Friday check-in: batch cutting, fabric organization, and a few completed projects

Life has been distracting me for the past few weeks. I know you are all in the same situation! I am keeping calm by spending a few minutes in the sewing room whenever I get a chance, so there are a lot of updates since my last Friday check-in. I completed both pairs of jeans I've been working on for so long and even took some pictures. A few weeks ago I did some batch cutting and got 4 garments cut out--a navy sweater, a khaki skirt, a plaid flannel shirt, and an acrylic blanket coatigan.

I also finished the blanket coatigan I cut out using Lisette for Butterick 6244; it was a quick but satisfying sew, which I also hope to share in the next week!

The pattern

The fabric

Last week was the boys' spring break, so I spend the week home with them (I still have to go in to work as I am in the medical field). We did a lot of organizing, and I finished my fabric purge/organize/catalog task! I donated a total of 50 yards of fabric and now have about 290 yards in the collection (not counting fat quarters and remnants/scraps). HOLY COW! SO MUCH FABRIC! I was able to empty out a small hall closet that was full of fabric and craft supplies, so now everything is contained in the craft room and a 2nd small hall closet.

The armoire (my dad made!) with shelves...

...and drawers full of fabric

More fabric stored under the cutting table

The closet holds clothes to mend or fit, lining fabric,
and miscellaneous fabrics that are hard to store folded

A few other little projects:

I patched a lot of knees to get the boys' pants through the rest of spring

A made a bench of scrap lumber for lifting weights at home, so I make a cushioned cover 

My mom and I have been sewing fabric masks, both for our family and for community members. Don't worry--my mom lives with us, so we are complying with social distancing!

All in all, a pretty productive month since my last update! As I said, I hope to share my finished garments from the last month with you soon. I recently bought some fabric from Style Maker Fabrics for spring garments I have planned, including a gray denim legging knit and a pink rayon batiste lining. I also bought a lovely hardware kit for a cross-body purse I want to make with some fabric remnants.

That's it for now. Until next time, happy sewing and stay safe!

Friday check-in: jeans progress, what's next?

I finished both pairs of jeans this afternoon! I was almost done last night, but got in trouble because of the noise I made hammering in rivets--apparently this is not conducive to sleep. Very satisfied with the results. Hoping for some sunlight this weekend so we can take some pictures.

My next project will be a blanket drape-front coatigan using acrylic jacquard from JoAnn and Lisette for Butterick 6244 as the pattern:

I also am altering a bridesmaid dress for a friend. Shortening the straps and the skirt will be easy; taking in the bust along the princess seams will be a bit more challenging!

That's it for now. Until next time, happy sewing!

Homemade baby wipes

I have been making these wipes for more than 8 years (since my eldest son was born), and I can't find the recipe I originally used anywhere online or on Pinterest. So here is it for A and C (if anyone happens to find the original recipe, let me know!).

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup baby wash
- 1/4 cup baby lotion
- 4 cups hot water
- 1 roll of paper towels (select-a-size is perfect--sometimes you only need a little square)
- 2 Tupperware containers or similar (mine are 1.6 L)

Tools:
- electric kettle
- 1/4 cup measuring cup
- 4 cup glass measuring cup
- serrated bread knife

1. Cut the roll of paper towels in half. I saw around and around, rather than trying to cut straight through. Set the 2 halves aside.

2. Heat the water in the kettle. I let it boil, then cool down a bit before using.

3. Place 1/4 cup baby wash and 1/4 cup baby lotion in the large glass measuring cup.

4. Add a small amount of hot water and make a "slurry." Then add enough water to reach the 4 cup mark and finish mixing.

5. Divide the mixture evenly between the 2 Tupperware containers.

6. Put the paper towel halves in, rough side down. Don't try to put the lids on yet! Let the wipes sit for about 30 minutes.

7. Once the rolls are soft, pull out the cardboard tubes. It will be easy to push the wipes down and put on the lid.

Assuming your baby's skin doesn't react to the baby wash and lotion you are using, you shouldn't have any problems with irritation. We like the amount of water in the wipes--you feel clean after using it, not goopy. The wipes are biodegradable, but not flushable. Have fun wiping baby butts! Also good for noses, hands, and any other body parts.

Friday check-in: Jeans sewing and fabric organization

I have been working through the Curated Closet, and recently sorted through my clothes, keeping those in fabrics and colors that I enjoy wearing. I decided to go through my fabric with the same thoughts in mind. Of course I felt it necessary to reorganize my fabric collection at the same time, including storing pictures and yardage for each fabric on Trello. So far, I have logged 80 yards in Trello (yikes, that's a lot of fabric).

