Upcoming Projects

I have been doing lots of knitting, because we finally got a couch in our sun room & it is quite wonderful to sit by the fireplace watching something from Netflix & knit the evening away.  The only thing missing is decent lighting (I'm a bit of a stickler for good task lighting).  I've ordered 2 lamps, which will hopefully be here next week. Then the room will be pretty much done, I hope.  Photos of the original room, after bedroom addition & thru to fireplace & bookcases here. 

Anyway, some upcoming projects...

This is all different types of flannel.  It was quite reduced at Hancock's so the Roommate picked out a bunch of patterns he liked & it will be up to me to turn them all into knickers.  I'll be using my tried & true One Yard Wonders pattern.

Some other irresistibly discounted fabrics: 

  The fabric on the right is a printed corduroy, which I've had my eye on at Hancock's for months...it finally went on sale & I bought 4 yards (I wanted 5, but there wasn't a piece long enough). It will eventually be another dress for me.  

The xmas lights is another flannel and yes, more knickers for the Roommate. 

And I've never seen a map print I didn't buy!  It's essentially a world map, I bought one panel, and it will probably be yet another fun shirt for the Roommate, who doesn't need one, but I do love sewing for him.  Though I was thinking place mats and napkins would be fun, too!  

As you can see, I have lots of plans.  Stay tuned to see what actually gets done!  

Here He Is: Mr. Xmas in his Xmas Shirt

Obviously the Roommate's Western Xmas Shirt is finished! Here is the supermodel showing it off. 

Apparently I'm even luckier than I previously thought, because at least 2 friends have told me their significant others would never wear anything like that.  The Roommate is an elementary school teacher and the children love him, partly because he does not mind looking silly...so even if the crazy shirts I make for him are not sophisticated or classy, he wears them anyway, with pleasure.  

You can see that I had fun w/ the contrasting red & green.  The red is under the collar, and inside the neckline & the button placket, so it just shows a bit.

I also included some red inside the pockets & red star buttons--because the Roommate is also a communist! ;-)  For those detail pictures, click here.  

The pattern is Simplicity 6693, from 1974, BTW.

I Just Can't Stop It: Western Xmas Shirt for Roommate

The Roommate is getting yet *another* fun shirt.  He picked out the fabric, and I got it cut out last night.  I'll mark the pattern pieces today & get started sewing.  
It won't have pearlized snaps, like the Western African shirt had.  Instead, I bought red star buttons.  The contrasting fabric for the cuffs & the yokes is great, too.  

I did the pockets first.  On the right you can see the flaps (left is buttoned, right is open with the red contrasting on the underside of the flap).

I can't wait to show it to you! 

Music?  How about Back Door Santa, Clarence Carter!  

Boo! Lots of Skulls this Hallowe'en

I mentioned recently that Vogue 8800 has been getting a lot of use here lately.  And here's another example, this time with long sleeves.  

He loved this fabric, so I had to make him something to wear for school on Hallowe'en. Here he is posing with some beach-combing treasures (sea turtle & whale skulls), plus take a look at the buttons I found...

Candy corns & skulls!  

Happy Hallowe'en to all!  And the best Hallowe'en tune I know: Howlin' Wolf, I Ain't Superstitious, Baby

Peace, Man! Or, Peace Shirt for My Man

I've been getting a lot of use out of the Vogue 8800 pattern for the Roommate.  It doesn't come with a pocket, but I've been adding patch pockets & slash pockets because he needs a place to put his smart phone!  

Here he is showing off his handiwork in our sun room, which is slowly getting turned into a real comfy-cozy room, rather than a conglomeration of intentions.  Anyway, he'd just hung the 2 window frames we got in Bahrain, which I believe look amazing against the stenciled wall behind him.

I think that high-quality work deserves another fun shirt for such a cute boy!

And below you can see the fun buttons I found, too.  They are metal, which seems super-cool to me.

Western Africa Shirt?! Finished!! Simplicity 6693

I doubt I'm the first person to think of this, but I am so pleased anyway...a Western shirt for the Roommate, made with West African fabric!  *smirk* 

So you saw some previews in the last post, but here's the whole chimichanga!  With the supermodel showing how it's done...

I took lots of pictures for 2 reasons: 1) I'm extremely proud of it and 2) because I wasn't the one having my picture taken!  I do not love being on the other side of the camera.  

This first picture shows the Roommate wearing a BIG smile (it may not look like it to you, but believe me, after 30+ years, I can tell when he's happy--even if you can't!).  I think he likes it.

It was actually fairly easy.  I have really always thought that making men's clothing would be the hardest thing possible, but after 4 pairs of underpants and 2 shirts, I'm feeling less intimidated.  So much so that I'm going to repair some of his Mohammed-made suits which are mostly in good shape, but the lining needs some repair and the buttons need replacing.  I won't be making any ties or suits anytime soon, though.  

I'm starting to realize that perhaps it's the fabric & fitting that makes things difficult, and if you work with cotton and sew for men (who don't need so much fitting), it's not that difficult after all!  

The second photo, on the left, shows the medallion, which appeared by accident in the fabric we bought in Cote d'Ivoire.  I think it looks great & is a super substitute for the embroidery recommended on the original 1974 pattern.  

I was thinking about a Western (African) shirt after seeing Cracker & Camper van Beethoven a few months ago at the State Theatre...then I figured out where to get the pattern from Zoe's post about the shirt she made for her husband.  

I really love how the big print & the little print work together, too.  

Some of the stuff I learned while making this pattern...

First, the collar band.  I was so confused at first I tried to just sew the collar on, the way I do with my clothes.  But then I went and looked at some of the Mohammed-made shirts the Roommate has & figured it out quickly. So I took it off & did it again.  (I was glad to see even Tasia has do-overs!)

