Pants update

Now with pictures!

From my last pants post, you guys might have figured that I was determined to sew a pair of pants that would fit. And I was. The day before I left on vacation, I pulled out some fabric, and Simplicity 2700 (the Amazing fit pants) and got to work.

Informal analysis of my previous version of these pants revealed that the crotch was way too low on the pants, even though I cut my standard size 12 (average). Plus, it was just loose and baggy all around, not a look I was going for.

This pattern has slim, average and curvy pieces, and so I thought I'd try the slim next. (Side note: I am many nice things, but I am not slim. Simplicity, you are smoking crack.) At the waist and hip, I cut my usual size 12 out. I transitioned to the crotch curve of the size 8, and transitioned to the upper leg size of 10, tapering down to an 8 (or was it 10? I'll pull the pattern sheets out again and look.)

I had learned my lesson about pant muslins, so the fabric I pulled out was completely something I was willing to waste. I cut out just the leg pieces, and did a quick baste. Trying it on showed - it actually fit! Woo hoo.

(And then I went to San Francisco.)

When I came back, I decided to actually finish the pants. Also, I decided I needed to learn how to line pants (I won't buy unlined woolen pants, so why would I sew one?), so I cut out the rest of the pattern pieces, and lining, and got to work.

Progress has been slow, but last night, I got it almost finished. All that remains is to make a buttonhole and sew a button, and hem pants and lining.

But alas, when I tried it on last night, once the lining and waistband was in, the pants were just a trace too tight. Now, this could have been because of the incredible amount of yummy dumplings I ate for dinner, but since eating incredible amounts of yummy food is a pretty standard part of my life, I think I'll make the next set just a tiny bit larger. In particular, I might use the size 10 crotch, and sew the lining with slightly narrower seams so that the lining is a tiny bit larger than the pants.

Or perhaps I should just crack open David Coffin's book on pants (which I own) and see what he says.

Anyway, after that long, picture-less ramble, I'm reasonably pleased. These pants do fit, so they will become part of my wardrobe. Jeans, especially with stretch denim are trickier, but for the moment, I'll settle for trousers that fit well.

Here's the front (images artificially brightened to show you what's going on)


And here's the back:


While there appears to be a fair bit of wrinkling in the front, part of it is the way I'm standing, and the other part is the slightly too-tight bit. Trust me, these pants are a lot better than any version yet. Yay.