Peter speaks! The first-ever MPB TOPSTITCHING VIDEO!

Friends, it was time.  I have received so many comments and questions about topstitching, specifically with regard to my Kwik Sew men's jeans and Western jacket, that I decided it was time to do something about it.  The result is this movie.



There's no reason why anyone can't topstitch accurately with a little guidance and the proper tools.  Please follow me as I teach you how to topstitch using both straight-stitch and zigzag sewing machines.  It's like two movies in one!



Please leave questions or comments below.  Enjoy the movie and happy topstitching!

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Trend Watching: the Future of Home Sewing

Readers, when you sew all day and write a sewing blog, it's easy to lose perspective. 

Before I learned how to sew, I didn't know anybody who even owned a sewing machine.  Today, I shun anyone who can't use the word presser foot in a sentence, and if they don't know what a feed dog is, I'm not interested.  I think it's totally normal to sew bras, girdles, and crinolines, moreover, and snicker at the men who don't.  I just assume everyone sews.

Still, from time to time I try to step back and look at the big picture.  Where are we today, with regard to home sewing? Are we losing more sewists than we're gaining?  Are pattern companies expanding or shrinking?  Are we still in a period of contraction -- fewer stores, narrower options, diminished quality  -- or is there new energy, new interest, and new innovations? 

I love to read about trends, and a really fun site to visit is trendwatching.com, which reports on trends around the world, primarily for industry.  They issue monthly reports about what's going on, particularly in 'emerging' markets, and it can be inspiring to those of us confronted daily with signs of decline to know that in other parts of the world, business is booming and people are energized. (These are reports on current trends, not predictions for the future, btw.)

Friends, today I have an assignment for you. Consider yourselves field reporters-for-a-day.  What are the trends you see in your neck of the woods?  Are people you know excited about sewing, or could they not care less?  Where is the growth, and where is the decline?  Let's hear from all the continents!

If you hang around sites like Pattern Review, you'd think the whole world was in a tizzy about overpriced Featherweights, and unbalanced thread tension was a bigger problem than, say, nuclear disarmament.  I'm not sure that's true.

So just how big is home sewing?

If you wanted to sink some money into it, where would you put it?  What would your advice be to someone who wanted to invest in it?

Trend watchers of the world, we need to hear from you!  (And please tell us where you're writing from.)

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THIS I will not sew!

Friends, I must be honest.  There are certain things I will not sew for myself and for very good reasons.  I bet you're the same.

Underwear for example.  True, I've sewn a few boxers back in the day, but I have SO much underwear at present, having hit the mother lode at the Salvation Army a few months back when I stumbled upon a dozen pair of unused Jockey boxer briefs and a few gently worn Calvins, that I won't need new underwear for the next thirty years.  And by then who knows what I'll be wearing.

My hunch is that most of you women don't make your own lingerie.  Unless you're Sigrid of Sigrid Sewing Projects of course.  I chose not to post pictures of The Amazing Sigrid in the intimidatingly sophisticated unmentionables she has stitched up for herself --  I believe the Dutch are more modest than us Look, Ma, no pants! Americans (or am I projecting?) -- but rest assured if you check Sigrid out (her blog I mean) you'll see some amazing work.  (You'll find links to her Pattern Review postings there too).

Meanwhile, if Gertie is to believed (and disbelieve her at your own risk), we're going to be seeing our favorite home seamstress from Queens corseted up like Gina Lollabrigida in Trapeze very soon.  Most women would just pick up an old rubber Playtex at Goodwill and hope for the best.  But not Gertie.

Anyway, some other things I'll never sew:

Gloves.  I pick these up from a favorite seller at the flea market who sells them for $2-3 a pair -- vintage and usually dead stock.  I bought the black ones yesterday; the others are from previous outings.







You never know when you might be invited to a wedding, funeral, or ship christening.  I like kidskin but nylon works too.

Now here's something else I thought I'd never sew: bags.  But just look what I purchased online yesterday in a moment of holiday-inspired delirium:





(The second pattern is McCall's 8705.)

I have never sewn a bag unless you count a sewing machine cover which is kind of the same thing when you think about it.  This was back when I was first getting started and was trying to keep it simple.   I still use the cover, which is more than I can say for the Kenmore sewing machine under it.



I think some of these bags would make great gifts for my mother, Michael's mother, Prachee (my SIL), and who knows, maybe even Cathy if she's nice to me.

Never say never, huh?

Friends, in closing, is there anything you simply won't sew?   If so, where do you draw the line and why?  Is it purely economics -- you pay 59 cents at the dollar store for your Hanes Her Way factory seconds, plus you don't like sewing elastic leg bands?  Is it simply beyond your skill level to sew your own "waspie" (ask Gertie about that one)?

Have you ever sewn a handbag and was the result something so hideous you'll only carry it inside your regular handbag in case of rain -- after dark?

How many tote bags can you make with four yards of faux python?

Jump in -- I'll catch you!

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Kwik Sew Men's Jeans - Done!

Friends, I hope you agree that with these Kwik Sew men's jeans I have successfully achieved the "snug and shapely mono-bun" that MBP readers favor by a wide margin according to Friday's "denimed derriere" poll. 

