Jean Muslin: Take 1

I started working on jean pattern yesterday.  I'm working on Connie Crawford's Woman's Jean pattern Butterick B5403.  I was a little leery of starting this because I had read some bad reviews, and still being fairly new at fitting pants I was worried I might be in over my head. 

I chose my size based on my measurements and traced it.  I got a little concerned when I noticed the size I was tracing didn't allow for any ease in the hips.  I know jeans are suppose to be close-fitting, but the pattern was listed for 2 sizes, with no ease at the smaller size which meant -2" of ease at the bigger size.  I thought this had to be a mistake because the folks at Pattern Review kept saying when 2 sizes are listed like that, the pattern should have enough ease for the larger size.  And since my measurement was just an inch smaller than the smaller pattern recommendation I thought it would be ok.  I was wrong.

I didn't make any changes to the pattern yet.  I wanted to see how it was going to fit right out of the package.  The first thing I noticed is it's to tight in the hips.  The other thing that really jumps out at me is the back crotch.  I need to scoop it out a little to get rid of that wedgie, and I might need to add a little to the inner thigh.  The bottom of the back yoke feels really low.    First I'm going to try going up a size and see how that looks.

Back to the cutting table.

A sewing success!

A few weeks ago I when shopping looking mostly for jeans but I also looked at capris.  I found a few pair that I really liked however they didn't fit.  Then a light bulb went off and I realized I could make something similar with the capri pattern I was working on.  I pulled out my cell phone and took pictures from every angle and close ups of the details I wanted to copy.  When I got home I uploaded the cell phone pics to the computer I found they were mostly useless.  Blurry, I was in a rush because the sales clerk kept knocking on the door asking how I was doing, and the back shot was completely useless because trying to take a pic of one's backside in a mirror over your shoulder without looking is almost impossible.  I tried to sketch to the best of my ability (I'm no artist) the capri details, and had a fairly good representation but I was still missing somethings.

 A few days later I got an email from the online version of the store I was at alerting me to an upcoming sale.  Although I have sort of a love/hate relationship with this store (at this particular time it was in the strongly dislike phase) I decided to take a look and there they were.  The capris I wanted to copy.  All the angles I needed.  I tried downloading the pics but they were copyrighted, so I had to print pages and pages to get the pics I needed.

After doing a few final tweaks to my capri pattern, this weekend I went to work on my copied version of the capris.  Mine aren't exactly like the rtw ones, I guess in the end I used them more for inspiration than anything.  I really didn't care for the zipper in the side of the leg, because it was useless.  It didn't open to a hidden pocket, it was just there, almost like they were trying to hide a fabric flaw or a cutting mistake.  I did like the felled seams on the side pockets and decided to incorporate that into the back pockets as well.  On the original the front pockets were sewn on the outside, and I thought about doing that but wasn't sure how that would look with the waist darts that I have on my pattern.  Maybe if I can find a pattern with a flat front, I'd consider front patch pockets.  I thought about doing the top stitching around the pocket and knee, but by the time I got the pockets sewn on I forgot about it and then decided it would look silly with it.  I love the finished product and can't wait to wear them, I just wish the weather would cooperate.

Up next: Going to try making my own jeans.

  

Building my fabric stash

With finishing my one pair of pants last week and they actually look wearable, I'm still working on a decent pair of capris, I got excited and went on a fabric splurge.  I have 8 yards of  linen/cotton blend in the tan, which really is more brown than tan, 5 yards of cotton/poly twill in the blue, 6 yards of cotton twill in the olive green, and a 24 yard bolt of 12 oz denim for jeans.  The last time I bought a bolt of denim like this it lasted for years.  Unless I really get into making jeans this bolt should last me the rest of my life.  I plan on making pants in all of these and I possibly have enough of some fabrics to make more than one.

