Every once in a while, I get a hare-brained idea. Like, “Wouldn’t it be nice to sew jeans from scratch? For a growing boy? Solely on the treadle machines?! Cool! I’ll have it done by next weekend!” Yes, I thought that. I still stand by it, except for the ‘next weekend’ part. In September, as the weather was finally cooling off, I finished up B’s jeans. I started them a long time ago, but was savvy enough to put a bunch of extra length in them. This kid grows up far faster than he grows out.

Mostly, I wanted to see whether I could make “real” pants that didn’t look homemade. These pants represent my first yoke, half-elastic waistband, pockets, placket, inset zipper, belt loops, and back pockets. Whew. I’ve made pants before, but of the elastic pull-on variety with no pockets.

My favorite thing about these pants is that the front pockets are sewn down, which eliminates the annoying white bunch of lining that always seems to appear at the top of my boys’ jean pockets. Pushing down the lining when they put their pants on in the morning is not high on the boys’ priority list. B’s favorite thing about them is the gingham lining on the inside of the front pocket. It was a piece of fabric from Aunt Ellie’s stash, and he’s thrilled that it is now his. That, of course, charms me to no end.

I managed the whole shebang on my treadle machines, with the exception of the button hole. I *could* have done it on my Necchi, but I managed to mess up my timing on it, and so brought out my trusty old electric machine for the button hole just to have it all done. B was terribly patient, and claims these as his favorite pants. Consequently, I only have the photos that I snapped in a hurry when they were first complete.

The pattern is from Ottobre Design’s Autumn 2007 kids issue (#39: Boy’s slim-fit pants.) They fit B perfectly. Well, two days after I hemmed them, they were too short again, but that’s not the pattern’s fault. Luckily, I left enough fabric to let out the hem. I can be taught.

In other clothing news, I’ve been playing about with embroidery. Both of these patterns are from Urban Threads. I did them on soft plain T-shirts. I’m lucky that I have boys who want to wear the things I make. One of these days, I’ll get around embroidering something for myself. At least I won’t grow out of it!

Yes, I am still knitting, but it is all socks, and nothing much to show for it. So, I’ll show you a bit of embroidery instead. My kids are knee-walkers and sliders, so I am happy if I can keep one pair of jeans unpatched. I was feeling all spring-like and embroidered a lucky little clover for this one. Unfortunately, after a time through the washer and dryer, the blanket stitch around the outside was trying to shrink like crazy. Maybe I should use doubled sewing thread for around the outside instead of embroidery floss?

Up next is this little guy. When I was on my forced knitting break due to my damaged nerve, I found that I could still hold a sewing needle. I found a clip art owl to trace and embroider. My original intention was to make a small trinket bag out of him, but I’m really not sure what he’s going to be now.

I had quite a hard time trying to find any marking pencil that would show up well on jeans. I finally asked a friend who does this sort of thing what she used, and she recommended washable markers (yes, the kind kids use.) It worked swimmingly, until I tried to wash the owl. In most of the areas, everything went well, but the marker really soaked into the floss in the eye area. All that satin stitching just sucked the ink right up.

I spent a lot of time with paper towels, trying to get all of the ink out. You can still see some in the eyes if you look. If anyone has suggestions for marking on jeans, or for what to do with this little owl, give me a shout. He stands between 5 and 6 inches tall.

In fibery news, a new local yarn shop opened up. I need another project like I need a new hole in the head, but I had to go over and see the new place! It’s a lovely shop (Downtown Knits in Apex, NC) and I walked out with this pretty gradient sock yarn from the Unique Sheep.

If you are going to be near Raleigh next weekend, stop by our 2nd annual Carolina Fiberfest! I’ll be around on Friday and Sunday afternoon, if you want to say ‘hi’. A lot of fun demos and neat vendors are all lined up to go. I can’t wait!