Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Cargoes

Whoops,
Somebodies forget to try on their winter uniforms.
Somebodies found out they only had woollen school skirts.
Oh dear......

 And Somebodies did some serious grovelling.
The weekend before school went back I knocked the up some Oliver+S Nature Walk pants. I had already sized the pattern up to a 14 for Hugo a few years back, but I got caught out with the super firm Canterbury knit I used.
The front was fine but the back was way too low.
You can see how much I had to add to the back.
I was able to salvage the first pair with a yoga pant style top.
The Twins were well pleased.
The next challenge was to modify the Oliver+S Field Trip cargoes to fit.
I added a zip fly and fly shield and a fun splash of colour with a internal button.
To allow for the extra ease I had to add for their hips I pleated the excess fabric and top stitched the pleats in place.
I had to extend the back a great deal to cover Elsa'a derriere and add width to allow for her hips. Two serious darts took care of the excess fabric.
I did add a separate waistband as well and ran some elastic through the back casing for a perfect fit.
A scrap of measuring tape twill tape from the lovely Peta (from Purl Soho no less) upped the 'school' theme.
And some gorgeous Liberty binding from the gorgeous Justine matched the button and made them good&sneaky
The fit is spot on.
Nice high waist but good derrière ease.
Groovy Bellows pocket.
Worn here with the Field Trip tee.
With lots and lots of top stitching!

Now to make Zara's!

xx N

PS I do have some piccies of my pattern altering if anyone is interested? 
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16 comments:

  1. nest full of eggsApril 29, 2014 at 6:10 AM

    Good save with the yoga style pant top. I'm loving all the gray. I am currently working with some gray cotton twill and it is a dream! The pink top is very complementary with the gray Field Trip Cargo pants. And I'm sure all of that topstitching was very time consuming. You should really be on a tv show like The Great British Sewing Bee? Have you watched it?

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    1. motherof5April 29, 2014 at 4:26 PM

      Thank you Rachel.
      Our uniform is reasonably flexible, grey or navy bottoms or a woollen school skirt (which I think is lovely).
      Zara and Elsa were asked last term to do a try on, and they put it off. The ensuing panic was very amusing and i got lots of cupboards sorted to butter me up.
      The pink top is the Field tee is City Weekend, I have only let the Twins wear it for good as I want to hand it down, it is such a lovely knit.
      I would love to watch that show but we don't get a telly reception where we are.
      xx N

      Delete
    2. nest full of eggsApril 29, 2014 at 7:54 PM

      Maybe you'd be able to watch it on YouTube??

      Delete
    3. motherof5April 29, 2014 at 9:44 PM

      Another slightly crappy thing about being in the country, limited internet access.

      I may check it out on our holiday though, lots of hotels have free Wi-fi.

      Delete
  2. MashaApril 29, 2014 at 7:11 AM

    Very professional-looking, as usual. And as I have recently sewn these (in a much smaller size) I am very impressed at the amount of work you had to do to size these up for young women.

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    1. motherof5April 29, 2014 at 4:29 PM

      To be honest Masha, I was way out of my depth. If I had known the work I would not have started it but now I have a pattern that fits well (with some growth room).
      E&Z are barely 5 foot tall and have short legs and a long body, so ladies patterns (even petite ones) have too much leg length. For school that is just not practical.
      Thank you so much for noticing, it was a lot of topstitching.
      xx N

      Delete
  3. justmejayApril 29, 2014 at 2:06 PM

    Those cargoes are fabulous Nicole! Every time I see your work, I am seriously impressed with your sewing.
    Glad you could save the nature walk pants - I must make a few pairs of these up soon

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    1. motherof5April 29, 2014 at 4:30 PM

      Thank you Justine, I really do blunder in and have to dig myself out!
      The Nature Walk are a great go-to pattern. I don'r know why I don't make them more often.
      Thank you for the lovely binding.
      xx N

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  4. Inder-ificApril 29, 2014 at 4:42 PM

    Wow, awesome!! I am so impressed at your grading skills.

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    1. motherof5April 29, 2014 at 5:40 PM

      Thank you Inder, I would never have attempted it if I had known but I learnt so much.
      The Twins are thrilled and would like more for winter and short versions for summer. So it was worth it.
      xx N

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  5. ChristineApril 29, 2014 at 4:56 PM

    Amazing as always! I love the measuring tape detail! I bought some and haven't figured out what to do with it yet.

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    1. motherof5April 29, 2014 at 5:41 PM

      Thank you Christine, its such cute tape. I used it on Tildy's Kindy clothes too.
      xx N

      Delete
  6. CindyMay 1, 2014 at 1:06 PM

    The yoga waistband is a perfect save, Nicole. And I love the finishes on the cargo pants!

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    1. motherof5May 15, 2014 at 3:25 AM

      Its not perfect Cindy but at least they are wearable.
      I am so pleased with the cargoes, thank you!
      xx N

      Delete
  7. AnonymousMay 2, 2014 at 3:53 AM

    Oh but lady you are THE fitting guru. These look awesome. Up next a pair for me. Can't believe how much use you're getting out of that tape.

    ReplyDelete
  8. motherof5May 15, 2014 at 3:24 AM

    Thank you Peta, I still have some tape left!
    xx N

    ReplyDelete

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