Sewing lessons

 I'm helping my niece with some 4-H sewing.  The first day we made an apron it turned out very nice and I missed a photo op.  Then she made some potholders from the left over fabric.  She also had fabrics for this pattern.  Sewing patterns have changed since the last time I sewed a garment.  Oops change that bought a pattern, I've been using the same nightgown pattern for decades. Anyway the suggested fabrics do not list a knit for the pants just fabrics for the tunic.  Do any of those fabrics say knit or even hint at a knit?????  and where does the 20" zipper go???  I'm thinking we will just do what the directions say so I measure her hips to figure out the size and compare to the envelope, the sizing is for an adult woman! the pattern pieces looks too small and niece is a skinny girl.  I measure the pattern pieces minus the seam allowance then I add a half inch to the outside seam.  We cut out the pattern I even let her use my super sharp gingher scissors.  Then I read the directions for sewing.  There it suggests a ball point needle and a stretch stitch ah ha the pants should be a knit!  I look at the back of the pattern again.  See that black bar with the arrow at the bottom of the packet?!???  That's how far the knit is supposed to stretch even though a knit was not suggested.  Time to toss the directions and do it my way. I knew we cut the pattern large enough so it should fit.  She sewed the center and side seams with a long stitch so she could try them on, I was determined they were going to fit and fortunately she had a matching zipper which she was planning to use in a little pouch.  She learned how to sew in a zipper, center back seam.  Remember back when zippers had a raised thread woven into the zipper fabric??  That isn't there anymore.  I basted the zipper in so she would know where to sew.  She did a marvelous job on the zipper.  She tried them on they fit nice through the hips but there was a lot of fabric at the waist so she learned how to sew darts.  Next was the waistband which we did with all the seams concealed and ran an elastic through it.  They fit perfect.  While I was pinning and basting she was playing with stitches on my machine and found one she liked for the trim on the tunic.  She became a master at threading the machine as she tried out different threads.  She is going to use the same decorative stitch on the hem of the pants.  I was exhausted by the time she went home but what fun to teach someone who wants to learn. We will finish the top another day --Ann--