Goal Setting: Sewing projects for Fall 2017

Sometimes it helps to set goals, to put pen to paper, and to commit to it! After we finish up my jacket this week I want to finish Simon's pants, sew Tyler some PJ bottoms and make him some sweat pants. Then to sew Simon's winter jacket!

My jacket will be done by Sunday this week.

Simon's pants: Give me 2 weeks

Ty's PJs and pants: One weekend afternoon.

My snow pants from a sewing course that I NEVER finished (From 2014!)



 For Tyler's pants Jalie 3355 is a good choice. I need to make the next size up so I will have to retrace the pattern. The pockets have a nice topstitching detail, so I can funk it up with topstitching details.








For Tyler's PJ bottoms I will use my old pattern Simplicity 9499. Again, I will need to trace the next size up.









I need to finish my snow pants from 2014, I play a lot in the snow and I need pants that fit! I used Jalie 2109 in a sewing course and we left the last few steps not done.
My Snow pants: Not finished yet!

I feel that if we had 1 more week of classes after the last class we would get more completed. Often I have questions during the last stages of completion. And there are a lot of last minute questions and fitting issues during the class that I feel rushed. Like in my pants class I never did my pair of pants. There was too much chitter chatter and fitting issues. I gave up. And now I gain a few pounds, so it is a moot point since I did my pattern. 

Wish me luck!

Snow Pants - Jalie 2109

Seeing as we took and completed the Winter Ski Jacket, we decided to make the ski pants that go along with it. My pants are for playing in the snow with the kids and not going skiing, but that does not matter!

Have you seen the price of snow pants for adults? CRAZY, I tell you! And the quality is poor, they are cold and you get wet very quickly.

This course is given over 3 weeks, and that is plenty of time. Dorothee Barnes gives the class at Club Tissus. She used to give this course in 2 weeks, but 3 weeks allows for more breathing time, and more chit-chat! The per-requisit for this class is the Winter Ski Jacket. After you complete the jacket, this is easy-peasey!

We used Downtech fpr the exterior, 100g Thinsulate, Polar fleece, Tonto, and 100% nylon for the lining.

 This is a fun project, but there are a lot of details that takes time. I wanted to make sure everything was sewn straight, so the big carpenter's square ruler had to come out. I traced my lines and we sewed the thinsulate on. Remember to start in the middle and work your way out.

You can iron Tonto and Downtech on a medium low setting. This material is very rigid and we needed to fold it evenly and properly to get the best results. We used our blind hem "G" foot as a guide when using the double needle for the topstiching. This was the perfect foot to give us perfect, even stitches.






 Simon used the stretch setting, #5, with a width of 7 and a length of 4. When I stitched many layers of Tonto and Downtech together I had to go VERY SLOWLY, as the double jeans needle was borderline. Maybe next time, if I remember, I will get a stronger double needle.

After the second class I came down with the gastro.Sam had been sick with it all week, and I started feeling REALLY BAD during my second class. The next morning I was death. This lasted for 1 week solid.  So we were a bit behind in our work. There was one day I was home with Simon before the class and I was so weak that I did not get much done before the last class. But I do not have the kids this weekend. My mother is giving us a Valentine's day weekend one week in advance. So we were able to complete some sewing! Here is what was done last night and today:

 The lining is sewn on the Thinsulate. I sewed polar fleece on the knees and the butt. Cozy warm!

We sewed Tonto on the exterior butt. This is to keep me dry when I fall down. 









As you can see the knees also have the Tonto on them. Tonto is more waterproof than Cordura and more supple. But it is the same. 

 

 

And we did one pocket, lined on both sides with polar fleece inside. with a zipper shield integrated. 

Here you can see the zipper shield installed on top of the zipper.

Here is proof that you can iron Downtech. We used our iron on the lowest heat settings. It did not affect the material at all. A lady in our sewing class told us she did it with no trouble at all. This sure beats using the wooded tool to fold down our seams.









As you can see we have perfectly flat seams. This is very important when making pockets.







As well as wonder tape. Gotta love the stuff!

The back of the pockets are done and voila! We decided to line both sides of the pocket with polar fleece. I am spoiled!