Summer bloomers of discontent.

So yesterday while I was blogging I closed the blogger app to grab a link for Old Fort Parker and when I returned to finish the post...it was gone! What?! Where is auto save when you need it? So in disgust I went about my day in a fit of blogging piqué. Today I am over it and so can share my latest short project with a more composed mind. 

I have recently moved from the dry plains of hotter than hades OK to the north of Houston. The change in weather being something like desert to tropical heat. 

Last weekend I went to a monthly SASS shoot with friends and wore the "summer causal" outfit most folks were wearing. A straw hat, jeans and a t-shirt. American old west historical clothing being too hot. Well dear readers, so were the jeans! It got up to 103* F and about 80% humidity, honestly, it rained later that evening. 

So I decided action must be taken to save myself from as much of the sticky mess as possible...enter summer bloomers! 

These lovelies are made from cotton on sale for 2.50 a yard. (2.5 yards needed) 

A McCalls pattern for $.70 on sale 

Cotton lace trim  $1.49 a yard (very nearly two yards per) 

Waistband elastic 3/4 inch for $2.49 (enough for two pair) 

Thread from the stash

Time spent about 2 hours on the first pair and slightly less on the next three. 

I started by cutting out the pattern for the shorter of the two pant options from this pattern.

I then cut off more length after sewing one set together minus the waistband to achieve the bloomer length I desired, then I simply adjusted the pattern to that length for the next three. 

I like to pre-wash cotton fabric before use, I also like to serge the raw edges before I throw it in the washer, it saves me the agony of a mess like the one you see here which is what happens when I forget that little step! You can also use a zigzag or even a straight stitch I imagine to keep this from happening where a serger is not available. 

After fixing that minor disaster I got right on with the bloomers...they are a straight forward one piece per leg business with an elastic band for the waist. The ruffle is applied to the bottom of the leg with no elastic or gather of the pant leg, I like these kind of bloomers to be airy and loose. 

At the end of the day I had four pairs ready for the shoot I attended this weekend at Old Fort Parker two for myself and two for my friend Cindy who is know as Shotglass in the cowboy action world. We have adopted the Jail for the annual charity match in October and will be giving it a face lift, so more on that project as we go along. 

 http://oldfortparker.org/Cowboy_Action_Shooting.html

Here we are in our "much more better" bloomers. They are nothing like accurate but bless me they are comfortable! Now dear readers I have brought you up to date - auto save or no auto save!