Someone Else's Pants: A Little Lace, A Little Shirring

As I think back about all the sewing and all the fun of this summer I have a confession to make: I wore someone else's pants all summer long.

You see, years ago, my very excellent friend Magenta had this pair of awesome summer pants - they fit her perfectly, were light and airy and had some fun details. As they started to wear out, we had plans to recreate them for her. This was so long ago that there weren't any tutorials or info about doing a rub-off floating around the blogosphere, and I was a much less experienced sewist. Between not finding suitable fabric and not knowing how to create a pattern, our plans fizzled.

Fast forward to early in the summer when I realized that I needed more pool and patio clothing. Life at that moment involved long weekends full of fun at our town's wonderful community pool, shopping at the farmers marked and grilling in the backyard. Sewing something fun to wear around town, at the pool and in the yard was a must. A rummage thru my stash yielded some black gauze. I also found some black crocheted lace and elastic thread. Perfect, I thought to myself.

I was about half way through this project when I realized that I was finally sewing those pants; the ones we had talked about so long ago. But for me. Oops! Sorry Magenta.

And they were one of the easiest things I've sewn recently. They are my TNT trouser pattern sewn up as a pull on pant in an airy gauze. They look as different as could be from my other trousers from this pattern, which makes me love them even more. As a reminder, my TNT pattern is BurdaStyle 9/2010 #115 - Slacks with Notched Waistband - which is a talls sized pattern.

To make them a pull on style, I simply left the darts open, eliminated the pockets and straightened out from the hip to the waist a bit, so they would fit over my hips. I also added a few inches to the rise so that they would sit at the waist without a waistband.

I've had elastic thread in my stash for years. So, it seemed like a good time to experiment with a shirred waist. It's far from perfect and somehow I neglected to take photos of it, but I feel like I know what I'm doing with shirring now, and may use it again in the future as a design detail.  It's fun and summery.

The last detail is the two rows of crocheted lace I added to the calf and hem.  It was a feature of the original pants and I think is the thing that makes this a fun summer make.

Anyway, I couldn't let summer end without mentioning these pants, which I wore non-stop.

Next spring, Magenta, we will have to have a pants making party and make one in every color for us both. These are not the last pair of these pants that I will own, and I already have some enhancements in mind like a simple pocket, slightly different placement of the lace and a waistband with a drawstring, among other things. Anyway, until next summer...  

Ease into Motherhood: Yes, I Wear White

I had already been drafting this post when Seamstress Erin put out an open invitation to share experiences of sewing and motherhood in a series called "Ease into Motherhood." Becoming a parent is one of the most normal, yet profound, things that most of us will do at some point in our lives. But how do you ease into something that is like being hit by a 30 foot wall of water? A tsunami of normal.

These days, when a woman has a child, everything she does gets the word "mom" added to it. Think "mom jeans," "mom (hair) do," "mom style" and the like. A woman with a child no longer meets friends for a drink; instead it's "momtinis." She can't have social plans sans child without it being "Mom's Day/Night Out." She can't disagree or do things her own way without it being "mommy wars" or being labeled as that type of mom (seriously, just google types of moms to see the degree of labeling.) Other people - coaches, teachers, anyone who interacts with her in her role as a parent - will even call her "Mom" rather than bothering to learn her name.

I used to be called Clio.

Is it any wonder that many new mothers suffer from a loss of identity?

What's in a name? We're sold this bill of goods that says we should be MOM before anything else. In our pasts, we may have had hobbies and activities, pursued goals and aspirations, and led rich and interesting lives. But once we are mom, we are supposed to be happy and grateful for our selves to be subsumed by motherhood, everything else about us a distant second. I'm a mom first - the mantra of mothers who work - silently adds lest you think I don't truly and deeply love my child because I need things in my life outside of motherhood.  It's not healthy to see ourselves as one dimensional.

Mom is also a name that has a strong attachment to gender norms. So is Dad. And it starts early. From the moment I was pregnant, people in our lives assumed that it was me who wanted to have a child and Phin was along for the ride. Phin even had other men commiserate with him that now he would have to help out at home. Phin and I already had a marriage in which I commuted and went on business trips while he worked from home, which meant he had more time to cook meals, shop and run errands. We eat really well, btw.

