My Newest Greenie Stick 'Em Pants

     

A Recent Sewing Creation
Photoshop Filter "PaintDaubs"

     When I was a kid I had a pair of green pants this same color, that my mother had sewn for me. The went well with a little green striped tee shirt I had.

      I well remember an argument with my father about these pants. He wanted me to wear this ensemble, which he termed my "greenie stick 'em outfit" when he was taking me some place and I just downright refused. Why, I wonder now? I'm pretty sure I liked the outfit. Likely, I was just being ornery.  I bet you anything I outgrew them soon after. Wonder if some other little girl inherited them. Did she cheese off her parents with her own ideas about clothing choices as well?.....

      I'm still partial to green pants, though I noticed when taking an informal poll at the shopping center that no other women were wearing colored pants.  Sometimes I have to nerve myself up to wear what I like, and ignore the prevailing mode. I blogged about that a few days back in What the Arty Romantic Wears on Black Friday, but I'm still mulling it over.

I finished sewing these elastic waist, corduroy pants about two weeks ago and I think I've worn them five or six times since. We've just hit slightly cooler, and occasionally rainy, weather here in our temperate climate. These and my new print cord pants have been just the thing for the current spot on the thermometer. I've put off getting out my light weight wool pants in favor of these comfortable, cotton charmers. 

My experience with this thin corduroy is that it doesn't last much longer than one, or maybe two, seasons. But it's still worthwhile sewing pants that feel so good and work well walking, biking or hiking. They'd be good for travel too. 

These are another shot at an old favorite tried and true pattern, MCCalls 2791. As I mentioned in my November Podcast, "The Lady Wears Trousers", this pattern is out of print. But it's still available through many resellers on the web inexpensively.

I created thread belt loops in these pants as well as the linen ones I made several weeks back. I'm loving those loops. Links to Suzanne Beaubien's youtube tutorial that shows you how to create these loops in the show notes for the November Podcast.

What the Arty Romantic Wears on Black Friday

I sewed these pants
and vest for a Fashion 110
class project

My daughter just took me out for a post-holiday celebration where everybody spends a lot of money, for which we didn't actually budget. I know others do, but I always expect to do a lot of sewing, and other creative goop,  to accomplish  holiday gifts. It doesn't always work out that way.

Didn't buy any gifts today, but I did check out the fashions of the different ladies shopping at Stanford Shopping Center. (There were fellas there too, but I don't do a ton of sewing for my husbands - mostly only nightshirts and boxer shorts.) I decided to analyze what was typical shopping garb.

About 80% of the women, seemingly independent of age, were wearing jeans. Many were very fitted. The majority seemed to be straight leg jeans, though boot cut was definitely well represented. Many of the rest were wearing some form of leggings or heavy tights. More were worn with skirts than I would have expected, though a goodly number were combined with a tunic-length tee, sweater or long jacket (that hid what went under).

I was dressed in the outfit to the left, recently completed as part of my sewing projects for Fashion 110. I like this kind of clothing, because it does make me feel arty and romantic. No other women were wearing any kind of print pants. I didn't even see any print skirts or dresses. Very monotone, few colored pants (except a pair of great yellow one on a handsome young man, who was there with another handsome young man.)

I do have jeans I like, and plan to begin working on learning to sew jeans. But you'll still see me in my pretty new print corduroy pants and vest, from time to time.


It is important to stick with my own sense of style, what I like to sew and wear. Maybe I'm better off not keeping score, though. It might keep me from following my own inner enchantment.

Piece of My Heart: You may also enjoy this posting about the piecing project involved in creating the above vest.