Sew Half Crazy

2/22/2018

Pattern Review - Simplicity D0844

Heather 2/22/2018 0 Comments

A bit ago, I saw this Instagram post come across my feed.

Jeans, Jeans, Jeans! Who doesn’t want to make their very own pair of perfect fitting jeans? When designing my Mimi G jeans pattern, I had two things front and centre in my mind, making sure they fit curvy girls and making sure there was no gaping in the centre back at the waist. This pattern is one of my favourites and no one ever believes me when I tell them I make my own jeans. Mimi G @mimigstyle #MimiGTakeover

A post shared by Simplicity New Look (@simplicitynewlook) on Jan 11, 2018 at 5:30am PST

I was intrigued because pants, and especially jeans, are the most difficult to fit to a person, and I have found that most pant patterns are not fitted to anyone, and almost always require adjustment. I will give that they have gotten better in recent years with the addition of curvy, skinny, and average sizing, but even still there are fitting issues.

After reading all of the comments from Simplicity and MimiG, my mind was made up that I would give these jeans a go. I know I have mentioned on a few occasions that I am not a one-size-fits-all girl. I span 3 sizes from bust to hips. So much fun! Not. In addition to spanning all those sizes, I regularly have to lengthen patterns, because they are made for the average(?) female. Although these jeans have a 30" inseam, which seems extremely short to me. Usually, I prefer a 36" inseam, because high waters scarred me as a child. No one likes high waters, Mom! It wasn't her fault. It was a different time. They didn't make long length jeans the way they do now. Being as these jeans are skinny jeans, I didn't need 36". 34" would do the trick. So now with all of the tidbits settled, it was time to create new pattern pieces from the originals.

I watched MimiG's sew along videos for these jeans, not because I needed to know how to put them together, but because the guide sheet was not very clear on how to choose the right fit for your body for these jeans. MimiG did go into more detail, but really you could devote an entire 15-minute video on how to properly fit jeans to your person. She spent maybe 30 seconds, but it was an informative 30 seconds. In the video, MimiG says that she likes her clothing to be form-fitting, and denim will lose its elasticity and sag after a bit, and who wants a saggy butt in their jeans? No one. So she has the pattern piece in front of her and says that she could cut out the pattern of her hip measurement, but because she likes her clothes to be well-fitting, she opts to cut out the next smallest size, which happens to be 2" smaller than her actual hip measurements. This is not new, but it's totally dependent on how you like your clothing to fit your body. I like my clothes to fit well and follow my curves, but I don't like looking like I've been poured into them.

So I follow her advice and decide to cut out my pattern a size smaller as well. This happens to the be the size that my waist measurement falls into. Let me try and clear all this up because it's a lot of words where numbers might be better.

My hips are 48" around. My waist is 34". According to the powers that be my hips are a size 22 and my waist a size 20 according to this pattern (and every other pattern almost). For a size 22, the finished hip measurement (finished = hip measurement + wearing ease) is 48-1/2", which would fit me great, but the waist would be oh-so-gappy. My biggest problem with all jeans is that the waist never fits, so cutting out this pattern at a 22 would not do me any favors. The finished hip measurement of a size 20 was 45-1/2", which is 2-1/2" smaller than my hips, but the denim I was going to be using has a fair amount of stretch, so I could cut them out and not worry about not being able to fit my hips in them. Cutting them out as a 20 would also help ensure that the waist would fit more accurately. So with this plan in place, I set out to make myself new pattern pieces to accommodate the added length I would need, and ensure that I could reuse the leg pattern, because if these jeans turned out well, I was going to be making myself some more jeans, maybe in a boot cut!

As a side note, I could've altered the jeans through the hipline, but I've done that before and I don't like how it looks. It's much easier to just go with a smaller size and pray for the best. Not the most reliable of chances, but I've made enough pants, and been dissatisfied with enough of them that I was willing to take the chance.

So after I got my new pattern piece made, it was time to dig through the stash and figure out which denim I was going to use. Yes, I have multiple cuts of denim, because I hoard fabric. This is another chance at stash-busting my hoard, and if the jeans don't work out, then at least I have one less cut of fabric in the stash.

