Hemming the Legs and Vents, Giveaway too!

Monday, January 31-  Hem the pants and finish the side vents

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Before we actually start sewing today, I have a surprise!

The Hubs (aka: the Dad) & I are going away to Baltimore this comming weekend like we do every February (a certain freak snowstorm threatening the country had better miss us and not repeat last year's snowpocolipse, or *somebody* is going to pay).  I needed a haircut and some mid-winter pampering before we left town, and I needed to do it without the Brawn and his desire to not be in his stroller when it's not moving.  That either meant A.) the Dad would have to miss some sleep and watch him so I could go & I would feel rushed  B.) I do it over the weekend when the Brains could watch his baby brother while his Dad napped in the other room.  I chose B.
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I am waxed, polished, washed, cut, and curled.  It looks great!  Still long, but with lots of face framing layers in the front and long sexy layers in the back.  The Blonde thinks I'm nuts for the eyebrow waxing (She's ripping the hairs out of your skin, Mom!)  I feel human!  In fact, while sitting in the chair, having my eyebrows hairs ripped from my flesh, I thought to myself, "I should do a giveaway as part of the Sew-Along!"
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I asked the Blonde what I should do for the giveaway.  She thought for a few, and said, "Buttons!"
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That girl is definately my daughter.
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We bought some pretty awsome buttons at JoAnn's, brought them home, and now I'm fighting the desire to keep them.  I will part with them, but it won't be easy.  It would probably be easiest on me if someone gave me a really good reason to stuff them in a padded envelope and send them away to a new home.
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the Blonde and I thought these buttons were perfect because they don't scream boy or girl, the trees are green and that means it is summer and WARM on the buttons (we miss being warm), and they are vintage recreations.  LaMode says that these are replicas of what one would have found between 1860 and 1900.  They are 1" accross, are supposed to be handwashed (I'm assuming one could use the delicate cycle on their washer if they wished unless thair washer beats their close clean), they are NOT plastic, nor were they made in China (Italy produced).  I *think* they are mother of pearl, but I'm not sure.
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Here's the rules:
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1.) Be a follower.  I want to know who's stalking me.  It fluffs my ego.
2.) Leave a comment telling me what you would do with these marvelous buttons if they were your's
3.) Winner will be chosen at random using a random number choosing website
4.) Comments will be closed for entry February 1st, 2011 at 11:59pm EST
5.) You do NOT have to be participating in the Sew-Along to enter 
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The Sailboat Pants were designed to be cropped pants, but work well as full length trousers as well.  Because they were designed to be cropped, they were designed with slits.   I think slits are cute on both clam diggers and trousers, but they are just as cute when full length and ventless.  It's really just a matter of taste, or, in my case, mood.  I'm moody and like a variety.

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Hemming is pretty easy.  First, we are going to fold the hem 1/2 an inch towards the wrong side of the fabric/project and iron.

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Then we fold another 3/4 inch more to the wrong side, and again, press with your iron.

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I like to sew my pants' hems with the legs right side out.  It allows me to see my allowance, so that I don't sew all the way around the leg and find out I completly missed the folded hem.  I use the guides on my machine to insure that my stitches are all the same measurement from the bottom of the hem.  Not that I have ever, ever, ever had a crooked folded hem allowance.  Ever.  (If you're buying that tall tale, I have a beach house in Arizona for sale) 

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The vents are easier than you would think.  Turn the pants inside out, if they aren't already, and fold the vent edges to the wrong side.  In other words, fold them away from you, so that they are tucked in on themselves and press.

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Top stitch, 3/8 inch from the edge of the split, pivoting at the top of the vent to stitch straight accross, then pivot again, 3/8 inch from the split edge, backstitching at the ends to lock your stitches.

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Repeat on the second leg.

LOOK!  PANTS!  All that is left, is the buttons and button holes!

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Tell me about your buttons!  Are they big?  What color?  Vintage?  New?  Plastic?  Wood?  Handmade?  Do you love them?  Did you enter the giveaway so you can have more fabulous buttons in your life?

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Budding Artist

The Brawn is a tough, rough, bash 'em, smash 'em, take no prisoners type of guy.  He crashes, thumps, bellows, roars and head butts the unsuspecting.

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My baby is all boy.

