WiP: Cargo Pants

So the past few weeks have been busy, to say the least.  Here's a picture of what I'm working on (besides home work and you know... work).

Yeah, doesn't look like much yet does it?  Still, I'm insanely proud with my progress.  This is the second pair of 'real' pants I've ever made, and the first pair were super simple wide leg pants on an elastic waist band.  They're not really my style.  However I realized that I am wearing my few pears of jeans out and to be honest I really want cargo pants.  At least in Arizona, good cargo pants for women as fairly hard to find.  The ones I could find have been cheaply made out of thin fabric.  I'm rough on my clothes so I wanted something a bit tougher.

This is a natural colored cotton twill with some stretch.  I can't say the exact content.  I got it from SAS, and awesome little store in Tempe, AZ.  They mostly have mill ends and such, so you sometimes have to dig to find what you want.  There are a lot of treasures though, and I could spend hours there!  I'm using a plain unbleached cotton as the pocket linings.  

So far, I have the front assembled except for button holes and buttons.  These are going to be button fly with 8 pockets- two front, two back, and two on each side.  There will be a grand total of eight buttons, four on the fly and two on each side pocket flap.  The list of things I've done -wrong- are surprisingly minimal.  I drafted the pleated cargo pocket too small, and didn't realize it until after I'd cut the fabric and pressed the pleat into it.  Luckily I had enough large pieces to redraft and get two more pockets.  And let's not talk about the flat fell seam.

Actually, let's do.  First off, it's backwards- that's the wrong side of the fabric you see there.  Second, it's a pretty awful seam.  Third, this is the inseam.  How the heck am I supposed to put side cargo pockets on if I've already sewn the inseam you ask?  Yeah, I couldn't figure that one out either.  So this whole seam is getting ripped out.  Since it was already trimmed I'm going to be careful when I match it back together and see if I can get it neater.  Then I think the key will be lots of pins or *shudder* basting. 

The goal for this weekend is to get the outside seams sewn up, check the fit, flat fell those seam, and pick out the inseam.  On Monday I'll have some time in my college's sewing lab to attach the pockets and maybe even fix the inseam.

On that note, the Bernina I've been working on scares me.  I have an old Riccar machine that's worked just fine but that thing shakes whatever table it's put on to pieces. The Bernina, despite not being a top line machine, is whisper quiet and so smooth in comparison.  The fact that the needle always stops up also freaks me out a bit because I frequently stop my machine with the needle down to help hold the fabric in place while I'm making sure it's lined up and such.  It does take some getting used to.

That's it for now.  Again only one post this week, but hopefully when it's my turn again I'll be able to post up a picture of the finished pants, plus a bonus post!  Brittani leaves for York in two weeks.  I'm going to miss her, but I don't envy her.  York is cold!

-Kellie

Doll Clothes and Dinner!

So, I'm a bit late getting this post out this week.  I mean, it's already Saturday evening.  The truth is, the college semester started two weeks ago and despite not being a serious student, I'm taking a full load of classes.  In addition, I'm trying to have some sort of social life.  This semester, I'm taking mostly boring classes- Microeconomics, Bookkeeping, a business class, and a sewing class.  The sewing class is really more of a lab, giving me access to some gorgeous Bernina sewing machines and four hours every Monday to devote to sewing.  Yay!

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the projects I'm working on, but the circle skirt may get some attention this weekend.  I've been quibbling over how to do the zipper and if I wanted to add pockets because I was afraid it was a bit too plain.  I love the fabric though, so I didn't want to muck with the print too much.  Last night it hit me- you'll just have to wait to see it!

Last weekend however I whipped up a little something to make sure my machine and serger were still in good working order and to remind myself how rusty my skills are.  Thus, a doll shirt.  To say I collect Asian Ball-Jointed dolls might be stretching it.  I only have one, my handsome Sabik by the Korean company Soom.  His name is Carousel.  

Well, this makes it obvious I've been out of the sewing loop for a while.  For a three hour project from pattern drafting to finishing I'm pretty happy with it.  He provides some special fitting issues in that a) he isn't squshy and b) he has extremely wide shoulders but a pretty trim waist.  I wanted something I could pull over his head, but didn't have any stretch fabric so there was some compromise between fit and ease of dressing with this.  And for an added bonus, some pattern matching fail.  I only have two or three yards of this gorgeous navy and brown japanese cotton.  I didn't want to use too much of it because I have other plans for it.  So I only made a minimal effort at matching patterns.  My thread and notions stash is also woefully understocked and I just used whatever thread was in the machine.  In this case, an ivory/natural color that I think work fine.  All in all, I'm happier with this shirt than the last few I sewed for him over a year and a half ago.  I also made his pants oh... two years ago but have since lost the pattern I drafted for them.  A shame too, because they fit really well.

Bonus: 

Doesn't that look delicious?  I'll give you a hint- it was.  Bell peppers, sugar snap peas, onions, garlic, and (frozen) gnocchi all sauteed up with whatever seasonings I had on hand.  I love gnocchi done this way.  Brittani gave me some dirty looks for using frozen gnocchi after our fun gnocchi making weekends in Spain but really it isn't any fun to do it alone. 

Circle Skirt- The Cut

The middle two weeks of the month are always pretty hectic for me.  Most of my deadlines as a freelance writer are either mid-month or end of the month, so I've been chipping away at my projects a little at a time.  Thankfully last week Brittani came over and we were able to get some work done on the circle skirt.  I didn't bother to draft a pattern piece for it, simply using a bit of math and a tape measure to mark the curve.  That's a picture of the main fabric- inside out, though, so you can't see the pretty floral pattern!

