Voila: Holly's Palazzo Pants

Happy Friday (evening for me) guys! Hope you've had a great week! Did you know that Palazzo Pants are described (on Wikipedia!) as "extremely wide leg that flares out from the waist”, and with a Shanghai summer creeping on the horizon, I decided to give a pair a go … but I think these really are mini palazzo as they’re not ‘extremely wide’ of the leg and are all kinds of petite… and even a bit too petite for this petite babe/dickhead who writes you this blog right now!

They may not be now, but they were striving to be Palazzos! As 150cm/4 foot 11 tall, I’m firmly not on Team Culottes… I made a pair once in my early sewing days (before blogging!) and I suddenly became 2 foot tall and could never be taken seriously ever again. So I think I’m a Palazzo fan because I remember fondly the two crazy pairs I had as a teenager in the 90s, they were floaty loveliness with my heeled boat shoes and my Reality Bites Winona Haircut.

Anyways, the fabric first came to be at my local fabric store, it was very floaty and I get a little bamboozled shopping there because even though there’s not a lot of choice and I have to be careful I don’t get swindled (while I translate the cost of things, remember numbers in Chinese all while at least 2 Chinese women talk to me - there’s always women in the store who don’t work there, up for a chat!)… and this time, I think I got swindled! I think it was at least 10 bucks Australian a metre, and when I took it to sewing school, Teacher Catherine explained it was light fabric but was plastic something… so no way could it be the Holly Jumpsuit or anything around the arms. There was just enough for the Holly trousers… and so has begun my search for Ultimate Petite Trousers (UPT?!)!

These are the wearable muslin variety of trousers, and I’d fully intended to wear this look (It’s a Plantain/Deer & Doe t-shirt - I’ll write about next week) with my black wedges last night at the launch of the new Shanghai Bloggers App! (More on this soon!) But the day turned extremely humid and as you can see, this snug fitting waistband is not perfect for the heat. Or riding my bike to the party… so I scrambled to find some light weight fabric to make another short short pair, with a bigger size, but alas (or YAY) my stash is lightweight itself so I defaulted in a positive way to my Spring for Cotton Shanghai dress and felt way more comfortable and sassy anyways.

Channelling Oona's fantastic tush angles!

Now let's talk sewing! By Hand London's Holly Jumpsuit’s Trousers are a very regular trouser pattern, in my opinion, and I feel they could be just another 1970s vintage pattern, if not for the invisible side zip. I’ve made maybe 3-4 pairs over the years, from different vintage patterns (all long gone now from my pattern stash and wardrobe) but these ones I made during Sew Weekly’s Madness of 2011 were my absolute favourite. I did make a velvet pair once that I gave to the op shop (wish I hadn’t, but oh well). So I might be wrong, but I kinda feel this is the basic wide legged trouser pattern that you can find anywhere, but because the Holly pattern has the several looks to go with it, I wanted to buy the pattern (hardcopy) for all of them, apart from the Disco Top. I cannot do spaghetti straps with the bras I keep.

BUT can’t wait to start the jumpsuit!

Teacher Catherine also gave me fitting tips, check the finished crotch measurements against my own, and there was a 6.25cm difference, so I shortened it 2cm on the horizontal all the way around to be conservative. I then took a lot of care with the fabric, it’s light and shifts easily and maybe good practice (but cheap practice!) for the silk I see at the fabric market. It was time consuming with the cutting (I chalked my size this time) but so quick with the sewing, especially with the overlocker. I market the right and wrong sides with the chalk too, because it was only a very subtle difference…

The invisible zipper was the best, however I do need to improve on the seam under the zipper… there’s a small gap between the zipper finishing and the seam starting. But then I stalled because the waistband is super skinny and I only had a button twice the size of it and that would be ridiculous. No STASH problems!

I got a nice hook and eye thingy from the button store woman (more on her soon too) and finished up after my bossy Housekeeper ironed all the seams for me, including the waistband and hem without checking my height… and I topstitched it all (instead of the suggestion of hand stitching the waistband) because halfway along… the feeling grew that these ‘palazzos' wouldn’t be worn that much. And then the iron dragged something across the waistband anyways, puckered the fabric and it was decided… a test! These are test trousers!

