Monday, November 8, 2010

New Outfit

Finally, my latest outfit is done. I've been working on planning and sewing groups of garments instead of just pieces.  Here I've sewn  a long sleeved simple t , pants and a  cardigan to pull it together.  The pants are a tweed of an unknown blend from Marcy Tilton.  I think  it has at least a bit of wool after getting a whiff of burnt hair during my burn test.  They are  my tnt pattern using a straight waistband that I shaped to ease it over my full high hip.  I also split it at the back and faced it with 2" wide Petersham ribbon as per David Coffin's pants book.  The Petersham is shaped as well,  as I am doing below  in  the pants I am working on now.

In Lynn MacIntyre's book Easy Guide to Sewing Pants, one of Taunton Press's Easy Guide series, she says to place your waist seam half the width of your waistband below the waist.  In figure like mine with a full high hip this steaming and shaping really helps it fit over my hip smoothly.   I wish that she had had this fabric in other colors because I've been living in them ever since I finished them.  They don't wrinkle much and they are so soft, warm and comfortable.
Both the t and the cardigan are drafted  from my Vogue 8151 tnt t shirt.  The  long sleeved t is in a luscious wool and rayon knit that I picked up at one of my recent visits to Elliot Berman.   The cardigan is a cotton sweater knit from Emmaonesock and it's trimmed in some leftover wool jersey.  I don't love this fabric.  It's a bit flimsy but I do like how it looks with the top and tweedy black pant.
I used to sew my 'good' clothing and then I'd never have anything to wear for everyday.  Now I plan and sew my everyday clothing as mini wardrobes and I have lots to wear for my real life.

Right now I am making another pair of wool pants as it's turned rather cool and damp and I like being warm!  They are   wool in a mini houndstooth bought when Sigrid was here, in fact we both bought the same fabric at Mood.  I had seen a Ralph Lauren ad with a mini houndstooth pair of pants and a larger houndstooth sweater, rather like  the sweater above so I'll wear the cardigan with these pants too.

Storing that fabulous and wide interfacing from Sew Exciting.
I've been buying interfacing from Pam Enry in 3 or 5 yd pieces and at  60" wide,  a challenge  to keep unwrinkled as I unfold , cut a piece and refold it .  Seth, that champion scrounger, came to my rescue.  He  had lengths of plastic pipe about 1 1/2" in diameter and he cut them to fit my interfacing.  I can unwind what I need and neatly re roll it after wards.  I also taped Pam's labels to the end of each roll. Now I actually know what interfacing I am using.  How cool is that?

22 comments:

  1. Very nice, Nancy! And what a great idea for storing interfacing. My interfacing is in a big ball.

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  2. I have the same problem with my interfacing. Nice job, Seth! And your outfit looks wonderful. Smart sewing.

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  3. Beautiful cardi, and a very classy look.

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  4. What fabulous pants.

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  5. Love the interfacing tube, and I love your hair. Beautiful color.
    Great fitting pants too!

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  6. Beautiful outfit! I love how you coordinated all three pieces together. The interfacing tube is a great idea too!

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  7. Love your cardi. Your outfit is very impressive.

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  8. Lovely, and the necklace finishes it off beautifully.

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  9. Love the outfit, it looks stylish and very comfortable too. Very much you. And Seth is a genius, very clever to do it like this.

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  10. I love the cardigan. I put a moratorium on grey cardigans for myself after realizing that I own 3 BUT they are all uber boring. I love that grey trim that you did.

    Also, of COURSE dad came up with the perfect solution. I seriously miss having him help me with stuff like that....

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  11. Wow! Your new outfit is fabulous - you look so very chic and elegant. Everything is perfectly co-ordinated. How wonderful to have an outfit that is comfortable but looks as good as this does! What a genius idea for storing interfacing!

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  12. Very flattering attractive outfit. I still can't get over how great your beautiful white hair looks. Lookin' good, Momma.

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  13. I have to say how great your hair is looking too. Co-ordinates so nicely with the outfit! Great idea for the interfacing too.

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  14. Excellent interfacing storage solution! And I like your new outfit. Very chic!

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  15. What a great outfit!!! You look amazing!

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  16. I love the ensemble. Very classic. I also love you method for storing interfacing. I may go out and get PVC pipe just for that purpose!

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  17. I may have to copy that idea for storing interfacing...

    Lovely outfit! So smart to make an outfit. I tend to sew (and buy) individual pieces and often end up with things that only go with one other thing and can't be mixed and matched as well as I'd like.

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  18. They are great looking pants--I can see why you're living in them.

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  19. Sharp lines from soft fabrics - a great look!

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  20. What a great outfit! I love the cardigan. I am definitely going to steal your interfacing storage idea...mine is stashed all over the place, and is usually a mess when I am ready to use it!

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  21. Your outfit is very classy. You accessorize nicely, too, and have pulled-together look. Thank you for the tip about the seam on the waistband. I will get out my copy of that book and read. Good way to store interfacing, which is always problematic.

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  22. Great look and what a super idea for interfacing!

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