You can see the collar band up close in the 2 photos below:

And second, how to put on pearlized snaps.  Which you don't need a special tool for; the instructions on the back of the Dritz snaps are very good. And very good for working out your frustrations! 

The photo above shows the button placket detail, with the snaps, and also with my extra attention to detail.  I have mentioned before how often in West Africa we noticed they use the fabric right up to the selvage.  Why not? It saves hemming & you get a bit more additional fabric.  

The fabric I used had great selvages on both the large & the small prints. You can see how I incorporated it into the placket, which I think looks pretty darn cool! That same selvage also worked to line the edge of the slash for the cuffs.  You can see that in the detail to the right.

Pocket with snap!

The pocket was another area where I used the selvage.  Here's the London Wax Prints & the RB mark which show on the pocket upside down.  But that way the Roommate can read it!  I did not put the snaps on the pockets...couldn't quite decide if it needed them; I may still do that.  

A few more pics below and I'll stop.  I hope this inspires you to try something (somethings) new, too!

And I think the appropriate music for this particular episode?  Euro-Trash Girl by Cracker!

Someone is on summer vacation & hasn't been
near the razor much!

Vogue-Wearing Roommate in Math-Flavored Shirt

Here we have the ever-handsome Roommate/Spokes-model showing off a new shirt I just now finished.  

Bits of Thread, where I take sewing classes, has a fabric "recycling" program, where they get fabric & notions donated to Goodwill & the Salvation Army and sell it quite cheaply ($3/yard).  The proceeds go to fund free sewing classes in DC.  

So, even though this is the thirtieth (yes 30th!) fun shirt the Roommate has, and all the rest were made overseas...he now has yet another, made in USA, and I made it, using Vogue 8800.  

Problem is, when I saw this math-related fabric, in an amazing color, I just couldn't resist, and knew he'd love it, too; even though we can all agree that he has way too many fun shirts.  

This is especially suitable since he loves teaching math to his fifth-graders.  And I've been wanting to try out a simpler style shirt, as I work up my nerve to copy Zo's cowboy shirt she made for Paddy.  

I've been wanting to make a western shirt for the Roommate ever since we saw Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven last month (amazing show, BTW).  And both David Lowery and Johnny Hickman had on western shirts.  Guitarists always look cute, so I decided the Roommate needed one, even though he's not a guitarist and looks cute even without a western shirt.

Also, I'm having a slight bit of guilt as when we finally started dating, as opposed to being just friends, I made him get rid of his polyester shirts, his bell-bottoms, and his western shirts.  My only regret is the western shirts, though!  So I figure he needs one now, and I have the perfect fabric for it (a surprise).  

But, I wanted to try out an easier man's shirt first, so Vogue 8800 was it.  I think it came out pretty well, and he's pleased, too.  He's got some classes next week at the NEA, so an education-oriented shirt will be appropriate.  

Doofy-looking models, but the
shirt pattern is great!

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! 

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.  

New ゆかた (浴衣) - Xmas Present a Big Hit!

You may remember I made the Roommate a new yukata (cotton kimono) ゆかた (浴衣) for xmas.  Well, here's a quick update showing the only gift I made this year on the handsome model.  He has not taken it off much since he opened the package xmas morning, so I think that's a good sign.  

He was thoroughly surprised...hadn't missed his old one (which I used to line this new one), and had forgotten about picking out the nigiri sushi fabric, too!  Which means he's the perfect person to make presents for.  ;-)

I lucked out, sort of, in that he was stranded in SFO during Hurricane Sandy & I had 2 days off work, so not only did I have time to get it done, I didn't have to hide what I was working on!  

The Roommate Gets a New ゆかた (浴衣)

We lived in Japan from 1993-1994, teaching English at an eikaiwa (conversation school).  The Roommate got this yukata (cotton kimono) there and we both love it because of the writing and the graphic quality of that writing.  I have no idea what it says, but I love writing systems, and this satisfies on so many levels. 

However, it's wearing out.  The seams are holding up, but the fabric is worn through in many places.  I have new fabric for another, but am dismantling this yukata so that I can re-use it as lining for the new one (at least the parts I can re-use...probably just the lower half.  I started dismantling (okay, seam-ripping!) and then began to wonder just how long it had been since I'd washed it.  So it's in the dryer right now...just to be sure I'm working with a clean version.  

I dug out my Japanese kimono pattern book (see below), and have been using the proportions from that, along with measurements from the existing robe.  Japanese kimono use most of the fabric because the pattern pieces are essentially just rectangles; they're also fairly easy to make because there is not really fitting in terms of width, it's the length that has to be modified, depending on the wearer's height.  If you're at all interested in purchasing used kimono to re-use for fabric, it is a pretty good idea--you won't get a bunch of tiny pieces that you can't do much with.  Lots of rectangles, and the back is often one large piece, not 2 pieces sewn together.  

Very little wasted fabric with a kimono pattern!

I finished it!  I had lots of time (Hurricane Sandy means no work today or tomorrow), plus I couldn't go anywhere (not safe to be on the streets), and the Roommate was out of town (stuck in SFO & couldn't get a flight back), so it was a great time to work on a present that wasn't meant to be a surprise, but why not?  The situation definitely called for it.  

See what you think...he picked out the fabric.  I wanted to use one of my West African wax prints (thinking "What a crazy mix--African batik & Japanese clothing!"), but he didn't like that idea.  It's an Alexander Henry print (I was going thru my scrap box & noticed his name was on a LOT of selvages!), that I got from an Etsy Shop, Lucky Frog (Lucky Kaeru).

Nigiri Sushi Yukata