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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

A Little Bit of This & A Little Bit of That

There have been a few questions posed in the comments section lately and I wanted to answer them. Please forgive me but I am usually flipping through comments at work and don't have time then to answer them. When I finally remember that there are questions, I am usually rushing to post...so without further ado here are some answers to a few questions...

Adrienne asked about the sizing on vintage patterns?
My answer:
I have no idea! *LOL* I bought these because I liked them and the oldest pattern in my pattern stash is probably from the late 80's, maybe one or two from the late 70s. This will be my first adventure with "vintage" patterns. I will have to let you know as I work with them. But I do have to share with you that I only bought the first one to make as is and I expect to have to make some kind of alteration to it. The last two were purchased for design inspiration, meaning that I will probably take pieces and apply them to a design that I think is more today.

Jamie asked, "How much time did you spend dreaming, planning, constructing in your head?" in reference to the seersucker suit.
My answer:
Usually my outfits get a lot of thought time. However, the fabric was the incentive in this outfit and that is why the turnaround time was so quick. The fabric spoke, I listened and then I sewed. I can actually say that this was a sponteneous sew and that this is a rare thing for me. Most of my outfits have a lot of time and thought invested in them! And what would that be on average? Probably 3-4 hours...

Faye asked, "Is your TNT trouser pant one with a fly front zipper and waistband?"
My answer:
Okay Faye, I read your question and then truly thought about whether I wanted to share the unvarnished truth with everyone. And then I decided that this works for me and my lifestyle so why be concerned with what anyone else thinks. I mean I post bad sewing advise here, why not bad pattern advise! *LOL* So the answer to your question is that my TNT pants pattern has an elastic waist because my waistline fluctuates from week to week ~ hey sometimes from day to day! Take the sage dress that I just posted. I think from the waist down that I look considerably larger in the pictures of that dress than in the Ladybug Dress. And it's because the camera doesn't lie...my waistline is two inches larger this week than it was during the time I was making the Ladybug Dress (Marji that's why sometimes I have a tendency too add to much width to the waistline and then have to remove it when I finally try the garment on!). At one point, I had clothes (pants/skirts) for one time of the month and clothes for another time...finally I got tired of that and went with elastic waist pants.

Several of my favorite TNT skirts have elastic waists also but I do love a straight skirt and I have found that if I make a really skinny waistband or use no waistband on the skirt that it takes me through my weight fluctuations. So there you have it, the entire unvarnished truth! *LOL*

That was the first bit and here is the second...


Today is my middle daughter's 19th birthday! She is the one on the right! Can't believe she is that old and how fast it went. I still remember fighting with a 2 year old about what clothes she could wear - she always wanted the most "fashionable" thing. Braiding hair on Saturday evenings, fighting with her to get up, do her homework, finish her chores, etc. And now she is a wonderful young lady! The first picture is of her and her younger sister (who will be 18 in November!) when they were 2 and 3. This picture is on both of their cellphones!

And here she is now!




Happy, Happy Birthday Aggie!


I'm off! The new Bazaar showed up in the mail and I have to go look for inspiration for fall sewing...however, my September Vogue still hasn't arrived! I'm convinced the mailman just doesn't want to carry it around...and I don't know why? He delivers the mail in one of those little postal vans! *smile*

More later...

10 comments:

  1. Please send out birthday wishes to your daughter. She certainly is a cutie - must be genetic!!

    In terms of vintage patttern sizing, I can tell you what I do. In modern patterns, I typically use a size 6 or 8, which equates to a bust size of 30.5" or 31.5" respectively. So, I just look for vintage patterns with this bust size and I've always been good. In my stash I have vintage patterns that range in size from 9 to 13, but they all have a 30" to 32" bust, so they work for me. Now, I rarely cut into the good fabric first with a vintage pattern, unless I have flat pattern measured the heck out of it. So, like you mentioned, a muslin is th eway to go. HTH

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  2. You daughter is beautiful! Happy Birthday to her!

    There's no shame in the elastic waist! You're comfortable and not suffering for your fashion. You know, you could always get some buttonhole elastic and use the regular waist band as a casing and just do a elastic back waist, like they're doing in RTW children's wear and in the Burda children's patterns. I don't see why it wouldn't work for an adult. Just make a buttonhole in the inside of the waistband on the both sides near the side seams, insert the elastic, sew flat buttons near the casing openings and adjust as desired. You've now got the comfort, but with "flat front" garment.

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  3. Happy birthday to your daughter! She was an adorable little girl and is a beautiful young woman.

    I wear more skirts than I do pants and many of my faves have elastic waists! For the same reason as your pants do. There was a time when I swore I'd never wear elastic waist anything but then I grew up (and smarter) and decided comfort was a good thing.

    I'm going to print out Summerset's tip for the flat front comfort waist and give it a try.

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  4. Happy Birthday to your Dear Daughter!! I love skinny waistbands or no waistband on my skirts and agree that it takes me through my weight fluctuations also.

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  5. Happy Birthday to your lovely daughter! And I am all about elastic. I have all but given up on fitted waistbands and since I never tuck anything in, why bother?
    Robin

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  6. My middle daughter turns 19 on the 28th. Do you remember what a hideously hot summer that was? I also had to do the hair braiding (every day!) and she always wore frilly little things. Now she lives in jeans and sweats. I had to make a skirt for her the night b4 her senior awards this year or I know she would have walked on stage in sweats and not even cared. But she's a wonderful girl and starts college this week, but I still remember the good old days.

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  7. Happy Birthday to your daughter!

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  8. Laura *LOL* I remember running the air conditioning at full blast and having a fan on me at the same time...I couldn't believe how hot it was! Thanks for reminding me!

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  9. Your daughter is really pretty! Thanks for the info about your TNT pattern!

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  10. You don't have your September Vogue yet? I guess I'll stop complaining, for the moment, that American Vogue has not arrived in the newsstands in the UK.

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