HI!! i'm doing artfight this year (~pippitworld) BUT!!!! I am keeping it super low-key.
I wanna draw art for my online friends regardless of if you're in artfight, (IDGAF abt points and the artfight rules get a little overwhelming sometimes) so if were mutuals anywhere or you just like my stuff feel free to @ or dm me here or @pippitworld (or @ fruityfresh on bsky) and ill gladly give gift art/do art trades through the whole month of july :D
sorry this was going to be a tags addition because I only get to use my coated pantone swatchbook like 6 times a year when i have a new enamel pin to design, but...
every year small towns and indigenous communities across canada are burnt to nothing by horrific wildfires and americans go on the internet to complain about it and blame us bc the smoke has spread to their state. i’m so tired.
go yell at mark carney or your own local politicians about climate change and urge them to do more to stop it. the namaygoosisagagun first nation had their community destroyed today. you can find a link to donate to them here. donate to your local food bank. go to the beach next week when the smoke clears and you don’t have to think about it anymore while the people who’s lives have been destroyed will have to pick up the pieces and try to move forward when we are already in a huge cost of living crisis across the country.
rbing with other places you can donate to to support those impacted by the fires!
true north aid (an organization aimed at providing support to remote/northern indigenous people in canada)
canadian red cross wildfire fund
ontario spca and humane society (links to their donate page specifically aimed at supporting pets and animals in areas impacted by the fires)
and the anishinabek nation’s page where you can donate to support the namaygoosisagagun nation who had their land destroyed by the fires is still accepting donations
i am trying to make some pants. many people #online are losing their gourd over how easy this pattern is and i'm contrarianfully a little peeved about the assumption of serger ownership, 3/8th topstitching that fails to enclose 1/2" turned over raw edges, general expected minor failure cases of a pattern you buy on etsy
BUT i got it all cut out from leftovers without buying any new fabric so that's my win
Overall review: it makes sense this patternmaker has been operating on Etsy for 2.5 years, this seems like a 2.5 years of operation quality pattern to me. It's very cleanly presented and produces a end result that I'm jazzed about! But it also seems incurious about seam finishes/attention to detail, and I feel that beginner sewists attempting this pattern might not know what they're missing out on.
What I like
Easy breezy fit with no fit mods (except turning the cuffs up 1.5" vs 1") - big fan of gusset and knee dart
Mega comfortable fabric choices using stash only (undyed slightly stretchy twill from Fabrics R Us, Rifle Paper Co Camont - Poppy Fields - Natural Unbleached Canvas off someone on etsy I don't have customer loyalty to)
Pleasant embedded links to Youtube tutorial
Really big fan of the carabiner loop
Cute!!!
What I changed
Hopelessly reliant on crayola washable markers + gluesticks for holding turned-over edges in place. Also got into banging on bulky seams with a hammer. PRO TIP: use oxyclean to guarantee washable markers wash out.
Oh my god the pattern doesn't recommend a denim needle for the many layers of midweight fabric? Denim needle was a huge QOL improvement.
Did not buy topstictching thread. Used regular thread.
To squeeze this out of limited fabric: shortened knee patches ~1", cut pocket facings off grain, bound edge of weird back pocket with selvedge instead of cutting out this shape of piece
Also extended the trapezoid with floral fabric to create a hidden lining for the pocket that layers on top of it (another fabric-saving measure)
Added a patch pocket for my phone on front right, inspired by the Jones Trousers
Skipped hammer loop (despite using a hammer while making this pattern)
Flat felled inside leg seams, butt curve. The instructions simply say "finish" for all seams btw :(. The gusset to inside leg seam join proved impossible to flat fell so I just zigzagged it right to hell.
Added a baste together and try on step while installing gusset before all the flat felling
Bias bound outside leg seams, tacked flat at points along leg. Kind of a Hong Kong seam attempt.
Reinforced outside leg seams at very thick joining points... otherwise pressing open as recommended means you will see daylight through your pants
Used a shorter zipper (the actual length of the fly) (already on hand). This nerfed me on the mandatory-pull-zipper-head-out-of-the-way-so-your-machine-foot-fits step
Hand basted down the waistband before machine sewing. God I hate waistbands.
Made a wretched buttonhole with my zigzag stitch. Could be worse! It's holding the button!
What I would do next time
Check front and back pocket dimensions against each other before sewing to pants; mark with washable marker to ensure topstitching lines up
Trim pocket foldover so it's fully encased in topstitching (it's fraying now in an annoying way)
Extra line of topstitching to completely secure down pocket facing
Either use a longer zipper or a different fly construction method that allows better checking on functionality as I go. I am not jazzed about trimming down a metal zipper (pattern doesn't mention what tools to use for that!) so probably the latter
Shorten legs/add contrast cuffs
Maybe add little darts in the back
Try to figure out a way to do the waistband that I hate less. Sew inside seam first?
Fix weird little gapping at top of zipper/grade in at waist a little?
The knee panel is bait for quilters and I might fall for it
I also don't think this is gender neutral unless you grade the bejesus out of it, as the pattern assumes a 10" waist-hip difference.
Girl this is not a tip. This is just something you have to do for the pattern to work.