Soooo... I became an American citizen today! Exciting! About 30 people (including one refugee) from 23 countries were sworn today during the ceremony. I liked that it was a small ceremony (as opposed to a couple hundred people). It was touching actually and the lady who presided the ceremony was charmingly nervous. She said something that I thought was really worth mentioning. She said that her grandparents who arrived from Europe never talked to her (when she was a child) about why they chose to move, how they did it, what they had to go throught, etc. Then she added she really wished they had shared that with her. She went on addressing the people who were to be sworn to please share their stories with their children because it is important to know where you come from. DD (who is the only born in the USA in my family) got a flag, although what she was really eyeing were the balloons...
So, there!
Back to sewing. Back when I made my wool pleated pants I wrote I wanted to use the same pattern for a pair of silk bottoms. 
I used the same Burds WOF pattern , but omitted the back welt pockets. Why? Well, frankly, the hassle of making welt pockets on twitchy silk was not worth it.
I used the same Burds WOF pattern , but omitted the back welt pockets. Why? Well, frankly, the hassle of making welt pockets on twitchy silk was not worth it. The fabric I used is from my local Textile-o-Philes store. I used the silk to make the pockets and the binding too. I purchased the silk for the pants and the top together, I think they compliment each other so nicely!
Perhaps some of you might wonder how it was to sew pants from silk. It was not a piece of cake (definitely advanced intermediate level sewing skills necessary) but it was not bad either. I have one advise and I cannot stress enough how much following it helped me: thread-trace and baste! Since silk is so slippery, thread tracing helped keeping seams straight and avoided all the second-guessing. Basting helped prevent undoing seams, which with silk cam be desastrous. Also, on all visible from the right side seams I used Sulky 100% rayon thread. Due to the shine of the thread it blends well with the silk and the stitching does not become an unwanted "design element."
19 comments:
Hello my friend, CONGRATS!!!!! and a big hug:-) that ceremony must 've been touching.I'm very pleased for you.
I love that combo, the top fabric is awesome and yes it's so luxurious to wear all silk garment(s), it's quite a different feeling from wearing all (linen,wool,cotton,rayon) or whatever the fiber contnent may be, althoug your garment might be luxurious or couture it doesn't feel the same as with silk.
Congratulations on becoming a citizen!My parents and I became citizens the same year, they however were chosen for a special ceremony to receive their certificates by the President of the US (Reagan). They were so proud!
Your pants are beautiful!
Congratulations! I have long felt native-born Americans (myself included) take for granted the value of our citizenship.
I hope you enjoy your first voting experience also! My daughter usually goes with me to vote. I have to remind her not to peak at the other voters!
Your pants look great. Nice job.
Congratulations on becoming a citizen. I hope that you will take advantage of all your rights and register to vote and vote in the next election.
Your outfit is lovely, stylish and chic yet summer comfortable.
Congratulations on becoming an American citizen!! That is a cute outfit.
Congratulations on becoming a citizen! And congrats on such a beautiful silk ensemble. Your sewing tips are excellent advice.
Mary Beth
Congratulations! That is very exciting. Good to see that you have been able to sew. Love the fabric combination of the outfit. Great job.
Congratulations on your citizenship!
I love your pants! I never would have been brave enough to try something like that without your example and tips, but now I may give it a shot.
Congratulations! Love the pants they look very professional.
Congratulations on your citizenship! An all-silk outfit sounds like the perfect luxury.
Congratulations on becoming a citizen! Lovely pants.
Congratulations! Those are gorgeous pants. Do you ever make anything that doesn't look like it would cost $500 or more in the store?!
Congrats and a huge hug for becoming a citizen!
Second, I llooove those pants, you did such a great job on them! I have a pants pattern at home that I have to be honest and say I'm a little afraid to try but maybe I'll give it a whirl!
Congratulations on becoming a citizen! Even those of us that have several generations born in the US want to know what prompted our ancestors to come here originally. It was not always by choice. Prison versus the king's army was how one of mine got here. Your silk top and pants looks so cool and chic.
Congratulations on your US citizenship! You've been making such gorgeous (not to mention stylish) garments, sorry for my lack of comments, I'm so behind in my blog reading.
CONGRATS!!!! Where are you from? I tried to find if you had mentioned it but can not seem to find where you are from. How fun!
I adore the stuff you sew! I wish I had the styling taste you have. I was just telling a friend I need someone to teach me how to dress and accessorize! Thanks for showing us all your wonderful stuff. Your tank makes me think I should try one!
Shorty
oh yeah, I like these too! everything suits you...
Congratulations again!!!
What a fabulous looking outfit! I love the pants, they fit you so well and look so confy and fresh! Bravo!
Thanks for a great blog! :)
I just love your silk pants, they're beautiful! A bit funny to see pleats back though, well, a bit funny to see so many of the 80's things back - including oversize sweaters etc...
I wouldn't have dared sew from such silk though, don't think I could do it, at least not yet. I remember, in the 90's a local little sewing workshop, called "The Silky Way" (translated), had lots of success. At the time, silk garments were so popular and they had a beautiful collection of flowing garments. But when they were employing, they had to let even seasoned seamstresses try it out before hiring them, since they found that many Norwegian trained seamstresses/dressmakers just couldn't handle the silk, even if they were experienced and great at sewing in general. Asian refugees and immigrants though, they did great, as they were so used to handling silk... So from the time when I was there for a lunch with tour and information about their special workshop (through my job), I always thought that I need to be weary of silk, LOL... I bet basting is super important! Nothing is more wonderful to wear though, silk is just so comfortable, when it's hot it cools you, when it's cold, it warms you. Just like fine woolens, it is special... But, aside from the practical sides with silk, there is another thing which I must confess I am much more worried about and that side is even more important. The way it is produced and how that affects the silk worms and human beings involved in production. The silk worm is able to feel pain, from what I have been able to read (read lots about it years ago) and most often it is boiled or gassed alive to kill it without harming the fibers, which is cruel. And, child labor has been very common, at least earlier, which is a huge worry! I am not updated on that issue though. But anyway, I would be careful in where I buy silk and check specifically for these issues before buying the fabric. I do think that "Ethical Silk" is available now, coming from "Fair Trade" factories where they also use more human methods for killing the silk worms. If you do a search for "unethical silk", you do find information about the problems related to this. I also found a website about "Ethical Fashion", which has information about problems related to these things, sources for ethical products etc. - http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com. That such things are something we should consider, isn't something that is so easy to automatically know. E.g. silk has always been around, and most people never think of where it comes from etc. I think I first heard about these issues back when I visited that workshop I mentioned, they were concerned about the issues involved and took care to work in an ethical way.
Take care! :)
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