Not quite the greatest fit, is it???? Well, it does get better and it was a journey. In the end I think I have a cute pair of pants/joggers. My sis inSISted they would look "cute" on me so I took up her dare. I do admit, they are the last blast of summer and will get packed away soon but the first couple of wearings made it very clear that the fit was all wrong. It's not easy with joggers, really.....
Pattern:
The pattern is McCalls 8099.
I felt some research was needed regarding the fit of joggers. Seems there are options out there and I wasn't quite sure what would work best with my short frame. If you google images for "stylish joggers" you will see what I mean. On some women the look is one of a slender almost body hugging leg with a quite long, definitely hugging cuff. On other stylish women, the look was voluminous, loose legs with cuffs grazing the instep and gathered and thick looking. Our pattern model had a bit of both, a nice slim looking leg and a deep, gathered cuff. But was she clamped in the back of the leg? Was the leg long for her and ridiculously long for me? Ay, yay, yay. I checked PR and that didn't help much either. I made a muslin. I actually got the muslin to fit quite well and wish I took pics. It is now in pieces. That is a good thing because it needs to be burned.
Above is the bad fitting front. Back to that pattern:
My muslin fit like a dream, seriously. I cut my pants , except for the length which I expected to be an issue and would determine at the finish. I made my pants. I wore my pants. Not so happy. The crotch was way to long which was NOT evident in my muslin. I have no idea why. Different fabric, maybe? My pants were full, but I think that was the style, coming up from those gathered cuffs. The crotch was way too long. In my eager disgust I folded out one inch with a tuck at the waist line seam and stitched it away happily.
My joggers survived to be worn another day. That waistline seam is now thick as carpet matting and my crotch is still too low. I wore them all day and found that if I totally folded over my 1 1/2 waistband, that damn crotch rose!!! I took them off and debated whether to wait until next summer and see if I grew taller over the winter, send them to the donation pile or just blame it all on my sister. I stewed for a couple days. I mean this was gorgeous Danube Essex linen.
Night before last I needed distraction. I grabbed them from their "heap-iness" and cut off the waistband, including the one inch extra tuck. Do you see how thick that thing is in the pic below? So embarrassed. I was going to be careful, use my head this time and go about this in a professional way. I measured. I used my hip ruler.
I carefully marked my waist, front and back. Including the original one inch tuck, I removed 2 1/2 inches at center front total, wedging down to a one and a half inch at the sides and around to center back. Again. How this happened I don't know. Maybe I was supposed to turn it under or something and didn't but it is now fixed!!! Yay!
I made a new waistband completely. Instead of making a gathered waistband separate from the garment and then just serging the two together, I made a real waistband and stitched it to the pant. I trimmed it with pinking shears on the inside and pressed that seam away from the pant and into the waistband. Then the band was folded over and topstitched on the very top edge. The remaining edge was the selvedge. I folded the band over, filled it with an elastic circle and then ditchstitched the selvedge edge down from the right side. There is NO bulk at all, smooth as can be and the gathers are minimal. The selvedge faced down into the pant. The waistband seam faced up into the waistband, smoooooooth.
New pants in front:
They fall more smoothly and the cuffs sit higher at my ankle which I like better. The waist sits at my natural waistline as well.
New pants back:
Yay, I am happy now. My sis is in Yellowstone at the moment. We will talk....
My fabric was Essex yarn dyed linen blend, I think it is either Danube or Peacock. Hard to remember and I don't see it in current colors. This is one of my favorite fabrics to stitch. So comfortable and so cooperative. Just watch those ravels.
The pattern has two patch pockets on the behind. Needless to say, they now start just shy of the waistband gathers but thats ok. I wore this tucked in top so you can see the structure but 99% of the time I will wear a top that will cover the top of these pants. On the pants legs the pattern shows a cargo pocket on each outer leg seam. I love cargo pockets. Two adds mega width to my already wide hips and thighs. I decided to only put the cargo pocket on one leg and am really happy with that assymetry. I think it is a great pattern, its only challenges being two: Pay attention to the waistband instructions. and second, watch that leg length/crotch depth.
Will I make another pair? I truly doubt it. I caught the trend and will move on. Winter is coming and I have lots of needs there. I am making a list and making plans. Can't wait to sew and share. I will be having a bit of surgery in a couple weeks or so and not sure how that will effect things. I know will be able to "walk and hike", no lifting for 6 weeks over the weight of a bottle of milk so we shall see. I am not concerned. Just one of those obnoxious things.
Have you made or worn joggers? I don't jog/bounce any more but love to walk. I mean, really, we all wear active wear but how active are we?...........Bunny
Well done, as usual! I appreciate the struggle and the process. I generally have to make this same adjustment at the waist of pants patterns. I find that many brands of men's RTW pants, especially jeans, typically fit me much better in this area than women's pants and jeans do. I also wonder if this is just some annoying legacy of the pattern company's poor flat pattern drafting or if my lower back, hips, and belly are really shaped differently than other people's! How wonderful that you made these fit you so well!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mapmaker. I believe I now know why I messed up. I've taken to adding a couple of inches to my waist on the last few pants I've made and then done a final adjustment before attaching the waistband, adjusting here and there. I did this on the muslin and I think I did it on the final pants as well. Then I forgot I did it and added my waistband to the extra that was on the final pants. Well,,, we really sew here. I can guarantee you that if I have issues I will pass them on. You won't get the final perfect finish, a la Instagram, here, nosiree! You will suffer right along with me, stupid mistakes and all! But you will also see my greatest hits and I will glory in all your appreciation for my hard work. It is so very appreciated. Thanks, all of you dear readers.
DeleteYour final product is quite attractive and fit you well. The trend will likely last another season I think, but your assessment is correct, most of these patterns have very long waist to crotch curve length. Why? Who knows. I have to adjust all of them but because I am just barely 5 feet 3 inches now (as the result of dramatic shrinkage with age) and I strongly feel they are not graded for that. Even ready to wear fits me the same way. I cut off waistbands too. I have discovered one brand that fits well, that's all, just one. And people wonder why we sew! I have a friend who made a couple pair and we discussed why they did not flatter her. Just 4 feet tall, they were voluminous on her and literally swallowed her tiny frame. By taking the curve out of the outside leg seam, shortening the waist to crotch curve length, and recutting the waistband we had some luck, but I think this trend was not friendly to the petite frame. Love the linen by the way.
ReplyDeleteMy concerns, prior to sewing, were the lengthof the leg. I knew if it was a tad too long it would baloon out and the cuff would not sit on my ankle nicely. Pulling the crotch up to where it was supposed to be plus my own shortening of the leg, in the end, made it all land in the right place. One of the things I did,Celka, was first establish on the pattern where the pattern thought the knee was, by folding hem to crotch. I then measured and matched to my own with adjustments. Then I adjusted the lower leg from the knee down. That helped a lot and might help out your friend. Good luck.
DeleteJoggers are (were?) a trend? I don’t have the slightest clue about trends, though I did buy this pattern mostly for the easy look and the cuff. I sew lots of pants and get tired of the same old straight hems. Thanks for your review. My sister loves linen but I am not a fan, and I don’t know why, I just never took to it, too rumpled looking on me. though it always looks great on everyone else! Your final result is terrific.
ReplyDeleteYou might like this fabric. Essex is a blend of linen and cotton. I believe 55 linen and 45 cotton but I could be off a percent or two. It doesn't wrinkle as much as solid linen and the two fibers allow for some beautiful cross dyed effects and color. It is reasonably priced and readily available.Just google Kaufman Essex yarn dyed linen blend. Thanks for your comments.
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