Nov 20, 2012

Last Boxers of 2012, Promise!



I decided to make one more pair of boxers, friends -- the last pair of 2012.  I think.

I used a pale gray Sea Island cotton I bought a few years ago but never turned into a shirt.  It's smooth as silk, improbably soft and creamy.  It's not my favorite color, but for boxers it will do.  This is the kind of cotton that's woven so tightly, of thread so fine, it makes most sewing thread look slightly rope-like in comparison.  I used Mettler thread and a #9 needle (the narrowest I generally use) on most of this.



I followed my advice from yesterday's boxers post (almost) to the letter.  As you can see, I got the flat-felled seam under the fly on the correct side: folded toward the left front, and made on the wrong side of my boxers (i.e. the inside).   The seam now runs directly into the front fly topstitching, as it should.  I also widened the seam allowance to 5/8" which allows for a slightly wider flat-felled seam.







Here's the fly from the inside.  The right fly facing covers the left completely and everything looks neat.



I left barely 1/8" of visible fabric above the elastic waistband.



Once again I added bias trim, this time made from scraps of black polished cotton (a good argument for keeping some fabric scraps).  The black trim makes for a very vintage Seventies gym shorts look.







Once again, I stitched down my elastic vertically at four points when I was working on the waistband.  This stitching can be removed after the waistband is completed or left as-is.



This is the last time you'll see me in my underwear this year, promise.  Could vintage-style pajamas with piping be in my future?





I think I like these even more than my tattersall pair from the weekend. 

In unrelated news, we were over at a friend's house for dinner on Sunday, and she let me try on her mother's vintage Forties Persian lamb swing coat, which she had just had cleaned.  Isn't it something?  It even has a matching muff (sadly, a bit discolored).  Those shoulders are so fabulous and it's a perfect fit.  Me want!







Can you believe it's nearly Thanksgiving here in the USA?  Wasn't it just Thanksgiving, like, two months ago?  Which reminds me of that famous Kitty Carlisle quote, "Once you're past fifty, every fifteen minutes it's breakfast."

Have a great day, everybody!

14 comments:

  1. I love that coat and muff. I think muffs are wonderful if a bit impractical for my current life. Another wonderful job on the boxers. Did you straight stitch or zig zag the elastic on this pair?

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    1. Thanks, Victoria! I used a very narrow zigzag (the narrowest on my machine) and medium length stitch (on my old Kenmore it's 10).

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  2. This post just gave me a revelation! (Also, I love the '70s-style gym short-style boxers, by the way!). Pajamas with piping. I've been wanting a pair of classic men's style pajamas, but in cotton so they're not too hot (New York apartments are hot, right?). For some reason it hadn't occurred to me to make them myself (and I just keep going to bed in a T-shirt and cutoff stretch pants). I'd love to see what pattern you choose.

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    1. Maybe this one (View #1 on the far right):

      https://picasaweb.google.com/101177577152766699680/PeterSPatternStashMensPatterns#5701226512858884018

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  3. So you're saying we WILL see pictures of you in your undies on New Year's Day?

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  4. I agree about these new undies: I really like them. I have a fabric that sounds similar that I bought for a shirt and never used. I think you've just given me an inspiration for christmas gifts for my male friends. Thank you! I love the persian lamb coat. I have a similar 50's swing coat from some unnamed animal and I wear it quite a lot.

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  5. Hello, lurker of London here! Your boxers are fabulous. I love your blog -always an interesting read, love the tips (eg how to sew the elastic on the boxers) and guaranteed to make me smile. Thank you!

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  6. Pter, first let me thank you again for the hint about elastic on Amazon. You mentioned it in a previous post and I ordered it immediately. I have made lots of boxer shorts for grandkids, sons in law and husband using this elastic, but I may be using it wrong. On your picture up above showing the inside elastic application, is the area that you are stitching through the elastic or the space without the elastic? I have always stitched through the four lines that are horizontal looking. It looks as though you are stitching on either side of those lines. Have I been stitching through the actual elastic area all these years? P.S. I love the idea of sewing the vertical lines at the seams of the waistband. Why don't I think of these things?

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    1. I am sewing BETWEEN the thick white lines (with a narrow zigzag) and then along the upper and lower edge: five rows in all.

      I think the whole thing is elastic, but the thick white lines are more densely woven. Try my way on a sample and see if it works better.

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  7. I remember you mentioning this fabric; I think you will agree the boxer thing is the perfect way to deal with a "meh"-coloured fabric that FEELS fabulous!I bet they become your FAVE pair of underwear just for the comfy-wumfy feel of them!

    And, that coat, while looking a tad rough, DOES look FAB on you...why don't you ask her if you can do a 'rub-off pattern" of it!!(That is, if she won't GIVE it to you!) The trouble with Persian lamb is that it gets YELLOWISH with age, and nothing to be done about it except "embrace" the fact!

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  8. Very nice but I have to say the over 50 quote is what ticked me most!

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  9. That well constructed fly front will surely prevent your "escape artist" from creating a jail-break scenario (this is one of the reasons I'm a briefs devotee). Once they get out, they flaunt that fact, the only way they know how.

    As for the coat, do they make synthetic Persian lamb? Have your neighbors not heard your vacuum cleaner in a while? Frankly put Peter, isn't it about time you thought about Cathy, and her needs? Hmmmmm?

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  10. I really want to know how the two front and back piece linked at the lower end. When the two edges merge into one edge

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