This is Pants

This post is a rant.

It doesn't come with photos. It's not happy. It likely will not predispose you to take up sewing.

Nonetheless, when you have the kind of creative day that pushes up challenge after challenge - who are we kidding, they're legitimate problems once you have 10 of them, and each is predicated on the last - putting on a sweet face isn't really authentic.

I finished the Clover trousers and, right now, I'm not loving them. For a simple pair of pants (fitting was more or less done with this muslin), they sure did take me fucking forever. Like 16 hours.

Let's outline the issues:

• I either read the pockets instructions wrong (I can't bear to look at that pattern again for a while, so I can't confirm it right now), or they're unusually inserted, leaving an (interior facing) exposed raw edge. I managed to finish and invert them to get a clean finish, but only after having to chop half of them off. (Note: I don't need the pockets so it's not a fitting problem. In fact, I don't like front facing pockets right at my stomach, even if they are discreet, so I'm likely never going to make them in these pants again.) Furthermore, don't use Bemberg lining. It frays like a bitch and the fibres stick to everything. That pissed me off all day.
• I like inserting invisible zippers. Well, I like inserting them better than any other kind of closures, which means they're tolerable. But side zippers are much more finicky, apparently (this being my first ever) than back zippers. The hip curve makes them tricky to align, not to mention that they take wear differently. Given that I had to be utterly certain to get the sides to line up, it took a LONG time. 90 minutes later, I had a lovely finished product that proceeded to fall apart (at the part where the waistband unit meets the pants top) as I pulled it up. The zipper is sticky there, given the fabric bulk and join. Mercifully, the follow up zipper only took 20 minutes to insert. As I'd serged the outer seam leg of the pants (remember my last experience of that?), I had no room for error. I just decided to stop over-thinking and it went in pretty well. Also, I used tape to hold the zipper down. Why don't I do that all the time?? Basting an invisible zipper is ridiculous.
• I forgot to serge the ankle hems before assembly. I don't think the pattern instructs it, and I followed the pattern exactly, to the best of my ability, which meant I had a miserable time trying to do it once everything was put together. It's pretty nasty looking.
• But the piece de resistance of stupidity was when I inserted the zip on the left side (the opposite of the one stipulated in the pattern). That meant I had to invert all the instructions and rip apart already finished (according to pattern instructions) waist facing and waistband units. Note to self: Don't finish things till you've checked to see if you've mixed up left and right (a semi-regular occurrence). I was lulled into a false sense of security because the instructions are so clear and well presented. I know, I'm blaming clear instructions for my errors. How rude is that?
• I don't like facing. There, I've said it. If you're even vaguely off, the facing unit and the waistband unit don't align perfectly at the already inserted zip, which makes the finishing process very challenging.
• Furthermore, I think the waist finishing - while really clever and, I'm sure, beautiful if you are working with an amenable fabric, machine and a comfort level with zipper feet / aren't sewing (somewhat blind) and dangerously close to zippers that have already fucked up once - is difficult to pull off. I know the next time I try this pattern - and there will be a next time after the sew along ends (once I've had some time and a chance to see how Sarai tackles the waistband) - it will be easier as I will have seen everything twice before.
• This pattern is very well conceived, explained, and is not conceptually difficult. It does take rather a lot of dexterity for a beginner pattern. But pls., peeps. I'm dextrous and I'm not a beginner!

OK, the reason I can even imagine trying this again, at this sensitive juncture, is that I am very impressed by many of its features which I've mentioned here and elsewhere. But, more to the point, I have to say I am blown away by how relatively easy it is to fit. OK, I have done a lot of pants fitting so I have some pre-existing measurements and experience at my access. But these pants are so simple, at their core, that they don't derail you from fit with other details. The fact that they're made with stretch, is fit-forgiving. They grade beautifully. And, bonus from my perspective - but potentially challenging for longer-waisted and taller women (isn't that 70% of the world's population?) - they are not long from the base of the crotch to the waist.

Sarai, in one of her posts, advises participants not to overfit. I think that's really smart advice. The pants don't need it. (Quite honestly, I think that an overfitted garment is as bad as one that hasn't been adjusted at all. And the danger of making a muslin or two, much like that of using Botox, is that sometimes we don't know when to stop.)

The other reason for trying again is that, despite everything, I have a really gorgeous finished product. The pants are totally flattering. If not slimming, and I suspect they are, they totally make the most of one's assets with their streamlined design.

Over and out.

Thanksgiving

Call me shallow, if you will... I am thankful for SO many things, but few things make me as viscerally thankful as a beautiful dessert.

By the Book

I'm having 9 guests for Thanksgiving dinner tonight. Scott's in charge of the capon. I'm the baker. (We don't like to mess with the holiday cooking stereotypes, as you can see...)

