I don't know whether I'm counting this as a Christmas present to myself or not, but after years of procrastination, I finally caved in and bought an overlocker. It's very exciting, because it means it's a lot easier to make my own clothes. I've made a few straightforward items of clothing before (circle skirts and the like) but I've never used a sewing pattern before. I decided to start with something small, relatively straightforward, and that can be worn with a few imperfections as it's not on general display. I made my own pants! I was inspired by this blog post (which I filed away for reference several years ago), and bought the Scrundlewear pattern from Etsy - it seemed easy and well thought of, and good for a first try. I also bought some organic bamboo jersey from the Organic Textile Company - one advantage of making your own clothes is that you can choose exactly what you make them from. Apparently you can whip up a pair of these in less than an hour, but as I'd never used either an overlocker or a sewing pattern before, it took me closer to two, which is still pretty good. Shall I show you the first finished pair? Don't look too closely (at either the pants or the state of my office). I have no intention of pressing them, and there are a couple of wonky seams. But they do actually look like knickers, and they are SO comfortable. Not exactly glamourous... but extremely cosy - they almost reach right up to my waist. I did branch out and make some slightly less matronly underwear - one pair using this pattern from So Sew Easy (which was indeed super easy, although the lace I had isn't quite stretchy enough), and another pair (using different lace) copying a pair I already had - not quite so easy but now I know what order to sew them together in the next lot will be much easier. It's quite liberating being able to make your own pants. I won't be making any with rainbows or flowers or silly slogans on, but it will be nice to use organic fabrics and make an assortment for under different outfits.
And of course now I vaguely understand how to use the overlocker, and how to follow a pattern, there are all kinds of possibilities! I might start with a couple of vest tops and a few things from the So Sew Easy site but who knows what I'll branch out to!
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Hello!Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'm Jenni, and I write here about our new foray into country living, which includes growing food, knitting, baking, wandering around the fields, and seeing which local cafe serves the best cake. Categories
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