I like these jeans a lot and they're super-comfy.  They have a more traditional fit -- a little fuller in the thighs and higher in the waist than some popular styles.  But let's face it, I'm not in a boy band.

Here, again, is what I was striving for and I think I'm pretty close.







A little more topstitching porn:







Some of you mentioned rivets.  They would be nice but I'd need to have them done professionally --  too much work for me.  Or maybe I'm wrong.   Can you do that yourself?

By having the front belt loops overlap the top of the front pocket, the extra stitching provides sufficient reinforcement in the pocket area, at least on the side closer to the fly.  I don't walk around with my hands in my pockets much, preferring gloves.



I'll wash these a few times before hemming just in case they shrink up.

Thank you for all your excellent pointers yesterday about twill often being off grain.  I can now direct my anger at the fabric instead of the fabric store.

The one thing I don't care for in this pattern, Kwik Sew 2123 (from 1991), is that the front left fly is part of the same pattern piece as the left side leg and is then folded back, which doesn't really provide enough thickness for the fly, imo.  On other patterns, this is a separate piece (basically a facing) that's interfaced, attached, and then folded back, creating a thick seam and thus a thicker edge.  Here's my Kwik Sew jeans:



The pattern piece in question:



Here's my old jeans (made from Simplicity 5048, also OOP):



Do you see the difference?  Anyway, it's water under the bridge, no biggie.

And that, my friends, is that.

I hope you're all feeling well and enjoying your weekend.  Me, I'm locking those pesky dogs in their crates and going to the flea market.  Next up, Mom's skirt.  Ick.  And it's almost turkey time -- gobble gobble.

Happy Sunday!

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Kwik Sew Men's Jeans: Nearly done!

 

Friends, I am happy to report that my Kwik Sew 2123 Men's Jeans are coming together nicely.  I'll be revealing them tomorrow but in the meantime I thought I'd talk about how I'm making them.

Before I begin, however, I wanted to tell you I'm running again.  No, not for President of the Troy Donahue fan club, running for exercise.  Maybe you didn't know that from early October (my high school reunion to be exact) till about three days ago, I've either been sick, getting sick, or recovering and feeling plain worn out.  But my health has returned at long last and with it enough energy to get out in the cold and work up a sweat.  Exercise makes a big difference in how I feel; of course, here on MPB, I cleverly disguise my crabbiness as wit, but rest assured my mood has improved significantly.  Now let's hope my looks come back.

But on to the jeans.



I bought my denim at my little hole-in-the-wall, forever-going-out-of-business fabric dive on 35th St. for $4 a yard.  It's dark, stiff, and best of all, NO spandex.  The roll was nearly 70" wide, so I bought only a yard and a half, which was more than enough.  But after laundering it, I realized it was a bit off grain.



Has this ever happened to you?  It's cottons mostly where I've experienced this, and I'm not sure if it has something to do with laundering and drying it (I didn't check before I washed it), or if it's the quality of the denim.  Anyway, I took great pains cutting my fabric to line up the pattern to the visible threads running parallel to the selvage.  I cut each layer separately.  But when I was stitching my pants legs (the outside seam; the inside seams were already flat-felled), I noticed one leg was twisting inward.  I ended up ripping the seam out, turning the pants inside out, and draping the front and back pants leg pieces where they wanted to go, making sure the outside seam remained straight as I pinned the leg closed.  I didn't care about even seam allowances on front and back.  It seems to have worked: the leg hangs much straighter and I don't feel that twisting feeling that -- let's face it -- is the worst feeling in the world when you've nearly finished a pair of pants.

If you've ever made jeans, you know that you're usually using more than one kind of thread: regular thread for stitching seams and topstitching thread, sometimes in more than one color.  I can't imagine how one can do this with only one sewing machine.  There are many times you need to go back and forth between thread colors and it would be extremely painstaking to change spools each time.  Of course, with the number of machines I currently own I could have used ten colors of topstitching thread, but I used only two: denim blue (which I also used for the general seams that aren't visible) in my treadle and gold in my Singer 15-91.  Of course, I'll do my buttonhole on my Singer Spartan, though my buttonholer would also work on the Singer 15-91 (my treadle uses attachments that screw in from the back).



For the front and back pockets I used two rows of gold thread; all the flat-felled seams are blue (initial seam -- Wish I'd made that thread length shorter!) and gold (outside topstitched seam).



I still have to add belt loops, a buttonhole, and a jeans button, but I'm nearly done.



Of course there are little things I wish I'd done better; there always are.  Let's not talk about those today.

So that's the story of my Kwik Sew jeans, friends.   I'm not sure I prefer this pattern to Simplicity 4048.   Both patterns require significant narrowing of the leg to fit the way I like them and some lowering of the waist.  I've never used a pants pattern that didn't need tweaking.

Anyway, I'm off to make belt loops.

Have a great day everybody!

WARNING: Catchy tune, highly addictive.

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Men's Jeans and the Denimed Derriere + POLL!

