Birchgrove Pants

Pattern/Technique: Birchgrove Pants by Muna & Broad, size D

Modifications: Lengthened leg by 3”

On the leg hems, I folded 1/4” then 1” for a clean finish.

Used 1 1/2” non-roll woven elastic for waistband, 38” with 1” overlap to get 37” finished waistband; did not add topstitching to the waistband.

Materials: 2 5/8 yds (44” wide) Kaufman Essex in black

New skills: n/a

Lessons: I used the clean finish method from the pattern on the waistband and adjusted my pinning technique on this set: I inserted pins parallel to the waistband right at the edge of the pressed edge of the waistband and made sure all of the pins were below the waistband seam on the outside of the garment. I then stitched along the seam on the outside using my stitch in the ditch foot.

What I'd do differently: Don't shorten by 3” - the default length in the pattern is perfect. (I tried them on and ended up needing to shorten by 3” cry)

Care: Machine wash cold, dry flat.

Seamwork Bo Top

Pattern/Technique: Bo box top by Seamwork, size 18

Modifications: Shortened length by 1.5”

Materials: 1.75 yds (44” wide) Ruby Star Warp & Weft Holiday

New skills: Bias facing

Lessons: When attaching the cuffs, the instructions tell you to topstitch (aka not in the ditch of the seam, but offset from the seam), so you want to align the inner cuff with the line of stitches, rather than overlap it.

Collar staystitch should be a scant 1/4” (some of mine was visible below the seam because I wasn’t accurate.

When making bias tape with a bias tape maker, it’s important not to pull on the fabric tape itself (or drag your iron over the folded edge while you’re pressing it) , which will cause it to stretch out and not fold correctly when being fed through the tool. Instead, just pull on the tool and repeatedly press and lift your iron in little sections.

What I'd do differently: I’d like to work on making the spacing more even on my topstitching by slowing down my sewing speed.

I'll only shorten the top by 1”. On the bottom hem I could only do the 1.5” fold before I hit the same length as the Torrena box top, so I serged the raw edge instead of doing the 1/4” fold to hide it.

Care: Machine wash cold, dry flat.