So! OK for a test, but very petite for me, and not the best close fit for me either. I’m too curved for this tight fit, and will go back and do some more fitting brainstorming for my next pair.

Because I do want more pizzazzy palazzo’s and I wanna get to that EXTREME wide pant eventually (slash & spread? Add 10cm across and gather at the waist?)… I think I can do highwaisted (I know I can with shorts) so it’ll be a bit of testing to get the right fit for my shape!

What do you think? Have you tried trousers or palazzos? I'm not usually into SLACKS but I'd wear short shorts no worries.

Notes:  
Pattern: Holly Jumpsuit - By Hand London  
Fabric: Plastic Rayon? We’ll never know but it was probably $20 worth and it’s not that nice, it doesn’t iron well and creases in that yucky crumply way.
Size: 6/10 but next time I’ll try 8/12 but keep the 2cm shorten of the crotch on both pattern pieces AND the 10cm shorten on both pieces at the line on the pattern.  
While Sewing: Got nervous about the size (rightly so) and overlocked at 1cm instead of 1.5cm.  
Will I Wear It? Not sure… deffo will try it when it’s cooler (maybe 3 months away)

13/31 Children's Trousers Again

These trousers are just the best to make up... I made these earlier in the month - when I made the first balloon trousers - but didn't get a photo of them. These are for Baby Darling as he toddles around, and they were super light and floppy for him in Sydney last week.

It is S.O.V.E.R.Y.H.O.T today here in Melbourne. BeeDee and I have hot red cheeks and have been keeping our fluids up a lot. He's determined to play outside though, so I'm here typing while he's pushing a toy bus around under the verandah.

Gah! Can't think of anything else to write about these pants... they're a whiz to make up and if I have the time, I'll make a tutorial because they're almost as easy as my bunting tutorial! Just a little extra fiddle here and there with the cuffs and waistband! I'm going to make another few pairs as little presents!

xoxo

12/31 Stars & Rocket Leggings

Hey again!

So my Sewing Through 31 Days of December Adventures are continuing, with my break in Sydney stopping the blogging for a bit... but not the sewing gosh darn goddammit.

These fabulous pants didn't take long to sew, they are stretch knit after all. Baby Darling was asleep & as usual I jumped onto the cutting table (our normal kitchen table at the moment, since the sewing room is such a mess/divey place) and cut cut cut. They're so quick to make up (using an old pair as a pattern), but I did make these pair after a disastrous pair (I'll blog soon the FAIL leggings) and I'm still not super happy with my instincts for fabric... you know when you WANT the fabric to work for a piece of clothing so badly, you ignore its qualities? I WANTED these to be the best pair of leggings, and did a bit of a stretch test to see they'd give enough... but they just don't give the way normal stretch leggings do. Maybe it's the two way stretch, what do you know Oh Wonderful Legging Making Friends? 

See the loosey flat bum I have with these:

And while they look sweet, I have to hike them up quite a bit (as I found today when I wore them all day). Oh well! I'm also wearing my fabulouso Floppy Top I made the other week:

Oh well. I'll refashion them for Baby Darling once I'm over pulling them up all the time.

BUT they are FABULOUS FABRICS from Adey my friend in Singapore! I love love love her and she's chosen well because my Husbie LOVES space and starships and rocketships and he couldn't believe his luck when I visited him at lunch. So thank you Adey! xoxo

 And here is an awkward sucking the gutz in photo:

Hope you're having a lovely week! I have a bit to blog about, so I'll see you again soon!

xoxo

6/31 Floral Velvety Leggings

Earlier in October I made leggings, and they are just the best. They were even mistaken for Black Milk leggings (I've just heard of this brand recently, but now realise all the leggings I've actually loved on girls legs - who I see around and crush on - were from this Queensland based company), so I'm stoked with the fit and the different fabric.

But it's hard to find different stretch fabric...

