Perfect fit panties

It has been sneaking up on me. I've reached that critical point where the number of panties I have that I'm still willing to wear are too few to last my normal laundry cycle. Ugh!

I went out to Nordstrom rack and picked out a selection - only one of which was remotely passable so..... I took apart a pair of ragged favorites and made a pattern and then two practice pairs.

I think I have the pattern just right so I can make an adundance this week. Having a large number of perfecting fitting panties seems like such a luxury. 

 Bonus: I can use up a really nice knit from Emma One Sock that turned out to not to work so well for blouse material. 

Thank you Lynda Maynard for the Lingerie class at Canada College! 

Christmas gift idea using felted wool

Felt slippers from an old sweater pattern  

Oh boy oh boy. I have a 100% lambs wool sweater I picked up and felted in the washer that would make wonderful thick slippers. What an easy idea for Christmas gifts.  I looked at the pattern (see link above) and think I will trace my own feet and adjust the top pattern to match for a trial run.  

I bet these would look really good hand sewn with buttonhole twist thread and a blanket stitch. If you haven't sewn by hand for a while it goes faster than you think it would.  Just in time for cold weather plus wooden floors.

P.S.  I used the wool this weekend to make hand warming fingerless mitts for a friend returning to the Jersey Shore to distribute.  I'll be on the look out for another sweater.

sewing

Yesterday I finished sewing a new cowl neck knit top with some wonderfully soft knit fabric from Britex (aka Fabric Mecca in San Francisco).

It was my second one from this pattern and I had adjusted the pattern after the first top, taking in the sides and shortening it by a couple inches.

What I am coming to realize is that every knit behaves differently. The first top was a heavier knit so probably hung longer because of the weight.  However this new top is very lightweight knit and seemed too short! It also did not sit nicely across my hips/butt in the back - pulling across a bit.

So.... I added a godet (triangular shaped wedge) in the lower center back creating a bit more room.

Lucky me, I had a long enough piece of fabric to add a two inch band at the bottom.  I actually like the effect of having a banded bottom on such a lightweight fabric as the bottom hangs a bit better with the extra weight of the seam.

There is one thing left to adjust.  The pattern is a kimono sleeve and makes my shoulders look very sloped.  Time to revive the 1980's and add in some light shoulder pads.  I tried out a pair I had on hand that are too padded and I can still see the shirt will look better with pads AND bonus - they will balance out my hips a bit.

Ronda taught us how to make shoulder pads in tailoring (at Canada College) so I can pull out the class book and make my own.  My shoulders roll forward from years of leaning into computers so I need very little padding on the front and a bit more to balance out the back of the shoulder.

Once the pads are complete and installed I will post a picture. 

Although I continue to tally my outfits every day it has been a long, long time since I have posted a tally.   Back to my roots!

Thrifted: Dress (2010?), Jacket (2012), Shoes (2012)

Gifted: None

Bought: None

Made: Earrings

The jacket is made from a knit wrap dress.  






I loved the fabric and the dress was the right size but I think the reason it was given away was that the neckline gaped open and would not lay flat when the dress was in the "wrap" position.

The front sides of the dress were symmetrical so I tied if front and center.  I loved the way it made a long v shape down from the neckline, however it looked like a house robe.  What to do?  

It is difficult to see in this picture but I took three tucks horizontally across only the fronts below the tie.  It make the front billow out a bit (see above) and also creates a step down front to back.  

The effect is more striking in person.  It is reminiscent of the cut of some clothing in 1925 (below.)
deep v-neck - check
drop waist - check
wider at hip - check 
bow - check (theirs - in the back)