Monday, January 31, 2011

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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2 comments:

  1. I'm a follower!
    I'm loving the sew-along! This past week was nuts for me to actually sew along, but I plan to sew the pants in February & use your blog posts for guidance. :)

    If I were to win the buttons, I would use them on oliver + s pants, no question. :)

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  2. i'd use the buttons on my sewalong pants since i haven't picked any out yet. otherwise i was planning on mismatched vintage buttons from my stash.

    ReplyDelete