Until you get invited around to a friend's mum's place for a cuppa tea and a "Would you like to take all my vintage patterns and fabric?". YES PLEASE. This piece of velour stretch (I'm assuming they're velour, they stretch well and didn't all fall apart when I cut them... velvet tends to to that I think) was the perfect remnant (I always can buy just a metre usually for leggings because I'm tres petite) ... and creates an unusual pattern around and down my legs:

Voila! Love my new handmade leggings! 

The pattern is again just an old pair cut up, and then laid out on the fabric, I attached thick waistband elastic and then just folded it over to create a casing (like someone suggested last time I took forever to thread elastic through) and then stitched it shut. Easy! 

Another DIY pattern for this week! Happy Friday to you all and thanks for reading my blog this week!

xoxo

1/31: Toddler Balloon Trousers!

Hi again! I cleaned my sewing room only for about half an hour (to re-arrange stuff while the electrician fitted some new lights) and now that I can *SEE* I've gone a bit sewing crazy. Like addicted again. I'm sitting here writing to you and I just wanna get sewing again, and that is like *CRAZY* because it's still very messy and I need to get stuff off the table as I'm cutting fabric out on the *FLOOR* and it's carpet, and not very neat at all. Did I mention I have *SEWING MOJO AKA SEWJO* steaming out my ears? Yup, so I'm going to be quick right now!

Here's a gorgeous pair of bubble trousers, harem pants, or nappy happy pants (they do come with many monikers) but I made them yesterday for a darling little in our Mothers' Group (Mother's Group? Not sure where the apostrophe goes for this one) who's darling Mama likes the look of Oishi-M pants... I'd never heard of them, so looked them up and then whipped these up in about an hour (inspired by, not exactly the same of course - theirs look way more sturdier)... mainly due to working out the ribbed waistband and how to attached it with wide elastic inside.

Linky Dinks that helped me along:

Oishi-M website - just CUTE and darling

7 different Harem Pants tutorials - some adult links there too

Free Toddler Harem Pants pattern

But the pattern I drew up was inspired by these Balloon Pants, so gorgeous! I love the onesie too!

All the fabric came from my stash! I've been keeping some thrifted knits handy for childrenswear and now I've got the perfect self drafted pattern! Yippee!

And it might be a big mistake, but I've just decided (in my addicted craze) that I'm going to post a new creation everyday. Of December. One sewing project a day. For the month of December. The busiest month of the year. WHUT?

*DASHES BACK TO SEWING MACHINE/CUTTING ROOM FLOOR*

xoxo

My First Real Pair of Handmade Leggings

Voila! I made LEGGINGS. And when you make leggings, you have to try and show them off at all angles:

 And now with various accessories, like with LONG cowl scarves and cardigans (and baby bunting backgrounds):

Through my sewing career, I've made perhaps 2 pair of leggings, one during Sew Weekly that were ok, but I didn't hem or do any waistband (just made it a really LONG hip section, so it was almost at my boobs)... and one pair before we went to the USA this year (that I haven't blogged) but I also avoided doing the elastic waistband by putting a fabric one on, but that didn't really work because I made them all out of purple ribbed fabric that wasn't really that nice. OH WELL.

THIS red & blue leopard print fabric however is amazing! I bought it at Clegs in the sales (impulse buy in the city as I was also rocking Baby Darling to sleep in the pram in the store) and I think it was about $20 a metre. AND, as I'm a short arse, I only needed a metre. There was also spare fabric to make some leggings for my toddler friend too (a friend's toddler, not BD because I already have some matchy stuff that we wear and I'm thinking I should tone it down a bit). (We often both wear purple and red together, or greys and greens or whatever... I just get a vibe and accidently dress us the same)

I was going to save the docket to remember what the fabric was called, as it's a synthetic something but very stretch and soft and feels a bit nicer than just poly-whatever. (?ARGH? still not so good on remember fabric names!) I did put elastic (by sewing a casing - folding the top of the waist down and sewing an inch casing, with a little whole to put the elastic through) and it fits fine around the waistband... even though I'm a little 'who cares' about what I look like, I did take a photo of my waist, and it's not that good. It's hard taking photos of yourself! My camera takes 3 self timed photos as once, so there's not that much in focus.

