New Project! Simplicity 3796

I had a post-surgery appointment with my doctor today and I was able to clarify what I can and cannot do physically and why I should avoid certain moves. I'm feeling very good over all. I foresee long walks in the next few weeks, but no crunches or strenuous stuff for another 6 weeks or so (or driving for another week). And I should make certain I don't overdo anything.

The end result is that I'm clear for sewing. Yay! After returning home from having lunch with my great friend (who has been taking to me to my appointments and shopping for food) it took me about 20 minutes of sitting around before I realized I could be cutting out fabric! My first choice: Simplicity 3796, which is a pattern for drawstring pants, shorts, and skirts. I'm making View A out of mystery fabric from Happy Stop in Oakland. It's black and it's kind of a seersucker with a crosswise stretch, fiber content unknown. I washed the fabric (and a couple of other pieces) before I went on leave from work, so it's ready to go.

I'm hoping this pattern works for wearing of the next few weeks while I'm home from work. If it's not too pajama-like, I might be able to wear it to work. That all depends on the fit. A few nights ago I cut out the pattern pieces (there are about 5 of them) and tried tissue-fitting the pattern using Pants for Real People, by Pati Palmer and Marta Alto. I ended up adding to the crotch length significantly (page 29). I like this book because it has photos and drawings, so I can find a woman who's body resembles mine and I can see how the tissue pattern was fitted, and I can see what alterations were made to the pattern. It's great for when I'm comparing wrinkles in in the mirror with wrinkles in the photo in the book. I'll have further proof when how well it works when I assemble everything and try it on tomorrow morning.

Tonight I was able to cut the pattern pieces out of the fabric, sew the yokes, outside seams and sew on the patch pockets. Tomorrow morning, I will sew the inseams, crotch, and casing/drawstring--I don't want to sew them tonight as I don't want to make a mistake that I'll have to pick apart tomorrow. One change I'm making is that the pattern calls for using twill tape as the draw string--I'm going to make the drawstring out of the fashion fabric, probably with an elastic extension in the back.

I'm so glad that the sewing drought is over! I'm ready to watch Project Runway and the Model show tonight. I feel like I'm moving forward!