I did not sew last weekend. Instead I spent the weekend in Brisbane.
This photo looks rather nice, the jacarandas are in flower, I was on the river.....however, despite appearances, I was working - at a course. I have put in the photo so there is something to look at.
This is the view of my ferry trip from the hotel to the course venue. I did enjoy it, even the storm - the sky set off the trees so nicely.
My family accompanied me, but only as far as the hotel, and dinner. They had a tourist weekend, and out of the kindness of their hearts, my daughters visited Gardams in the city and bought 3m of fabric each, with no input at all from me. Their training is off to a good start :). I don't have a photo, clear lack of organization.
I have hopes that these fabrics will turn into summer dresses without too much further input from me, but we will see.
Whilst I was packing for the weekend, I noticed the terrible shabbiness of my exercise clothes. I am generally able to pretend I am invisible whilst I am exercising, , but for some reason the thought of exercising at relatively close range to other people (a Pilates class) made this seem difficult.
Ottobre 05-2010 to the rescue.
I used some bottom weight stretchy fabric from Stretchtex, called liquid titanium, that had actually been purchased for my daughters' dance gear. It is nice and thick, but not too hot, as it is wicking fabric.
I cut a 38 for the front and a 44 for the back, once I was below the waist, having found this effective for the underwear I had made from Ottobre, but possibly the fabric was too stretchy for the pattern - I took in about an inch at the side seams, and shortened the front crotch by an inch, and the trousers are still a bit loose for exercise bottoms. They were also much too long, being below mid calf before trimming. I have short legs, but I suspect these would be longer than RTW on most people. I also found the trousers to be quite high on the waist. Despite the need for fitting tweaks, I am very happy with the pattern.
I have alternated these back and front for viewing of the added sacral pockets, but you might have to take my word for it that they are present- and that the trousers look better on, and under a long t-shirt ;)
I made the first two pairs, with definitely invisible-in-the-photo internal front pocket (key and coffee money), on Friday night, and the next two on Monday morning, changing the coverstitch colours on the side seams, hems and yoke detail, and adding some cotton lycra facings and judicious waistband piecing to eke 4 pairs from the 3m of fabric that allegedly should have made me 3 pairs. I like a free garment!
I have some experimental pattern choices to display later in the week, I just need a bit of hand hemming -so maybe it will take a few weeks.......
10 comments:
you have to hand it to Ottobre- they know how to do everyday wear. As far as recognising their niche they totally have it sussed - geographically close to Germany and Burda, but worlds apart in terms of styling and fashion savvy.
Great looking workout gear. I'm particularly impressed with your coin pockets and the quantity you've managed to churn out. I have put your fabric in a postpack and written on the address. Hmmmm, I wonder when I'll get to the post office....maybe once you've finished your hemming.
Does this mean that you are going to Pilates 4 times per week?
Great workout gear.
very nice. You have reminded me that I need some new bottoms for the gym. And maybe I should look into finding a source for Ottobre magazine.
ow, your new workout gear looks fabulous. I've only made one or two Ottobre patterns but they have great style for everyday wear.
Liquid titanium sounds like it could run a marathon and several Pilates classes at once - I'm very interested in workout gear and especially the fabric - so thanks for the link! Your pants all look great!
You do great workout wear. Funny I'd marked out this pattern as one of the few things I'd sew from my ill fated subscription.
Very nice workout gear! And that photo of the jacaranda against the stormy sky is quite simply beautiful...
I've made some exercise pants from a different Otto issue. I really like the predictability of their patterns (post personal fitting tweaks).
The pants you've made are particularly shnazzy. You'll be the envy of your fellow Pilaters.
I hope you see this comment buried in the archives... but I was wondering how this fabric faired over time? Does it pill much? Does it have a similar hand to supplex?
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