I am working on slimming down my fabric collection so that it can all fit in my craft room--it is currently overflowing into two neighboring closets. Last year, I used SewJourners' Stash Shrinker spreadsheet to sew/donate twice the fabric yardage that I bought. This year, I'm shooting for a 3:1 ratio. Last fall I donated 25 yards. In this clean out, I've pulled out 31 yards of fabric for donation so far.

This week I was able to make quite a bit of progress on the jeans; I am about to sew on the waistbands. Yesterday the rivets I ordered from Wawak arrived (in addition to thread and iron-on fabric to make patches for the many holes my boys put in their pants), so I am set for jeans-making supplies. I think I even have enough spools of topstitching thread!

That's it for now. Until next time, happy sewing!

Friday check-in

Lots of work commitments and not a lot of sewing of this week, but I found a couple of half hours here and there to work on my current sewing project (more jeans for me and A). I'm hoping to find some more time to sew this weekend; maybe I can get the jeans done by the end of next week!

We were in DC a couple weeks ago and I was able to pick up some really nice fabrics (thanks to our dear friends, A and K!). At Fabric Place Basement, I bought a floral wool/cotton shirting, a light orchid wool/rayon suiting, and a navy wool/linen lightweight fabric. At JSD International Fabrics, I bought three lengths of Dutch wax print. I've been enjoying deciding on pattern/fabric pairings. We'll see when they make it into the sewing queue!

 

 Floral wool/cotton shirting

Long-sleeve pussy bow blouse (vintage V8961)

Light orchid wool/rayon suiting

Button-up A line skirt (vintage V8961)

Navy wool/linen fabric

3/4 sleeve shirtdress

Maxi-length sleeveless shirtdress

Summer dress (V9293)

Casual wide leg trousers

 This season, my goals are jeans for me and A, a light rayon "blanket" jacket, and a blue plaid flannel shirt. Other items on the list (if I suddenly start to have 30 hours in a day) are a camel button-up pencil skirt and a navy V-neck sweater. I want to move away from black in my wardrobe--I've been thinking a lot about color and how I want more of it in my wardrobe. 2020 will be the year of blue (yes, that is also Pantone's color of the year)!

I really love the way Carolyn at Diary of a Sewing Fanatic ends each post with "...as always, more later." I've been thinking about what my sign off phrase could be. How does this sound:

That's it for now. Until next time, happy sewing!

Jeans Making 101

My big sewing goal for the year was to learn how to make jeans, both for myself and for my husband, A. He is a tall, slim guy with a small butt, and RTW jeans have a tendency to slide down at the top and still be too short at the ankles. I found this free pattern for men's jeans via Katharina of Froebelina. The pattern, 101 Le Droit, is from a French company, 1083, and is available on their website for download (scroll down to the bottom under "Kit Zero Kilometers").

The pattern: I printed this on letter paper, glued it together (this was a bit tricky--the margins didn't come out properly, maybe since I used letter paper, and it was a puzzle to figure out which piece went where), and initially traced a size 30 W/34 L based on the provided measurements, making sure to add a seam allowance before cutting. The front piece is provided twice as a mirror image; I only traced one copy. It took me a while to figure out what each piece was. 

Instructions: There are some brief instructions written in French on the pattern, but (1) I do not read French, and (2) I needed a lot more hand holding for my first pair of jeans, so I relied on Closet Case Patterns/Heather Lou's Sewing Your Own Jeans ebook. The 101 jeans have a button fly front, which isn't covered in the ebook, so I used Heather Lou's online tutorial, "How to Install a Button Fly." These sources were both excellent!

Fitting: The first muslin ended up being much too large, so I retraced a size 26 W/34 L instead and recut the muslin. The fit was better in the waist, but much too baggy in the butt. I made a small butt adjustment and a thin thigh adjustment, taking out more from the back legs than from the front and transferring these changes to my paper pattern as well. I tried not to overfit, based on A's preference for more ease.

Sewing: I used a 14 (?) oz non-stretch dark wash denim from a going out of business sale a few months ago. (I honestly can't remember which site, but they had very nice quality fabric. Of course I just discovered them when they were going out of business!) I used a denim needle, switching out the upper thread for topstitching thread when needed and keeping the same standard polyester thread in the bobbin. The inside seams were finished with navy overlocking. The pocket bags were made from fabric rescued from a cotton button-up shirt that A never wore.

