A little dress

A week ago my youngest granddaughter turned one in San Francisco. I sent her a doll from my mom, a pair of moose hide Mukluks (she will be here over Christmas) and I decided to go old school and send her a plaid dress too.

I have a terrible time imagining weather in places outside my window (which is why I am the world's worst packer) but I had enough sense not to send velveteen or wool to California.

Fortunately I found some plaid in a very nice rayon and hopefully that counts as winter wear on the west coast.

For a pattern I pulled out this out of print Jalie that I got on a sale of their old stock a while ago. I really really enjoyed sewing it and seeing practical but traditional baby clothing details. There is a double folded hem with the potential to add nearly another 4" in length and a back that opens full length for easy dressing.

The pattern also came with some cool bloomers, big enough to cover the biggest diaper, and I made those too. We'll see about the fit but one of the reasons Jalie is my go-to for kids clothes is that there are so many sizes in one pattern - this one has 10 baby/toddler sizes.

I am sewing a lot for family these days (this has had an impact on the blog I am trying to figure out - I might block family members!) because I want to show things that are also surprises.

Right now most of the time I am sewing requests. I realized that rather than having family handle the fact that my kids probably don't want to wear what I would wear, everyone is happier, including me, if I make to order. This also expands my own repertoire and experience by introducing new territory to me.

That said every once in a while I enjoy sewing something that is just a sewing indulgence for me, like this traditional little dress.

It reminded me of the smocked dresses my friend's mother made for my daughter years ago. Who does that these days? Who has the time? Beautiful party dresses with smocking patterns that must have been decades old, giant hems like this one.

Even babies have history.

Two weightless raglan tops

Many years ago I proposed I think twice to David Page Coffin when he was working as an incomparable editor at Threads, that I write an article on sewing for comfort.

I thought and still think this is an interesting and important topic.  After all the clothes we really wear are those that are comfortable - so why don't we consider this more as a deciding factor when we sew? However no one but me thought this was a good idea for an article, but I have held on to the idea since. I still think this is something we should think about.

I am often struck by my mother's beautiful 1950s suits and dresses with how every heavy they are. That 12 panel wool skirt completely underlined with horse hair ... well you might as well be wearing the horse blanket IMO.

So whenever I can I try to find fabrics that are as weightless as possible, but still durable to put on this body.

Ans due to my far flung children, I also travel a lot. I need light clothes.

This weight restriction and paying for your checked baggage thing has got totally out of hand. All it has left us with are these two things:

1. We now all have to travel in the baggage department, with folks trying to shove steamer trunk sized "carry-ons" in the glove compartment over our heads.

2. Nothing has suddenly become really heavy and really heavy costs about an extra $40 in excess baggage fees. And no one listens to you at all when you tell them they don't understand because you have nothing in that bag, not counting the shoes that match, a big housecoat in case there is a fire in the hotel and you have to spend the night in the lobby with strangers, a few patterns to look over, and some knitting to keep you entertained during long conversations with people you have come a long way to see. How heavy can just that be?

Which brings to my sister's quilt.

The fabric I used to make these two weightless tops was bought in Portland Oregon last spring while at Quilt Mart to promote my book on garment sewing at my publisher's request. When I was there I saw a lot of quilts that I knew my quilting sister would appreciate, and spent a lot of time walking around and talking to people who told me they didn't sew clothes, because that was too hard.

But they could quilt, which I cannot. It is pretty much all the focus I am capable of to sew two sleeves not one. I am sure glad two arms is all I got. Yet quilters can sew 580 pieces of fabric back together again and not get overwhelmed and do a good job of it.

The tiny stitches those folks can make are amazing. A wall hanging one of my sisters made for me recently is proof of hat.

Here is the story. 

I have a scarf from Japan a couple of the kids brought back for me last winter after a trip.The pattern is stylized apricots.  Since the Japanese word for apricot is the same as my youngest granddaughter's name, Anika, I decided I wanted to do more with this scarf than just wear it.

