Pants

Here, finally, is my post about my new pants pattern. My old pattern had kind of a tapered leg, which wasn't terribly stylish and I thought it made me look a bit frumpy. Off to Jo-Ann's and the pattern sales.

This is my old homemade pattern:


Here is the pattern I selected:

The only problem is that I am, in the words of author Peg Bracken, a "round bottomed pants stretcher." Zippers and I don't like each other-they bubble over my fat tummy, and depending on the day they might have a tendency to bind around my hipbones. So I selected View C-straight leg-and proceeded to revamp the pattern. You can kind of see it on the bottom right.

First I took my measurements and selected the closest size. (No, I'm not telling!) Then I measured my crotch and added a bit of length, since I have a terribly high waist.

Then I added an elastic casing and took out the taper from waist to hip-so it would pull on easily. I had to add room in the hip, just so I could have a bit more "sit room."

And-all my 5' 4" height is in my legs, so I added a couple of inches to the length.

My "muslin" was a piece of crinkle cotton. Turned out to fit perfectly and will be very wearable for summer.

Then I dug in my stash and made two more pair!

I'm definitely liking the cut of the leg!

Bloomers

I got three hanging pots for Mother's Day-one from Hubs, and one each from my oldest and youngest sons. They are flourishing. This is the one I picked out with my sweet hubby.

When I Was Young, We Called Them Pedal Pushers

Of course now they're called capris. We had capris too, but they were almost ankle length where the pedal pushers were just below the knee. Now they lump them all together in the same category.

I am glad they are back in style. I hate shorts-it comes from fat thighs in hot weather, chafing and other ugly subjects. The only time I wear shorts is on the beach, for more sun exposure and to keep my clothes dry when I dip my toes in the water.

Anyhooo-my capris were wearing out, time to make some more. One day I was looking in my closet and I noticed a few pairs of pants hanging there that I never wear, not because there was much wrong with them but I just didn't like ME in them. "Hey," I said to myself, "Why not cut the bottoms off and make capris out of them? That way they get some use and you only have to make more pants, which you need anyway."

I agreed with myself and promptly dragged out a couple pair. The red pants-well a chubby lady in red pants is just wrong! They're OK for bumming around, but not for dress. The navy ones fit nicely and I liked them, but they were about an inch too short. Measuring error on my part.

An hour in the sewing room and I am the proud owner of two nice pairs of capris.


I made some nice vents on the sides.

You notice the ancient sewing machine cabinet? My hubby bought the cabinet and a top-of-the-line Viking on my birthday the year we got married-in 1968. I still have the machine but I have a Viking 500 that I bought about 14 years ago, and it has taken over the cabinet. Some thinks you can't let go of-it's full of scrapes and gouges but it is well loved.

Today I developed a new pants pattern. I'll blog about that in the next day or so.

Have a great 4th!

Flip Flops

Of course all the youngsters and a few oldsters wear flip flops. And the trend now is to decorate them, which up to now I've resisted. I hate wearing them myself, but I decided that the granddaughter might like a pair. So today, after I picked her up for an overnight stay, we headed to Michael's. They had their flip flops for half price, and I got to thinking that, since I had a whole skein of that eyelash yarn (bought at some clearance sale somewhere), maybe I should make a pair for Gracie's best friend Sierra too.
I've seen these everywhere-every craft show has at least one vendor that sells a ton of them-but I wasn't too terribly sure how they went together. So, I just made a slip knot, joined it to the strap and started single crocheting from one side of the strap to the other, pushing the stitches back to make as tight a coverage as I could. I then cut the yarn and tied about a zillion knots so it wouldn't come apart with a five and a six year old's wear and tear.


Cute, huh? No, you won't find a rack of these in my craft show booth, that would probably be overkill, but it's nice to know just how easy they are.

Update: Granddaughter showed her treasures off to her neighborhood girlfriends and now they all want a pair. My DIL says I should go into the flip flop business after all! (Still don't think so)

More Booties

I've been knitting again. A customer has requested a larger bootie, so after she makes her choice, I'll probably put the other two in my Etsy shop. I might wait until after Wednesday-thinking of getting a booth at our little Farmer's Market.

I like the larger booties, I make them from knitting worsted instead of fingering yarn and they hold their shape much better.

I've been contemplating putting some kind of no-skid stuff on the soles, since they could be worn by a toddler. I'd love to hear opinions on that.

Shop Update

I listed three colors of booties today, first a lovely multicolored:

Minty green:

And the ever-popular pink!

I am selling them for $15.00 a pair.

Big Boy

Sydney turned six today. Can't believe that he's six, done with Kindergarten, and ready for first grade. That kid is a kick in the pants! Smart as a whip and six going on 21.