The lining and waistband are also cut out at this point, but I still need to pick up a zipper for this an then actually put it together.  I'm hoping to have it done by the end of next week!

For the sake of complete honesty, I can't say that I've worked on this skirt in all my spare time.  The truth is, I've been way too busy gaming and painting models.  Upon arriving back from Spain I was itching to get back into tabletop roleplaying.  What I didn't anticipate was my partner having a Battletech starter box.  Turns out, Battletech is pretty awesome.

That is a Bombardier and a Sagittaire, two Battletech miniatures.  I painted them myself, and have a bunch more to be painting.  There's a convention here in October that I may be running some tabletop games at including a demo of Battletech we're providing the miniatures for so between my partner and I, we have a lot of painting to do!

-Kellie

Pattern Drafting

How quickly our plans can change.  The dress I was going to make I've decided to do as separates instead.  One of the reasons being- I started drafting the blouse pattern today.  As a self-taught seamstress, this isn't exactly easy for me and I'm struggling a lot with it.  On the other hand, I know how to handle the skirt.  So, next week I'm going to try and whip out the skirt and when Brittani comes over for our Craft Day, she's going to help me work on the blouse pattern a bit.  To say it's being unruly is an understatement.

Still, I promised progress today and progress was made!

Thrilling, isn't it?  That's the front and back blouse pieces, with the french dart pinned in on the front.  I was originally going to gather the back fullness in to the waistband, but since it's now going to be separates I'm going to eliminate the back zipper and probably dart the back.

Before this week, I didn't have a sewing area set up, but my super sweet partner and roommate let me take over a corner of the living room.  So here it is, super classy.  The serger was my first major sewing machine purchase- the sewing machine was my mother's.  I'm not even sure how old it is, but I love it.  My (currently quite small) fabric collection is in that bottom drawer, with the exception of the current project which is all draped over a hanger in the closet.

Alright, that's it for this week!  Next week it's Brittani's turn to take over.

-Kellie

Fresh Starts, New Projects

It's a bit strange, coming back to the United States after living and teaching in Spain for a year.  For both of us it's a whole new chapter in our lives.  In fact, this is the first time in three years that we aren't living together.  We've been through a lot together, half our lives.

My name's Kellie, and I have never been able to take the easy road.  I've been a student on and off again ever since leaving high school, but getting a degree just never seemed that important.  After spending a lot of time at dead-end jobs in call centers and financial aid offices, I decided I'd had enough.  It was right about then that Brittani was finishing her bachelor's degree and we both needed a change.  My parents had attended a TEFL course in Spain and after much deliberation we decided to follow in their footsteps.  Not only did we go for the course but we committed to staying and teaching for a year.

In the beginning it was pretty rough.  Being thrown out of our comfort zones allowed us to jump into other pursuits that had always been put off in favor of 'real' work or school.  Namely, writing.  Fast-forward to now.  We've been back in the States for a month.  Writing is going well but I'm itching to do something else.  One of the things I found I missed most while I was away was my sewing machine.  Writing is a wonderful creative outlet and allows me to make a living doing something I love but it doesn't have quite the same reward as creating something tangible.  I've revitalized my Etsy shop and gone fabric shopping.  Freelance writing may pay the bills, but there's no reason my other hobbies can't help!

Forgive the abysmal artwork.

My first project is a full skirted, boat neck dress.  The top will be this gorgeous ivory linen/cotton blend, with the grey floral as the skirt and an underskirt/lining of ivory crepon sheer.  Once the pattern is done and I've made the sample, I'll offer it made-to-measure in my shop.  I'm so excited to get started!

-Kellie

The Beginning

27 July  2013

On our way to Spain, a quick stop over in London

This tale starts over a decade ago, when we first met in junior high, a time of tumult and uncertain identities.  We met through a mutual friend and in those days we were the weirdest of the weird, nicknamed the Pony Club for our obsession with horses.  Eventually we grew out of that particular weirdness and moved on to other things.  In particular, anime and all the things that go with it.

Japanese street fashion really caught our eye in those days, and after beginning to dabble in cosplay we quickly moved on to making skirts and dresses covered in lace and ruffles, entranced by gothic lolita style.  This new fascination also allowed us to explore the idea of creating for others and we made our first attempt to sell our creations, which also included hair accessories and brooches, to others.

It was more successful than we initially thought it would be, but the end of highschool and other dramatic life changes pushed sewing and creating to the background for a while.  Focusing on school and work we didn’t have the time to set aside for personal crafting hobbies.  As the end of university studies for Brittani drew to a close the indecision and uncertainty of life after prompted a look at living abroad.  After hearing good things about the TEFL school in Granada, Spain, the decision was made.  Spend one year abroad, living in a different culture and supporting ourselves by teaching English.  Plus, we would always have the certification to fall back on if our other plans for life fell through.

A bullfight in Ronda, Spain

So we packed our bags and flew off to another country and way of life.  We obtained our TEFL certifications and learned that teaching was, perhaps, not really our cup of tea.  Still, we made it the full year.  It was incredible.  

Fast-forward to present day.

One month in the States and we were at loose ends.  Brittani is getting ready to go to England for graduate school.  Kellie is trying to make a living writing freelance.  More than that, for the first time in our entire friendship we are going to be living across the world from each other.  So the idea of this blog began.  Document our projects- Kellie’s sewing, and Brittani’s quest to crochet.  And also, use the blog as a medium through which to share our friendship, and keep it strong.

-Brittani and Kellie