The Tsunami. Pregnancy was one of the happiest and healthiest periods of my life. I loved being pregnant. And Taco was an easy newborn. Knowing it would be a tsunami, I gave myself a lot of room to recover and adjust to caring for him, while Phin, who gave himself a generous paternity leave (perks of being your own boss), cared for me. Our home was full of love. It was the second three months that were a struggle. I was ready to get back to doing the things I loved doing, and I was tired of being at home all the time. That's when sleep became a challenge and Taco became more demanding - he was desperate to sit and later stand, but hated the bouncy chair, the swing, or anything other than my lap or arms. I felt like I was drowning; constantly busy yet accomplishing nothing.

It was such a relief when Taco was big enough for the jumparoo, which he was happy to go in at least for a few minutes at a time.

To this day, Taco's motor skills are well above average and his sleep needs are at the low end of normal for his age group. (Read: he's incredibly active and doesn't sleep much.) It was exhausting. Still is. To boot, as we ventured out more as winter was ending and Taco was older, the assumptions and associations of being a mom felt awkward and uncomfortable to me and simply didn't jive with my self image.

I'll never sew again. Sewing, in my mind, was THE THING that could help me feel like me again - a changed me, to be sure - but me at heart. Around this time, another mom in the otherwise wonderful support group I joined at a local lactation center was unsympathetic when I expressed my frustrations. She told me that she used to sew, too, before her first child was born four years prior. Her meaning was clear - sewing is not something that moms have time for and I should get used to it. Get used to giving up my things... my me. I remember emailing a few sewing friends to say "OMG I have a mom-nemesis who says I will never have time for sewing again!"

Taco's WTF face

I later learned that my nemesis was suffering deeply from postpartum depression. My heart softened toward her; I wondered how many other pieces of herself she had given up. But the encounter also convinced me that I needed to prioritize the things that make me feel like me. Sewing. Baking. Knitting. Even work. When I announced on this blog that I was pregnant, I had said "We've built such a wonderful life together and feel like we have so much to give to a child." For that to remain true, I needed to be true to myself and not give up those things that most define me. 

Getting back to sewing helped me feel like my days were not just a blur of nursing, napping and trying to amuse and help my tiny child grow up. Baking, too. In the beginning it was slow going. I remember telling my moms group it took me three days to bake anything: one day to take out the ingredients, one to bake, one to clean up. Sometimes it took 4 days. Sometimes it took weeks to sew something - one seam at a time, one task at a time. But I was sewing. And life got easier when Taco started taking fewer but longer naps.

Jacket sewn one seam at a time

I cannot overstate how important finding a new mom's group run by a social worker was to my experience of new motherhood. It was not a group to talk about parenting tips or our babies; it was a place to talk about ourselves and how we were doing, without judgement. Being told that it was ok to feel how I actually felt and be who I am as opposed to some notion of how mothers are supposed to feel and supposed to be was powerfully validating. I don't have to conform to gender normative ideas about motherhood to be a great mom to Taco. Most of all, the group taught me that my child deserves a mother who is a whole, multi-faceted person and that I don't need to justify or explain or feel guilt for my life outside of motherhood or the times that I need to step away to care for my own needs.

And so I decided to just be me and chart my own course through motherhood. Being a mom has changed me, but it is not the sum total of me. And while I don't have all the answers, being me means:

I like my career.  I didn't feel conflicted when I went back to work when Taco was 6 1/2 months, and I don't feel constantly torn between work and home. Part of this, to be sure, is that I have an incredibly family friendly employer that allows for a great work-life balance; I work a 4-day week - 3 in office, 1 at home. Plus, the commute that used to be a drudge is now time for me to knit. It's the perfect transition between work and home. When I get home I'm ready to give Taco my full attention until bedtime.

Trying on my knitting

When Taco naps, I sew.  I do not pick up a toy, clean a thing, shop online, go on FB or do anything else mundane or that is a time trap during naptime. On the days that I am home, that is my time for me and I keep it like an appointment. Having that reliable, but limited, block of time has made me such a better planner and a more productive sewist. My sewing has also changed. I'm a much less selfish sewist. I sew more for Phin and Taco than I ever thought I would and for the first time I've sewn things for work. I focus more now on developing and then using TNT patterns, which helps me be more productive and have more wins.  Also, sewing connects me with friends and gives me something to talk about besides Taco.

