Monday, August 30, 2010

PR Shopping Day

It's official; I hate Karen of Sewing By the Seat of My Pants.  She was wearing her Jalie jeans and boy are they fabulous.  Right out of the envelope.  Rub it in a little why don't you?  You all know how much trouble I've had getting pants to fit well and there she is with her amazing jeans.  They fit her like the really expensive jeans I hemmed for my sister last year.  I had an amazing time on Saturday.   Where else can you talk about your passion for sewing without eyes glazing over  as you talk.  For me it's 90 minutes from doorstep to the city so not that big a deal to get in, but there were women from as far away as Chicago and Atlanta.  I bought more fabric than I planned but it was all in the colors, or I should say color that I wanted.  I bought shades of gray in knits  and  exactly what I was looking for in a wool crossweave that looked exactly like the Marc Jacobs $900 and something pair of pants over on Net a Porter.  He lined them in stretch silk charmeuse, which I forgot to pick up, but I can order that on line from Mood when I am ready to make the pants.  His fabric was non stretch and he used stretch for lining which makes perfect sense since lining often tears because it doesn't stretch and the outer fabric will. Of course if your fabric is stretch it's really necessary to have a stretch lining and not too many of those are available except in polyester.  I do not wear polyester.  Not because I am a natural fiber snob, but because my post menopausal body rebels against anything that isn't breathable.  I have seen Bemberg rayon in stretch but not recently.  However, Mood has a lot of colors in stretch charmeuse and I'll spring for that.  I don't even have to line them all the way down, but only to the knee if I want to save on fabric.  I have an old Threads article on a pair of  Armani pants that are only  lined in front to the knee.  There is also a Claire Schaeffer couture pants pattern where she only lines to the knee, so it is not  absolutely necessary to line all the way to the bottom.  The other issue with lining to the hem, even just covering the pants  hem, is that when you sit it often shows.  
What else have I been up to?  Other than fooling around with my new Viking, I've been working on my pants pattern.  Next post I'll talk about fitting pants and the amazing Claire Kennedy.

10 comments:

  1. It was nice to see you again Saturday. I had such a fun time. Though I did no sewing yesterday b/c I was still in a fabric daze...

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  2. I am sorry I missed this one. Oh well -- next time!

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  3. I like the idea of using a stretch fabric to line a woven garment - interesting! I've had the problem before (with RTW) of the lining shrinking over time from going to the dry cleaners so that it would become tight but the fashion fabric still fit. UGH. I never knew that bemberg rayon was ever available in stretch - I'll be keeping an eye out for that. But the stretch charmeuse sounds like a perfect solution in the meantime.

    What new Viking did you get? My machine is an older Viking (Platinum 735) but I have thought about upgrading.

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  4. I've been hated for far worse reasons! As soon as I dig through the rubble in my workroom and excavate the pattern, I'll put it in the mail for you. I know I promised it to someone else to trace, but since I can't remember who, you get first dibs!

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  5. Nancy, you look absolutely marvelous! It was great to see you again.

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  6. Blah blah blah PICTURES OF YOUR ADVENTURES! You always yell at me for not posting pictures. jk I love you!

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  7. Robin, I was talking about my new old vintage Viking 6010. I love it. After the camstack was replaced, was well oiled and greased with modern lithium grease, all courtesy of my dh, it purrs. The straight stitching it does is far superior to my Platinum 750. It's really easy to see why so many sewers are sewing with vintage machines.

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  8. I've not heard of stretch Bemberg until recently, so I'll have to see if I can find it. Hmmm, didn't know about stretch charmeuse either. Always something new to learn.

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  9. Must have been a lovely day. Will you show some pictures of your new fabrics?

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  10. So sorry I missed you last Saturday! I hobbled in on my post-bunionectomy foot to meet up at Paron's with whoever was still shopping. Sounds like a very successful shopping day. I would love to see pictures too!

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