Enough Already! 4 Pair of Roommate Knickers!

Okay, I finally got the fly figured out!  And I've made the Roommate four pair of knickers now, all using the pattern I got from One-Yard Wonders...

I must admit I didn't figure it out by myself.  I ended up going to one of the open studio classes at Bits of Thread and getting some assistance from Rosalie, who, despite her tender age, has amazing sewing skills.  

The top pair (turquoise/burgundy/yellow) is using up some of the printed Kente we got in Ghana, lo these many years ago, and the bottom pair is flannel; the other 2 pair are actual one-yard pieces I got at a quilt show.  BTW, it's a rainy cool weekend and the Roommate reports the flannel pair were very nice to put on this morning!  

I have many projects in the pipeline, using some fun fabric I just purchased, plus getting some inspiration from a concert we were at on Thursday...but first I must finish up quite a few things.  More on that later!

More One-Yard Wonders: Roommate Knickers v.2

I mentioned I'd found 2 great books in my public library, and ended up buying them both.  You'll see here the 2nd version of boxers from Fabric by Fabric: One-Yard Wonders, which I actually made with less than one yard!  Boy is my life exciting.  If you're interested, the original book is One-Yard Wonders.  Both are written by Hoskins & Yaker.  

I am about to start a 3rd version, with a look to really perfecting the fly, something I've always known was difficult, but I got interested in really trying to get it right after watching my friend Tilly on the Great British Sewing Bee from BBC2.  I have become addicted to Project Runway, so #GBSB was fun because it was soooo different.  (For one thing, much more emphasis on sewing skills, not as much on design...which makes sense, but nice to see a different focus.)  

One of the projects was to make a pair of men's pants...something I will probably never try. But they mentioned how difficult a zipper fly is and I remember that I had done a just-barely-acceptable job on the first pair of knickers for Mr. Roommate, so was enthused to try again.  The verdict?  Well, not quite right, but better.  

I had a lot of fun playing with the stripey fabric on this & if you look closely at the left edge of the photo, above, you'll see that I went all the way to the selvage.  We saw this a lot in West Africa & I think it's a great way to use as much fabric as possible! 

More Copy Your Clothes

Green dress at Great Sand Dunes National Park

You may or may not know that the main reason I started making clothes again...and stopped quilting...is because I no longer live in Abu Dhabi & no longer have my tailor, Mohammed, to make clothes for me.  We left Abu Dhabi in 2008, so the wonderful cotton dresses and skirts and jackets I have are beginning to wear out.  

This green dress, in particular, wasn't all cotton to begin with.  (One of the hazards of buying fabric for 27¢/yard is not knowing exactly what that fabric is made of.)  Anyway, it's faded horribly, and it's time to try my hand at copying it & making another...

If you're wondering what it will be made of, check out this amazing fabric from Windham Fabrics.  I love it & broke down last week and bought 4 yards (there's a discount if you buy more than 3, so I HAD to).  

After taking the pieces apart, I marked
them so I wouldn't get confused. 

The green dress is mostly taken apart at this point--it's quite a good thing to do if you're watching a movie, as we were last night (those old Columbos are great fun!).  There were 10 homemade buttons (fabric + plastic) on it and Bella is loving those--they bounce & skitter extremely well on our hardwood floors!  

The next part will be turning these dress pieces into pattern pieces.  I don't think Mohammed used a 5/8" seam allowance!  But I have plenty of old maps from work to make pattern pieces out of...so here I go.

I've traced the piece, but need to add
the 5/8" seam. 

I pieced the pattern piece for the sleeve, I didn't
want to start cutting into a new map! 

BTW, the copied skirt is coming along nicely--lined and everything, I just haven't felt like tacking the hem.  Will probably wait until my friend gets back in town so she can help.  Explaining to the Roommate what I want is rather a chore, but Heidi will know exactly what I want...

Bella is devoted to Project Runway, too!

Overseeing the efficient use of fabric.

What I'm Working On: Copy your Clothes - Try Try Again

I took the Copy Your Clothes class at Bits of Thread DC a while back (a year?).  And I started pants, but never finished them (feeling fat keeps me from shopping & also from finishing sewing projects!).  

Anyway, I'm copying a Coldwater Creek skirt, linen, which I wear a lot.  This is not the greatest photo, but it gets its fullness from eight panels, all cut on the bias, and then all those vertical seams are finished w/ flat-felled seams, so they really stand out and, I think, are slimming.  I like the fullness, too, because a) it's more fun to wear and b) it gives the illusion I have a waist!  

The neutral color is great because I have lots of tops that are bright colors and many many jackets made from West African fabric.  I wear it year round, with woolen tights & boots in the winter & with bare legs & sandals in the summer.  The only thing I don't like is the lining is polyester, so on some of these extra humid & hot DC summer days it's not as cool as I'd like.  

So I decided to copy it because I have got so much use out of it and I think it fits great.  Plus I wear lots of skirts and summer is coming and one that is about 5 years old, also made from a West African print, is wearing out and I'm afraid it won't make it to Labor Day.  So I need another skirt, or 2 or 3.  

I bought two 1-yard pieces of this wonderful batik at a quilt show last month.  The fabric was really cheap ($5/yard) and though it would have been easier to have one big piece, I managed to get the pieces out of the two 1-yard rectangles.  I've finished flat-felling the seams, but didn't have a zipper.  I have lots of zippers, but they never seem to be the right size or the right color, so off to G Street & Joann tomorrow to top up my supplies.  (I need more 1" elastic for another  pair of knickers for the Roommate, too.)  

So hopefully it will be finished soon.  Oh, but I have to get some lining fabric...and line it, so maybe not finished real soon!  

Batik always makes me think of Bali & the Kecak dance.  So watch the video & you can think of it too!

BTW, If you're looking for some behind-the-scenes info regarding Project Runway, read a bit of Mondo's blog and find out about the basement!  

One Yard Wonder Project #2: Cozy Fuzzy Slipper Socks!

These would be great to use up some fabric, if you have any leftover fleece.  Of course I bought the fleece, but you can use up your stash!  They are great & really comfortable.  I had to play with the seam allowances a bit because the pattern seemed to be a bit tight.  But they came out great and I really like them.  

I used Plasti-Dip, recommended on Ravelry, to spray on the soles so I don't break a hip on our slick hardwood floors.  It's spray-on rubber that really stinks, but after a few hours the smell goes away & you've got slip-free slippers.  

One Yard Wonder Project #1: Roommate Knickers!

First up from the One Yard Wonders book I mentioned in the last post...knickers for the Roommate!  They were extremely easy and I used flat-felled seams inside & out.  The pattern doesn't need a separate waistband, so that makes it easy.  I have fabric for a second pair, but I'm out of 1" elastic.  

Do As I Say: Stash-Busting Preacher Tells Others What to Do!

I found two books at the local library which I think you may find helpful if you want to bust your stash.  

Patricia Hoskins & Rebecca Yaker have written 2 books called One-Yard Wonders: 101 Projects You Can Make with 1 Yard of Fabric, and Fabric by Fabric One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Projects Using Cottons, Knits, Voiles, Corduroy, Fleece, Flannel, Home Dec, Oilcloth, Wool, and Beyond. I found them so wonderful that I've now purchased both.  

Each book comes with a huge packet of patterns for all the different projects.  So far I've traced the patterns for some fleece booties & a pair of knickers for the roommate.  

So you're probably wondering what's up with the "Do as I say, not as I do" quotation...well, let's just say that I didn't have any fleece for the booties, so I had to buy some.  And I found such a good deal on 1 yard pieces at the quilt show last weekend...so I bought 4 for the Roommate's new knickers!