Taco Plays with My Orange Serger Thread

I'm messy and I don't care. Truly. Taco and I bake together. I have just taught him how to crack an egg (he still needs coaching) and it is our favorite thing ever. I also let him play with flour, cupcake liners and non-sharp baking utensils. I am convinced that involving him in the kitchen now is going to pay big dividends someday - already he is generally happy when I ask him if we should bake together and will go to the pantry and start pulling out ingredients whether they are needed or not. If this becomes a shared hobby, so much the better. But in the meantime, I get to bake.

Playing in the Pantry

I wear white. These are my new white trousers sewn with my TNT trouser pattern. Ta-da!! I love them and wear them all the time, which is why they are so wrinkled in these pics. I was sewing these trousers at the same time I was admiring a white sweater knit by another sewist/knitter. There was a comment about her clearly not being a mom. Apparently, moms don't wear white. Something about messes.

With a new seersucker Ogden Cami

I refuse to dress like a mom, whatever that means. I wear silk, I wear white, I wear leather. I wear what I want. If it gets ruined, c'est la vie. I enjoyed wearing it and can sew another. Why limit myself.

I prefer being called a parent. This post aside, I generally don't refer to myself as a mom or working mom or talk about motherhood. I prefer parent. It is a more equal word than mom and not loaded with gendered ideas or norms. And to be clear, I could not do any of the above without having an equal partner in Phineas.

When I went back to work, he rearranged and scaled back his work to be at home with Taco on the days I'm not. Doing all the childcare ourselves, while both having careers, has been a huge commitment. Parents. The two of us working together as equals. And the best advice I can give about getting thru early childhood with a partner is to forget about keeping score of who is working harder, doing more or getting less sleep, and instead focus on sharing what little free time there is as equally as possible. That is really what fights about who is doing what and whose life is harder are about - the stress caused by lack of free time to pursue an interest, exercise, see friends or just be quiet. Making sure we both get what we need in terms of caring for our selves enables us to be whole people for Taco. 

Me at 40; Taco at 10 months. In Venice.

I am Clio. 

I am a sewer of frosting, baker of brownies, knitter of socks, world traveler, resister, sometimes scuba diver, very slow runner, maker of friends, drinker of wine, eater of pizza, proud aunt, admirer of strong women, reader of books, best friend of Phineas, fabric lover, sister to four amazing women, career woman, daughter, and Taco's Ma-ma.

Me being me, Taco being Taco, both happy. 

Baby Love: Unselfish Sewing for a Mom to Be!

When my dear friend, Dr K, had her first little guy, way back in 2012, I made her a diaper bag. But now there is a second baby on the way, and so a new project was in order.

Now that I have the benefit of having actually gone thru pregnancy and early parenthood myself, I knew immediately what to make. Of all my own maternity/baby projects, the ones that got the most use are the two cardi-wraps that I made from Simplicity 2603. One and two!

Oooh, here is the zero makeup and hair willy-nilly version of me.

Wow. Now that I am seeing this on me, I'm kicking myself just a tiny bit for giving it away. Ha ha, oh well. I found myself constantly reaching for one of my two cardi-wraps during my maternity leave. During those early months, putting one on over my yoga-pants-and-tank or jeans-and-tank uniform made me feel a bit more pulled together.  Add a necklace and cute flats and it was an outfit.  Also, before I felt comfortable nursing in public, I could drape the wrap like a nursing cover. At home I would snuggle Taco inside the wrap on my chest for some skin-to-skin care.

Anyway, I had some beautiful black tissue weight burnout jersey in my stash that had been waiting for just the right project, and this seemed like it. My thinking was that this would be a good fabric for a summer baby's mom - perfect for warding off air conditioning chilliness and then as a light layer for autumn. My gosh how I loved this fabric right up until the second I started trying to sew it. What a PITA! It had the worst properties of a slithery thin woven paired with the stretchy distortion-provoking qualities of a knit. I'm glad I have a serger; it would have been awful to sew this without one.

