My Navy Linen Capri’s

I can hardly believe it’s already 2014, this year has just flown by.  This year marked the first time that I focused on sewing practical clothes for myself.  I did a lot of hand sewing and embroidery when I was younger and made yearly Halloween costumes, my favorite holiday as I love any excuse to dress up, as well as some historical costumes, mainly Regency, some Elizabethan corsets and a Renaissance gown.   But before the kids were born 5 years ago I had never used a sewing machine.  I started out making some simple curtains and pillows for my condo and was hooked.  I slowly started making clothes for the kids but as a SAHM  I rarely had a chance to sew when they were babies and toddlers.  This year that all changed when my son started preschool for half days 5 days a week and I finally felt like I had a break.

These Navy linen Capri’s are my first ever pair of pants with a zipper fly and set in pockets!  I used McCall’s Fashion Star Pattern M6707.  Living in Florida Capri’s are a staple of my wardrobe and I love to wear linen, it’s my favorite material.  I figured since doing indigo dye is not very feasible in my 2BR condo with two kids underfoot a navy linen fabric was the way to go.  I picked this up at Joann’s for half off and it’s really lovely.   I recently saw that Noon Design Studio sells an indigo kit and I can’t wait to get my hands on one and give it a go!

I cut a size 14 according to my measurements and wish I had done a muslin first since it was really much too large.  I actually like that they’re a bit wider through the hip and leg and I added two pleats in the front and cut the waistband down a bit to make them work.   Because of the side panels I didn’t want to mess with the side seams too much.  The fly was challenging to me at first ( I put it on backwards the first time!) but I think I have the hang of it now.  I had to rip it out a few times but by then I had gotten an invisible zipper foot and put a brand new zipper in and it looked so much better.  These pants do crease quite a bit with wear but I iron everything anyway so it’s not a big deal.

I’m already planning my next pair, I already cut the pattern down two sizes, made out of the most beautiful Natural Denim ( out of stock at the moment) from Near Sea Naturals that I ordered before Christmas.  I’m planning on hand dyeing them as well but haven’t decided on color yet.  I’m thinking maybe a nice red or orange, but not sure how much use they’ll get if I go too bold.  Maybe a pastel?   Any suggestions?

Here’s one last picture I couldn’t leave out, my little director wanted to pose for the last shot!