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With a soft side.

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The Brawn has a secret. 

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He's an artist. 

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Finger painting is a multimedia experiement that includes using various toys and objects to create prints and designs.  He also enjoys painting his hair, skin, clothes, and on more than one occassion, the dog.

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There is passion in his art.

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Markers and crayons have become his mural creating tools.  He's colored the stairs, the walls, the glass in my windows, the floor, and himself.

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His art is life.

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I decided it was time to expand his portfolio.

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Watercolor!

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He could barely wait for my instruction for using a brush and how water makes the colors come to life.  His eager hands snatched the paintbrush and away he went!

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He concentrated so hard on holding his paintbrush just so.  For well over an hour he swirled, blended, smeared and spilled paint accross his paper.

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"Go Away, Mom!" he would yell when he thought I came too near.

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With his pudgy little hands, he held his paints in place while he dipped his brush in each color and in the water in the lid.  He needed no extra help from me.
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So big, so creative, so thoughtful, so confident.

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His baby and toddler-hood days are so over.

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Hold me while I cry
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Two Legs, One Waist, and a Yard of Elastic

Friday, January 28-  Assembling the back, sides and insert elastic.  Inseam, too

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Actually, this Saturday.  I was under the weather on Friday, but back to life today!

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Just like we assembled the 2 front panels, we assemble the back 2 panels.  Once again, I used a French seam with 1/4" trimmed off one layer of the finished seam allowance and press with your iron

Now for the side seams.  I'm using flat-felled seams for my side seams.  You can also follow the pattern directions and sew the seams, right sides together and press the seams open.

Line up the pattern markers (the triangles you cut or marked before removing your pattern pieces from the cut fabric pieces) before sewing, so that the elastic waist band casing on the back of the pants sticks up above the front panel.

And then sew each outside seam, leaving the vents open.  Clip seam allowances where indicated in the directions.

On to the elastic waist!

These pants are designed to be smooth and flat in the front, with the elastic all in the back.  Fold the seam allowances on the sides towards the inside of the pants and iron.  Then fold the fold the top of the seam allowance down a 1/2 inch, iron, and fold down another 1 inch, ironing again.  Edge stitch the casing along the lower fold, to form a long casing for the elastic.  It will be open at each end.

Thread the 3/4 inch elastic that the pattern calls for thru the casing, I use a diaper pin to aid me in getting the elastic into the casing and smooth.

Pin the elastic at one end of the casing and adjust the length needed for your child's waist (or use the chart in the directions if you want) and pin at the other end..

Securely sew each end of the elastic in place, and trim close to where you just stitched, being careful not to clip the fabric or your stitches.

Not that hard, but it sure sounds and looks complicated at first!

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The pants are starting to take shape, and at this point, they resemble a funky skirt.  They also give me flashbacks of my oldest child running around with his snaps undone on the inside of his trousers, a look that drove me to finding pants with snapping inseams.

Lucky for us, these pants have a lovely sewn inseam!

If you're using the pattern marked sizes 4-8, the directions tell you to place the wrong sides of your fabric together, pin and sew.  This is WRONG.  A small typo that can make a novice or experienced seamstress crazy and fustrated.  Trust me.  We are going to place the RIGHT sides of our pants' legs together, matching the the raw edges, transfered markings and crotch seam.

Then we sew each leg, one at a time, starting at the hem and stopping at the crotch.  Make sure you backstitch at the beginning and ends of your seams.  Do NOT sew your crotch seam's seam allowances.

 

 

Press the seam allowances open, and relax.  You're ready for Monday's hemming and vent finishing!

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How's everyone doing so far?  Have you ripped out any seams?  Are you pleased with your top stitching?  Are you excited to finish them an put them on your model(s)???  I am!

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Front Assebly with a Couple of Sides

Thursday, Januaru 27-  Side panels & assembling the front

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You should have 4 side panels, 2 of which you ironed on the interfacing on Monday, that look like this:

Place each set, right sides together and sew the short straight edge & the curved edge, ensuring you backstitch at the beginning & end of each seam.  Make sure you lift the machine's foot to make the 90 degree turn.

