Monday, April 28, 2008

Wardrobe garments 9 & 10: Bermuda shorts and tote

Phew! I was sewing like a madwoman to get all this done by Sunday, and I'm actually a little surprised that I met my deadline! I will post a summary of my thoughts about the wardrobe process soon. But first here are the two final pieces, and my next post will be a collage of my finished garments.

Bermuda shorts
I knew I wanted a pair of Bermuda shorts as part of my collection, and luckily I remembered this Vogue pattern I bought last year, it's been sitting in my stash untouched but it sure saved the day as I (surprisingly) did not find a Burda magazine shorts pattern I was interested in.




I cut the pattern for View A (sans pleats) and lengthened the legs about 5" for the Bermuda effect.

Fabric:
Linen with lycra(?) or some other kind of stretch from Pacific Fabrics. I found this fabric a couple of months ago, it was a one time thing for them, and I'm seriously wishing I had purchased more because I *love* this fabric.



Notes on construction/alterations
Why didn't anyone tell me the fly front is easier to do than an invisible zipper? Seriously! I practiced the zipper on my muslin, and I couldn't believe how simple it was. Of course, I had some help. I watched Sandra Betzina's fly front tutorial video a few times and I had another window open showing me Debbie Cook's jeans front tutorial. Let me tell you, this has opened up a whole new world of (apparel) possibilities for me!



I finished the inner leg seams with a flat fell seam, and I used contrast cotton fabric for the fly facing.

Conclusion
Fun, easy shorts. And two days later, I'm still glowing from making the fly front.

Tote
I came across this buttery leather tote on Shopbop and decided it would be the perfect inspiration piece for my wardrobe accessory.






Fabric
Foiled linen from Joann, same that I used in this tunic.
I interfaced the outside of the bag and the facings with Pro Woven fusible from
Sew Exciting.

Notes on construction
The inspiration bag has 4 pleats and 8 pintucks on each side, I included those same details in my pattern.


I started by folding the pleats into my pattern piece and then I drew in the pintucks.


With the pleats on the pattern piece pinned in place, I placed tracing paper over it to draft the facing and lining.



These are my pattern pieces, except for the straps - I just used a rotary cutter and quilting ruler to cut those out.


I sandwiched a single layer of cotton quilt batting in the straps to provide some comfort.


There is a zippered pocket inside, and the bag closes with a magnetic snap. Yes, one is silver and one is gold! The store I was at didn't have a gold zipper in the correct size, and I didn't have time to go around searching for a better match. It's our little secret...


I squared off the bottom corners of the bag.

Conclusion
Overall I'm very happy with how this turned out, especially given that it was a rush job. The pleats in my bag don't hold very well, especially the outermost ones. Also, after I sewed the lining & outside together and turned the bag right side out through a very small opening, the linen fabric was quite wrinkled; all my careful ironing was for nothing. But I still like it and it'll be a nice change when I'm not in the mood to carry a leather monstrosity.

19 comments:

AllisonC said...

Both your pieces look great. Congratulations on overcoming your fear of fly zippers - I must admit to being completely foxed by the process, but they always turn out good. It's amazing really. Looking forward to seeing all the pieces together.

Marji said...

Kudos on the fly front. And on finishing the wardrobe by your deadline.
I'm curious to hear how you like the fit on those shorts. I made them twice to take to the Caribbean with me in Feb, and I will make changes to the pattern before I make them again.

Lori said...

Great looking pieces and congrats on you first fly front.

Adrienne said...

YAY for your first fly front!! Looks awseome!

cidell said...

GREAT fly front. You need to let me know if you added extra width to yours. Yippee!!

Linda said...

What a cute outfit. And I love the bag. You should make another. You can interface the linen with a fusible, that will take care of the wrinkles. Then for the pleats you can either use fusible thread or you can lay a thin piece of wonder under inside the pleats and fuse them together. At least I still think there is fusible thread on the market. I haven't looked for it lately.

I hope you don't mind if I put that bag on my list to do someday. Yours is so cute, I think I need one too. Only mine will be in a dark color. I don't do well keeping bags clean.

loopylulu said...

I had no idea a fly front was a simple thing to do. You've given me the courage to try one. Both pieces look awesome!

Stephanie said...

A great conclusion to your wardrobe! You've given me confidence to try the fly zipper!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic finish! I actually really like BWOF's fly front instructions, as strange as that might seem. Betzina's is a bit too "magical" for me, but BWOF's really make sense and I can do it without referring back every three seconds.

But I LOVE your idea of using a fun fabric for the fly facing. I do that for my pocket linings but I never thought to do it there and I'm SO stealing your idea. :)

Leslie said...

That is really your first fly zipper?? I'd say it looks easy but I'm sure talent had something to do with it. GREAT job on knocking off that bag, the 'leather monstrosity' comment cracked me up. I have a few in my closet.

Erica Bunker said...

Great looking shorts! The front fly looks wonderful and very easy!

Lashell said...

I like the detail you put into the front fly of your shorts and the bag is so cute. Just the thing to get you through the summer.

Berry said...

Everything looks great. The shorts are beautiful, I love the mustard yellow of your t-shirt and the bag fits perfectly in this ready for vacation wardrobe! Congratulations for completing your 10 pieces in time!

Melissa said...

See, fly fronts aren't hard! :-) Your last two pieces are awesome!

Vicki said...

Clever bag! And very nice shorts. Well done on the fly front!!

Anonymous said...

I am always amazed when women say that they are afraid of the fly front. As you learned, it is really not hard to do. In fact it is easier to get perfect than that pesky invisible zipper! For a great tutorial and a foolproof method of inserting an invisible zipper go over to the sewingdivas and see Els method of sewing one. I have used it a few times now and didn't have to take any of them out to get it to lay flat!

yaiAnn said...

Love the shorts! I may ditch the capri's I selected for my Brazil swap and go for these shorts because they actually have REAL pockets. The capri's have fakes! Ugh, why dont' people ever think women need pockets? I'll definitely check out those tutorials. Thanks for linking them!

yaiAnn said...

Love the shorts! I may ditch the capri's I selected for my Brazil swap and go for these shorts because they actually have REAL pockets. The capri's have fakes! Ugh, why dont' people ever think women need pockets? I'll definitely check out those tutorials. Thanks for linking them!

Tany said...

Congratulations on a 100% perfect fly-front! Boh your shorts and tote look wonderful!