I love it!," so there. A real human out in the world approved of my flannel t-shirt.

Now is where I'm turning to you, kind internets, to help me. The bias tape sewed quite nicely along the hem, but starting and stopping it at the upturned corner was a bad idea (see close-up photo). I have never sewn much with bias binding, I could use some advanced tips.

• Where is the best place to start attaching bias tape on a hemline like this? 
• Should I have used satin bias instead? 
• Should I have clipped the curve at the corners to make it turn better or was I trying to force too much fabric into that curve?

OK, that's it for my questions. If anyone can help me, please weigh in!

So now I'd like to comment on something that really makes me shake my head.  I recently found the darkside of the sewing blogs, the forum whose entire goal seems to be to mock people who choose to sew and post their creations online. It really makes me question the heart of humanity. I'm not going to say there aren't posts that have merit, such as the questionable greed of "designing" simple patterns like an a-line skirt, and then charging $16 for it. I've been frustrated by that myself and written about it here. But my option is to not buy them. I just do not see the need to be hateful and vicious about sewing {not that there's ever an excuse to be hateful and vicious, but seriously ~ sewing??}. What starts out as a seemingly fair-balanced vent on the price of simple patterns will turn into an all-out mockery of a blogger's body. Or God forbid, you have drag lines! The shame! Hey, I buy very nice ready-to-wear clothing that has those same lines. Is anyone outing DVF for that? I doubt it.

You know what my head was thinking when I read some of that?

These people need real problems.

I love you, Burda 7031

I am so happy. I have been admiring this lace bonded sweater knit fabric at Joann's all fall but it was $39.99 a yard and you all know with my track record for ruining projects I really can't be trusted with pricey fabric. I finally got a coupon texted to me for 25% off my total purchase, and the fabric went on 50% off sale.

Burda 7031 View C

Woot! I bought it, not even knowing what I would make with it.

Francis jacket pattern by C'est Dimanche, also in my pattern stash

At first, I had planned to sew up this jacket by C'est Dimanche. But then I spent way too much time going through my pattern boxes the other night (holy cow, I need to thin that herd) looking for the perfect coat pattern for an embroidered wool I've owned for four years, when I came across this pattern.

I made view C

I bought Burda 7031 late last winter, after seeing a soloist at church wearing an adorable lined lace top. The shape was similar to this one, so I optimistically added it to my pattern stash.

I pulled the pattern out and studied the navy blue fabric in View C. It reminded me of the weight of this bonded sweater lace.


Closeup of the fabric, you can see the white fluffy parts are where the lace is bonded to the sweater knit.

I started cutting this out at 3:00 yesterday afternoon, took a break from 4:00-4:30, sewed til 5:15, and then finished it at 9:15. Honestly, cutting and sewing took all of 2 hours, maybe even less.

And even though it's a touch big I love it! Seriously, I love it. I have no idea why.

I went upstairs to take pictures with my taupe trousers and they're missing. So for these photos I've paired it with my wash and wear pleather skirt from QVC, another favorite purchase of mine this fall.

I never style my photos! The GOMI people scare me. But I think this time it will be ok.

I even put on high heels! Another QVC purchase. I share the links because I'm always frustrated when I see footwear that isn't documented.

Back to the pattern. Let's talk about the wonky "collar." Yes, they do call this a collar. Do you know those crazy kids at Burda actually suggest that you can add batting to the collar piece if you want it to have more body?? BATTING. I chose not to do that, it stands up plenty on its own.

I sewed most of the seams on my machine and pressed them open. At first I was treating this fabric delicately, but by the end I was pressing the hell out it with full steam and I couldn't tell a difference at all. That's nice, I don't have a "delicate" lifestyle.

I wanted you to see how the sleeves bell out just a little bit at the end. So. Much. Fun.

Then I goofed amd sewed the collar, the hem band, and the center back seam with my serger. That much bulk under one seam made for some ripples and difficulty pressing the seam to one direction, which was super important when tacking down the collar and hem band. In hindsight, I should have used the machine for all the seams and my serger for finishing edges.

All in all, I'm super happy with this top! I will wear this quite a bit for work, especially if I can track down those taupe trousers. I have to call the dry cleaners, I have a feeling they never made it home.