Final thoughts: A is pleased. So am I. I have enough of the same denim to make him another pair in the fall. I still think the butt needs more work in future versions, but he finds them comfortable to wear, they don't fall down (even without a belt), and they are long enough, so a lot of wins compared to RTW!

Outtake!

Why is he looking up? No one knows.

Mid-Year's Resolutions

The year keeps racing by! I've been busy at work, at home, in the yard, and in the sewing room, but not so busy on the blog. I'm having the usual mid-year crisis--the days are getting shorter and winter is coming. How will I have time to make all the things, let along blog about them?

Clearly the answer is not to make all the things, at least not all at once. I keep on pursuing balance, in work and in life in general. To me this implies some kind of contentment with each area of responsibility or enjoyment--I may not be the best, but I can be good enough to satisfy myself (usually easier said than done).

Acknowledging the need to set reasonable expectations given the limitations on my time, should I continue to blog? I'm not the only person in sewing blog-land to ask this question. I think the answer depends on why I'm blogging. To impress others? To be part of the sewing community? To document my work as a sewist?

If my goal is impressing others, I certainly need to work on widening my readership--I'm not impressing very many folks based on my Blogger statistics. 😉 I'm not here to compete or one-up other sewists. There will always be more accomplished and/or more prolific bloggers, most with way better pictures. As far as being part of the sewing community, that's part of it, though Instagram is probably a more realistic way to accomplish this goal. Photographic documentation of my sewing and a chance to reflect on what I've learned is the main reason I started this blog.

So, here's what I've sewn so far this year (for me unless otherwise noted). I will try to write a quick blog post about each item (or group of items) and add a hyperlink when it's completed.

• Black floral polyester crepe tiered midi skirt (Simplicity 8305)
• Black floral polyester crepe bias cut sleeveless top (Simplicity 2614)
• Burgundy faux suede waistcoat (BurdaStyle 02/2017 #101)
• Gray and red floral silk blouse (Itch to Stitch Zamora)
• Burgundy crepe de chine long-sleeved top (BurdaStyle 10/2017 #116)
• Navy floral pleated skirt (self-drafted)
• Navy floral button-up shirt (McCall's 4992 heavily modified)
• Tie-dye T shirts for my boys (Burda 9439)
• Boot cut jeans for my husband (1083 101 Le Droit)
• Boho Style knit polyester crepe skirt (Sewaholic Hollyburn)
• Boho Style knit polyester crepe tank top (Itch to Stitch Lago)
• Navy rib knit long sleeve pullover (Seamwork Astoria)
• Coral rib knit 3/4 sleeve pullover (Seamwork Astoria)
• Coral rib knit sleeveless dress (Itch to Stitch Lago hack)
• Black wool suiting cigarette pants (BurdaStyle 10/2017 #113)
• Taupe wide-leg cropped pants (Butterick 6183)
• Navy and white striped Breton top (Tessuti Mandy Boat Tee)
• Navy and white striped Breton top for my mom (Tessuti Mandy Boat Tee)
• Blue/teal/coral printed cotton gauze sundress (Sew Sew Def Jessica)

Along the lines of goal-setting for the year, here's my #2018makenine (chosen in January; documented now for the first time):

1. 1083 101 Le Droit men's bootleg jeans
2. BurdaStyle 10/2017 #113 cigarette pants
3. Butterick 6183 wide-leg pants
4. Closet Case Ginger Jeans
5. True Bias Lander Pants
6. Butterick 5526 button-up shirt
7. Itch to Stitch Lago Tank
8. Seamwork Astoria Pullover
9. Tessuti Mandy Boat Tee

I'm using these 9 patterns as a core group to solidify my me-make wardrobe. As you can see, there are no skirts or dresses in the line-up. I'm trying to add pants and versatile, neutral-ish tops to my closet. This choice was vindicated during MeMadeMay, when I participated (unofficially) by wearing only me-mades on the bottom half for work. At the beginning of the month, I had only 1 pair of pants, and often needed to pair my fun me-made skirts with RTW shirts, many of which are getting worn out. I'm hoping to slowly phase RTW out of my wardrobe (after I get all the use I can out of each item of clothing--I don't want to throw out/donate pieces that are working perfectly well for me). 6/9 patterns are done already, and the year is just half over, so I am well on track!

What about you? Are you someone who enjoys making sewing plans, or do you find a list of goals too overwhelming or too constraining?