Polka Dots and Muslins

After the boring skirt, I decided to go with something more fun, and what's more fun than polka dots?! This is still a work in progress, but after a very helpful post on Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing written by guest blogger Alyson Clair on sewing knits, I decided to tackle yet another knit project. Her post was about sewing knits without a serger, and while I have a serger, I find that my sewing is not really that accurate, so her hints and tips have been very useful.

I am solely using the serger for the long, straight-ish seams like the center back, and ultimately the side seams, plus the seams for the sleeves. When I use the regular sewing machine, I'm using my stretch stitch #9, and it's working like a charm. Ball point needle, of course. The pattern recommends stitching a second line if you are not using a serger, and this is where I go ahead and serge.

And now, I'm at a stopping point. The only thing left is to attach the loop with the belt buckle, the side seams, and the hem. I decided at the last minute to order some buckles from a shop on Etsy, and they haven't arrived yet (it's a lot of 6, so I'll have a few extra for other projects). This is where the muslins in the title comes in.

I can't believe it, but I don't think I have EVER made myself pants of any sort. Lots of skirts and dresses, but no pants. And if you read about my current body image crisis, then you can only imagine that my current inventory of summer shorts are a wee bit tight. Enter this pattern:

After looking through ALL the pattern books, and other independent patterns, these are the closest to what I like to wear. I'm going to make a muslin to get the fit just right, and then plan use the denim I have leftover from the "Meh" skirt. I'll let you know how it goes.

Are you partial to a particular pattern company? As I re-enter the garment making world, I'm finding that I'm less picky than I once was. Now I'm just going for the look, and if it's right, I'll give it a try. I'm saying this as someone who almost never used Simplicity patterns before, and tended to favor Vogue and McCalls.