Make it Sew… again

Here I go again…

After the unqualified success of my first attempt at sewing (“unqualified” being an apposite word here), I decided to make another pair of boxers, to prove that the first time wasn’t a complete fluke.

The Snail had some fabric (see? I know these technical terms now) that would be perfect so I set about cutting that out with the pattern pieces I made last time. This was much quicker than before, of course. However, the Snail thought it would be good to modify the recipe, I mean pattern, a little. As these boxers are for sleeping in*, they don’t need the complication of the fly but could benefit from slightly longer legs (there has to be a Tom Cruise joke in there somewhere).

I’ve been overlocked

The Snail overlocked the edges (the overlocker is a way too scary machine for me to use) and then I sewed all the bits together, using the family Singer. It all went really quickly, despite a little jiggery-pokery required for fitting the elastic waistband. There was almost no swearing.

Concentrating…

… more concentration….

… they’re pants, well, boxers…

Eh, voila! Another sewing success. At this rate, I’ll have new set of sleepy-in clothes by 2042!

oOo

* I don’t mean as a substitute for a bed, they’re not that big.

 

Make it Sew! Part 2…

Moments before I realised I had sewn the fabric to my leg…

Previously on “Make it Sew!”: I drew around things then cut them out, before retiring to my bed with a large bottle of fine single malt. Questions? No? Excellent…

And now the conclusion:

Having (just about) come through the trauma of tracing the pattern and cutting the cloth, there now loomed the potential nightmare of actually sewing the pieces together.

As mentioned in Part 1, I tried the Snail’s Sewing-with-electrickery machine – turns out it isn’t like driving a car on my PS4 with a steering wheel and pedals because a) the machine doesn’t corner well and b) you can’t sew your thumb to the steering wheel using a PS4. Instead, I was to sew together my fabric pieces with the family hand sewing machine (because it is driven by hand rather than it sews hands, although I am pretty sure it could if push came to unfortunately timed shove).

This Singer machine is about 100 years old and has been in the Snail family (of which I am now honoured to be considered a part of) since it was new. Four generations have used this machine, but none have brought anything like the level of incompetence to its operation as I proudly have.

Turns out, I hadn’t sewed it to my leg. Just my fingers.

With some Snail-based help, I followed the instructions, backstitching seams (I actually know what that means!) and generally enjoying the whole experience. And the result? Pants. Well, I didn’t think it was that bad. No, I mean the result was a pair of boxer shorts, with an elasticated waist and everything…

Eh, voila! A pair of boxers in just under three weeks!

Modesty does not allow me to show a picture of me modelling them… oh, alright then, if you insist…

oOo