I also took a chance on a different way of cutting out my pattern. For years, I have pinned my pattern piece to the fabric and then cut it out, making sure to notch out the placement triangles. This time I used really big washers (same as MimiG did in her sew-along) and cut out all of the pattern pieces, and instead of notching out the triangles, I cut very small slits at them. This was big people. I don't do change, but I've taken several classes on sewing and pattern design and this is the way the instructors all do it, so why not see if this way worked for me. It was different. I did like not having to notch out the triangles, as that can be a pain in the ass, but not having the pattern piece pinned down was nerve-wracking at times. I don't know that I'm totally sold on not pinning down the pattern piece, but I'll give it a few more goes just for the sake of thoroughness.

So my pattern is cut out and it's time to sew. The guide sheet was very good at detailing and instructing on how to sew up this pattern, so I'm not really going to expand further on that. There are parts of pant/jean construction that will always be a pain, and this pattern is no different. My machine is starting to show her age and persnicketiness and gave me trouble at several parts of construction due to the thickness of the fabric layers. I may have to invest in a new machine here soon because to get her serviced/tuned up would cost as much as a brand new machine. This makes me sad. I may be more attached to my sewing machine than is healthy. I opted to invest in a nicer top-stitching thread, and the details really stand out. The jeans are starting look like legit!

I get to try on the pattern before attaching the waistband, and I love how it fits so far! My hips are being hugged by the denim without being too tight. The waist is loose, but the waistband isn't attached yet, so I'm not concerned about that.

I get the waistband on and I'm in LURVE! They fit! They look great! I'm so happy. I will be making one small alteration though. Across the front of the jeans, they are a perfect fit, but once you reach the small of my back, it's gappy. Hello, gap. You haven't been missed. Luckily, the curvy pattern of these jeans allows for a taller yoke at the small of the back, and they sit almost at your natural waist. This is a good thing for all of us belt wearers because the jeans will be less apt to sag down below the belt while wearing them. So for the next rendition of these jeans, I will be altering the yoke to be a size 18 at the top of the yoke, and a size 20 at the bottom. I will then cut out a size 18 waistband, and hope for the best, because I will definitely be making these jeans again, and while digging through my stash I found another gorgeous denim which is just begging to be made into some trouser-type boot cuts.

I added rivets to my finished jeans and then proceeded to wear them the very next day. They are the most comfortable jeans I own, and I can't wait to make another pair. Right after, I pick up more top-stitching thread.

I can't thank MimiG and Simplicity enough for these jeans and pattern, but I would suggest adding a page to the guide sheet on fitting said jeans. I would say that these jeans would be appropriate for an advanced beginner to beginning intermediate sewer. The fly is the main reason for this because even as an experienced seamstress it's still a pain in the ass. Its the nature of the beast.

Thank so much for visiting!

2/13/2018

Mason Jar Lattes: Pomegranate Latte

Dana 2/13/2018 2 Comments

Happy Galentine’s Day! What’s Galentine’s Day, you ask? In the immortal words of Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation…

Oh it’s only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas.

For your frittata needs, I recommend you check out this recipe from Heather {HERE}. It’s amazing! *Drool…* Ahem, sorry. Anyway, my contribution to your Galentine’s breakfast is coffee because I love you all.

I got this idea from my favorite local coffee shop, Capitol Coffee. They had a pomegranate latte on offer for a little while back in November and December. It was so good, I ended up getting two that morning while I was working there. And then they stopped making it! Fine. Another local coffee shop, The Frothy Monkey, had one too, but it just wasn't as good. I looked for a recipe online, but Google failed me. What?! I know. Torani makes a pomegranate syrup, but the ingredient list on the back brought out some serious side-eye in me. So, as per my usual style, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Fair warning: this is by far the fussiest coffee recipe I’ve ever developed. For you, though, it should be easy because I've already done the hard part.

