Ginger Jeans Day 6: Muslin Finished

ジーンズの試作品完成～。
試作品とは言え、カプリ丈ジーンズとして普通に着れます。
っていうかもうこれ着てお出かけしたし。

I am just so very proud of my muslin Ginger. My very first proper pants and they are totally wearable and totally look like a real thing.

Anyways, let's start with a button hole.
I wanted to use the key hole shape automatic button hole on my Janome.

I tried different needles and different tensions but basically the topstitching thread just did not work so I used the regular thread in orange.

Belt loops got hammered down. It's amazing how a little hammering tames the thick fold of denim fabric.

 Front button is attached. Looks so proper.

I used my Prym Vario pliers to install rivets. It's a bit tight to fit the fabric in the pliers but doable and I don't have to worry about rivets going in crooked.

Muslin finished.
Wore them all day yesterday. A bit gaping at the back waist but other than that, I am very very happy with the result.
Now, I have to trace the pattern again for straight size 8 and start this process all over.

Ginger Jeans Day 5: Adjustments

先日の試し縫いで出た問題部分を解決すべく、補整。

Day 5 of my Ginger Jeans making is making adjustments based on the fitting of basted jeans.
I cut off the center back for sway back.
Scooped out the crotch curve for low butt.

I also let out the side seams at the low butt area.
Then the back pockets were sewn on for real with topstitching thread. I did not move the pockets.

Hard to see but the low butt is fitting much better. (Just ignore my muffin top, please.) However, because of the way I let out the side seams, I now have weird excess fabric at the sides. Maybe I need to let out at the center back?
I cut a size 8 at waist and down 6 at hip so I may just stick with straight size 8 and see what happens.

Still have a lot of wrinkles in the back leg - need to take some length off there?
The knees are pretty fitted. This is a skinny version, by the way. I would probably have to do a chunky calf adjustment if I am to make a full length skinny.

The front is not too terribly bad. I will try changing the front crotch curve on my real pair.

Ginger Jeans Day 4: Muslin Fitting

ジーンズ作成4日目はミシン2台とロックミシン総出でお裁縫です。
ズボンにファスナーつけるのなんて生まれて初めてだけど、結構上手にできたと思う。（でもファスナーの位置がちょっと端によりすぎたかな）
試し履きしてフィット感を見てみました。

(Day 3 is here.)
I didn't mind changing the thread from regular thread to topstitching thread on my Janome, but the Janome did not like the topstitching thread with jeans needle so I pulled out my Kenmore for top stitching. Last time the Kenmore was out of the case was back in 2015 but it still worked and had no problem with topstitching (using a topstitching needle on this). The machine does smell a bit of old oil so I will have to clean it up later.

My very first fly front. I aligned the edge of the zipper tape with center front. The zipper might be a bit too far into the fly for my liking.

I basted the rest and tried them on. Great selfie opportunity in a bathroom on a step ladder. I need a long mirror...
A bit tight around my sagging bum.

Worn with my Itch to Stitch Bellavista.
Kind of impressed with my almost real pair of jeans.

Ginger Jeans Day 3: Front Pockets

ジーンズ作成3日目は、とうとうミシン作業です。糸の調子をみたりして、本格的にお裁縫作業でちょっとワクワク。
ちなみにイギリスで買ったロックミシンは、電圧が違うアメリカでも電圧機を通してちゃんと使えてほっとしています。

Day 3 of my Ginger Jeans making is... finally sewing! (Day 2 is here.)
When I started the project, I wasn't even thinking about notions like top stitching thread or zipper so I was glad that I had an old top stitching thread in my stash. I think I bought the thread maybe 5-6 years ago to hem my store-bought jeans.

My serger survived the oversea shipment in a heavy duty bin (it was bought used without an original box). I turned it on for the first time since it was packed in England in December and it worked just fine with the voltage converter I was using in England for my sewing machine.

 Coin pocket.

Pocket lining. I am french-seaming the pocket bottom but this is it for today.

Ginger Jeans Day 2: Cutting a Muslin

ジーンズ作成二日目は、サイズやフィットを見るための試作品用の布の裁断です。
卓球台がヒジョーーーーに役に立っています。もともとはビリヤード台だから、すぐ上に照明がついてて、作業台を明るく照らしてくれます。

Day 2 of my Ginger Jeans making is cutting a muslin. (Day 1 is here.)

I had this left-over stretch denim from my Jalie Eleonore and decided to make a muslin out of it. Looking at the fabric, I was quite surprised how dark the fabric was originally. I forgot how many white shirts were turned blue because of this fabric. I happened to be wearing the said Eleonore and here is the color difference.