So my sister Dawn in Ottawa made a whole quilt wall hanging for me with it. I completely love it and her for doing this.

Here are her crazy small stitches:

And here is me standing beside the quilt in weightless and packable raglan sleeve (most comfortable sleeve in my opinion) top #1.

The pattern is this one from Jalie, the Marie-Claude, sort of a sport top, and you can see how loose the sleeves are, cut for movement at the armhole even though the sleeves themselves are fairly narrow, like a base layer. This is some sort of weird puckered cotton/rayon/lycra and weighs about the same as a teabag. It also will not show any suitcase wrinkles at all which will be handy.

Weightless top #2 is made from another novelty fabric, this one a sort of pre-wrinkled number that looks like the all those discarded pieces of tissue paper that are all over the living room floor Christmas morning. It has silver threads running through the grey.

Because this was so wrinkled and odd and floaty I tried out a new pattern for me, another comfort raglan, this one Love Notions's Rockford Raglan. I really loved this pattern. It has a nice fit through the shoulders and sleeves but does ease up a lot over the belly - perfect for fabric with real drape. I wish I had used this pattern over the summer when I was in the market for tops that didn't cling.

All the Love Notions tops also come with an optional full bust front pattern piece, which saves you from having to alter the pattern with your own FBA. I made a medium here but used the full bust front piece.

You good sewers with your eagle eyes will notice right away that the neckband pulls in a lot. I personally did a lot of stressing about this, took it off, re-sewed it, pressed, top stitched the seam allowance down (something I rarely do) until I had a good look at the fabric and realized that with all those built-in wrinkles (more apparent in the fabric on the front of this top) I was crazy not to respect that quality and accept the fact this fabric was not meant to lie smooth. I just had to let this fabric be who it was.

Plus I can wear a necklace, or a cardigan over this or, and this is my go-to, really bright pink lipstick to distract the eye.

At any rate even if you might think that this top looks like something I have pulled out of the bottom of the bin I am going to wear it a lot - just so breezy and comfortable.

Love it.

Summer sewing list: bite sized goals

This happens every summer. 

One minute I am digging out the summer clothes and the next minute I  realize it is the middle of July and all those things I was going to get done over the summer better get done before the summer clothes get packed away again.

I decided today that in addition to my usual round of family sewing, I needed to think about good summer projects for myself.

Unusually I decided to get sensible. So instead of time spent on ambitious sewing projects I decide to be nice to myself instead. I decided to make some things that have been percolating for a while now and would actually be useful.

Most of these are fast projects I can fit in around my other activities. All of them are outstanding:

• A good bag for taking my cosmetic/shampoo etc. gear around with me in my travels. I have made nearly everyone in the vicinity a version of this free pattern, in the large size that holds everything, but why not me?
• At least one hat. Obviously these are important in the sun but I have a terrible time finding one that is big enough for my large head. All the ones I own really have to be jammed down. I have a couple of patterns but might try this one, again a free pattern, or this one, because they have several sizes. I can make the brim bigger in the bucket hat too if I want. I am even thinking of trying some foam, like they use for bags, for the brim. I read in expensive sites like Tilley's about hats that float and I can figure that one out.
• Some pyjamas and night gowns. I really need something cool for the summer and something decent to wear so I don't scare the children when I visit. I have Jalie's reliable old pyjama pattern for a start, again something I have made for everyone but me, and am thinking too of this Burda pattern. I need some cooler wovens, knits can get hot. 
• Some kind of housecoat (this is a Canadian thing, in other parts of the world these are called robes etc.) that is covering enough for travel and staying with people but doesn't take up a lot of room in the suitcase. I had high hopes for this Vogue pattern, such a pretty drawing, but even when I sized down it was big enough for three of me and had sleeves that looked like A line skirts. I would actually just like a pattern that looked like the picture. I could probably figure something out if I have to.
• And finally I really want to sew at least one decent handbag. I have danced around this one for a while. I always something more urgent to work on, but these patterns and bag creations really are what catch my eye most when I scroll through my Facebook posts on my phone when I am drinking my morning coffee. I think that after a person has liked say the Boronia bag 700 times she should probably bite the bullet and make one. 

