This is the double collar of my current project: DD3’s new winter coat in blue camo felted wool jersey.
Blue Camo
wool crepe
Catching Up on SWAP: Vogue 2578
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
Breezy skirt: Burda 09-2010-106
Don’t you just love the colour of the sky? It’s a glorious fall day outside. Love it!
Well, I’ve had a craving for skirts the last couple of weeks, particularly brown skirts. Don’t ask me why! I’ve got two already that are in different shades of brown, but I still wanted another skirt. Enter Burda 09-2010-106.
I’ve had my eye on this particular skirt pattern since last September and was happy to get it out of a length of wool crepe from my stash after cutting out a pair of trousers. I really liked the topstitching detail on the technical drawing. I mitered all corners of the slits and used a catchstitch to hem.
Then I marked the topstitching lines with chalk on the inside for the first slit. And didn’t like it because I’m a lazy seamstress, and if I can wing it instead of taking 58 minutes to mark it e.k.z.a.k.t.l.y, then I’ll save the 58 minutes and wing it. So I changed my tactic and just merrily measured as I stitched. The stitches are not exactly even in length if you were to scrutinize them with a ruler, but that’s the look that I wanted. I used four strands of DMC stranded embroidery cotton, waxed well and pressed prior to stitching.
Et voilà! I’m quite pleased with the effect. The colour is a few shades darker than the fabric and noticeable just enough. I did not want a high-contrast look. You can see my lining peeking out at the top of the slit. Ooops.
I also did a row of topstitching on either side of the yoke seam, too. It’s subtle, but there!
I fully lined the skirt, not just the yoke as Burda suggested. I prefer a fully lined skirt if I can get it. I had every intention of mitering the corners of the lining to the interior would be absolutely perfectly bee-yew-ti-ful, but I was an idiot and didn’t pre-shrink the bemberg, and I know it’s going to shrink a little when I wash this skirt. Yes, I wash my wool garments. I do not like to send things to the cleaners unless I absolutely have to, and find I can get the same result washing trousers, skirts and the occasional wool dress at home without any mishap. I must say, I’ve never tried washing a wool jacket or coat……
Anyways, back to the lining….. I cut only the standard 5/8” seam allowance down all seams, and turned them under below the slit marking. Then I turned up the hem allowance about the same (5/8”) and attached it directly to the skirt hem along the topstitching using a fell stitch and easing in the extra fabric. Once it was fully attached, I carefully ran my hands down the lining to the hem, pressing whatever fabric bagged at the bottom into a crisp, clean edge. I’ve worn the skirt all day, so I apologize for the wrinkles, but you get the idea.
This is my preferred way of finishing off a wool skirt. It’s super clean on the inside and the attached lining behaves like an underlining. The four slits on the skirt do make it rather “breezy”. It was a windy day today, and the skirt hemline would get lifted and fly about.
Oh, and here’s a picture of my ridiculous mini poodle trying to eat what we call ‘helicopters’: the 2-inch long seeds from Canada’s maple trees that float like little helicopter blades spinning to the ground in an abundance during our autumn season. The stupid scavenging dog decided it looked like food, and so it got stuck in his teeth! You can see him looking for edibles in the first picture of this post. And poodles are generally thought to be extraordinarily intelligent dogs. Not this one!
Mezzo Couture 