The pattern was a pair of H&M leggings (the stripey Beetlejuice ones) I bought in LA and wore a little too much (or the fabric wasn't meant to be worn that much) so before they totally went/stretched out, I cut them up, and used them to make these. So they're a perfect fit! But then, without thinking, I went and cut out a pair of baby leggings using the old H&M fabric (refashioning alert!) so I now don't have this uber awesome pattern anymore. OH WELL!

Hope you've been having a kickass legs in the air week too! YAY for resting at home and taking it easy during my days not at work (I have a dumb throat cold that's not budging)! LOVE being a mum and a working mum and a freaking legend.

Hooray!

Upside Down Baby Trousers

Happy Monday!

Another completed set of Baby Trousers! They take less than half an hour to make from cutting to finishing, but still takes me a few days! I'm testing out how the photos look from my iphone, as I've been using photo stream/icloud thingie, and means less plugging in of cords and loading photos... I even took these photos inside and they're pretty clear!

They are very simple, an upside down U really, and you leave a space for the waistband but sew up the sides and the underleg bit... exactly like these test trousers! I bought the stretch knit fabric from Spotlight and made a pair of trousers for Baby Darling's best friend's 1st Birthday. But I cut this pair for him first, not realising of course that the fabric had a top and a bottom... as you can see the boats are upside in this pair! I recut another pair (the right way up) for the little birthday boy, and finished these ones over the weekend for our boy.

When I'm in a hurry, I don't cut the threads properly. Obviously!

They fit ok over his cloth nappies (they create a bigger bum) as there's not enough stretch in the fabric... but next time he's wearing disposies, I'll try them again. He's wearing them today even though they're slipping off his bum, so cute!

xoxo

**** EDIT ****

OMG, just realised how wonky they look in the top photo! I think they're matching leg lengths, for some reason not in the piccie! WHOOPS!

Testing Baby Trousers

Happy Weekend!

Before we went away on our USA trip I made Baby Darling a couple of pairs of trousers, from stretch fabric, so I guess they're more like leggings! This fabric is leftover from last year's stretch pregz fash dress and what I wore on my last day of work!

For these trousers, I lay down a pair of Bonds baby trousers (that had no middle seam, just the side seams and around the inner legs) and cut out two pieces that look like very tall bridges... then sewed the sides, and inner legs, and cut little pieces for the ankles & the waistband, but just used elastic on the waistband. Very easy and very quick... it only uses up half a metre of fabric (maybe less) as well. Baby Darling's legs have gotten a little longer, so these are great with such skinny ankle bits as they stay down... a lot of the baggier trousers we have just creep up when he's moving around!

What are you doing for the weekend? It's a fantastic sunshiney few days for us here in Melbourne... but very cold in the mornings and night. Tonight our Mother's Group has planned a night out at our new local pub! Very exciting! I have spent the last few days expressing milk for Baby Darling, so I'm looking forward to it!

xoxo

Sew Weekly: Sports & Pink

Hey and good morning Monday early birds (if you're in Melbourne right now) or good evening night owls! The most recent Sew Weekly theme was pink, and I'm not too crash hot on pink as a colour. I don't HATE it, but I don't like a lot of it... on me. So here's what I came up with:

It's a sprinkle of pink! The 1970s polyester tshirt is a total remnant that I only had just enough fabric for (story of my life) and the leggings are from a pattern (that you can read about on the Sew Weekly post) and made from thrifted stretch knit (one day I'll learn what all these stretch knit things are, and what the difference is between them all!). I also don't like a lot of sport, so here's just a smidge of me "playing" tennis, but now that I have an oufit to wear, I'll surely go down to the courts all the time right. Right? RIGHT? One day.

Here's my most favourite photo from the courts:

Totally 70s and totally awesome. Do you see I have matching sweatbands. SWEATBANDS!

