I started my “muslin” of the Danglez swimsuit pattern out of some red spandex from Joann Fabrics. Today I gave up and decided it was a wadder. I’m not giving up on the pattern, just this version. The reason I gave it up was this (pictured left). I messed up putting in the  elastic around the upper back and straps. It was just such a pain in the butt to pick it all out so I’m giving it a toss. I won’t throw it out yet just in case I ever need to salvage any of the elastic.

This has been a good learning experience. When I make it again later this week I will have some good ideas of ways to make it better and do things a little different.

One thing I’m doing differently is the front insert and neck edge. On my Land’s End suit this seam is sewn right sides together from the inside with the elastic enclosed. The pattern instructions have you sew the insert in, sandwiched between the cups and the lining and then the neck edge elastic just sewn on the wrong side and flipped over and topstitched. I used the coverstitch for the topstitching and I didn’t like how the finished edge looked.

I also don’t like this fabric. It is shiny and very bright red. I like to wear red but this might be just a bit too close to Wonder Woman territory for my comfort. I have some Milliskin Matte in dark plum that I’m going to use to remake this pattern. It also seems to be a better quality and thicker fabric than this shiny stuff. It should give me more tummy control.

I’m afraid that I might be losing my swimsuit mojo already. I’m getting so close to getting it right but I’m all about instant gratification don’t you know and this is taking too long to get right. It will be a test of my maturity to see if I stick with it! But I turn 45 tomorrow so I guess if I’m ever going to get mature it might be about time.

I don’t have any photos of me in my new jeans but I did finish a pair today. I really need a live-in photographer for finished projects. That is the plight of the one and only photographer in the family, I never get my photo taken by anyone who knows what they are doing. So I must get by with camera timer shots that are less than artful and far from flattering. The only other option is the dreaded “shot in the mirror” or the “end of the arm” shots. I’ve resorted to both at times with less than satisfactory results.

Back to my jeans…I (like everyone else on the planet) really like this pattern. I’m going to make the Kwik Sew 3315 at least one more time in a smaller size and the straight leg and see if I can also be happy with that one. But I really like the fit in the seat and thighs of the Jalie pattern. They are so comfortable that they may put an end to **No Pants Friday!

The only thing I don’t like is the waist band. It is cut on the bias and with already stretchy lycra/denim it is too loose after about 2 minute’s wear. So much so that I may even rip it off and do it again with some methods I’ve gleaned on the internet. Even if I take the waist band from the KS pattern and cut it along the selvage like I’ve done before I think I’d like it better. Or I could do a “gaposis” fix with a wedge out of the center back seam. I HATE ripping finished things apart to tweak them. Really I do. But the rest of these jeans are so nice that I’d hate to not wear them just because I was too lazy to put an hour of work into perfecting them.

As with any jeans, it’s all in the details. I decided to try out a machine embroidery design on the back pockets. I’m not much of a “bling” girl so I knew I didn’t want any embroidery elsewhere on these. But I thought it would be fun to try something on the pockets.

I’m teaching a jeans sewing class at work next month and I’m trying to try out all the things I’m going to be teaching. One big thing will be positioning machine embroidery on the pockets. It’s really very simple, embroider THEN cut.

I just cut large enough pieces for my embroidery, making sure they were on grain and hooped them with tear-away stabilizer. Then I drew a cross-hair on my pocket pattern piece and pinned it. Cutting the pockets to perfectly match.

The second “free” tip I’ll give here is how to get perfectly even spaced lines of top-stitching. On these I opted to use Gutterman top-stitching thread in a dark gold color. With this heavier thread you MUST use a topstitch needle in at least a size 90 so it doesn’t get shredded by the eye of the needle. On some machines you may also need to loosen your top tension a little. I just used regular all-purpose polyester thread in the bobbin. I also lengthen my stitch to about 3.5.

The first pass with the topstitching I use my Bernina #10 foot. This is the Edgestitch foot (aka “stitch-in-the-ditch foot”) with my needle position all the way to the left. By keeping the blade of the foot along the edge of my pocket (or seam) the needle will stitch exactly 1/8” from the edge.

