Denim

A simple Boho skirt… and Daniel Craig.

A friend has asked if I can make her a Boho/peasant skirt similar to one she owns already.  No problem, happy to assist… it just might cost you a few “mike’s Hard Black Cherry Lemonade” beverages though!  

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C.P. (let’s call her that) has done her research and came equipped with instructions she has found on the internet and a large piece of paisley (I love paisley!) and two large pieces of denim fabric.  Both fabrics had a similar feel of a medium weight denim so they would drape together well.  The instructions that C.P. had found on the internet gave you a wonderful little “tier calculator” to predetermine the correct length and width of each tier.  All you had to do was enter in the widest measurement on your lower body (waist, hip, whatever), press calculate and all the math was done for you.   The free pattern and tier calculator is here if you are interested.

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My denim skirt – pockets on/pockets off!

I’m am going to start off by apologizing… this post just might be photo-heavy, but don’t worry that won’t strop me from talking too much!

I am so happy!  I have finished my denim skirt – finally!  It has been a slow process, but for the most part, enjoyable.  I loved all the different techniques involved and I was pleased that I could turn my favourite pattern, a Sewaholic Hollyburn, into a denim skirt.  If you missed some of the posts, I worked on sewing and topstitching the back pockets and the flat felled seams here;     I sewed the fly front, front pockets, faux flat felled seams and belt loops here;  and I pretty much spent this whole post here agonizing over whether to sew on my back pockets or not!

But before I get all bent out of shape over the back pockets again, let me show you one of my favourite sewing tools – The Hammer.  Perfect for attaching jeans buttons and rivets and letting go of all that stress bottled up inside you! Continue reading →

My Denim Skirt Dilemma.

Alas, I am still working on my Sewaholic Hollyburn to Denim Skirt makeover.  I have been pinning/unpining and trying on/taking off and puzzling over/avoiding my skirt for the last three days now, trying to decide what to do.  Has there ever been so much indecision in my life!?  (I hope not!  I hope there is only indecision with minor details such as this one!)

I am very happy with my denim skirt, so far!

I have made my denim skirt with what feels like a 100% light weight cotton.  I would like to call it a chambray, unfortunately it was unlabelled, inexpensive and I bought a large amount of it not having any proof as to its content or description.  It is light weight though, therefore it would be nice if it was an A line shape (my favourite) and/or gathered would be nice too (I have gathered the back of this skirt already).

I love the topstitching I have done – front and back pockets, seams, waistband, hemming.  I love the rivets and jeans button.  I would change none of it.  (If you missed any of the steps you can see the previous posts here and here.)

Now here is my dilemma – help me out here. Continue reading →

More on my denim skirt…

Hello all, me again.  I’ve had a couple of “distractions” over the last week therefore I haven’t quite finished my denim skirt, but I thought I would show you what I have accomplished so far – and perhaps this week you might even get a laugh out of it!

I started my denim skirt by cutting out a Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt pattern here and making my back pockets, and doing my topstitching and flat felled seams here.

Now it is time to sew my jeans fly front.  My one side is interfaced, double fold bias tape is sewn on the rough edge and the piece is sewn on to my left side front (if I am looking at the skirt).  The interfacing will never show as this piece is folded over to the inside.

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I’ve decided to make a denim skirt…

from my Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt pattern.  I cut this pattern out last week from some 100% pre-washed cotton I found in my stash.  I still have a good metre or so left so I’ll have to think of another project for it.  Do any of you have a favourite tank top pattern that could use the remainder of my 100% cotton denim?

Since this is the fourth time I have cut out a Sewaholic Hollyburn, I think it is definitely one of my TNT patterns.

My skirt is coming together well.  The thought of topstitching and revits and Jeans buttons makes me SMILE!  

I started this skirt by making my interfaced back pockets.  I just cut a large rectangle shape, as the Hollyburn didn’t have a pattern piece for this.  I precisely measured for my angled corners.  I marked the centre point of the bottom with my Chaco liner and I measured two inches up on each side and made marks there too.

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Finishing one, starting another…

Perhaps you remember this dress, from my Sister’s Sewing Projects, a vintage dress pattern from 1978, Simplicity 8510, which I first blogged about here.  I decided before I start anything new, I must finish the old projects …

This dress still needed its elastic waistband.  I found many ways to do that on line and in my reference books – I decided to make a casing for the elastic.  I cut a strip of the same fabric as the dress, and since it frays easily, I hemmed the edges with a zig zag.

imageI measured down from the arm holes on both sides, 8″ in this case, and I sewed the casing on and ran a length of elastic through.  I have left it open here so we can check the tightness or looseness of the elastic, then I will hand sew it closed.

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I used this little gizmo to thread the elastic through the waist line casing.

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ALL DONE!

Seriously!  MY. JEANS. ARE. ALL. DONE!

I haven’t had too much trouble finishing them off and I love the look and fit of the cotton lycra fabric.  I pieced them together with these patterns:  Vogue V2948 and  Vogue V8774, along with watching these Craftsy courses:  Angela Wolf’s Sewing Designer Jeans and Sandra Betzina’s Pant Fitting Techniques.  If you wish to see my previous steps for assembling my black denim Capris jeans and these blue denim jeans, check them out here, here, here, and here.

While making my jeans, I loved distressing the jeans fabric and applying jeans buttons and rivets.  So much so that I am now going to keep an eye out for jet black cotton lycra denim for my third pair of jeans!   Continue reading →

One down, one to go!

Well this isn’t going to be a long post (good news for you, huh?).  But I just wanted to show you my finished black jeans.  As you probably know, I have been watching Angela Wolf’s Craftsy course, Sewing Designer Jeans, and Sandra Betzina’s Craftsy course, Pant Fitting Techniques.  I used Sandra Betzina’s Vogue pattern V2948 with some modifications posted about here, here, and here.

I have finished attaching the curved waistband, attaching the belt carriers (loops) at the same time, and have done more topstitching.

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Coming along nicely! Sort of…

There has been a lot of sitting around this weekend, watching movies and the drizzling rain, and snacking.  Not really heavy rain, but that rain that makes you think “Do I need an umbrella or not?”  I have been staring at my sewing projects too, perhaps waiting for them to magically put themselves together.  That hasn’t happened yet.   Let me tell you what I have accomplished this last week, on what I am now calling my “Two Jeans Project”, it all started with a Craftsy course instructed by Angela Wolf and Sandra Betzina’s Craftsy course and Vogue pattern V2948 which I posted about first here and here.

The next steps I had to work on were the fly fronts.  I prepared the single layer fly pieces and the double layer fly pieces for both my jeans.  The zipper gets sewn on to the pants opening at the same time as the double fly piece.

Nice dress! Thanks, I made it!!

Nice dress! Thanks, I made it!!

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