How many ways do I love Vanessa?

Proving that the Vanessa pants pattern from Jalie is very versatile, here is my third version from the pattern. This time they are dressy, made from black wool crepe and lined to the knee. (Previous versions were drapey rayon woven and cotton knit PJ pants.)

I was very happy to get these cut out of a leftover piece of wool crepe. I had two pieces in stash but the other one is big enough to do a dress, or at least something more elaborate than these pants. It waits its turn.

The lining is also a remnant from other projects. It's bemberg, my favourite lining fabric. I didn't have enough to cut the front and back in the same direction. The back hem is actually the selvedge whereas the front hem is serged and turned/stitched.

I cut the lining to the notches on the leg seams, figuring that was the knee point. It makes the pants very nice to wear.

I also cut these longer than the pattern, by about 5cm (2.5"). It turns out that is a bit too long for these narrow legs. The finished pants are 2.5cm longer than the pattern.


I decided that the back (left) needs adjustment to remove some fabric in the seat area. I've already done a small flat behind modification and cut out another pair (in ponte knit).

To the right is a close up (and very lightened) shot of the front waist, showing details. The stitched down elastic waist is very comfortable and because the CF is flat, also flattering (or at least not extra lumpy at that point). Because my elastic is white, I fused the waistband pieces with a very lightweight black interfacing so there would be no show-through.

That's all - this was a quick and satisfying project.

The season of giving

Santa the Sewing Lawyer has done it again.

Felted slippers for the whole family. Here is my Ravelry link.

These are an easy machine knitting project. I made them on my bulky machine using a free pattern available on Ravelry. I made a couple of test pairs - one for me and one for my husband. I used the numbers on the pattern for my pair and after felting it, guesstimated how many stitches and rows to add for a man's size. The length was right but the stitches don't shrink much in width. So I had to do some retrofitting by taking them in through the toe.

Then I figured the numbers for my gift recipients. 75% of them fit really well...

I improved on the pattern by incorporating techniques I learned from watching Diana Sullivan's video on sew-as-you-go socks. She is such a great resource!

A better heel, pre-felting

They fit me!

The other thing I changed was to raise the back heel. I started on four stitches and increased until I reached the target number for the half sock width. My first pair felt a little low at the back heel.

This felts down quite nicely. And the blue pair fits its recipient (and me) perfectly.

These slippers are really comfy and warm. I ground some silicone caulking into the soles to keep them from being quite so slippery.












I also made my son's girlfriend a pair of Jalie Vanessa pants in a stable knit. This print is pretty fun and they were much appreciated.








I made the usual pair of colourful PJs for my husband. I did not take a picture of them when finished but here they are in progress.

And... two pairs of last minute machine made socks for my parents. The first, second and fourth socks were easy and cooperative but I had to knit the cuff for the third three times and the heel twice. The machine insists on being in charge at all times. Clearly it wants me to use it more frequently.

Phew!

And so the Vanessas... (also red)

I am not only on a Jalie kick but also on a red one apparently.

I went stash diving for the Vanessa pants too. First I found some rayon challis I had forgotten about and decided to try this pattern in my least favourite of the prints.

So I present (at right) my red Bird of Paradise Vanessas that are TOO SMALL. I did not finish them. I found out (Facebook Jalie group, very helpful) that there is a big difference in the rise between the size R (my waist) and bigger adult sizes. I had cut the T at the hip but graded to the R at the top edge. My mistake.

For my second try I cut some mystery sueded woven which is very drapey and also seems to be mostly rayon. This time I was cautious, perhaps overly so, about the sizing. I cut a U as my hips are between T and U, figuring I could take width out at the side seams if it was too big. I did take some out near the waist. I probably should have just cut the darned T (next time).

I didn't do the waistband cord.

I added 2cm to the length because I thought the pants as designed are on the short side.

They are comfy but not beautiful. Too hot for July, but come fall I could see these as go-to weekend pants. I could also definitely imagine more pairs of these...