This foot is a thing of beauty and there is a reason it is the best selling foot Bernina has in their line. It is rare that I can complete a sewing project without using this foot at least once.

Now it is time to put down that second line. Your first line should be perfectly parallel to  the edge of the pocket or seam because you used the center blade of your foot (other machine manufacturers make a similar foot I think) to guide your stitching.

Put on your zipper foot. Yes, you heard me, ZIPPER foot. (Again I’m using Bernina so if your zipper foot is different I’m so sorry.) My zipper foot is almost exactly 1/4” wide so by putting my needle to the left and using the right side of the foot as a guide I can sew a stitching line exactly 1/4” from the first line.

I always stitch my topstitching with my machine set with the stop with the needle down so that I don’t get any jumps in my stitches if I have to stop while sewing.

One other little detail I’d like to add to these jeans are rivets. Thanks to PatternReview I know of a few places online that I can order some. Just need to do it and give it a shot. That would be the final step in making completely RTW-looking jeans.

Hopefully later I can get someone in my household to take a few decent shots of me in my new jeans. In the meantime I’m going to debate ripping off the waist band vs. always having to wear a belt.

Next Up:

I had to stop at Joann Fabric the other day to get a jeans zipper and some swimsuit lining fabric. You know I didn’t stop there don’t you? Nope, I had to cruise the new fabrics. I was pleasantly surprised. There were some things that I need to go back with Emma and some other patterns in mind. I think there may be some fun summer garments waiting to be made there. But I didn’t come home empty handed, you know other than what I actually went in there for of course!

After the success of Vogue 8379 I knew when I saw this black and white print in a soft polyester knit that I had another winning combination.

I wore my green retro print V8379 yesterday and got lots of compliments and it was also super comfortable to wear.

I also got these two Kwik Sew patterns from work last week. More great classic styles that mimic a lot of what I’m seeing in the stores right now.

I’m still not sure what I think about the color-blocking trend. I lived through the 80s once, not sure I’m up for it again. But if I find the right fabric in the right combination of colors who knows, I may give it a go.

**I almost forgot to explain “No Pants Friday”! If you follow me on Twitter you may have noticed this hashtag last week. It seems that when I get home from work on Friday nights I sit down at the Shiny Island for a drink and some computer time and inevitably my pants are just too tight to stand. So I must immediately go take them off and put on PJ’s or sweats or something equally comfy. For whatever reason I felt the need to share that with the world via Facebook and Twitter and publicly declare NO PANTS FRIDAY!!! Five days and you can join me.

I pinned this scarf tutorial from Make it and Love It a few weeks ago. I thought it was such a cool technique and would be a great use for this Tencel © knit we carry at the store. I finally had some time at work yesterday to give it a try and I love the result.

This was not a quick project. I did have a few times when I was trying to sew too fast with the elastic bobbin thread and the machine didn’t like it and my top thread broke. All I had to do was slow down and take it easy and it worked great.

I didn’t really modify the project from the basic directions except that I cut two WOF (60”) strips, 12” wide (total of 2/3 yd. of fabric) and sewed these together for a starting scarf that was 12” x 120”.

I wore it at work today with a big pin. I just wrapped it around my neck like an infinity scarf and pinned the ends. It was very comfortable and I love the texture it added to a plain black dress.

This is a pretty cool shirring technique and I am thinking of ways it can be used in other projects. I’m also inspired to try some traditional elastic shirring on some tops and skirts I want to make for summer. This soft knit really is the perfect fabric for this technique.

This weekend I’m going to continue working on my Jalie jeans and my Danglez swimsuit. I received my order of Milliskin Matte this week so if I like how the Danglez suit works in the cheap Joann’s fabric I can try it with the good stuff. I accidentally ordered the wrong pattern number for the Kwik Sew suit that I wanted to try too. I’ll have to wait on that one. I wanted this one: 3609 and got this one: 3608. Oops!