Sewing Progress...almost done!

Victory! I have managed to (almost) complete my first sewing project! I've been traveling a ton as of late, so I haven't really been able to devote as much of my time to sewing as I'd like, but slow and steady wins the race, right? I am still working on my skirt, but it is taking a little bit longer than I expected. I've taken some time to practice a few skills and improve before I really get going on the DVF fabric. In the meantime, I really wanted to make a few pairs of palazzo pants for this summer. I bought some really great light weight fabric with a tribal print on it - so that my crooked seams wouldn't  be noticed :) My inspiration was a pair of palm print palazzo pants at Zara.

 Here is another pair that I love almost as much.

I love how these pants are comfortable and casual, yet can be dressed up and great for a night on the town!

Here are a few photos as I went through the process, and the finished result! (Note - I haven't hemmed the pants yet, and need to make a few minor finishing touches on the drawstring, but you get the picture!)

A little shot of the finished product from Instagram...

It's especially important to press your seams open after you sew them, it helps to ensure that everything lays flat.  Once you have your seams pressed, it is a good idea to zig zag stitch up the raw edge (or another stitch, its up to you) to prevent the seams from unraveling as you wash and wear it. This not always necessary, but with this fabric, it is. (see the raw edge hanging off the ironing board? That's from one wash).

This handy tool helps to measure my waistband and help to make sure that it is even all the way around. It's also used for hemming as well!  The pattern for these pants actually called for a stretch jersey yoke, but I thought that might look strange. So, when cutting out my fabric, I gave myself several inches at the top as an allowance for a drawstring waistband.  Important Tip: This fabric is on that frays (see hem above) so to prevent my seams from fraying, I folded the very top about 1/16 of an inch, and then folded it over (the above picture is after the second fold.) So, when I sew the seam along the bottom, I am not sewing on a raw edge that could unravel, I'm sewing on a folded edge -- to both the raw edge and the fold are secured. I also used a zig zag stitch for this to make sure it was good and tight.

The pattern up close

I'm planning on wearing these pants for an upcoming plane ride (maybe the ride home, because I still haven't gotten around to the hem...) So I'll snap a 'transit' pic to show you!!

Many of you might be intimidated by the sewing machine, and that's ok...it takes time to get comfortable. One thing I think I can teach all of you (that you will use TIME AND AGAIN) is a blind hem stitch. A co-worker of mine helped me learn the stitch and I've already hemmed two items at home. It's done by hand, so all you need is a needle and thread. I'm going to use the same technique on these pants, so I'll post a tutorial as soon as I get it done!  For reference, here is a picture of what my last blind hem looked like:

I did this hem for Seersucker Thursday on a skirt that was too long. This shows the underside of the skirt hem - from the front is unnoticeable. I tried to take a photo, but you really couldn't see! (ignore the stitches above the hem, those are some loose strings from where I attempted to do a blind hem on my machine #impossible).

I'll keep you updated as this new little hobby of mine continues! If you have any questions feel free to ask! After I finish my hem, I'll show you the completed look!

xoxo

M