I don't even have a yard of fabric left, so I am making a capri length and omitting back pockets.
By the way, my ping pong table works so well for tracing patterns and cutting fabric. Because it's a pool table, it has a low hanging light fixture above it and gives me the perfect brightness I need in the basement.

Ginger Jeans Day 1: Tracing

家の片付けも一段落して、やっと裁縫プロジェクトに取り掛かる気分になってきました。
次はジーンズに大挑戦です。今までゴムの入ったパンツしか作ったことないので出来上がりがちょっと心配だけど。

そして昨日は人生で初めてフライドチキン・アンド・ワッフルを食べました。チキンの上からシロップかけます。南部ではポピュラーなメニューです。

Now that the house is in a comfortably livable state, it's time to start a sewing project.

I am going to make Ginger Jeans. I wear jeans pretty much every day and I rotate between 2 pairs of the exact same jeans so I'm pretty much in the same jeans every single day. The third pair is not comfortable and would like to get rid of it (it does not spark joy, you know).

This is my first pair of proper pants with fly front. The only other pants I have made before are either elastic pajama pants or Jalie Eleonore pull-on pants so I am a bit leery about the outcome but we shall see.

On the side note, I had my very first fried chicken and waffles. In case you are not familiar, yes, you pour the syrup over the chicken.

Southern Living

Life in the Deep South.
アメリカ深南部での暮らし。

Fried green tomatoes.　
フライド・グリーン・トマト（映画のタイトルではなく、揚げトマト。）

Monster Jam.　
小学生の背丈ほどもある巨大タイヤを装備した巨大トラックの大会。エンジン音がものすごくうるさいので耳栓必須。

A tractor. MOTH says it's technically a "sub-compact" tractor. Still, it's a tractor with a front loader. He was supposed to be getting a riding lawn mower.
小型トラクター買いました。芝刈り機を買うはずが、ブルドーザーですか？クボタです。

Beautiful spring.
近所の桜の木。うちの庭にも桜を植えたいです。

Hanging a Quilt

3か月ぶりの裁縫プロジェクトは、手作りキルトを壁に飾れるようにすること。ちなみにキルトは私作ではなく、キルターな義母作。

このキルト、実は義母作の中では私の一番のお気に入りで、ずっと壁に飾ってみたかったの。もう１０年ぐらい前に義母からもらったんだけど前住んでた家は日差しが強くてキルトが傷むから飾れなくてずっとしまってあったのです。今度の家では裁縫室が地下で小さな窓しかないのでキルトを飾るのにもってこい。陽当たりが悪く薄暗い地下の裁縫室もこれで見た目はちょっと温かくなった感じ。

First sewing project in three months (and the first sewing project in this new sewing room): hanging a quilt. Disclaimer - I did not make the quilt. It was made by and given to me by my mother-in-law.

After researching different methods to add a hanging apparatus to a finished quilt, I decided on adding a long straight channel at the top of a quilt. I found an extra curtain rod that the previous homeowner left in a closet and MOTH screwed in the brackets for me.

The calico I had was a perfect width for the quilt so just cut 8" from selvage to selvage and sewed a channel.

My sewing machine was turned on for the first time since it was packed in England in December.

The sewn channel was then hand-sewn on the back of the quilt.

I use Thread Heaven for hand sewing. This tiny little box of thread conditioner lasts for a long time.

This is my favorite quilt made by my mother-in-law and I always wanted to hang it on a wall rather than using it as a quilt. Our previous house in the Desert Southwest got too harsh of sun light so I could not hang it for fear of sun damage and it just sat in my armoire for many years (I could not even spread it over a bed because our dogs love chewing on quilts). Now that my sewing room is in a basement and has only a tiny window, I can now hang this quilt in my sewing room and admire it every day.

Behold the Ping Pong Table

なんと我が家には卓球台があるのです！（地下室です）
実はビリヤード台の上にのせて使う卓球台なんだけど、ちゃんと卓球できるよ。
ビリヤード台ともども、この家の前の持ち主が置いていったものです（決してただで譲り受けたわけではなく、家売買の交渉に含まれています）。

私今まで卓球ってやったことがなかったんだけど、楽しいね！温泉旅行で人々が楽しむのもわかるわ。予想通りものすごい下手なんだけど、ビリヤードより全然楽しい。

I have a ping pong table in my house!

Well, it's actually a pool table with a ping pong table top. We inherited it from the previous homeowner as part of the house deal (basically she declined to do most of our repair requests and instead threw in the pool table in the deal).

I had never played a game of ping pong before. I have never played regular tennis either for that matter. But I'm loving playing ping pong! I'm obviously pretty terrible at it but we are having fun.

It is surreal to think that I actually own a ping pong table (we had a pool table before) and definitely surreal to think that I can now play ping pong in my own house.