Monday Musings 7/07/2014

Here's some of what's been on my mind lately!

• I bought a couple of bras over the weekend. I wanted something without a seam visible when I wear my golf polo shirts. Why is it that the stitching is already coming loose on the bridge and I've only worn it one time! I'm thinking of returning it.
• Who keeps putting all the crap on my cutting table? I cannot keep it clear!
• I hate having carpet on my craft room floor.
• I think the foot pedal on my machine is acting up again. It's already been replaced once. Thank goodness it's still under warranty.
• I have an idea for a cute golf dress. I hope to have it sewn by Thursday morning for my golf league. I'll need to try to find shoes to match! Divas gotta do the darn thing from head to toe!
• Need to prewash some fabric.
• Been sewing Barbie dresses. Need to take some photos and post them.
• I've golfed five days in a row! I'm going to try for seven..
• My latest passion is audiobooks. Does this count as reading?
• Come on people. Are you so important that you have to have a cell phone attached to your ear 24/7? It's rude and I don't want to have to hear your conversations. Unless it's an emergency at least wait until you get to the privacy of your own car.
• BTW...turn up your figgin' Miracle Ear or at least get tested for one.
• Did you look in the mirror before you left home? I don't think so.
• My knee is almost as good as new.
• I'm practicing a song on the violin as an accompaniment for a jazz singing friend. Summertime is the song.
• There was a pre-teen at JoAnn's today that was picking out a pattern and fabric. She is a first-time sewer and was instructed to buy cotton fabric. The pattern she chose was for knit fabric and was well beyond her skill level. The fabric she picked was a very ornate sequinned decorated prom worthy fabric. WTH. The sales lady said she tried to discourage her from the purchase but she wouldn't be deterred. The young lady said she wore side 18 in RTW. When the sales lady said the young lady's FB was 48 I knew it would be a disaster. I suggested she find a cotton knit from the 50% off Red Tag clearance fabric and McCalls 6559. I'm pretty sure she didn't take my advice. Once again a potential sewer is led down the wrong path and may never revisit what could have been a very rewarding experience. 

I Showed My Crotch Who's Boss!

I fought my back crotch and won. At least I think I did. If you read my last post, you know that I've been fighting with my crotch. Okay not literally but rather fighting with getting my crotch length and curve to a point that I can live with. While it's still not perfect, in my opinion it's close enough that I feel confident that if I don't leave it alone, the battle might start up again and then it'll be back to the drawing board!

This is not a good look but remember I've altered my pattern for feet shoulder width apart.

This is a little better but still with some unsightly wrinkles.

 From the front. Not bad at all.

This fabric has slight stretch and I like it a lot. These photos were taken after five hours on the golf course and three hours of errands. Luckily you can't see the huge safety pin I have at the waist. I certainly hope I don't have to end up in the hospital. That could be embarrassing!

For this next pair, I removed some of the inside thigh curve because my thighs touch (note the yellow arrow).

This fabric has slight stretch. I added pockets which the pattern does call for. The crotch is a vast improvement! I love everything about this pair except the hem. Are shorts supposed to be bell bottom???

Yikes! The knee replacement scar looks kind of scary in this shot!

Obviously fabric dictates some of the crotch issue. This is a softer, drapier fabric and I notice some wrinkles that weren't on the black pair. It could be too, that they've been laying on my cutting table for a couple of days. They're also a little big in the waist. Okay, what the heck is up with the bell bottom hem? I left them unhemmed so that I can work on it.

I think I did a great job but there are a couple more corrections I'd like to try. One being that I have some wrinkling right below the waistband on both side of the center back.. That'll be easy enough to fix by just lowering the waistband  about half an inch. I give these alterations and fit and resounding "thumbs up!"

Shorts Circuit

It's July already?? I'd lost my mojo for a moment but I'm back in full sewing mode. All the fabric is back in the fabric closet and although my sewing room could use a little more organization the idea of making shorts has lit a fire in me. I haven't made or worn shorts in years but all of a sudden I can't get them out of my mind. I swear I've been feeling like a hobo at the golf course because my golf wardrobe is nowhere near what it has been in previous seasons. I haven't worn shorts because although I think I'm still hot...I don't want my crotch feeling hot! Secondly I hate having shorts crawl up  between the thighs. You know the look...

Not a look I want to be seen in. So to the drawing board I went. I started with Simplicity 1696.

I know it's not a shorts pattern but I liked that it had the "curvy" pattern pieces and frankly, I'd already trimmed it. Although they're are plenty of fitting videos, books and classes available, it is impossible to address every possible fit issue and I don't feel any have addressed how to fit a big butt with big thighs! There I've said it. Talking about it is one thing but nobody has done it! And you have to be able to adjust it by yourself, not to mention that the fit is different standing with knees together as opposed to standing with feet shoulder-width apart. I'm think you should shoot for shoulder-width apart fit. My journey was not nearly as painful as I thought it would be. It did involve making muslins...three to be exact but the fourth pair are nearly perfect.

I didn't take any shortcuts. I even added the lapped zipper to each pair but I took the time to remove it and use the same zipper in subsequent models! Try to picture in you mind, adding to the back crotch point but having to true the seam back to the existing inseam. ALL WRONG! That will only create diagonal lines that radiate from the buttocks to the inseam. If your thighs rub, why is the inseam curved several inches as if you could view a movie through that space...yeah right. Never was, never will be. While I think I still want to tweak the pattern a little more, I got a fabulous fit with this adjusted back pattern piece:

The green arrow is pointing to the typical wedge adjustment. The blue arrow is pointing to the amount you have to add that was taken away from the pattern on the opposite side for the seat. The red arrow is pointing to an adjustment I've never seen anywhere but came up with on my own that adds to the back crotch length and adds width to the thigh but doesn't screw up the crotch point. Finally the yellow arrow is pointing to what I consider an adjustment for thighs that touch. That adjustment alone takes care a lot of diagonal lines that radiate from the back crotch. I'm currently working on a second pair of shorts to test my new theory. I promise to post photos before the end of the week so that you can see these adjustments do work. Can you ever really get enough information for fixing fit issues?