Karin's Organza

Man! That is a bummer that Liz had so much trouble with the organza.  I didn't have much trouble with it beyond rolling the back side (since I don't have a sleeve board?!).  Up there is what I ended up with, heavily photo-shopped so you can see a little better.  The red lines are the back and the yoke and the black is the front. Down here you can see how I pinned the crotch. 

Tip: do not pin through all layers when pinning the back grain lines.  That makes it very hard to roll to get each side.  I had to repin many times because I kept pinning through both sides.  Try to just pin to the top piece of fabric.

And here's my lovely assistant. 

Ok, I know I said I'd try to get these guys done by 12/8, but I forgot about holiday crafting.  Project Jean-ius will be put on hold until 12/25 unless I miraculously finish my Christmas crafting early.  Hugs and kisses! love, Karin

I hate to say it, but I think this organza has the better of me. I finished basting last night, andi have been struggling all day with the organza markings. It just slips around when I try to measure and mark. A line that was perfectly straight turns all wiggly, and lines that were perpendicular to each other somehow change their angles. I eventually gained a lengthwise grain line and a crosswise grain at the knee, but I am having no luck with making the crotch line because I can't get the other two to hold still for two seconds. So I'm moving on to pinning and hoping for better results down the road. Grrrr.... I have plenty of pictures of my troubles, but can't upload them from my iPad. Update the next morning: I redid the organza a third time. So, in the video it looked like Kenneth ripped the selvage before he measured up from the bottom. I read the notes and he says DO NOT rip the selvage. I still had a hard time getting the upper cross grain, but it seems to be better now. Also, my cross grains were not perpendicular to the lengthwise grain when transferred to the back. Again, Kenneth addresses this in the notes and says that you should adjust to make them perpendicular; it is a common problem with mass produced items. Now I need to finish transferring lines to my organza so that my jeans will be back in commission before the week starts! Wish me luck!

Getting started

These photos shows my original pants marked up for info transfer. I now have them pinned to the organza (not shown) and am ready to use my colored pencils.

Tip: mark your pants on the side with the zipper top-stitching, oops!

These are super stretchy cords so I had a little trouble with the threads pulling out if I accidentally stretched the fabric, particularly on the cross grain. I am planning to use stretch denim in my new jeans as well, but I doubt that it will be as stretchy as the original. These cords fit perfect straight out of the wash but then get saggy by the end of the day. I'm hoping that slightly less stretch will help them stay put better. hugs and kisses, love Karin