Day 3

Just a warning…day 3 is a long day.  Today is the day that we sew our pattern pieces together.  I’m going to be using a serger.  If you are using a regular sewing machine, you can still follow along.  Just make sure that you zig zag over the edges or use some type of overcast stitch.  You don’t want to have a lot of threads hanging off of your finished project.  Your sewing machine manual can help you decide what stitch to use.

Now, you should have all of your fabric cut, but still attached to the pattern piece.  We are going to now separate them.  I want you to lay all of the fronts in a pile and place all of the backs in a separate pile. 

Next, making sure you transfer all markings to the fabric using a chalk pencil, remove _only_ the bottom pieces of fabric from the fronts pile. Then, you will need to lay them side by side in the correct order (1,2,3,&4).  This will give you a better sense of what we are sewing.  It will also help you to keep straight which side to sew to what piece.  Here is a photo of the pieces of fabric laying next to each other.

I would start with piece 1.  Pin it to piece two.  You will pin the side that are next to each other on the table.  Start from the bottom and work your way up with the pins.  It is more important that the bottoms are level.  You will pin the corners together first.  Pinning these pieces is important.  You may be tempted to skip pinning, but I highly recommend doing it.  These pieces are irregularly shaped and may shift as you sew.  Pinning will help keep them lined up correctly.

Now, that the first two pieces are pinned…sew them together.  Just follow the shape of the piece.  Remember, we added a 3/8 inch seam allowance.  It is important to remember this so that you don’t end up with pants of the wrong size.

This is what you should have after sewing piece one to piece two.

Now, just follow the order that you have laid out.  And, then repeat with the other top pieces.  You will have two pieces that are mirror images of each other.  One for each leg.

Once you have both fronts completed.  You may sew the back pieces together.  Remember to lay them out just as you did the front pieces.  Keep the layers together…those on the bottom of the pattern sandwich together and those in the middle together.  You will have two mirror image back pieces after you are finished sewing.

You will now have four sew pieces, 2 fronts and 2 backs.

Now we need to put a front and a back piece together.  We want a back piece that has an 8 that is curved the opposite way that the 4 is on our front piece.  Place them side by side.  Then, sew the middle pieces together.  The 4 & 8 pieces should be on the outside edges.  Here is a photo:

 You will now have two pieces.  Each will have a front and back piece sewn together to form a leg piece.  The next step will be top-stitching.  That will be covered on Day 4.  Day 4 will not be posted until I come back from vacation.  This will give many of you a chance to get up or join us.  If you have any questions, just leave them as a comment.  I will answer them when I return from vacation.  Have fun sewing!