I like my pattern placement on the sleeves.

This isn't the last time I will sew this pattern.  And seeing how nice this looks, I can't even swear that this is the last time I will sew burnout, as terrible as it was. I still get a lot of use out of my two cardi-wraps and they are really starting to show it. Replacements will be in order before too long.

Anyway, I saw the mom-to-be on Friday and delivered this gift. I hope she enjoys it during these last weeks of pregnancy and beyond.  And that is that!

Pink Hat Knitting

If you follow me on IG, you already know that I have participated in the #pussyhatproject by knitting up pink hats.

A photo posted by Clio (@cliophineas) on Jan 7, 2017 at 7:57am PST

I love that the knitting and sewing community was so involved in creating a visual theme for the events that took place around the world on Saturday. And while I don't plan on this blog becoming a home for my activism - seriously, I need to get back to some selfish sewing and knitting - I also won't pretend it is not a part of my life.

On Saturday, I pulled on a pink hat and marched in Washington with two of my sisters. My other two sisters and mom marched in NY. I marched because:

I am a human being.

I was born equal and it has only been in the time since my birth that I have been treated as though I am not.

I am more than my sex; more than my body.

I am a mother. Someday I will tell Taco that I was there and why.

I am a mother. By choice.

I am a mother. I want Taco to grow up in a clean environment.

I am a nursing mother. (this too)

I am a sister to four amazing women. I've read the statistics on sexual assault.

I am a daughter. My parents taught me to welcome the stranger.

I am a daughter. My parents taught me to be an instrument of love and peace.

But most of all, I marched because I crave peace. And we cannot have peace until we have social justice for all. Oppression is violent. We cannot have peace for some built on the oppression of others and still call ourselves great.

So I marched. And you are welcome to join me next time.

A photo posted by Clio (@cliophineas) on Jan 21, 2017 at 2:36pm PST

Sister Sewing: Cashmerette Upton Bodice

Today, I'm doing a little bit of blogging catch up. 

Here are a few pictures of my beautiful sister, Poly, in her sari with the bodice I sewed for it. 

When I delivered the blouse, I thought how great it would be to take pictures of it actually being worn with the sari, instead of staged shots. I realized too late that you really can't see much of the bodice under the sari. Absolutely fine since its' supposed to be an accessory to the sari, but not so good for photos. 

Anyway, this is the bodice portion of the Cashmerette Upton Dress. 

Cashmerette Upton line drawing

I could not be happier with this beautifully and thoughtfully drafted pattern. It was the perfect canvas for the changes needed to convert the bodice into a sari blouse. I used only the bodice pieces of the pattern; the scoop neck for the front and v-neck for the back. I lengthened them both by 7 inches so that they would be waist length as my sister requested. This required me to lengthen the darts. What worked best was sewing a muslin with lengthened darts and then doing a little pinning. Another design change that I made was to relocate the zipper to the side seam and cut the back as one piece by trimming off the seam allowance and cutting the fabric on the fold.

At this point, I should mention - and by "mention" I mean bow down and kiss Jenny Cashmerette's feet and then sing songs of praise - how easy it was to fit my sister's bust. Holy guacamole, those separate pieces for different cup sizes was a life saver! Between kids and work, we didn't have a lot of time for fittings and multiple muslins. It was a relief that muslin 1.0 fit with just a few changes.  Aside from a little adjusting of the darts, the only other fitting change was pinning a little bit out of the back neckline. Like me, my sister's upper back is rather narrow. We did a second fitting - this time of the basted together top.  All I had to do was tweak the darts slightly and mark the hem.  

I sewed the blouse  in a beautiful gold silk taffeta from Mood Fabrics, which I finished at the neckline and armscyes with gold piping and sequined trim. When it comes to sari's and sequins it seems like "more" is the way to go. 

I should have taken a few pictures of the top on a hanger, but I just didn't think of it.  So, you'll just have to cope with a few more sari shots. 

Sari, not sorry. 

It was so fun to be in a sari for the wedding festivities. I think my sister looked positively regal in royal blue and gold. Don't you?

