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Posted by cea on August 3, 2006, 8:04 pm
Think my brain is fried...102* temp outside today. A lingering
bronchial infection kicked my asthma off the charts. I'm lolling
around, just trying to breathe, Can't get the energy up to eat, let
alone sew. I wonder how long woman can survive on watermelon
alone...I'd like to say such a diet is causing weight loss, but the
heat is counter-acting it, melting me into a little round blob, kinda
like that last chocolate you stuck in your pocket, then forgot to eat.
The dogs are protesting, not wanting to go out in the yard for their
constitutional. I can see their thought bubbles as their nails dig into
the carpet, protesting a shove out the door:
("No, noooo, you can't make me! ppleeease, I'll learn to use the john
like the (shudder) CaT down the road, just don't".../DOOR SLAM.
Two seconds later, they're scrabbling frantically at the door,
demanding entry, so I don't know what I've achieved. They get so
over-heated with short heat exposure that I have had to wrap them in
cold wet towels to bring their body temps down. ("The Well-Dog Book"
suggests doing that, as dogs can only regulate their body temp through
their panting, since they have no sweat glands.)
The fish pond looks more attractive every day. I could fill it with
cold well water and immerse myself. Maybe there would be some/enough
relief, and I could think about altering those new jeans I picked up
for $1.00 each at a yard sale. About half of them need the super-skinny
legs made wider (I'll make inserts for the inseams). I've already
opened the inseams to mid-thigh in preparation.
The rest of the jeans need more room in the waists. Having an 'H'
body shape, I do this to a lot of my jeans, and it adds immeasureably
to the comfort.
I'll zig-zag some 3 inch wide black elastic strips together, to make
a very wide insert for the center back, then cut a Vee for each pair of
jeans from the elastic strip.
I'll detatch the waistband from the jeans body for 2 or 3" on both
sides, right and left, of the center back, to give some working room.
Center back of waistband is cut, right down the middle. Center back
felled seam is opened up, about 4 to 5"down, stitching is removed.
Left side of seam is still folder under, as it was originally.
Elastic insert is pinned under the spread-open seam. Now I can see
exactly where to clip the right seam.
At the bottom of the right side seam, I'll carefully clip it
(finesse) so that I can fold the right side under also. Steam the
clipped/folded seam so it will hold it's new fold direction. Pin both
sides of the prepared center back seam to the elastic. Top-stitch both
sides in place over the edges of the elastic insert.
Now for the waistband: to eliminate bulk, simply open the jean
waistband flat, then serge or over-edge the raw cut center seam. Do
this on both cut edges of the waistband. Then lap the left side of the
band over the top edge of the elastic insert, pin in place. Repeat for
right side of jean waistband.
Re-sew the bottom of the waistband, ( where you've opened it to give
working room), re-attaching it to the jeans, then sew the waistband
centers to the elastic. (I save this step for last in case the elastic
stretches slightly as I'm sewing the band onto the jean).
That's how it's done, if I could just summon up the energy, and quit
staring yearningly at the fish pond. Any sewist who has trouble with
too-snug waistbands can alter them thus. You skinny folk who always get
a good fit, and/or sew to perfection everything you wear:
Pssbbbbbbt!! (spitting all over screen).
Cea
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Posted by Donna on August 4, 2006, 11:09 am
@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
> Think my brain is fried...102* temp outside today.
I'm visiting my sister in Phoenix at the moment. It's cooler here than it
is in Williamsburg, VA, though DH tells me that it's supposed to cool off
at home here soon. PatInVA can attest - it's been truly sweltering on the
East Coast! Makes me sew more. I don't have to go outside to do that.
--
~Donna~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is never too late to be what you might have been. - George Eliot
http://www.sewing.com & http://www.localwilliamsburg.com
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Posted by Juno on August 4, 2006, 12:44 pm
Today it's a balmy 80 something in th Hudson Valley, Yesterday it was108
on my deck.
Now on to alterations. The heat has made my brain a little squishy so I
need some clarifications here.
1. Zig zag together some 3 inch elastic. That means long edge to long
edge and get a strip at least 6 inches... Right?
2. Cut a Vee from the elastic.... As wide at the top as you need to
make a more comfortable waist band? If I need 3 inches added , cut the
vee at least 3 inches down for the width of the band?
I told you I'm having squishy brain syndrome today. It may take weeks to
recover, so I'm going back to the beach for a couple or 3 weeks.
Juno
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Posted by cea on August 5, 2006, 2:54 pm
Juno wrote:
> Today it's a balmy 80 something in th Hudson Valley, Yesterday it was108
> on my deck.
> Now on to alterations. The heat has made my brain a little squishy so I
> need some clarifications here.
> 1. Zig zag together some 3 inch elastic. That means long edge to long
> edge and get a strip at least 6 inches... Right?
---
<< Juno, I envy you the cold snap you're having.
Yes, although you can make the elastic pieces any length you want,
depending on the number of jeans you are altering. If you alternate the
Vee cuts
--first cut right side up, second cut upside-down, like puzzle pieces--
LIlike so: (VAVAVAVA) , you get no waste. So, for eight pair of jeans,
I'd make the finished length of the sewn-together elastic strips
24 inches long, then I'd make my cuts for the inserts.
It's just easier to manufacture the wide elastic all at once, for
all the pairs which need altering.
---
> 2. Cut a Vee from the elastic.... As wide at the top as you need to
> make a more comfortable waist band? If I need 3 inches added , cut the
> vee at least 3 inches down for the width of the band?
---
<< Well, you could cut a square, then trim the elastic after setting
it under the open seam, but why waste all that elastic? Cut the elastic
insert cut 3 inches wide at the top, tapering to a Vee at the bottom.
Hope this clarifies it, if not, we'll try again. Sometimes it's
easire to see something than try to decipher written instructions.I
took pics a while back of one such insertion, but, sadly, my
picture-taking skills need work. The pics turned out much too dark.
BTW, I found out that setting one piece of elastic into the center back
seam is just as effective as setting in two separate pieces, at the
jean side seams, and it's half the work.
Cea
---
> I told you I'm having squishy brain syndrome today. It may take weeks to
> recover, so I'm going back to the beach for a couple or 3 weeks.
> Juno
---
<< Have fun. I live near the beach, and it's too freakin' hot to
carry my tootsies onto hot sand. I'm waiting till autumn to work on a
tan.
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Posted by Juno on August 5, 2006, 3:38 pm
> ---
> << Have fun. I live near the beach, and it's too freakin' hot to
> carry my tootsies onto hot sand. I'm waiting till autumn to work on a
> tan.
>
Cea, Thank you for the clarification. I think I understand. I'll print
out the instructions and read them a million times or so until it all
sinks in.
I'm packed and ready to go. We are leaving before the crack of dawn to
avoid traffic and heat. It also gives us a full day to play that way.
Juno
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