Just like I did with the front lining after I sewed it to the front panel, trim one raw edge of your 2 pieces of fabric, clip the curves carefully, and clip off the corner of the salvage on the turn

Turn, again using an object like the previously mentioned knitting needle and press with your iron.  Here is one panel before turning and ironing and one after:

Once you've turned both of the side panels, top stitch like you did on the front panel, 1/4" from the edge on the 2 side with the seams, again, lifting the sewing machine foot to make the 90 degree turn.  Iron.

Line up the 2 notches on the open edge of each panel with the notches on the outside of the front panel and pin.  Using the longest stitch on your machine, baste the sides of the panels to the sides of the pants.

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The front is DONE!  (well, except for button holes and buttons)  Tomorrow we move onto the back panels, place the elastic, and sew both sides together.  Good thing there's a whole weekend for everyone to get all that done!

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Sewing the Front Panel

Wednesday, January 26-  We sew.  The front panel to be exact

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Time to thread up the sewing machine, load that bobbin and prepare to sew!

The directions call for you to finish the bottom curve of the front facing.  This can be done several ways:

the zig zag stitch

Photo from Hoppo Bumpo

a rolled hem (this tends to require a special sewing machine foot)

Photo from Craft Stylish

the serged edge (using a serger)

Photo from What the Craft .com

More finishes can be seen at HoppoBumpo.blogspot.com

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Once you have finished at edge, we move on to assembling the front panel.  The directions say to place the right sides together, and stitch a 1/2 inch seam.  Stitch the seam and iron it flat and smooth.  Make sure that you iron the seam open.

Or, you can be like me and make this seam a French seam.  I trimmed one edge of my fabric down to reduce the bulk for my corduroy fabric. 

Pin the front facing to the pants' front panel, right sides together.  Stitch both pieces together, utilizing a 1/2" seam, pivoting at the corners.  Do NOT sew the sides of the facing to the front panel. 

When sewing the lining to the panel, make sure you life your foot and turn the corners square.

Remove the pins

I like to trim one edge of my salvage to reduce seams that will be top stitched

Clip the 90 degree inverted corners, being careful not to cut the thread in your seam.  Also clip the outside corners as shown

I use a large blunt ended knitting needle to keep my corners sharp when I turn my projects right side out.  Be gentle and don't force things or you can poke a large hole in your seam, or worse, ripped the fabric on the corner

After turning everything rightside out, iron your project.  You want to make sure your seams are neither pulled to the front or back when ironing.

I tend to use a stitch length a little longer than I use for my seams when I top stitch.  The pattern recommends topstitching a 1/4" from the edge of your project.  I use my machine's foot for a guide

Again, lift your machine's foot to make a sharp turn on the inverted 90 degree angle.

Clip your loose threads and iron your project again

Voila!  Here is the front panel of your Sailboat Pants!  (Or mine anyway.  Your's will look similar)

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Pins, Scissors & an Iron

Tuesday, January 25-  Pinning, cutting, ironing, and interfacing, oh my!

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Alright, so we traced out pattern onto the paper of our choosing and our fabric has been washed, dried, and ironed.  Remember how we lined the salvages up when we folded and not where the yardage was cut?  This is important.  When fabric is wrapped on the bolt, it's uaully done on a machine that moves pretty quickly.  Then the consumers fondle it.  It is unwrapped and rewrapped by the sales person everytime someone has some cut off.  Basically, it becomes twisted on the bolt, and when it's cut, it's not cut straight.  Hense, the lining up of the salvages.

When you line up the salvages, you're going to have a "folded" side and an "open" side.  The pattern pieces marked 'place on fold' have their folded edge lined up with the fabric's folded edge.  The pieces marked 'cut 2' need both pieces (most of the time) to be mirror image.  when the fabric is folded in half, you not only cut 2, but you also get the right side of your fabric on the right sides of your project.

Remember this image?:

This is how the pattern designer came up for the most pieces out of the least amount of fabric.

Lay all your pattern pieces out on the folded yardage, just as you see pictured on your pattern.  Make sure the grain arrows line up with the grain of the fabric, none of your pattern pieces should overlap, and then you start pinning.  Try to keep the fabric and pattern flat while you pin.  If you life the fabric up, the pattern pieces will shift, the fabric will shift, and you will go nuts.  Take your time, it's okay!