So that's it for me. I am trying out a new and novel idea which is making sewing to-do lists of things I might actually make. I will let you know how this goes.

Now over to you.

What are your personal sewing projects for the summer? 

The comments are always the best parts of this blog!

Review of the new Charlotte Jalie 3900 cardigan pattern

As I said I think last post I am interested right now in adding more basics to my closet. Life is pretty much grab and go these days. 

For this reason I really responded to many of the patterns in Jalie's new spring collection. These are wearable classics, no cold shoulder tops in the bunch, and will be good soldiers in my wardrobe for as long as I need them.

The Charlotte cardigan is one of these patterns, and as one of my favourites the new line, the one I have decided to lead off my reviews.

Here is a the line drawing and a shot of the pattern pieces:

This is a simple cardigan, long or chopped version, with or without buttons.

I made the longer version, another 3" added to the length to go with the proportions of my tall figure. I used a rayon/poly novelty knit I had on the shelves for quite a while and had no idea what I was going to do with it. Turns out this was a great choice because when the sleeves are pushed up, as mine usually are, it makes sort of white band things I think look cool.

Most definitely this is a pattern that I will be using over and over again.

I see some room too for playing around with the design. 

The bands on the top of the pocket, cuffs, and the bottom band could be made in another fabric or colour, and the square corner at the neckline could be softened with a more curved edge or even cut down into a V.

Such a useful pattern.

As it turned out I had some fabric left over so I dug out Jalie 3245 and did the racerback tank, with the back racer back redrawn a bit for more coverage over my bra straps. I haven't worn a "twin set" in a while but this one will be really useful packed for travelling. I am likely to be wearing it Tuesday when I fly down to Nashville vis Newark, figure it will be perfect for warmth on the plane and I can take off the cardigan if Tennessee is hot:

New Jalies and my review schedule

Many of you will already know that the annual release of new patterns from Jalie opened this morning.

This is the second year in which I have participated as one of the people who gets an advance look at the collection. I also have an opportunity to sew those that have most personal interest.

This is actually quite different from the "tester calls" you may have seen from a number of independent pattern designers recently (I did one of those for Love Notions last year).

The few of us who do this for Jalie sew up the patterns we like best and check out the instructions as sort of sewing copy editors. In my experience so far changes to the exact patterns themselves have never been necessary.

I really like being able to see the collections early. I like seeing the garments made up in this period by other sewers as it generally helps me see the potential for the designs for me. 

Some patterns of course aren't always relevant for me or for my family. No one figure skates or is in competitive gymnastics for example, and this year I didn't opt for any of the men's patterns since the men in my life just want me to sew more editions of the patterns I have made for them already. I guess that also speaks to the success of earlier patterns.

So annually I pick and choose and make only those patterns that have most immediate appeal to me.

Some of you may remember that last year my resolution was to make more independent patterns. I have stuck to this, the jumpsuit I made from True Bias and posted yesterday is an example. 

This process of sewing more widely from different designers has been really interesting. It has helped me redefine what really interests/matters to me most about sewing. Some of this was about remembering what I really like to do, some of it was getting over some bright and shiny object attraction.