Adult readers and supervised teens, let's face it: there's not a whole lot of controversy about the fit of the front of men's jeans.  It's two pockets and a fly.  Sometimes the waistband covers the bellybutton, usually it's an inch or two below.  Unless you're a hustler (or a rustler), it's all pretty standard stuff.

The fit in the rear, however...

This is a point of great debate.  How -- and where -- should a man's seat sit?  There are two highly polarized positions around this issue: the snug school and the baggy school.

Having done extensive online research in anticipation of my Kwik Sew men's jeans project, I have discovered the most popular trends in panted posteriors.  Here goes.

The reigning ideal look for the fit fellow is this: snug, with only the slightest hint of the double cheek.  Pocket position will vary, as will embellishment, but the basics stay the same.

Here we find ourselves in jeggings territory. This is to be avoided, friends, for what I hope are obvious reasons.  Justin Bieber, maybe.  Scratch that; never, on anyone.

As American as apple pie, and you can eat a lot of it in these: the ubiquitous baggy seat or Daddy jeans.

Another American classic, the high-waister with the roomy thigh.  Inoffensive but flattering to few and hardly the stuff of Harlequin Romances or steamy daytime soaps.  I say ugh.

This is my preference: Not too tight, not too loose, dark, with minimal embellishment.  And cool with canvas Converse.

This is cute but once again we're in teen territory.  Not for the over twenty-five.

Ouch on these Levi's -- the center seam looks too high to me.  Thong-like fits are a no-no.

Friends, what do you think?  I want to hear from you but one caveat.  Please limit yourselves to buttocks, posterior, and the ever-elegant seat.  Fanny, tush, and butt are discouraged; ass and you're grounded.

How should a man's pants fit?



Comments are most welcome but remember the rules.  There are children reading -- and some very sheltered adults!

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Kwik Sew Men's Jeans + Contest Winner!

Friends, we have a winner of the Audrey-Hepburnesque 1962 vintage Vogue pattern.  She is...

Victoria, of Savannah, Georgia!  (Big cheer)

Victoria, please email me your mailing address (peterlappinnyc at gmail dot com) and I'll send it off to you right away.  Congratulations!

And now back to our regular programming.

Friends, I have a lot of projects in the pipeline...OK, I have two projects in the pipeline.  First -- and please don't ask me why I took this on -- I have to make a simple straight skirt for my mother.  The genesis of this goes back to the day we went shopping together at Lord & Taylor, and Yours Truly had to remark that for a tenth of the price of the nothing to write home about Calvin Klein skirts they were offering in Petites, I could make her one myself.  No fool, my mother replied, Great; I need it by early December.

I saw her on Tuesday and took her waist and hip measurements, and we went together to Trumart fabric store, which is just a block from my apartment.  There we picked up a very nice quality black polyester crepe and an acetate lining.



I'll be using Dorothy Moore's Pattern Drafting and Dressmaking book to draft the pattern, and hopefully it will all come together without any problems.  I'll probably make a muslin first, of course.  The only clothes I've made for women other than Cathy were two fleece jackets, one for Michael's mother and one for my own.  It's actually a little intimidating -- but exciting too.



My second project is making myself a new pair of denim jeans.  The first pair I made, more than a year ago, I have worn to death.  The knees are badly faded and the front pockets, which in my ignorance I made from a piece of a washed out flannel duvet cover, got so shredded I finally just cut them out.  When I stick my hands in my pockets I'm basically touching my underwear -- or worse.

I'll either use Kwik Sew 2123, which I've used once before to make these pants, or Simplicity 5048, which I used to make the jeans I've worn nearly every day since September 2009.  Yuck.





Men's jeans aren't difficult to make but there's a lot of topstitching involved.  If you have any questions about making men's jeans, please ask and I'll address them on the blog.

Oh, before I forget: a major score on Etsy yesterday!

This toggle coat pattern dates from 1992 and I plan to use it to make a shorter coat that will hopefully look similar to this:

Could I have drafted this myself?  Probably.  I'm lazy.

Friends, guess how many men's patterns are in-print over at Vogue Patterns.  Try six.  SIX!  And four of them are tuxedos and tuxedo accessories (vests, cumberbunds, etc.).  No outerwear.  No jeans.  No pajamas. No underwear.  Jumpsuits, capes, caftans, chaps?  Dream on.

There are more patterns to make doll clothes and stuffed animals.  WHAT is up with that, Vogue-ies?  (Don't bother answering, I know: no market for them.)

So that's it, friends.  I have work to do and so do you, no doubt.  I don't even remember what you're sewing these days; indulge me and remind me and maybe I'll nag you about it early next week.  Discipline is extremely important as we move into the holiday season that starts next week with Thanksgiving and gives us barely a chance to come up for air till Easter.

BTW, you'll be happy to know that while I have temporarily quit coffee, I have substituted weak tea with excellent results.  And while I've cut down on sugar I still indulge in the odd square of dark chocolate or spoonful of fruit juice-sweetened jam.  Food asceticism is troubling to many of you, I know, and it isn't much fun, let's face it. 

That's it for today.  Have a great day, everybody!

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