Today is Pants Class

Sometimes I look around and I see things that need to be done but aren’t being done, and I think to myself, “There’s an opportunity! No one has written and self-published a book on finishing techniques for knits, so I should do that” or “No one is teaching serger classes, so I should set some up!”

I do not always stop to think that maybe those things aren’t being done because other people thought through the idea and realized it was fraught with all sorts of potholes. No, I just forge ahead until I am so far into the project that I don’t want to abandon it.

Today is my pants class. Apparently, I am nervous enough about this that last night, I dreamed I got to class and had left all of my teaching supplies at home. In that dream, I also had 12 students instead of the three that I know have signed up. 😳

I don’t think I am in over my head, but we’ll find out. Pride goeth before, etc., etc. It’s one thing to teach a class on a technique or project where everyone is making the same thing, in the same size, in the same materials. It’s quite another to teach a class where each student is making something slightly different and customized to fit her body. The actual making of these pants is not difficult or time consuming. I can knock out a pair in a little over an hour. What is going to take most of class time (five hours) is going to be the measuring and fitting. Fortunately, I know the students who will be in this class—their backgrounds and skills—and I think we will be okay. I expect to learn almost as much as the students do.

I also have confidence in this pattern. I’ve made three pairs of pants from it already, and may have a fourth underway as part of today’s class. I think it is drafted and sized well. I know what adjustments, if any, we might have to make and where to make them.

You’ll have to tune in tomorrow to find out how it went.

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I played around with the three-thread edging stitch on my serger again yesterday. This is how it looks on the home dec class sample with a 12wt cotton thread (Wonderfil Spaghetti) in each looper:

The blue thread is the one I almost ran out of while stitching. This is intended to be a basket liner that shows on both sides. (The fabric line is “Decorum” by BasicGrey for Moda.) I’ve seen this edging done with 8wt perle cotton and it’s even more dramatic.

I made a sample yesterday with two layers of flannel and wooly polyester (Wonderfil Sofloc) in the loopers to see how that worked:

I probably could crunch the stitch length down even a bit more for additional coverage on that edge—almost like a satin stitch—but for a sample, this was fine. It told me what I needed to know.

I went through my stash of knit fabrics and sorted them into piles—double-brushed poly, French terry, etc.—and prioritized what I want to make next. I am trying to be more intentional about filling holes in my wardrobe. Navy blue DBP might be boring to work with, but I could use a basic navy blue top.

I also popped up to sewing around lunch time yesterday to do some visiting. That group of women knows how to laugh and have a good time. I always enjoy being there. (We missed you, Sarah!) I don’t think we always get much sewing done, but we do our part to solve the world’s problems.

The garden needs some attention, so that’s on the schedule for tomorrow. The zuccihni and melon patch is turning out to be quite a surprise. Apparently, I put a wide variety of plants in the ground and promptly forgot what I planted. I think the tomato patch is going to be the same way.