pattern: butterick B4462
difficulty (1-5): 3
pattern size: 8
fabric: 2 yd of linen & rayon blend with lobster applique (55 inches wide), zipper, hook & eye

what was wrong with my lobsters? it was a pair of seemingly normal pants but only from the pictures. i love lobsters to death. sadly though, not on my pants.

first, what i like about the pants: the fabric. i found this fabric early in the spring, when i was just started to sew. pattern, too. originally i had envisioned myself wearing a handmade capri pants, tailored to my desired fit, length and everything so i don't have to get one from lily pulitzer. i still won't get one from lily, but it will be a while before i attempt to make another pair of pants.

honestly, there's nothing wrong with the pattern, it was all me. i was not happy with the waist portion of the pattern and had decided to modify for a low waist, no darts look (instead of finding another pattern). as it turned out, even with the smallest pattern size, the pants was grossly big (a side note: do any of you find butterick's patterns tend to run big? i do. what about other brands?). i eventually had to sew 3 inches worth of darting on both sides at the back. not glamomous at all. in fact, it looks odd.

my second hugest mistake was to blindly cut off the waist without even thinking that maybe using a ruler! i cut the back pieces the same height as the front (big no no)!! it did not seem so weird for you... but, i can definitely tell when wearing them.

i was otherwise pretty happy with my method of sewing the waistband. it looked semi-normal to say the least.

putting in hook & eye was a torture. i hate sewing by hand. absolutely hate it. and it turned out i may have sewn the hook too far off. have to do it again (which has not happened yet).

oh well... live and learn.

Posted by blossom at 08:35 AM | Comments (19)

i kept thinking this week is the twelfth, but it is already the nineteenth. june has gone by so fast.

that's great, though. i can't wait for july. why? i'm taking a mini vacation to visit hege. just us girls. we will knit and sew and eat by the sea. i can not wait.

it has been so long since i was in boston. i hope to visit some yarn shops with hege when we are in town. but not after some succulent lobsters and clam chowders.

but most of all, i want to finish my cornflower tunic before the trip. it will look so cute on the beach of cape cod and hege's estate- pine cone lodge!

it still has a way to go, as you can see from the progress shot. i am thinking of making this a spaghetti strap dress than the original, long sleeve version. what do you think?

a while back i had purchased some linen blend fabric to make a pair of capri pants. these cute lobsters seem to be so appropriate for cape cod now, don't they? i have actually finished sewing the most part, except the waist portion. i'm just not a pattern-follower when it comes to sewing, still need to modify the waist part before it is ready for debut. pants are tricky to make, that's my conclusion so far.

sewalong top is coming, i am going to make butterick's B4549. pattern and fabric are from stash. barring any mistakes... it should be a cute top!

Posted by blossom at 03:04 PM | Comments (13)