I actually did it!

I finished the shorts I mentioned in my previous post. They turned out quite well considering they are my first attempt at pants/shorts (other than the one pair of pants I made in junior high school a billion years ago). I got them all together and then decided I needed to take them in a little in the center back. I think next time I will add more ease (width) in the legs for sitting as well as making them come up higher on the waist in the back. It seems that all the pants I buy (and now make) are always really low in the back. They tend to fall down when you stand up after sitting down. I am very pleased, despite that. I actually have a pair of shorts that fit! I am not sure I can ever go back to buying pants (that don't fit anyway) in a store.

Pardon the picture, my 9 year old took it on my phone.

I actually surprised myself on this one. I usually get frustrated and give up. This time, I stuck with it and, as Tim Gunn would say I decided to "make it work!" Because, of course, I made these last night while watching Project Runway.

teach your children

While shopping for muslin at JoAnn's yesterday, I decided it would be a great time to teach my children the fine art of embroidery.  This can be as simple as you want it to be.  We headed over to the needlepoint section of the store and picked up a few embroidery hoops, needles and some embroidery floss.  I let the girls pick four colors each.  For less than $10 we were ready to go!  I have a stash of muslin (bleached and unbleached) at home so we didn't need to buy fabric.   For our first design, I put the fabric in the hoop and then drew a heart in the middle.  I started each of them with a heart. 

They picked the which floss color to use.  I threaded their needles, tied one end, and showed them in a few stitches how it goes.  Ashley took off and finished with no problems.  Alona had a hard time keeping the thread in the needle but finished quite well.  Natalie had trouble but got the idea.  She almost finished half her heart before she wanted me to take over.  I tied the floss when they finished.  They were all so very proud of their accomplishments.

We are just doing a running stitch to begin.  If you aren't familiar with embroidery stitches, you can find them easily by googling it.  I liked how Needle 'N Thread has so many free resources.  This is the page with the basic stitches.  They also have how tos for more stitches than just the basics.  They also have some free patterns.  They thoroughly enjoyed learning to "stitch" and asked to do more today.  I asked each of the girls what they would like to "stitch."  Ashley wanted a flower (she wanted a tulip but didn't tell me until after I started drawing on her fabric and I don't know how to draw a tulip).  Alona wanted a giant star.  Natalie chose a triangle.  I threaded their needles again and tied the end of the floss.  None of them needed any help with the stitching this time.  Ashley didn't get to finish hers as she is using 3 different colors and I didn't get a chance to thread the last one for her.  I think she is probably about ready to add another stitch to her repertoire.  I am thinking the back stitch.

I used about a size 4 needle with 3 of the six strands of floss that are in DMC embroidery floss.  This size needle had no problem going through the fabric (too bid a needle and it can be hard for children to pull the eye through).  The kids haven't mastered threading a needle yet, so I do that for them.  Tying the knot in the floss can be difficult as well, so I am doing that for now as well.  Keeping the designs simple is essential for young children.  Ashley is ready for more detailed designs.  I am not sure about Alona yet- I will let her set her own pace.  Natalie is content with basic shapes.  The key (with my kids, at least) is to do it when they are ready, let them choose the colors and designs, and make it as fun as possible!  This is a great way to keep them entertained during the HOT summer, since we are stuck inside all the time and they love TV and computers a little too much.

sewing for an adult

When I was a teen, I would often sew for myself.  It was nice because my mother was there to help me with anything I wasn't comfortable doing.  Of course, when you are young and thin things also fit so much better.  Since I've reached adulthood, I don't really sew for myself.  I've made two Halloween costumes and tried to make a skirt.  The first costume was back in my single- and much thinner- days.  I was the snow queen from the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.  I made a white dress with an organza overdress.  The other one was a poodle skirt done in probably 30 minutes- very last minute and done carelessly.  The skirt turned out fine, but it wasn't in a particularly great fabric.  I have pretty much stuck to sewing for children.  You don't have to fit it to them and, in my girls' cases, they are pretty skinny.  I moved on to home decor- slipcovers, pillows, and some quilts for the girls.  Then I discovered all of the fun handbag patterns out there.  Just recently, I decided it was time to conquer knits as well.  I am really breaking out of my comfort zone lately!
This summer, I have discovered several blogs where people post pictures of clothes they have made.  They look GREAT!  Their clothes fit them perfectly and look professional.  Looking at the pictures, I find myself thinking, "why can't I sew that well?"  Then I realized it.  I CAN SEW THAT WELL.  I just have to put forth the effort.  Adjusting and fitting the pattern to my body is the real issue.  I have never really done that.  It is not something my mother taught me, but what I need the most to improve my craft.
So far this summer I have made myself a shirt (a knit shirt at that!) and a denim skirt.  I need to work on the front waistline of the skirt still to get it to fit perfectly, but I think it is a cute skirt and it is long enough for church.  I am currently working a pair of shorts.  I am using McCall pattern 5391 view E and I think it is going to be great.  If the shorts turn out well enough, I will make several pair in different colors. 
I started by making the pattern up in muslin.  I adjusted it to fit better.  It took quite a bit of adjusting, but I took that muslin and used it to make a second muslin.  The second one didn't take as much adjusting to get right.  Once I get the fit just right, I can use the muslin to help get any pant pattern to fit properly.  Making a pattern up in muslin several times might seem like a waste of time and fabric, but so would making a pair of pants that don't fit and therefore never get worn.  I researched fitting for hours on the internet before and during the muslin process.  I feel like I am really beginning to understand it all now.  I will post pictures once the shorts are done!