So here's my new list of what matters to me when I choose a pattern. Your list may, and probably should be, quite different:

1. I am a construction technique fascinated sewer. My favourite sewing moments occur when I encounter a way of putting a garment together that I think is particularly clever, ingenious or new. This would be as opposed to seeing the same old text book technique suggested when I figure I know a more efficient way of doing the same thing.
2. I am a really busy person. I just don't have the time to work on seven iterations of a muslin before I cut into the good fabric - and even if I had more time I probably don't have the disposition to do that. Let's face it I am more of a how-hard-can-it-be, jump in and see what happens kind of person. I am more and more interested in a repertoire of TNT patterns that I can make up in different fabrics. Another favourite part of sewing to me is just watching that needle go up and down in the fabric. Of course I will try new patterns, like jumpsuits, but the bulk of my happy sewing is with patterns I know I trust.
3. My life requires basics. There is not a lot of room around here for shoes you can't walk in or fabrics that require special care. And there is not a lot of time for putting an outfit together or styling it. I love being able to reach into my closet and pull out a top, bottom, and jacket/cardigan and feel like I am more or less presentable. Or a dress in the summer. I need the right components for my life. And I am pretty sure I would rather look stylish than styled.
4. I really appreciate real pattern makers. I am figuring out that if you have sewn for four years and have decided to launch your own pattern line that can show. As a matter of principle I believe completely that genius or at least great talent can happen anywhere, at any time, but there is a lot to be said, as part of the development process, for knowing what you don't know and learning it. Also how many ultimate, indispensable, essential, iconic and only-tee-you-will-ever-need patterns can the universe hold? I have about five Indie pattern makers so far I think are solid and probably more than that I am wondering about.
5. I sew for more people than just myself. I dis-extend my extended family with my sewing. And since bodies are various and children grow up at the speed of light a big size range means a lot to me.  I have resolved not to spend more on patterns every month than we spend on utilities - which will be a novel experience for me.

So understanding all of the above I am returning to sewing more and more Jalie patterns. 

I have also added two new insights into the mix:

• Jalies are great TNT basic for more creative work
• I can make the same pattern in different sizes for different effects, for example I now make the pull-on pants in three different sizes for different looks. The fact Jalie has such a large size range, only an inch difference between sizes, makes this possible, versus a S-M-L range

I will be doing a review of some of the new Jalie collection in this order on these dates. 

I am really looking forward to sharing these patterns, definitely some real winners for me in this collection:

Charlotte Cardigan: Saturday May 18:

Tania Jacket: Sunday May 19:

Nikita Knit Sports top/dress: Tuesday May 21:

Nicole Knit Dress: Thursday May 23:

Simone Wide-legged Pants and Gisele Woven Top: Saturday May 25:

Michelle Dress: Sunday May 26:

Of course my versions won't be exactly like the cover shots, but I am excited to show you what I made!

Genius ideas: Jalie's Elaine scrub top

There are a lot of nurses in my family - my mother, two of my sisters, my daughter, and now, in training, my nursing student niece.

The uniforms they have worn have changed over the generations- from my mother's white stockings and starched apron and hats, to my sisters' first white nursing dresses, and then to scrub tops and drawstring pants.

It is fair to say that none of our nurses have loved their uniforms (save maybe my mother who I am sure still misses her starched hat).

The reasons the nurses don't often like what they wear to work are these:

1. The almost one size fits all styling means that most scrubs off the rack don't fit anyone (as is the case with garments that are sold to fit everyone) very well. 

Ask yourself. 

When did you notice the nurse or dental hygienist in your life and thought "gee that outfit is a flattering fit"? If you have never made this assessment you can be pretty sure that the female in the scrub feels the same way.

2. The fabric and patterns are often nothing to write home about. Women who are fashion aware after hours would kind of like some quality in the garments they wear most often. I know one of my daughter's joys when she moved into a more administrative role was she didn't have to wear scrub tops any more.

All of which is a lead up to the release of Jalie's Spring release of a scrub top pattern. Here is the line drawing of the Elaine:

Now there are a couple of features that make this a particularly interesting pattern to me and to my nurses:

1. The seaming, specifically the princess seams in the front and back, make fitting, particularly for a larger bust, waist, or hip, very easy. I didn't do that in my version for my niece, but  I did add 2" in length which was much appreciated. We are all so tall.