Yesterday I made a streusel coffee cake (the second in a week), from my stand-by recipe - which is as beautiful to look at as to eat. Vis a vis the ongoing recalibration, I do feel compelled to tell you, in brief, that I ate but one small piece of the first cake (do you know, it's a sin not to eat beautiful baked goods you make yourself?) and I intend to eat whatever I like today. It is Thanksgiving, after all.

This morning, I finally tried my hand at the flan boulanger I have referred to on a few occasions. I will serve it with a simple raspberry garnish.

The recipe is one of Michel Roux's, from Pastry: Savory and Sweet, a book which I cannot recommend enough. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned baker, this book clearly articulates the steps in making perfect pastry and it does so in lovely, spare French-style. As I've mentioned many times, the keys to making pastry are the right ingredients, the right equipment and the right frame of mind. There is no mystery - but there is alchemy.


The custard is made from a lightly boiled vanilla bean milk mixture added to a thickening mixture, which includes eggs... This one (and the purist snob in me is slightly huffy) makes use of flour and a tbsp of custard powder (essentially corn starch, sugar and colouring). I'm amazed a fancy French chef condones the use of powder, nay, instructs it! Hey, if it works...

This is the parbaked crust. You can see the initial shrinkage (see below for explanation). The reason you prick the base is to encourage even cooking. It allows steam to escape without puffing up the pastry. That, in addition to blind baking with parchment atop of which you place weight (rice, beans, stones etc.) will ensure a level end result.

And here's the finished product!

I didn't have a lot of time to let the dough rest, unfortunately, as I'm sharing the oven today. As a result, it shrank more than I'd like and looks a bit crass - despite a secondary rest period in the fridge, after rolling but before baking. I expected that; resting allows protein chains to relax, which mitigates shrinkage, and can have potential implications on the finished texture. To work around, I left extra overage at the top of the tart pan - that in addition to the overage caused by pinching the dough. You can see, it really needed it. As it is, the crust-edge is wildly uneven. Not that it's going to matter when it's beautifully plated. And if it tastes awesome, I'll feel alright.

Spell it Out

In a strange turn of confluence, I read Sunni's post, inquiring about the importance of customer service on the very same day I was following up with Amy Karol (renaissance woman and Etsy proprietor) about the whereabouts of my latest web-purchase love-on: Balancing Facial Oil.

Whoa, there's a lot going on in that first paragraph...

Here's the backstory:

• I love potions (as you probably know).
• I love supporting small business.
• I love Etsy.
• I love organic stuff.
• I love anything scented with rose and ylang ylang.
• I love Amy Karol's blog.

Put them altogether and you get this:


So I ordered the oil, and anxiously awaited its arrival.

Three weeks later I was still waiting. (Canada Post really boggles the mind...) When I emailed Amy to follow up, I got the promptest - politest - reply a) apologizing for the delay and b) indicating that she'd send a replacement the same day. That's some awesome client service - and it further inclined me (pending product quality) to purchase a potion for all my peeps this Xmas. To extend the good will, I suggested that we wait a couple more days to see if the parcel would miraculously appear. Stranger things have happened here. And, lo, 2 days later - it arrived!

Upshot: The product is potion-y goodness. Smells terrific. Feels awesome. Helps the planet. (I'm kind of making that one up, but go with it.) Perfect Xmas size, shape and function. Woohoo!

The thing I love most about it though - and this says so much about me, I realize - is that it is incanted with an actual spell to enhance my beauty as I use it!? This potion is actually a potion!!! Only on Etsy, people...

Let me urge you to purchase one of Amy's facial oils for yourself (it's a very reasonably priced indulgence that feels/smells great and it's not full of hideous chemicals) and/or consider buying these for your friends and family over the hols. No one is paying me to say this. I'm compelled by good product and good service.

Two Yards Down

Photo of Colette Patterns Clover Pants

I spent Saturday constructing my first muslin of the Colette Clover pants. Here's what I can tell you so far:

• It's a gorgeous pattern to sew. Never mind the finished product, which I haven't yet completed, very few patterns have the confluence of flow, excellent instruction and intelligent construction that this one does. I cannot wait to give it another go. Seriously, how often do you hear me wax rhapsodic about fun construction?

• My zenness stood me in good stead as I managed to produce a first garment that is SO not wearable - and for the most unexpected reason: Shortening the crotch depth by an inch transformed it from what (I presume) would be low/mid-rise to practically pubic. I've never encountered this problem before - I suppose there's a first time for everything.

• This is sad, if only from the standpoint of the fabric I have sacrificed. You may be thinking: Well, Kristin, you knew what you were getting yourself into. Why did you use fabric you'd be sad to see wrecked? The answer: I'm eternally hopeful and wanted the potential of a great end product - which it may well have been (other adjustments notwithstanding) if I hadn't created the most non-negotiable of issues - inadequate amount of fabric to cover all the areas. Seriously, what a great blog post - and real-life story - that would have made. Furthermore, I didn't remember - till after I cut and started sewing - what awesome hand that worsted had. I like to think I'm a (torched) yard and a half closer to expertise. Isn't always painful to sacrifice fabric on some level?

