Catching Up on SWAP: Vogue 2578

December 3, 2012December 5, 2012 ~ Tia Dia ~ 6 Comments

First of all, I just love WordPress’s little snowflakes in December. I am a true northern girl, and languishing in a southern-ish urban centre can really have a negative effect on my psyche after a while. I mean, c’mon! It’s December! It should be below zero with SNOW!!! So thanks to WordPress for cheering up my snowless existence.

I’ve got some catching up to do on posts. I confess to not having done very much sewing lately, except for finishing up these trousers a couple of weeks ago, giving my Marfy wool plaid a good round through the washing machine and dryer – it felted up just an eensy weensy bit, which was what I was hoping it would do.

Anyways, back to these trousers. This is my TNT trouser pattern. I love the shape. I’m slightly pear shaped, and this design fits me with minimal adjustments. I actually only do three with this pattern:

taper down a size through the waist
add 2 inches to the length
deepen the crotch seams by 5/8″

I don’t really have much of anything interesting to say about these trousers that hasn’t been said already. They’re fully lined wool crepe trousers, with a fly front zipper that the Vogue instructions make a complete breeze to insert. They have a contoured waist and every time I make them up, I love them.

Here’s some interior pictures for the fun of it. I used a Hong Kong type finish for the hems and a thread chain loop to keep the lining in place.

The lower edge of the waistband is bias-bound, and machine stitched down. I say this because I usually finish a attaching waistbands by hand, so stitching in the ditch is a bit of a “slap-dash” approach for me. Not to bash the technique, though! I love it when I manage to stitch in the actual ditch, instead of on the curbs. Ha ha! I used clamp-on hooks & eyes, and couldn’t be bothered to go the fashion district for an exact-match zipper, so made do with what my local Fabricland had in the closest shade. I’m very pleased with the way the front fly zipper on this pattern turns out. Every. Single. Time. And that’s saying something for a TNT fly-zipper method!

In other sewing news, I’m completely ambivalent about the Marfy lab coat, so I’m putting the project on simmer while I get more of my SWAP projects completed. I’m not in love with the design (although I love the collar), and I’m not in love with the idea of a plaid coat. More mulling required!

SWAP Begins

October 21, 2012March 14, 2013 ~ Tia Dia ~ 2 Comments

I’m in love: Vogue 2578

May 12, 2012May 11, 2012 ~ Tia Dia ~ 13 Comments

I’ve made up these pants three times over the years. The first was a pair of brown linen; the second pair were in a wool/viscose tweed and this is the most recent version.

I do not have the first two pairs. I seem to avoid muslins in favour of making up, wearing and tossing, but that’s another blog post altogether.

I know I don’t look like I’m squealing like a little happy piggy in this photo, but I am internally grinning like a Cheshire cat about these trousers. This pair is a keeper. I wore these trousers a couple of days ago, and was very disappointed. Actually, the proper word would be disheartened. After wearing them all morning, they had stretched out and hung horribly in every possible way they could even if I did underline them. But I am so in love with this linen that I just couldn’t part with them. So I studied all the photos I took on Wednesday for the MMM12 challenge and made my adjustments. (You can see the only picture I saved of them from that original wearing here). I took in the waist a couple of inches and tapered the excess down to my hip level (about 9 inches below my waist) at the side seams. I still could adjust the front crotch curve and length, but in true mezzo style, I’ll do that adjustment on the next pair.And can I just say that I really love my new linen pants? I am so thrilled that I have finally made this pattern fit properly that I want to make up another 16 pairs! After much thought about lining vs. underlining, I decided I’d underline these ones. I’ve never underlined a pair of pants. I must confess I have always been afraid of the underlining shrinking or pulling away or making them hang weirdly after wear and tear, but I decided I’d give it a go with this pair. Actually, this discussion thread and this thread really swayed me in favour of the underlining this time.I used a pre-shrunk cotton voile and underlined only to the knee. I overlocked all the seams and bound the bottom of the waistband. I have to say I really am pleased with this entire project. I may never line linen pants again. The voile (not an underlining first choice – organza is always touted as being the premier underlining fabric) really makes a difference about how these pants hang and feel. Lesson learned! 🙂And can I just say how I love this pattern? It has all the thinking done for me in the instructions for a fly zipper with an underlay. Every time I’ve made them, the zipper turns out perfectly, and all I have to do is follow the pattern instructions. I love to sew, but sometimes I hate the problem-solving that goes into project. It’s nice to have a good set of pattern pieces and proper instructions for a wonderful result all pre-packaged and ready for you! This pattern also has separate pieces for lining the pants, complete with instructions on how to line the fly shield. Gotta love Vogue designer patterns! You learn so much!