2. The elastic in the middle of the back adds some flattering shape to what is often a fairly shapeless garment.

3. The V neck is modest but easy to wear and comfortable.

4. There are four front pockets - I hope you can see that there are smaller pockets inside the larger front pockets - a neat little detail that gives more places for more stuff but does not detract from the overall neat professional look of the top.

And of course making your own scrub top means you can choose your own fabric. 

When I asked my niece what she fabric she wanted she said  bright. Right now she is working with dementia patients and bright and cheerful colours are what her patients like best.

I had a lot of fun choosing fabrics. I settled on a combination of seersucker and a loutish print that seemed to say scrub top to this non nurse who has no idea what she is talking about.

Once again photographed by my niece's intrepid boyfriend here are some shots of her scrub top after work, modelled with the leggings I made her I notice, with emphasis on the details she particularly liked:

Hand in the inside the inside pocket shot

A shot hopefully showing how the two pockets are layered together. I also think this shows the vent at the side and the shaping achieved by the simple elastic insert in the back

Such a nice neckline

Isn't this a pretty back?

Finally my niece is very trim but I love this shot because it really shows how not boxy and frumpy the cut of this top is. Huge improvement on RTW scrubs

 My niece is pleased with this top and I was so happy to make it for her. 

Also I am secretly thrilled that I now have a great pattern in the reservoir that I can use  to make her scrub tops for her birthday and Christmas. I am also thinking that she would get a kick out of seasonal prints and this will give me an excuse to indulge my own taste in loud and crazy prints. 

Sarah has an infinite need for tops like these for work. Now I have a great pattern that fits, I think this is could to be the start of quite an interesting sewing partnership ...

Genius ideas: Jalie's Frederic hoodie and my husband with his clothes on

I have made my husband a few hooded or polar fleece jackets in the past, I will mention no pattern names, and I haven't been too happy with them.

To be perfectly honest those attempts looked home-made. No other way to put it. Despite the fact they were actually made at home, this is never the look I am going for. The shapes of those jackets were boxy and the details minimal, they just didn't have style, which when you are making a hoodie is already a major challenge going in.

When something you have made is put on only when the oil has to be changed in the car... well you know what I mean.

So when I saw a preview of the new 2018 spring Jalie line-up I was pretty interested to see a new men and boys pattern for a hooded jacket.

When I got a look at the construction tricks and nifty details (see first post in this series) in this pattern, well folks I knew we had a winner.

So let's start again with looking at the line art:

Now these pictures, although very nice, don't really make evident the really cool features of this pattern. So I am going to share that with you now:

1. The hood is lined with a lighter weight knit. In addition to providing some opportunity for playing around with other fabrics, this means that when the hood is not on the wearer's head it still looks nice and classy open around the neck.

2. Additionally the seam that connects the hood to the body of the jacket is covered with a knit binding. Again this is a finishing touch that shows and is another chance to play around with fabric.

Here's a shot of the inside of the hood:

3. Speaking of which there are a lot of seams for different fabric/colour blocking, on either sides of the pockets, top and bottom of the jacket pieces, and of course the hood lining and binding. I actually used four different kinds of grey and black knit I had lying around in my version.

4. Last but best, the pockets. These are slant pockets (so neat inside and outside and so comfortable for the hands) with a concealed zipper opening. Now I know you are going to think pocket like this sound like a lot of trouble but these pockets are a snap to make - due to some particularly genius Jalie drafting that I can't even begin to describe in my own words. If I would try I would say you sew on on side of the zipper to a front, fold it over so it makes a sort of welt imitation thing and top stitch the remaining zipper tape down. And then you stand back and think to yourself I can't believe how easy that was and how totally slick it looks. Every jacket pattern should have this pocket. I have never seen anything like it before.

