My True Bias Hudson Pants

This week Kelli from True Bias released her first pattern - the Hudson Pant. I was lucky enough to be asked by Kelli to pattern test this pattern, so have actually been wearing these pants every day for a couple of weeks now. Yep, every day.

To me, these pants are super cool tracksuit pants. I have one pair of old-school Adidas tracksuit pants, and they never see the light of day. Michael would possibly divorce me if I wore them outside the house (hehehe). But these, the Hudson Pant, have been outside, to the park, to the supermarket, round to a friend's house and everything in between.

Now, these are my pattern testing pair. I haven't sewn up the final pattern (yet), but Kelli has told us she made the following changes to the FIT of the pants, according to tester feedback:

1. added extra room to the calves and ankle cuff for a bit more comfort and ease (Kelli says that she doesn't honestly think that it is enough that you will notice in pictures, but that we will feel the difference.) 
2. changed the way that the pocket detail is attached to the pant.  It is now a smidge smaller than the area it is attached to so that when stretching to fit it will lay a bit flatter against your hip.

So the final pattern will not fit exactly as these do, but I love these so much I really wanted to blog them. Kelli was fine about that. 

I whipped up a quick muslin of the testing pattern and found I need to lengthen the pattern through the leg by 7.5cm, and the front and back crotch by 2.5cm each. Kelli has drafted the pattern for a 5'5" woman, and I'm 5'8", so this was as I had expected. 

Some details. Including the fact that I did not stitch that bottom line of top-stitching very evenly! Whoops. 

My fabric came from Tessuti. The patterned fabric is a lightweight ponte, and the black contrasting fabric is a soft, medium weight ponte. Unfortunately the patterned stuff has pilled a bit. 

There's been a bit going on in blogland recently regarding pattern testing. To let you know, I wasn't paid to test (apart from receiving the final pattern for free), I was asked to test within a two week time-frame, Kelli was extremely receptive to feedback, and I loved doing it. I don't know how she selected her pattern testers - my guess for why I asked is that we did the Sew Bossy thing together and therefore 'know' each other through that. 

This is my most worn garment I've sewn this year. I need another pair so I don't literally wear these out. I'll have to start looking around for some fabric. So - how about you? Are you going sew a pair of the Hudson Pant? 

More Pattern Testing: The Reow! Alexa T-Top

I have been lucky enough to pattern test twice for Tessuti! This time I tested their newly-today-released Alexa T-Top Pattern.

I must admit this is the most perfect T-shirt I have ever owned. Most of the time T-shirts are either too tight through the shoulders relative to my hips, too short, not long enough through the sleeve or the neckline is too high.

But with my Alexa, the neckline is perfect, the sleeves didn't need lengthening, the shoulder width is perfect and it just nicely swathes around my hips without being too tight. I made the size small and simply lengthened it by 4cm. I knew I needed to as I measured my favourite tank top as a comparison.

I made it up in a very soft and luscious Dolce & Gabbana leopard print jersey - REOW!!!

The pattern is very simple. Sleeves, back, front and binding. It calls for you to twin-stich the neck binding and all the hems. This would be a good pattern to learn to twin stitch. I used my walking foot as well as the twin-needle as the jersey is very soft. So perhaps if you are a knit-beginner, choose a more stable cotton jersey or a viscose jersey with more weight behind it.

I have worn this five times since I finished sewing it two weekends ago. The only thing that has stopped me wearing it again is that it now needs washing.

I'm wearing it above with another Moss Mini Skirt, made in a pale, lighter weight denim. I wear this skirt everywhere. Unfortunately my darker denim one has somehow gotten bleached out streak marks on it - I hung it inside in the shade so I'm not sure what happened.

I'm going to look for some more fabric to make another Alexa this weekend when I'm in Sydney - my list is growing!!

Tessuti's Valerie Top

Did you see Tessuti released their new pattern today called the Valerie Top? Well, here is my version:

Before you go thinking I am an amazingly quick seamstress to have purchased the pattern, prewashed my fabric, cut the pattern out, cut the fabric out and sewed the whole thing in a couple of hours, I made this top last weekend - I was lucky enough to be a pattern tester for Colette (note: sewing this top did take only a few hours - but I'd prepped my pattern and fabric beforehand).

I've never been a pattern tester before and I have to say I was lucky to cut my teeth on one of the Tessuti patterns. It came together like a dream. I swear that when Colette drafts those patterns she is thinking of me ;-)

I made a size small in a silk/cotton voile and didn't have to make any adjustments. Pretty cool. The instructions are very clear and make the slightly more advanced elements of this pattern extremely easy. For example, Colette outlines perhaps the easiest way I've ever seen to attach bias binding that has been cut on an angle. Whenever I've had to do that in the past I've always sat there staring at the two tails of binding for about three hours before yelling "Michael!!!!!!!!!!"

I really recommend this pattern. I'm going to make a plain black or navy in a silk crepe de chine -- this one goes perfectly with my Clovers and my Moss Mini skirt so I figure I should make another one!!

I've got a few projects to post soon - catching up from my sewing over the Christmas/New Year break. Currently I'm sewing Vintage Vogue 7164 in an Italian printed linen I picked up in Brisbane. What are you sewing?