First try on what I will call the 2011 pants as I hope to make a lot of these in '11. The muslin is made from some VERY light weight gingham, probably not the best choice. I find when I make pants in a bottomweight fabric and bind the seams Hong Kong style, the weight can make them hang much better than the muslin. So I am not going to sweat these yet. I went to Joanns and found some not bad looking RPL for 4 dollars a yard. I think I will make the next muslin "wearable" (I hope) and see what the weight of the fabric does to the pattern. I took out a lot of volume from the pleats with
Peggy Sager's method of folding out from the waistband to the hem for one pleat and cutting and lapping the other pleat, hinging at the upper thigh and overlapping. I left enough for a small dart. I have a fairly flat tummy and was thinking of even rotating the dart out to the side seam. I think I will be trying different tweaks like those on various pants as I go along. To me the dart , well, makes a dart pointing at my groin area which definitely is very flat. So its ballooning a bit there. There is no zipper installed here, just a pin-over. The sides:
I am happy with the sides. They don't seem to sit back as the orginals did. Thanks, Claire! They are right in the middle and falling straight. Stacy and Clinton would be proud as they are going down from the widest part of my hips. Again, a heavier weight will make a difference here. Now for my usual back problem, which I haven't mastered yet. I swear my back right hip changes or moves around every time I try a new pants pattern.
Here you see that wrinkle I always seem to get on my right rear. I am thinking I need to pull in the back inseam a bit just on the right. Or should it be let out? What do you think? Nancy, I know you have this issue and I forget how I solved it last time. I haven' t made any pants for about a year now. and am trying to start from scratch with a new TNT. Any help appreciated here. Thanks, everyone.
The Rose Sweater is nearing the end. The collar went on this morning no problem. Now that it is all put together I will do a bit more embroidery on the collar, a bit more paint on the sweater, the buttons and done! Soon...
*************************************************************************
I am going to be visiting down in Mass and NH leaving tomorrow morning. DD is going to make me a new 3 part crown, aka bridge. The bridge I have had for 20 years has finally seen better days and popped out the other day with almost no provocation. I won't be back until maybe next Wednesday depending on driving weather but will be able to read everyone's blogs and comments as time allows. Of course I will prefer to just loll around with the little ones so that's priority one. I plan on some serious doll play with Sophie and Carly. Till then.......Bunny
Bunny, you've made such great progress already. Thanks for posting the whole process. I am learning as I follow along.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your new crown. I'm headed for dental work next week, too. Oh well, it must be done.
Very informative, I am not good at doing pants that fit. You shared a lot of tips that will help.
ReplyDeleteHave a safe trip and enjoy the little ones.
Nonie
Thank you for detailing the process in fitting these pants. This is a great help for me. Please continue to show how you will make these fit you. Thank you again. Fitting has always been a great struggle for me.
ReplyDeleteMarie
the internet ate my last comment. I'll try again. I have found that the diagonal wrinkle is caused by the waist not being in the right place. I have a higher hip and unless I give myself some extra room on that side I get those diagonal wrinkles. Pull it down on that side and see if they go away. You don't look uneven but your waist could certainly be tilted slightly or you just have it pulled up unevenly.
ReplyDeleteIt's more evident in the front picture that your hips are uneven and for some reason this shows up in the back and not the front. r
ReplyDeleteI have been using Coni Crawford pants patterns for all my clients from size 6 to 32 and they are perfect...no baggy butts, side seams hang perfectly straight. Her background is in the industry and she knows bodies!
ReplyDeleteI tried others and have settled on hers every time. Start with Butterick 5222 and you will be amazed!
Jo Ann
I have the same problem on both sides and never really solved it. My feeling has always been that the back inner leg seam, above the knee needs to be stretched. That way the upper back of the pants rotates to the side. I have sometimes achieved a similar effect by slashing the pants just below the back crotch line, lengthening the inner leg by an inch or so, and thereby rotating the buttock part of the back outwards past the original side seam. I then lowered the crotch point on the back so that front and back inner leg seams are the the same length again. I remember when I learnt to sew 40 years ago, that there were patterns where the back inner leg seam needed to be stretched by pressing to get it long enough to match the front. Let me know if you would like me to send you some drawings of what I mean, as it is all a bit difficult to explain! :)
ReplyDelete