Saturday, November 23, 2013

MFAM Week 9: Northwest Passages

MFAM header copy

So I thought I had posted this earlier this week, but it seems I clicked "save" instead of "publish." Whoops! It's been one of those weeks... Anyway, here's last week's project.

I've been looking forward to week nine's project for over two months. I almost broke down and moved the date up a few times, but I'm glad I held out for now. This week we're looking at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's collection of Native American art, which is fitting considering November is Native American Heritage Month.

It's hard to pick a definite favorite in this group, but I'm pretty fond the moccasins...


... and these Athapaskan wool leggings.

leggings

So with all those beautiful pieces in mind, I got to work on a pair of uninspiring, long, baggy corduroy pants and fairly ugly wool vest.

beforeLookin' good...?

The pants were pretty easy. First, I took them in in the legs like I did with my blue Egyptian pants and then I took them in about an inch in the crotch. Then I chopped about 5 inches off the legs and hemmed them to fit my much shorter self.

pants
Taking in the pants.

The vest was much more involved. I picked it up for $1 a few months ago, and I've been itching to turn it into a pair of leggings ever since. Now that the weather has cooled off I finally have my chance!

IMG_4821b
Vest detail.

I started by taking the vest apart. I could have used my seam ripper, but scissors were easier.

IMG_4820bDisassemble.

After fiddling around with some drawing paper and a ruler for an hour or so, I finally figured out a pattern. (I don't have and photos of that though. Sorry.) I cut out all the pieces for the leggings, and was left with almost no scraps. Then I sewed everything together.

sewn togetherPutting it all together.

Once I had the pieces together, I finished the two raw edges around the bottom and the side, and sewed six sets of snaps along each side to close the leggings.

finishFinishing up.

I wore my leggings two ways on Sunday. First, I paired them with a refashioned coral skirt (Which I forgot to post this spring. Whoops. You can see the unflattering before photo here.) and the scarf I made out of a pair of hideous gaucho pants last year, and headed off to church. Later that day I traded in the skirt and scarf for the new corduroy pants.


Only one more project left! What will I do with my life after that? Maybe some Christmas projects are in order. I should probably brush up on my crochet reindeer skills.

As with the previous weeks, more photos can be found on my blog. Don’t forget to tune in next week for the next MFAM installment, and remember, please don’t touch the art.


Elizabeth
Now blogging at www.TheHungryOctopus.com!

1 comment:

Refashion said...

The legwarmers look cute and the trousers are very wearable

Debbie EOD