Saw the cutest little knit pants the other day at one of Asheville's many fun boutiques, Hip Replacements on Lexington Avenue. When I was in the store, I was thinking, "I should copy those!", but of course I forgot about them pretty much instantly.
Then one of my swing dancing buddies showed up in a pair, and my jealousy prodded me into action.
Only after sewing up my interpretation did I search for a photo of the inspiration pants, and I see that the original is more like leggings, and mine are definitely bloomers. I may just have to do a legging version to compare, but I'm very happy with the bloomers! I also notice that I am not tall and thin and wearing towering heels, but I'm okay with all of that.
I forgive you if you think these are wacky!
The pattern I used was Kwik Sew 3115, size small.
I shortened them a very large amount (maybe 12"?), for a finished length of about 24". Instead of the waistband, I just added an elastic casing at the top, since it would always be covered. I had plenty of length to accommodate a 3/4" casing.
Naturally, constructing the pants was lightning fast, but adding the ruffles took much longer than I had anticipated. It would have been faster to sew the ruffles to the hemline while the pants were still flat (sewn together at the outer leg seam only), but I wasn't sure of the spacing and depth of the ruffles.
The bottom tier is a stretch lace, gathered and with the bottom edge left raw. The jersey tiers are 2 1/2" wide, with a serger rolled and lettuced hem. And the satin tier is a piece of satin ribbon I gathered and attached (that was a pain!). I marked the attachment lines with chalk and sewed the ruffles over the freearm of my Juki F600. Many cylindrical items can be sewn without a freearm, but it was really necessary for this application.
The matching skirt was already in my closet, an earlier make of Kwik Sew 3672.
These add so much comfort and warmth to this flimsy little skirt. My mind is busily envisioning a host of possibilities for ruffled bloomers.
OOH! How is it that Helena Bonham Carter hasn't wrestled you to the ground for those? Thats a compliment by the by- I loves them!!!!
ReplyDeleteLove Helena! What a fun reference! I had actually pinned a photo of her to a Pinterest board of fashion inspiration a few days before sewing these, so she must have been an unconscious influence.
DeleteHa ha that you felt the need to qualify your comment as a compliment!
So fun! Those are very Magnolia Pearl - a Lagenlook clothing designer. lol to Prttynpnk's comment!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun project! I love the vintagey vibe.
ReplyDeleteRunning late to this (as usual) but I just love your bloomers! And the comment about Helena BC just cracked me up. So perfect....
ReplyDeleteI like them with both outfits, this and the newer one. Your shoes were good choices for both as well. I would think the right shoes would be important in them looking good.
ReplyDelete