Cheap & easy VS learning though experience

My mom has sewed since she was a teenager.  Growing up she sewed for me and my sister.  She has an amazing ability to look at a thrift store sheet and turn it into something wonderful.  But yesterday when she was showed me a pair of thrift store capri pants that she wasn't that happy with I was scratching my head in wonder why wouldn't she taper them in slightly and hem them up if that's what was bugging her.

As we discussed the pair of pants I spend the last 3 months working on and recently finished, it dawned on me why she wouldn't try to fix them.  Although she has decades of sewing experience, she stopped sewing for herself when things started to require a bit more work to get them to fit.  Knowing how much time I put into my pants she asked if it would of been easier/cheaper to just go buy a pair.

Short answer, maybe, long answer, not really.  I didn't start this project looking for a quick and easy fix.  I knew when I started I didn't know what I was doing and set out to learn; because I felt my options for ready to wear pants were limited.  I'm not willing to spend $70+ for a pair of jeans, and I'm not ready to go with all elastic waist pants.  As my daughter pointed out, "Those are Grandma Pants."  I've never been to worried about keeping up with the latest fashions, but I still have ideals of what I like and what I think look good in and I just wasn't finding it in the stores.

Thanks to all my hard work and the help and guidance of some wonderful women, on the internet, who were very patience and took the time to point out my mistakes and how to fix them, I now have a pattern that I know fits and doesn't look half bad, and  I can make design changes for different looks.  Depending on what kind of fabric I use, I can make dress pants, casual summer capris, or work pants all from one pattern.  I also gained the knowledge and confidence to tackle fitting a jean pattern for myself.  When you weigh the skills I learned and the multiple pattern options against the cost of the fabric, my time, and the frustration of looking for ready to wear (more than once a shopping trip turned into a crying fit in the dressing room), I think I came out ahead.

Finishing up my pants

 I decided since I was desperate for something to wear to go ahead and make a pair of pants even though I'm not quite done with the fitting process.  These are looking ok, but there's still room for improvement.  I figured the problem I was having with the inseam wasn't going to be that big of a deal if I made regular pants that I could roll up into capris.  There's a button tab on each side of the legs to hold the cuffs up once I get the buttons sewn on the outsides.  I also love cargo pockets so I put some on,  although they are a little low.  I could raise them up at least 2 inches, but for this pair I'll just leave them, and they're a little baggy, but I'd rather have them baggy than to tight.  I just need to sew the waistband on, hem them up and sew on the buttons.

So close, but so far

My pants fitting saga continues.  Just when I think I'm good to go, something's wrong with them.  I've worked on getting the crotch right, adding to the waist & hips, getting them balanced, adjusting the waistline, adjusting the darts.  The only thing I thought I had left to was to level out the hem.  So just as I was getting excited about making a pair to wear I'm told they're still wrong.  The back is to baggy and the front crotch is to long.

 I don't know what to do anymore, but I'm desperate.  I went looking for jeans the other day and the only ones I found that fit were out of my price range.  I had a favorite brand, but they've been discontinued and replaced with something I don't care for.  I guess I really only have one choice here, become a nudest.

Pants & Fauxhawks

Boy, it's been a long week, and I feel like I've accomplished nothing.  I had things to do this week that I couldn't ignore, so that left no time to knit or sew, not to mention the house is a disaster and laundry is piled up.  I guess now you know where my priorities are.

Yesterday I was able to sneak in a pants fitting and finally got the thumbs up to go ahead and attempt a wearable muslin.  I'm just a few tweaks from finally having my pants pattern perfected.  I was so excited I decided it was time to buy some new fabric to do them in.  Up until now I've been working with this polyester stuff I picked up on ebay for a bargain.  It looks nice but I wouldn't be caught dead wearing polyester pants.  I bought it specifically for pants muslins.  I picked up some navy twill, and I'm debating if I want to do them as capris or full length pants.

While I was at the fabric store, I picked up some fun fur to use in an upcoming baby shower gift.  I'm making matching father/son fauxhawk hats.  How cute is this?  I knitted the baby one up in just 2 hours.  It was a fun little project and a nice break from my hectic week and all the weeks I've spend on my pants.