Pomegranate Latte

1.5 cups pomegranate juice
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 mason jar latte recipe (link here), minus the sugar

Pour the juice into a saucepan and turn up to med/medium-high heat (depending on how enthusiastic your burners are). Mine are quite excitable, so I just do medium heat. Boil the juice until it reduces in volume by about half (give or take, it doesn't have to be exact), 20 to 30 minutes. I used a silicone measuring cup to check my volume. Once you've got about half the volume of juice, which will now be slightly thicker, add the sugar and whisk to dissolve. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the baking soda and whisk really good to integrate it throughout the syrup. It will bubble a lot, so be sure you're using a container with high sides! Leave the mixture to run out its chemical reaction, checking it after about 20 minutes or so. When all the bubbles have disappeared, give the syrup another good whisk and let sit for about 10 more minutes. Then add the syrup to your latte according to your taste. The pomegranate is a pretty subtle flavor and it's tart, which works against the sugar, so I do two tablespoons with a normal 8oz coffee cup. Stir to combine and enjoy!

Pro-tip: if you have a Trader Joe's near you, hit that for your pom juice first. I paid $10 for this one jar. GAH! 😖 Your boy TJ has the hookup on more affordable pom juice. Sprouts does too. Basically, any shop that specializes in natural and organic foods will probably have a better price than your run-of-the-mill grocery store. Like everything associated with Valentine's Day, Pom juice is gonna be a little pricey no matter where you buy it, so do a little cost comparing.

Here you can see where I started and where I ended. Like I said in the recipe above, about half of your original volume is where you wanna finish, but it's okay if you're a little off. Both these pictures are pre-sugar addition. Oh, and don't worry about the slightly distressed nature of the pictures. That's just the filter I like to use. Warning: hot syrup burns like a mutha! Please be safe when whisking. That's why I like my high-sided, silicone measuring cup here.

Oh, and in case you're curious as to why I used brown sugar, it's because brown sugar has a warmer flavor. It's sweet, of course, but the molasses in it gives the drink depth, which you need because pomegranate is quite tart, almost acerbic when concentrated.

Time for science! You may be wondering why I added baking soda. That seems kind of weird, right? Well, I learned the hard way that pomegranate juice is quite acidic, acidic enough to curdle the milk in a latte. Chunky coffee is so gross, you guys. Super, super gross. So I did some research and experimentation with the first couple of batches--these pictures are from the recipe I made after I worked out all the kinks--and the answer I kept coming to was baking soda. Remember the fun vinegar and baking soda volcanoes you made in science class? Yeah, same concept. The baking soda neutralizes acid, and the ensuing chemical reaction creates carbon dioxide, which is where all the bubbles come from.

It was tricky figuring out how much baking soda to use, though, because it's quite a salty substance. And nobody wants salty coffee. Blech! I started with small amounts of baking soda, and endured more yucky lattes than I care to recall before finally developing the right formula.

Tadaa! Pomegranate syrup that won't curdle your milk or taste like a salt lick. The result is a subtle, slightly tart, berry-ish flavor, surrounded by a hug of warm, mellow brown sugar. I've decided to pair this lovely drink with one of my all-time favorite love stories, starring the indomitable Elizabeth Bennett: Pride and Prejudice. *Swoon!* Jane Austen is my hero!

In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. ~Mister Darcy

Thanks for reading!

2/09/2018

That Damn Chair - A Remodeling Story

Heather 2/09/2018 2 Comments

Have you ever had a project that seemed simple and straightforward, and then it turned into this teeming monster that wants to thwart you at every turn?

Yea. Me too.

Those projects, ugh. Those projects are the ones that make you want to throw a tantrum.

This chair was like that. It should've been a straightforward job. Remove old crappy upholstery. Clean up the wood. Paint the wood. Add new foam to seat. Cover new foam and existing foam with batting. Add new fabric. Finish off with trim, and VOILA! A brand new old chair.

If only it'd been that straightforward.

I picked up this chair ages ago with the intention of revamping it, but it wasn't until I needed a better/prettier chair for my computer desk that I was motivated to actually do it. After moving my desk into the living room, I didn't like seeing one of our plain old kitchen chairs at the desk, and new that "Throne," as we'd come to call it, would be perfect. Except it was ugly. Puce velvet upholstery with walnut finished wood. Yuck. Good bones, but yuck. So there starts my tale of how this chair turned into such a project.

Now to be fair and honest, the trouble didn't begin until after I got my pretty computer throne painted and was starting on reupholstering the back of the chair, but let me start at the beginning.

