Happy Day

That's better! My knit fabric from Sew Baby arrived. The pink goes so nicely with the brown. It's not a jersey like a t-shirt. It's a very thin interlock, but it is thin like a t-shirt. It's not thin as in cheesy. It's quite luxurious and of high quality. I've already washed the black and it washed beautifully.

I also received my Burda World of Fashion, quickly joined by a copy of Stitches, which I picked up when I went out to buy that pesky zipper I was missing. Stitches appears to be a very good magazine. It has detailed articles about garment sewing with many diagrams and photographs. I've only had time to flip through it so far, but I'm impressed.

I finally got some time to actually sew, and I put in my first lapped zipper. It was easy and the results are very professional looking. I did my first one right on my actual project. That caused some stress, but no real problems. I used these directions, but also discovered some directions inside the zipper package. The two sets of directions were the same except for the direction from which you viewed your work.

I started by reinforcing my seam allowance because the fabric is very loosely woven. My center back seam on my pants is curved because it has a built in dart. I curve A LOT in my butt. I refer to this as my "Butt Shelf." I swear you could set a drink on it. I was worried about the zipper application with such a curve, but it worked fine.

As you can see, the final result is wonderful. I love it. You can see the chevron that's made by the darting that sits on my "Butt Shelf."

I've finished the side seams and the inseams, as well as all the crotch seams. I need to fit my darts, attach the waist band, then hem them. I've already pressed the seams and tried them on. They look great! I altered these to fit better so I've made a lot of changes, as well as a style change. I've made the legs very wide. I like them!