Once all your pieces are pinned, double check to make sure sure spinned everything on right, and then, starting with an outside pattern piece, start cutting.  Cut close to the edge of the pattern, but be careful not to cut the pattern itself.  Once all your pieces are cut out, throw the scraps away/in the compost (I keep anything as big as my hand or bigger for future projects) and cleanup your workspace.

*note: you will have to cut pattern piece #8 out, and then place it in a new spot of your unused fabric and cut it again.  To advoid the confussions, you could just cut out 2 copies of piece #8 and not have to move it*

This is the part where interfacing comes into play.  Interfacing does NOT get prewashed or pre-ironed.  Especially if it's fusable interfacing, like we are using.  Select the pattern pieces that call for fusable interfacing and pin it to the interfacing.  Cut them out.

Cutting is done!

Or so you thought.

Now, the directions say to trim 1/4 inch away from the edge of the interfacing.  This is to keep your seams from becomming annoying bulky.  Place the bumpy side of your interfacing on the wrong side of the cooresponding pattern piece, centered, and iron, slowly.  Continue ironing until the interfacing is firmly attatched.  Set your iron to the side and let the interfaced parts of your project cool.

A note about ironing- make sure the heat setting on your iron is right for your fabric.  Either in the directions or on the iron itself will say where to set your setting.  Also, some fabrics should be dry ironed, while others work best heat ironed.  Synthetic fabrics usually shouldn't be ironed at all because they are made of plastic and will melt.

If you want, you can choose to iron all of your pieces, after you cut them out, before sewing.  Remove them from the pattern copies to do this, especially if you used freezer paper which would adhere itself to your pattern piece and might take a bit of time to remove.

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Everyone still following along and ready to start sewing tomorrow?!

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Sew-Along, Day 1

As defined in Saturday's post-

Monday, January 24-  Pattern review, pattern tracing (do NOT cut that pattern!  You're going to love the pants so much you'll want to make another pair later, and since kids grow, you're going to need it intact), supply review, and basic sewing tips and terminology

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The pattern we are using consists on 3 things:  The envelope that everything is stored in, the directions (2 pages), and the pattern (that would be the huge white piece of paper).  Leave the pattern folded up for now. 

Let's take a look at the envelope:

First, you need to measure your child.  Don't go by the listed size.  Pattern sizes & commercial sizes vary quite a bit to little at all. 

A child's full measurements:



What you will need:  Hips (7), waist (6), and if you want the pants to be full-legged, inseam (8).

Now, look at the directions.  On it you will see a Body Measurements chart.  Find the size that best fits the widest part of your child's body (most cases, this is the hips).  If you cloth diaper and have a pretty fluffy bum, make sure you measured with the diaper on, at the fullest/thickest point.

If you haven't already, wash & dry your fabric.  While the laundry is going we're going to trace the pattern.  For the pants, we'll need to trace pattern pieces 7,8,9,& 10.  Spread the pattern on a flat surface and locate those numbers in the cooresponding size needed.  Lay the paper of your choice on top (wax paper, freezer paper, tissue paper, or parchment paper) and use a marker, I prefer permenant, and trace the lines for the size you need.  Once you've traced all 4 pieces, use a pair of paper scissors & cut the pieces out.

Find the pattern numbers:

Find the size you need:

Trace the pattern, including marking the sized dots:

The final traced product:

Before you fold the original pattern back up and replace it in the envelope, take note of the suggested pattern layout for pinning the pieces to your fabric.

Iron your fabric, fold it by lining up the salvages (not the cut egdes) and set it to the side for tomorrow.

Supplies:

Make sure you have pins (I prefer glass head), a pin cushion, some kind of fabric marking device (chalk, disappearing fabric ink or wax fabric pencil), a sharp pair of sewing scissors (pinking is great but shears work well also), thread, a sewing machine, and your notions (in this case: 4 buttons & 3/4" wide elastic).

Most of my supplies to make 2 pairs of Sailboat Pants:

Glossery:

Backstitch- sew in reverse for a few stitches at the beginning & end of a seam to lock the seam

Baste- using the longest stitch length to temporaryly keep multiple layers of fabric together or for creating gathers/ease

Edgestitch/Topstitch- from the right side, straight stitch 1/8" from the edge of seam

Finger press- using your finger to do the work of your iron

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Any questions so far?

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