We’re on a roll, I say. Really? you ask. How many garments have you completed?ONE! (Does one garment really constitute a roll?)
The Hudsons! Remember them? They are on my makenine list for this year. And they have been on my cutting table for an embarrassing number of days ….weeks ….months. But, they are finally finished!
This make was to be a toile, from sale bin fabric. No big loss then no matter what, so I would just bite my lower lip and cut right in, hoping to have a successful, wearable pair of comfort pants at a low cost, and know how to adjust the fit for a new, “better” pair. But look at this rare magic moment … when I uncovered my machine to get started, instead of a shambles, I found this:
Everything was set up and ready to go before being covered up!
So off we went, and the world’s slowest sewist (oh look, an alliterative rhyme) cut out the pants in short order. So easy! Fronts, backs, pockets, waistband, cuffs. I should have been well on my way at that point, but I needed elastic and cording. My closest fabric store is about 10 minutes away. So how many days did it take for me to complete this task? Seven! The bottom line is, after acquiring the last necessary items, I stepped up to the table and cut out the pants. I carefully marked all the pieces, and pinned the pocket lining to the pockets. Then my life began to cave in, and the Hudsons were cast even further to the background.
While I wasn’t sewing I began reading my favorite blogs again (not commenting, not posting, just reading). And from time to time, checking my emails. A newsletter from Karen Ball of Did You Make That? waited for me, asking folks what they would like to see her address. You know, problems or issues we may have with sewing. So I spilled my guts and asked for help when the sewing is just too scary to attack. And she used my question in her blog! I took Karen’s advice to allot a short amount of time to sew and when time was up, move away from the machine. Allowing myself to sew in only tiny bits freed up my worries about not accomplishing a damn thing and just see what happens. Well, my Hudson pants happened! And this is roughly how it went.
Day 1. Pockets. Pocket 1 – it was perfection! Boy am I good. Pocket 2 – the bloomin’ thing was inside out. Curses, perhaps I’m not Susie Sewist after all. However, after moving the pocket to the proper side, all was well.
Day 2. Side and crotch seams. Easy peasy.
Day 3. Waistband – hmmm do I really need that cord? What a pain it will be to do all that work, there are two buttonholes and a channel to create. But determined to do it properly, I followed the pattern and my buttonholes are perfect. Next step, attach the waistband to the pants. In so doing, I caught up the pocket in the stitching and with a sigh, began the unpicking process. Guess what? I had run out of bobbin thread! No unpicking required. This project had adverted its own crisis! Another magic moment.
Day 4. Attaching the elastic was the next challenge. With elastic in place, I basted using colorful rainbow thread because sheesh, this a lot of black thread on black fabric and my old eyeballs needed a rest. I sewed the bottom edge of waistband to pants, and tried them on once more. This was going to be one comfortable pair of pants.
Day 5. First cuff. Next I tackled the final piece of the pants puzzle, the cuffs. First cuff – meh, not bad. That’s all for today. Tomorrow will be the grand finale!
Day 6. Second cuff. Can you see the overly pinned cuff waiting for me, just behind the machine? I quickly sewed it up, and took it to the ironing board. Yikes! what happened here? Bunch upon bunch upon bunch. Once again, seam ripper to the rescue, and with only two short segments to sew (or resew, if that’s a word) with fewer pins, the cuff fit over the throat easily, and the job was at last complete.
After a good press, I am thoroughly enjoying my new, super comfy, wearable Hudson pants.
And the moral of the story? Sewing is a very humbling activity, but sometimes the magic happens. It turns out that my cheapo fabric is a wonderful ponte and my new pants are beyond wearable; they fit perfectly as printed, and are perfectly suitable for public viewing! I love my new Hudsons! Must make more. Many more. Gray, green, blue, red, wild prints. We shall see. And I must find a more dignified method of taking selfies.
Next up: the toile for my dotty Farrow Dress, which will be made of this luciousness.
Thanks for indulging me, and stitch on, everyone!
Let the Sewing Begin 