And I was glad to have a chance to sew a Cashmerette pattern. I've heard such good things about them - all true!

What a Great Pattern! True Bias Sutton x 2

Bonus Taco Cuteness

I'm very late to the party with the True Bias Sutton Blouse. Like the Nettie Dress, I was pregnant with Taco when it was originally released, and so it went on the "maybe sew this eventually" list. As with the Nettie, I'm so glad that "maybe eventually" arrived. I made two versions of the top which have been on my go-to outfit list for the playground recently.

  

Peeps, this is one terrific pattern. And I don't just mean that it has an easy fit, goes together perfectly and is a very versatile style. It is all of those things. However, what impresses me about the Sutton pattern is the thoughtfulness of its construction methods. I don't just mean that the instructions are sound and clearly written, although they are. What I mean is that each step was carefully considered and the best construction method was chosen given that the fabric recommendation is for lightweight wovens like cdc or challis - the sort of soft drapey fabrics that are prone to fraying. The net result is that the insides are perfectly finished and just as beautiful as the outside.

Bound neck and french seams on the cf and yoke

Here are the insides of my blouse. Isn't it beautiful with its french seams, bias neck finish and cleanly finished side seams and hems? These are the kind of finishing details that I generally ponder over and decide to include on my own. It was really nice for once to have it already worked out. Thank you, Kelli!

French seam back yoke and pleat

Clean finished seams, slits and hem

The Sutton is actually a bit outside my comfort zone when it comes to style. It has loads of ease. And yet, I don't feel like I am drowning in fabric. I think the soft drapey fabrics called for make this top look considerably less boxy or baggy, if you know what I mean.

"Action" shot

The first version I sewed is in Hell Gate Fabrics' cotton/lyocell georgette in cobalt (still available here). It made me very happy to support a friend (Hi Sonja!) and a fabric store that specializes in fabric that is healthier for the environment (and us, too). I was doubly happy when this fabric washed, sewed and pressed so very nicely, too. The only changes I made to the pattern are that I lowered the neckline by 1" and graded out a bit at the hip.

My two versions with beautiful necklines

My second version is in a silk habotai from my stash, originally purchased at Paron Fabrics. For this version I lowered the neckline an additional 1" (so a total of 2") and eliminated the front center seam, so that I wouldn't have to try matching the tie dye, which was uneven anyway, across the front. I used the bound V-neck instructions from The Dressmakers Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques.

Final thoughts:  Really, I think this would be a terrific sew for an advanced-beginner sewist who wants to up their game with finishes or test the waters with sewing slithery fabrics, while not having to simultaneously worry about fit. And, in the end, I love my two tops! What a great pattern! I couldn't be happier that I used "special" fabrics for them. I know some will think it is crazy that I wear silk and georgette to the playground - going down the slide or crawling after Taco. But that's just how I roll... now with a stroller.

Nettie Sweater Dress (Times Two!)

Look!  I've actually sewn a pattern more than once! And I finally managed to snap a few pictures.

The Closet Case Files Nettie Bodysuit and Dress is a pattern that came out while I was pregnant with Taco, so it went on the "sew this eventually" list. I love bodycon dresses and I love sweater dresses. So, it seemed pretty natural to merge the two loves. I haven't sewn very much with sweater knits, so before trying to work with the good stuff, I figured I would work with the okay stuff, ordered on-line.

Here's my first version of Nettie, with very little in the way of alterations. Aside from grading from a 10 on top to a 14 at the hip, the only change I made was to add a little length. I was counting on my sweater knit being a nice stretchy rib to account for the extra room I need through the bust these days. I'm happy enough with how this dress looks and fits. But check out the back. 

Let's talk about this puddling of fabric.  I think if I posted this dress on a sewing forum or this blog with a photo of the back captioned "Help! What is the problem/what alteration do I need?" it would spark a conversation about the sway back alteration. In reality, that is not what I think is going on.

Pre-Taco, I didn't need a swayback adjustment. And the most tangible post-partum change to my body is that my bust is a few inches larger (this will probably change after we finish weaning.) Since a bigger bust means that I need width and length added to the front of the dress in order to go over the bust, what is going on here is a puddling of fabric at the back waist, because the dress is essentially riding up in the front - taking the extra fabric it needs to go over the bust. Further evidence is that you can see that the wrinkles actually do creep around the side of the dress and terminate at the bust.

