Leggings and Tops

I made two pairs of baby leggings on Friday and tried out a couple of different construction techniques:

The pair on the right has hemmed leg openings, which I did on my Janome coverstitch machine. One of these days, I may get around to replacing that machine, but I’ve got it adjusted perfectly now and it makes a good stitch. That pair also has an elastic waistband. The pair on the left has a “yoga band” waistband with no elastic, and cuffs on the bottom. The longer cuffs on baby clothes make more sense, as they can be folded up and let down as the baby grows.

I used the last of the dinosaur knit print for one more knot-top baby beanie. That one and the green one both have a ribbed knit band. I might run up another pair of baby leggings and use the same black ribbed knit for cuffs.

Tera called and offered to come help with the serger class next month, an offer I happily accepted. She knows a lot about serging and sewing with knits and will be a big help as an extra pair of hands. I’m not planning to include the baby leggings in this first class; these were more for me to play around with construction techniques. A leggings class really needs to be a class unto itself.

The weather yesterday was awful—it hovered around 30 degrees all day and alternated between rain and snow. The poor husband was out stripping a foundation in the morning and came home soaking wet. I spent the day making some tops for myself. This is a pattern I drafted off a Liz Claiborne top—Liz Claiborne used to be my favorite brand because it fit me well and looked good, especially back when Isaac Mizrahi was designing for that label. Alas, ever since the Liz brand was taken over by JC Penney, the quality has gone way downhill. Everything is now too short, the sizing is capricious (will I wear a size 6 or a size 12 in this pair of pants?) and the quality has suffered. I took one of my favorite Liz tops and copied it and made myself a top last fall. I wear it all the time because it is so comfortable. It’s a simple tunic-length pattern. When I make these long-sleeve versions, I add a turtleneck, but I also have pattern pieces to make it with short sleeves and a plain neckband.

I made a cheery flower version:

And a black one with small white flowers.

Each of these takes about two hours, start to finish. It’s so nice to have a top that is long enough on me. I’m about comfort, not fashion. I also know that the clothes I make won’t fall apart after one wash.

I’ve got a nice supply of knit fabric laid up. I might make a few more of these. I’ll need some summer versions eventually, if it stops snowing.

After the husband came home yesterday, he put new front brake pads and sensors on the BMW. I need to get the snow tires taken off this week and then I can put that car back in sport mode.