Thursday, February 11, 2010

P.J. Pant Pajamarama

As part of my resolution to sew something for me I am making pajama pants from Amy Butler's In Stitches. Things are going well so far, but I have met with some annoying things in the book that I don't like, mostly having to do with her terminology and when she says to do something and doesn't explain why. I guess I don't NEED to know, but I want to, because I am learning. Here is one for my seamstress friends: Why is it necessary to press a seam allowance a certain direction?


The book itself is gorgeous and I do really appreciate the handy drawings. So far in this adventure I have learned a number of things that I would like to share with you, so be attentive:
  1. When going to JoAnn Fabrics with a 50% off coupon, be sure to double check that a fabric isn't already on "sale" before getting it cut. JoAnn's is pretty tricky about listing which fabrics are only a measly 10-20% off. I think they do this on purpose.
  2. Don't make that same mistake twice in one trip because you brought your spouse along with another coupon and both of you were equally clueless.
  3. Cellophane tape isn't a special fabric tape; it is regular, clear tape of the gift-wrapping sort. Thanks, Amy Butler for being so clear on that one. Real beginners like myself, have absolutely NO clue, apparently neither did the experienced seamstress helping me at JoAnn's.
  4. The basement floor is not conducive to laying out, cutting and pining fabric. Also, not conducive to happy sewing is having to repeatedly walk up and down two flights of stairs to sew (in the basement) and press/pin/cut in my bedroom. I need to figure out a solution to this one.
  5. I am much happier sewing when I am listening to music (particularly to The Swell Season). One of my college art teachers told me to always paint while listening to music in order to turn off the logical side of my brain. I didn't think the same thing applied to sewing, but apparently in my case it does.
Tomorrow I move on to the dreaded BUTTON HOLES! Doesn't that just make you shiver in anticipation? For me, it is mainly anticipation of failure, but as this is a necessary step in learning how to use my machine, I will forge on!

Oh, and when this project is over and done with, I am moving onto super simple and easy draft dodgers for my front door and a felt birthday crown for Ravenna, which will look something like this but probably cuter (one can always hope).

6 comments:

Becky said...

Oh man! I totally need a draft dodger. I've been thinking of making one... along with finishing the king size quilt that has been in my living room for over a year. What would we do if all of our projects were finished??

Lafianza.doula said...

this is vry cool! can this book help the incredibly clueless seamstres wannabes like myself? I have many good intentions, but very little skill. hmmm...

The Mattingly Family said...

Well I can't say that I am a great seamstres, but my Mom is. From what I understand (and maybe I don't know what I am talking about), you want to press a seam alowance down so that it lays flat and does not add bulk sticking out, thus making your pants, or what ever your sewing look better. Also it helps you when your are sewing over said seam allowance...Good luck, I would love to see you model the pants when you are all done!

Jenni said...

Honest truth--I almost never press anything if I can avoid it. Certainly not jammie pants.
;)
With a curved seam you usually do need to press in a certain direction in order to have it lay flat--clipping seams is also VITAL for curves and corners. However, if it's a straight seam, the typical direction is to press it open...meh, do it if you want to. Like I said, on jammies, it's no fashion show, nobody cares. On something dressier then yeah, press all the seams. Pressing open will help give a flatter look to everything, rather than having a bulge to one side of the seam where both seam allowances are.

DO A PRACTICE BUTTONHOLE or two on a scrap before you do it in your pants!! Really, it's worth it to be able to see how it comes together.

Dejah said...

So neat that you are getting into sewing. I love sewing, but I am terrible with patterns.

Amanda said...

Button holes are supposed to be really hard...but my machine does mine for me. I'm sure your machine does, too. Then they're really easy!