Wrinkles originate at the bust.

To test this theory - and because I wanted another, lighter weight Nettie for the warming weather - I sewed the pattern again.

Now in red

This time I made an FBA.  You can see that I left the darts in rather than rotating them out. There is a very logical reason for this: Taco woke up from a nap at that point and I forgot to go back and rotate them out before cutting fabric. These things happen with a small child. My FBA is very imperfect. It looks like the dart should be about an inch higher.

Bust dart.

However, shoddy job with the FBA aside, you can see that - having added width and length - I no longer have fabric pooling at the back waist. Voila. FBA for the win. Sort of. Adding fabric to the front left me with too much fabric at the front waist. I really should take it in a little bit at the midriff.

Oh look. No puddled fabric.

But, dang! Doesn't the back look great?

The long and short is that I am not done with this pattern. I actually see both of these as wearable muslins, the key reason being that the fabric just doesn't measure up for me. The gray fabric is a little scratchy. And the red one... Ahhh, the red one... I feel slightly fraudulent about these pictures, which make the dress look pretty good. I had to choose the red dress photos carefully so that my unfortunately colorful choice in undies and bra didn't show thru this thin red rib, which is also not very stretchy. It just isn't a lovely fabric to sew or to wear. It clings to every little imperfection.

There is a lesson to be learned for me here. I should always sew with fabric that I would be happy to wear, rather than just ok fabric. My sewing time is limited; I want my results to be top notch. And if I had started with beautiful fabric from the start I'd have two dresses that I love instead of two that I think are ok.

That said, I did learn a bit about sewing sweater knits. The favorite tip that I picked up was to use lingerie or other stretchy and light-weight elastic as hem tape. First sew the elastic to the right side of the fabric. Then trim and turn to the inside to form the hem. By catch stitching the elastic to the fabric, you get a very stretchy and invisible hem.

Red lingerie elastic as hem tape

Anyway, come Autumn, you can expect to see another Nettie in a nicer fabric. Although I'll call these a win for now.

I mean, really, just look at the awesome high and tight armscye. It's perfect! I need about a dozen more of these as dresses and tops in all the neck and back variations.

Finished! A Beautiful Bag

What else can I say about Butterick B5005, which is sadly OOP?  I've sewn it 5 times now, including for myself.

Diaper Bag and Changing pad

This version is for my sister, Terpischore, and my new nephew!!!

My very first version of this bag was for Poly, one of my other sisters (I have 4 of 'em). So, I called her to see how well her bag had held up. I was considering using Amy Bulter fabric, like I did for her's back in 2009 and wanted to make sure it would be durable. She reported that after using it daily until she no longer needed a diaper bag for her first child, she retired it to "beach bag" and was still using it. Even better, she reported that it machine washed beautifully and - six years on - the only real visible wear and tear was on the straps. That was all I needed to hear and I'm hoping that this bag holds up equally well for Terp.    

I wrote about the hardware that I've used for bag sewing when I made another version for a dear friend. The only elements that I've added since then are the zip welt pocket, which I first did for my own diaper bag (here). And now this fun "Handmade" plate from Emmaline Bags.

Zipper double welt pocket 

I never can get good pictures of the insides of the bags so I took the above and below inside photos before final assembly. They're a bit dark since I took them inside. But you get the idea.

 

On my bag, I use these nice sized pockets for diapers and wipes. 

The only other detail is that I made a matching changing pad.

Isn't the changing pad pretty with it's hot pink bias edging? As always, I used iron on vinyl.

 Here's a few detail shots...

Metal zipper

Outside pocket with a magnetic snap closure; webbing straps

I really think this may be my best looking bag yet. I'm just wild about the color combination and prints; they really pop!  And on that note I have to confess that I hope it's my last bag, at least for a while. When you do a bag right and add so many little details it becomes a big project. And frankly, I'm feeling very eager to get back to some non-baby-oriented sewing.

Anyway, I can't wait to meet my nephew and drop off this diaper bag in the next few days. I hope it serves my sister well!