On making pants

I was away from home last week for work, so I had a lot of time on my hands to research sewing techniques. Namely, making pants.

Making great pants is one of my sewing goals. That, and slowing down. Honestly, I probably stand a better chance of making kick-ass pants than I do slowing down.

I guess I can understand why drafting pants patterns is so difficult. All human bodies are shaped differently, and with pants you're trying to engineer something to cover the most moving-est part of your body. And cover it well, so that you can move freely and look kick-ass at the same time. That's a lot of pressure.

For this past trip, I packed three of my favorite professional pants, plus some fun leggings.

• Theory ankle-length slim-leg stretch wool trousers
• J Crew grey wool straight leg trousers 
• Anthropologie seamed cropped stretch wool trousers 
• Vince stretch suede cropped pants, cut much like a legging 

I had some time in my hotel room to take them all, turn them inside out, and look at what was similar or different about them all. Lucky for me I carry a tiny tape measure in my purse at all times. You never know when you'll find yourself in Home Goods and need to measure the height of a super cute chair!

One thing I noticed right off the bat is the crotch curve is very different in my ready to wear pants than in some of my sewing patterns. I'm used to seeing a full back curve but also a fairly deep front curve, similar to two Js.

In my ready-to-wear pants, however, the front curve is almost nonexistent, and the back crotch curve is very deep. I need to repeat that, it is very deep. Instead of a J, it more resembles a fishhook that sticks out at the end in a point.

I'm now obsessed with perfecting the perfect pants pattern based on my ready-to-wear pants. I came home and made what I had hoped to be a wearable muslin from Simplicity 1696.

I made a classic mistake of choosing the wrong fabric, a stretch cotton that behaved and wore a lot like velveteen. It was just too heavy and bulky for this pattern, but it would make a lovely blazer or skinny jeans. When I finally tried them on, they were quite unwieldy like they fought back a little? Weird.

I do believe with some adjustments this pattern could be a keeper for me. The rise was good, I love the 1" seam allowances, and the legs weren't super voluminous. I even blindly followed their ridiculous instructions for a fly zipper and it turned out ok. I kind of forgot while I was cutting out the fabric to change the pattern piece to reflect a cut-on fly, so I stayed the course and followed the instructions as closely as I could.

The only thing I really didn't love was the fake welt pockets. I know a lot of people don't like extra fabric volume on their backside, but I do appreciate a real pocket. I always try to stick my hands in fake pockets, I don't know why. Like a pocket bag will magically appear somehow.

While I was gone my new Peter and the Wolf pants pattern from Papercut Patterns arrived in the mail {I do support indie pattern designers, I just like to spend my money on original designs I haven't seen before}! I did a little happy dance.  For all of you in the US considering Papercut, keep in mind the dollars they reference on their website are New Zealand dollars. For me, the price including shipping from New Zealand to the States was $25, so not as bad as it could have been.

I spent my last hour of the night last night cutting the instruction booklet  out and putting it together, then tracing off the pattern pieces. If you haven't purchased a Papercut pattern before, they come in this adorable cardboard box and they're printed on large natural paper sheets. You know I must be motivated to find great pants patterns when I'm tracing patterns. It is NOT my favorite thing to do in the sewing room.

This pattern calls for stretch wovens, but I hope to be able to make a pair in a non-stretch wool for work. It also only includes 1 cm seam allowances, so I'm definitely going to have to increase that just a tad to account for my crazy behavior behind the machine!

Honestly, I know I need to slow down with my sewing. I will never enjoy the process or the finished products if I slam through them and fail to make wearable garments. A couple days ago, in order to find an 'early make' for #bpSewvember, I went all the way back to my first sewing posts from my personal blog. You know what? Not much has changed. I made easy mistakes back then and I still make them now. While the walk down memory lane was fun, it was also painful.

Why do I do that? 
Why does my brain malfunction and let me cut through a piece of fabric that needs to stay intact? 

I don't know. I really don't. I just know I don't want to do it anymore. So from here on out, I hope to report that I'm taking my time. That I'm creating quality over quantity. That I'm drafting responsibly and sewing methodically.

Oh, and that I'm making kick-ass pants.