After removing all of the old upholstery, I wiped her down with a solution of warm water and vinegar and got off some really gross gunk. I decided that I'd paint the chair the same color as my laptop desk, which you can read about {HERE}. The color is chocolate raspberry and it's by Valspar. I picked up a sample size and then turned it into chalk paint, using {THIS} recipe. After two coats, the chair was ready for the fabric.

So the chair is probably ~40 years old. There's a groove where all of the fabric on the back was stapled into and then finished off with welting. Don't you know, I don't have a stapler that fits in that groove? I went to Lowe's to buy an electric stapler that looked like it had the extended nose I needed to fit inside the groove, but it didn't. It was a dirty, little, misleading stapler. It got returned posthaste.

So then it was on to Plan B, just staple the fabric inside the small edge of wood between the edge of the back opening and the groove. No, go. The wood splintered and generally didn't like staples trying to be shoved into that area.

Plan C emerged with me altering the plan and the look of the chair so that I could staple the fabric up near the decorative carvings on the chair. This would extend the upholstered area of the chair's back, but it would still look good and solve my stapling dilemma. Until I ran out of staples. I check the box and the box was empty. Of course, it was. Luckily (?) the box wasn't empty, it had just been emptied into the drawer in the toolbox. I have staples again! I finished stapling the back fabric of the chair, and it's looking pretty good.

I couldn't find new 1/2" foam for the back cushion, so I took the foam that was on the chair and sandwiched it between some batting I had. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. The seat cushion needed to be replaced. The foam fell apart if you looked sideways at it, so a quick trip to the new Hobby Lobby in town garnered me some nice 2"x 22"x22" foam, that I then cut down to size. I traced the plywood seat bottom and cut ever so carefully around the edges. Then I wrapped the top of that sucker in more batting.

I spray my back cushion with a bit of spray adhesive and line it up against the fabric I'd already stapled and glue it in place. I wasn't going to be adding the decorative buttons and didn't want my foam or batting moving around. I probably didn't need to do this, but better safe than sorry. Then it was time to staple the front of the back cushion on. That actually went pretty smooth, other than occasionally putting a staple on top of another staple which worked out oh so well.

I get the back of the chair upholstered and then move onto the seat cushion. Fairly straightforward. I did buy some pretty slick looking metallic silver cording and start to edge the cushion in it and decide that I don't actually like the look on the seat, so I remove everything I'd just stitched down, and sew up the cushion. I ended up tracing the plywood seat bottom on the wrong side of my fabric and added a 1/2" seam allowance all the way around. Then I cut a 3" strip of fabric for the side of my cushion, and lined up the stripes in the back, and stitched the sides to the top of the cushion. I clipped the side fabric to my stitching at the corners and around the curves. In hindsight, I should've given myself more fabric on the edges just to make pulling it around the seat cushion easier, but it all worked out in the end.

I glued on the silver metallic cording to the back of the chair and hated it. Unfortunately, when I was removing the trim, the glue did a bit of damage to both the chair and the fabric. I needed to fix what I'd just destroyed, only this time I'm out of staples. I go to Lowe's and buy the staples that fit my stapler, only they don't fit. What the hell? My stapler takes 1/4" staples. I bought 1/4" staples, but my staple gun won't fire the staples. WHAT THE HELL!? So I take out the staples, throw a small, angry tantrum, make myself a cup of coffee and head back out to the toolbox praying to find more staples. My prayers were answered. I found just enough staples to fix the back of the chair again.

Then it's back to Hobby Lobby to find more trim. I end up finding a really nice braid that's on the wider side, which was needed to hide some of the more awful damage. The downside to wider braid is fitting into the tight corners of the chair back, but I'll take tight corners over showing ripped fabric, and as I learned hot glue is no joke when it comes to adhering stuff so I wasn't worried about the fabric giving way once I got the braid glued down.

I finished gluing the braid and immediately loved my decision to go with a different trim. The wider, less flashy trim was perfect for the chair. Rather than competing with the bold fabric and color choice, it compliments it perfectly. A couple of touch-ups to the paint and this throne is ready for action!