Here are shots of the pockets from the outside and showing the concealed zipper:

5. The fit is completely ready-to-wear if RTW in fact fitted better. This is no no-style, sloppy hoodie.

I used sweatshirt fleece in grey and black and assorted remnants of grey to make this. I am pretty pleased with myself for how it turned out.

Now the pictures.

Recently traumatized by wearing turquoise underwear for a photo shoot my husband decided to take his own pictures for this review.

Knowing him well (I do make his underwear after all) I knew right away that this was his maneuver to turn the photo shoot into his favourite thing which is to fool around with a gadget, in this case a remote control shutter he could hold himself.

Since his most recent gadget enthusiasm resulted in the drone being crashed lens side down on a large rock I decided that having him selfie the shots was a good idea. I was also aware after the underwear shoot I sort of owed him a bit more control of our process.

So here is the first shot, showing the jacket pretty well I think:

We thought this picture turned out quite well and gives you some sense of the pockets.

Next my husband thought you would really want to see him standing beside his motorcycle (out of the garage for its first of many seasonal trips down to the grocery store, which is where they most of the time go).

Unfortunately my husband got a lot of the motor cycle in this shot but missed out on his head. Such is the life of remote control technology.

Just ask the drone.

Sewing for Christmas

For some reason that is not entirely clear to me I decided to make everything for Christmas.

I think it might be as sort of a celebration of having this fall off from teaching combined with a sort of if not now when sort of thing.

In general I do not believe in putting yourself under a lot of production pressure, particularly over the holidays.

Seared in my brain is an incident at a sewing class I taught years ago when one woman had such a melt down over the stress of trying to get a huge amount of sewing done that she started crying and couldn't stop. We ended up having to call her husband to come and get her. Really matching sweatshirts for 27 people was not worth it.

That said I decided to use November to immerse myself in my projects in a sort of university student doing the term papers sort of way. This way I won't have much to do before the day actually happens and I can just enjoy my family, everyone will be back in Nova Scotia this year, and eat.

I can't for security reasons show you everything, or even mostly what I have made, due to the fact that the recipients have access to internet. 

Here are a few things I can show you however with a few thoughts on how to sew for this season without losing your mind, although it is never clear around here that I have managed to achieve that.

First the requisite Christmas jammies. I have made two nightgowns for the little girls and two pairs of pyjamas for little boys. I used Jalie's wonderful multi-sized PJ pattern, now available only as a .pdf and Peek-a-boo patterns Sugarplum nightgown for the girls:

They were a pleasant sew (I simplified the bottoms on the pyjamas to a plain elastic waist, rather than the drawstring through buttonholes Jalie suggest).

I have to say too that I recommend Peek-a-Boo for gift sewing. I used their diaper bag and changing clutch for my niece's new baby present and both were far simpler to sew than many other patterns I looked at. This nightgown pattern is also very easy, and multi-sized. Nice to have a place to look for fast projects when you need them.

I have also downloaded their sock pattern, on the recommendation of my friend Pat, and may try those too. Apparently the toe seam is on the top, not the end of the foot, and that makes these comfortable.

Sewing socks is pretty nutty as an idea. This is probably why it is a sure thing I will make some.

I also turned around a fast tree skirt for my son and daughter-in-law in San Francisco. 

They called me Sunday night to say they had bought their first tree and asked me if I would make a tree skirt for them some time. Doesn't have to be this year my son said etc. As if I am not on permanent standby for any chance to do anything for my very competent and self-sufficient adult children.

We texted a few ideas (me secretly hoping they would not want one of those elaborate quilted numbers since I am not much of that kind of sewer) and they went for something tasteful and modern.  Since they are modern and have much better taste than I have this was no surprise. 

At any rate I went from design confirmation text to a trip down to Canada Post in less than a day. This pleased me as I am not a particularly efficient person.

Here is the finished product:

For fabric I used some soft-shell, rainwear on one side, low pile fleece on the other, fleece side up of course, because it had a nice weight and of course did not have to be lined.

