Finished (Almost) Pants

Here they are! Pants that seem to fit pretty well. Not perfect but they do seem to lay much better than any other pair of pants I have made or purchased. I still have to sew on the buttons and finish the hem.

There are a couple of things I want to change/tweak.
1) The center back needs to come up about an inch
2) The waist band is a little too snug and too high, so I think I will switch to a contoured waistband
3) I think I need to lengthen the legs, I have not hemmed the pants yet and there is not much to play with once I put I the shoes I want to wear them with.
4) I want to wear the pants around tomorrow to see if I think they are comfortable to walk and sit in. I guess the sitting will not be great because the waistband is a bit tight. But I want to make sure that there is enough walking room in the front legs.
5) I am not happy with the pockets - I designed them myself and boy can you tell. They pull at the waistband and you can see the pocket lining from the front of the pants. This may be partially due to the material I have used but I also think the length I have them at is just right (or wrong). I think I will take the Jalie pockets from the pants I made and configure those to work with these pants.



WIth the mild success of these pants, I went to the fabic store and purchased some new fabric to create a few more pairs of pants!!!! After that, I'm on to the bodice sloper. Lord help me.

Final Vesion of Pants Sloper

I think (hope, hope, hope!) I have taken the pants sloper as far as I can. I took a tuck at the hip area which pulled up the crotch and also let out the front inseam by 1/4 of an inch. They are not perfect but they hang pretty nicely and are comfortable to stand and walk in.


So I think I am going to dive in and make a pair of pants based on these measurements. I'm trying to decide if I should do a straight leg or bootleg cut. I'm most tempted to try the bootleg to see what that will do to the back. So off to the fabric store I go to buy some inexpensive twill or poplin. I'm too afraid to use my favorite fabrics just in case these don't work out.

Pants Sloper v2

I couldn't sleep so I decided to get up and sew the pants. I think these look pretty good. I do feel a slight bit of pulling in the front thigh so I think I need to let out the front inseam a bit. The trouble is, my thighs touch so I'm not so sure I'm going to get a great look at the front crotch. I do want to make sure they are comfortable to wear, which means the pulling business has to be fixed.

The back of the legs seem pretty full, but I think that is ok. Maybe. If this was a real pair of pants, would I be ok with all of that fabric in the back? I think so. It looks much better than having all kinds of pulling lines in the back, doesn't it? The other thing I'm trying to decide is if the crotch line is too low. I did take another set of pictures after I hiked the pants way up and it wasn't pretty.

So here's what I'm thinking I will try:
1) let out the front inseam 1/4 to 1/2 inch
2) take in the back inseam 1/4
3) take in the back side seams 1/4 inch

I will do one at a time and take pics and then decide if any or all worked. Wish me luck!!!!

Pants Sloper Revisited

I am bound and determined to get a nice pair of pants! I took a couple of steps back and decided to use a software program to help me draft a sloper based on my measurements. My first attempt looks better than any previous attempt but they are too big. Even though they are too big, I think I am on the right track. I'm hoping that making a few adjustments will get me to where I want to be. Here are pics of the current sloper:



I have already traced out version 2 of the sloper and hope to get to sewing this weekend. My wardrobe plans are hanging in the balance while I figure out how to get a pair of pants that I will love so I am feeling a bit of pressure to get this right. I have the entire wardrobe planned, I just need to get the fit issues resloved. I haven't even started on the bodice sloper yet!!!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Jalie Pants Fit the Best?

I used this pattern from Jalie (2561):

I think I like the look of these pants the best. I did tissue fit these pants and add to the side seams at the hips and in the inseams. I'm thinking that with a bit more modification, these may work the best. Here are the pics:

The Pants Saga Continues

I am really bummed out. I thought I had FINALLY created my perfect pants pattern. But, the truth is, I am far from it. The pics below show the final version of the pattern I used and then the finished pants.




There is much less excess fabric in the back, but it still hangs at the back of my knees. The side looks bad, I don't like this type of pocket, it pulls and does not look nice. The front, is OK, I guess. I'm just not happy with the way these look. Darn.

Grandma's California Purse

Grandma B is taking a trip to California and wanted a purse that would suit her travel needs. I started with the pattern for the Paisley D-Ring Bag on Craftster but quilted the outside and added more pockets to the inside. I also took a stab at a zippered wallet - good idea but needs some refinement.

She picked out the cute fabric and I stitched it up. We are both pleased with the way it came out.

Pants Fitting

I have made 6 pairs of pants and have been moderately pleased with one of them. I have been using the Palmer / Pletsch book on Fitting Pants for Real People. They have a lot of great suggestions on how to fit pants. Their main suggestion is to tissue fit the pattern and make adjustments to the paper before you even cut your material. After sewing 2 pairs of pants that I couldn't even get on, I decided this was the way to go. However, I had trouble tissue fitting, I kept making the pants too big so I decided to buy some muslin and trace pattern pieces on to that.

I basted the muslin pattern pieces together as if I were sewing the pants (but also wanted to be able to rip them apart to use as pattern pieces once I was done). This approach really helped me see what was going on. In the pictures below, you can see that I have lots of issues with how the pants hang in the back. I made many alterations including deepening the crotch curve (many times!), letting out the inseams, and messing with the side seams.


I still was not happy with the way they looked, so after I was certain that the inseams were let out enough I decided to do the vertical tuck that the book suggests. The tuck ended up replacing the back darts and I had to let out the side seams at the hips a bit but it really seems to make a positive difference. My camera battery died so I do not have a picture of the muslin at this stage but I decided the pants looked good and began ripping them apart so I could cut out my fabric.

I can't decide which fabric to use so my pattern pieces have been sitting there waiting for me to use them. I am dying to know how they will look but I am also afraid that they won't look good, so I'm stalling. I have some navy blue gabardine in my stash so I think I will just use that. Tomorrow we have 3 soccer games (one for each girl) so I doubt there will be much sewing going on. Maybe Sunday.

Purse Dilemma

I thought I had a great idea for a purse. I found some fabric that I loved on the remnant rack at the local fabric store and bought some corduroy to go along with it. I could envision the shape and basic styling I was looking for, it was a cross between two purses (Jordy and Twit Two) I found on Craftster plus the Amy Butler Frenchy bag.

So I cut out the pattern pieces and started to sew. I used Pellon Peltex 72 to give it lots of stability. I thought I had a winner but here it is without the handles or lining sewn in and I don't like it. It's huge and not what I really wanted. I'm not sure if it is salvage-able or not. I think I will let it sit for a few days and see how I feel.

My First Post

Today is the first day of my blog. I'm thinking I will enjoy doing this and it will be a great way to record the things I am creating. I have found so much help on other blogs that I thought someone may find something useful on mine some day.