Pool of the Week and Question

Photo from Desire to Inspire - which never reblogs (or does so skillfully enough that we don't notice it)...

I just read an interesting interview on DisneyRollerGirl about, among other things, "rebloggers". According to Cathy Horyn, the majority* of us simply rehash the work of others in a most un-journalist(ic) fashion.

Lord knows, that occurs to me every time I find a pool porn photo and feel compelled to post it. I mean, I've only ever taken my own pic of one of these pools. I live in Canada, after all. Also, fancy photographers, with access to richie people abodes, tend to do these pics more justice. Come to think of it, journalists aren't the ones taking the fancy photos in a high percentage of the meaningful, probing and original articles they write (especially the ones they write about rich people pools).

But what do you think? Does the shot above call attention to the cut and paste quality of which Ms. Horyn accuses us? Are we bloggers trying to be journalists? Comedians? Diarists? Teachers? Scientists? Anarchists?

Personally, I'm a little of column A and a little of column B. (Hahahaha, get it?) Last time I checked, no one was paying me to be investigative, so I'm not going to worry too much.

*On a total tangent, I really struggle with collective nouns, btw...

On Today's Agenda and Deep Thoughts

Just thought I'd offer up a few (fascinating) bits of info before disappearing into the sewing lair...

• The Tubey sweater is coming along. Wow, I'm learning a lot about technique on this project. And my LYS, Lettuce Knit, has been an invaluable teaching resource. I unreservedly recommend this place. The quality of product is high, the client service unparalleled, the staff passionate and helpful, the community rich. (I do think the website could be jazzed up a bit, but that's quibbling.)
• Mardel, in a comment on my last post, finally contextualized the fit dilemma of the shrug (as it appears in this garment and the Wispy sweater). As it's knitted straight (from wrist to wrist), there is no shaping at the armscye - so those wingy, pouchy bits at the back arm where it meets the side back are more or less inevitable. Your only recourse is to make the fit so perfect (snug), that they don't pop out.
• I have most definitely done this. The finished shrug is about as snug as it can be without being too snug.
• I loathe the edge roll of stockinette. If I'd realized this fully, I would have garter stitched around the shrug's top (front side and neck) edge. Of course, my circuits have been on full drive with this project, so adding another alteration might have been overwhelming.
• Debbie Bliss Rialto aran yarn, while very luscious in its knitted form, is a bitch to work with. The microfibre seems to make all the strands puffball out and splitting is a regular occurrence.
• I've just started the ribbing part of the body. FYI, in consultation with my knitting experts, I decided to make the XS for the entire sweater. Even though the term "XS" seems at odds with me in the chest area, I was reminded to disregard that and remember that the ribbing in XS is going to stretch to 40" at the bust. Given that I've knit the shrug at a smaller size than the XS, the ribbing at S was going to add a lot of stitches onto this thing. Too many, I finally concluded. My gauge swatch (not an accurate rep, I've come to realize, as my tension is tied to my feelings in any given session) showed that I was knitting the rib slightly loosely (though not visibly so). If this continues when I knit in the round (and it may not), it's best to have the smaller size - cuz I'm already building in a bit more ease.
• I couldn't manage to pick up 90 stitches stringently according to 4/5 or 7/10 ratios - that's really hard to keep track of. So I just did my own thing (aka, leaving space every now and again) and, cross fingers, it seems to have worked.

And if sewing is your thing...

• I'm about to make a muslin of the Clover pants - I realize I'm not waiting for the sew along, but I reserve the right to stop at any time.
• I'm using a remnant of worsted, which I used to make a skirt I wear regularly. It's the perfect amount of fabric, and if it works well, I'll have a full-size, wearable muslin.
• If it doesn't produce something wearable, the fabric will have met an honourable end. Either way, it will have helped me to perfect the fit of this garment on my body.

Which leads me to my thought of the day (conceived before the sewing fever kicks in): Creating a muslin is a totally different practice than making a TNT garment. I try not to see them as the same activity - cuz that just leads to unnecessary frustration.

The TNT sew is a lovely way to make a new item in your wardrobe that (all sewing acts of God aside) will be a relatively sure success.

Muslin-making is applied engineering. It's the time and space you are privileged to share with a designer's schematic, learning how to turn his or her vision into a beautifully fitting garment on your own body. The process is not designed to provide you with a relatively quick, finished item. It's designed to challenge all of your perceptions of three-dimensional space and your own body. It's a chance to learn more about your shape and your craft. What you gain is so much more than a finished object. So, let's all try to be here now. And, yes, by us, I do mean me.

Stay tuned...