I finished all the edges with a sort of satin stitch on my serger, stitch length set to close and Wooly Nylon in the upper looper, so it was basically a two seam project only. I made the pattern myself on the back of some old wrapping paper with a dinner plate used as a template for the hole in the middle.

The stars were stick-ons from Michaels that I glued more securely with some E6000.

Not sure how sturdy this whole unit is but when it wears out I will make something else for them.

So folks that's why I have been AWOL but rest assured there have been multiple blog posts written in my head.

Some might even make it to print fairly soon.

Pattern review: two new Jalies

I am in the process of experimenting with new shapes and styles.

I mean why not?

What I wear day-to-day matters to me. I want to be comfortable and I want to be interested in what I have on. I enjoy wearing new clothes and new to me styles. Some times this works out and sometimes it doesn't in as in a  "You have to be kidding" evaluation from my eagle-eyed daughter.

Right now I am trying out new pants shapes. 

It's a bit of a campaign.  I am getting sort of sick of the slim pants and then the long top to hide the gut routine. Maybe I want to dress without feeling there is a part of me I want to hide. Having to think like that gets sort of tiring.

Any of you identify with this?

So when the latest raft of Jalie patterns came out I realized they presented me with some opportunities to try out something I never thought I would wear. 

Never want to get to be a rusty dresser. 

Also the Fabricville at the bottom of the street now carries Jalies and they also have some nice tencel pant weight and some very silky bamboo.

This was all I needed.

So fooling around I decided to make the Vanessa fluid pants and the Marie-Claude knit top.

Here are the pattern pictures:

The Marie-Claude is a raglan T-shirt with a shaped hem and a fairly high crew neckline, with an option as well for a turtleneck or a close hood. 

Given it is now spring, even in Nova Scotia, I decided to make the crew neckline. The result is what I would call a base layer type top, fine on its own, particularly as it has a body skimming as opposed to very fitted silhouette, but ideal as a top to wear under a jacket too. 

It seems these days that many necklines are either scoop or boat neck and I really enjoy wearing a comfortable round neck for a change. I can see this pattern could easily be made in a lycra for a sunshirt to wear around the pool with the kids and I think I might trace a smaller size and do just that.

I made a few changes to this top in my version. First I lengthened it by 2”, something that was super easy to do as the top pattern pieces are one lower section and two different top sections (one for the front and one for the back) that you lay above the bottom pattern pieces to cut each out. It was easy to just spread the pattern pieces apart at 2” at this point. I am tall and this extra 2” is an almost automatic adjustment for me.

I twin-needled the hem of the top but the sleeves have a band at the bottom - there is a slight little boy p.j top vibe going on here that I like. Little boys are generally very comfortable.

The Vanessa tracker pants are excellent. For some reason all us home sewers for years struggled with pants fitting and now we finally have access to great pants drafts with real ready-to-wear fit. This seems to me to have eliminated so many of our fitting issues. And about time too.

Not the most flattering picture but this view really gives you an idea of the shape of the leg

These pants really require a fabric with drape, indicated quite clearly in the flowing pants description, so the tencel is perfect. 

They can be made with either the elastic at the bottom, which I did, or hemmed, which I might do in the next pair. The pattern has interesting nice deep pockets and a flat section at centre front the break up the gathers of the otherwise full elastic waist casing. This flat piece is supposed to be a place for eyelets and a drawstring but I left that detail out in mine – I don’t like or need any extra bulk around my waist.

I also made one change to the pants after I had worn them for a day and surprisingly this was to shorten them 1 ½”.

I decided after having observed other folks wearing tracker pants (OK so these were bearded mean barrelling past me on bikes on the streets of San Francisco) and it seemed to me that theirs were sleeker at the bottom than the sort of bloused look I got when I tried out the length specified in the pattern. As a result I shortened these pants before I signed off on them.

It's pretty cool to have two new patterns turn out so well. 
Nothing like instant TNTs!