My First Pair of Leggings and My Helpful Assistant...

Before I blog on those, however, a short note about my little step-sister. She is model material without a doubt, and seems to finally be getting into fashion and clothes. So for her 16th birthday which was on the 4th, I decided to make her some clothes. The first trial was choosing fabric- she is at one of those impressionable stages of life where you just never know what she is going to like. I eventually decided to just go for it, getting her a beachy print for a skirt and a light white fabric, (it said cotton but it is really light and flimsy) for a top. The second trial came shortly after, when I started sewing the top and discovered my sewing machine had an appetite for the material. I could sew for only a few stitches before the fabric would be swallowed under the foot towards the bobbin. I couldn't be bothered hand-sewing at that point, so I turned to the skirt. Third trial; I thought all was going well and I only needed to do the elastic, and then I realised - the entire print was upside down. palm trees, words, boats, everything. There is no way little sis would wear an upside down skirt. Eventually I stopped crying and fixed the problems, and here is the end result;

So, onto the next sewing project! I have been wanting to make a pair of leggings for ages! Some critics have ranted about the "skankiness" of leggings, how they should be underwear or their unflattering nature. I am not of this opinion. I think semi-transparent black leggings that show the lines of their weave over fleshy shadows are gross. They are definitely unflattering. But matt black leggings can make your legs disappear, and patterned leggings, I believe, look just as good as trousers in most outfits, if a little less conservative. I have 2 pairs of leggings at the moment- a pair of dark gray woolen ones which are more darn than fabric, and a pair of ruched black ones which are unraveling from the bottom up. It is time for something new. Cue my mother, who bought me this cute print knit from Spotlight;

I used the McCalls 6173 pattern to make my leggings, choosing style B. I think these leggings could have taken me only 2 hours, if there hadn't been so many firsts. It was my first time changing my machine needle, (as I would recommend using only a ballpoint needle for knits...I think that is right), it was my first time printing and using a downloaded pattern, it was my first time sewing the crotch of something, it was my first time sewing using an over edge stretch stitch, it was really my first time sewing something other than a skirt. In the end it took me about 5 hours all up, and a lot more if you count all the times I reprinted the pattern because my boyfriend's printer is useless. I love the new leggings though- the skills I learned and how good they look absolutely justify the time they took and the distraction form household chores. Here's some pictures...

Introducing Sunshine Bayard- my boyfriend and his brother's joint-custody dog...

looking rather sheepish because she just did this, and...

this and...

this. Actually this one was a sneeze but it looked so cute and like she was trying to eat the pattern for dinner that I had to put it up. A note about Sunny- she is the most neurotic dog I have ever met; she is terrified of new people, cars, my dad, my family's tiny border terrier, vacuum cleaners, my sewing machine, basketballs, cats, dogs, the wind, rain, etc etc etc. But sometimes she gets it into her head that she is Boss, and that I am her loyal servant who must give her pats on demand. It is so damn cute :)

The crazy boy and crazy dog.

The first step...

And finished product! The fabric's pattern actually went perfectly with the top I was wearing! Fantastic.

Well that's all from me for now. Hopefully I will put up some photos of the presents being modeled soon, and hopefully the finished crocheted skirt from the last post. Comment me if you know how to crochet a waistband onto an existing skirt!
helenxx