See ya and have a great start to the week gorgeous!

xoxo

Sew Weekly: Still Livin' in the 70s

Wow, things have changed around here in blogger world, a different way to post (I'm using Husbie's computer, so maybe that's it!) and view the behind the scenes parts of my blog. Thanks for updating it all blogger peeps, I wonder if this will make me think of staying with blogger instead of moving around to typepad or elsewhere!?

Today's post was supposed to be out already, because it's the start of SEPTEMBER!

The start of spring! Which also means a great thing in some online sewing circles: SSS - Self Stitched September. There's several months dedicated to wearing your wardrobe, and perhaps you've been involved in some. I did SSS last year (where you wear the clothes you make for each day in the month) and it was a good time of year, it's getting warmer for us in Melbourne and I feel as it's essentially and 'Outfit of the Day' type blogging regime, it's easier for me to keep up as the days are a bit longer (those naughty daylight hours in wintertime) etc.

So, I'll start my SSS Adventures formally tomorrow, and show you for now my seventies slacks from last week's Sew Weekly theme!

The fabric was a small remnant, but being a shortarse I managed to fit the pattern pieces ok, but with hardly any hem at the bottom. PHEW!

For the photos, we went to a warehouse or factory type area that's been converted into offices, a gym and several discreet homes. It's pretty gorgeous down there! We found it after looking at a warehouse shell that was listed for sale, but it's not really zoned for residential, and didn't think we could survive without a backyard because of Doggie Darling. We've been looking for a house for a few weeks now, and hopefully we'll have news soon. I told you it's been busy and fun and awesome!

And my TV character pose, with a Husbie mad colour grade:

It was also my birthday last week, so thanks for the love on facebook and twitter - you guys are gorgeous! I'm hoping with SSS I'll be back here everyday so we'll be able to spend a bit more time together again. Oh! And my Sew Weekly post for this week (a 'back to school' theme with plaid/tartan!) should go up today or tomorrow, and it's pretty funny!

xoxo

A gorgeous morning at my house!

I feel just lovely after a dreamy morning in my house!

After reading a little bit of my latest Richard Yates book (short stories this one, and will post once I've finished), I had a cuppa tea and some toast with avocado and tomato. And finished my lovely trousers for Mr Veronica Darling to wear tonight! They're officially Outfit Number 51, cause Outfit 50 was the refashioned stripey dress I sent off for the refashion parade!




Nice hey? Husbie has totally cleaned the house, been to the gym and now is off at the optometrist so he's had a very busy morning too. It's just gorgeous outside. Now that it's noon, I might plan some lunch and go for a walk and enjoy the day.

We're gearing towards getting a pet, a dog! So we talk a LOT about the walks we'll be on with our pup!

Enjoy your Saturday!

My week of non-blogging and little projects

There's been a lot of little things on the go this week, plus a lot of night time activity and events, so I haven't done much blogging.

But here's a little bit of what I have been doing:


Starting another knitted artwork piece, for my friend's street, I think I'll do slabs of colour instead of little stripes for the next one. I started this during season two of West Wing. When I look at my old pole (when I drive past of a morning) I always think of West Wing. It's surviving the weather ok too, still looks bright!


I started on a pair of trousers for my Husbie, Mr Veronica Darling, and am quietly pleased with my FLY, as it's the trickiest part! We went to the Remnants Warehouse for the fabric last week (the guy there is so nice, gave us minties, and gave me extra material without charging) and it's a woolie but light type trouser material. Husbie will look ace. I've made shorts before (did I forget to post them?) but never trousers. I myself do not wear trousers or jeans, so don't have much FLY experience. At least men's trousers are little bigger and I can dig around and get them nice and flat.


I got 2 dresses in a major sale on the weekend (vintage, so ok for Wardrobe Refashion Pledge) and here's the cut off from an $8 Moo Moo Florida Swishy Dress. I wore it to a short film festival on Wednesday and it looked ace with tights and tall black boots. Of course, forgot to take a photo for WWW (Watcha Wearing Wednesday!).

And lastly, I made this easy peasy Curry Noodles dish last night, and it was totally delish!

Happy Friday!