HotPatterns Wong Singh Jones Marrakesh Pants

After three muslins (made from muslin), I have made one wearable pair of HotPatterns Wong Singh Jones Marrakesh Pants. Yaaaay! Muslin number one was straight from the pattern. I found that I needed to increase the length of the U of my crotch, more on the back pants piece than in the front. I also added some on the sideseam (on the back piece). I made my first wearable pair from a grey fabric pinstriped with silver thread--it has a really nice drape, while it's soft to wear. I can't remember from where I got this: it could have been Fabrix, Fabrics R Us, or Happy Stop.

I'm happy with the final results, but I think that there are more fitting problems issues to fine-tune:

• I think that the front is a little too loose/drapey, so I'm folding out a .25 inch from the front piece, right along the center of the pattern piece.
• The waistline is a hybrid of elastic and drawstring, along with a zipper--I like how Trudy designed this. I've noticed that very easy to gather a lot of fabric on a drawstring, and this excess fabric will create a bulky waistline, but because of this design I think that I can shave about 1 to 1.5 inches from around the waist (from the front and back pants pattern pieces). If I remove this extra fabric, it will help provide better shaping to my waist. I can probably be more aggressive with removing extra fabric around the waist because the zipper will allow me pull the pants around around my hips. I'm debating if I want to keep the inseam pockets because reshaping the waist-to-hip curve means I'll have to check pockets, too. Many of the other sewists who have made this pattern eliminated the pockets completely. Decisions, decisions.

My next fabric will be a mystery slate grey piece that I pulled out of my stash. I was going to use a striped piece of black rayon (I think that it's rayon) that I purchased from Fabrix. Last night I pulled it out of my stash, removed the machine basting (I sew the ends of my fabric together when I prewash, then store the fabric with the basting. That way, I know that I washed it) and then I laid it out on my cutting table so that I could work on it when I got home. Then I realized that I was going to be altering and tweaking the fit again, and I thought about the strong stripes, so I went digging though my fabric stash again. I found the mystery slate grey piece along with some really colorful (and even) plaid pieces (that I know that I purchased from Fabrix). The plaids are currently in the wash with some recently acquired linen (which I will be labeling with their origin after the are removed from the dryer).

Marlene Dietrich Pants Burda Plus 02-2007-402

I finished another pair of pants! Burda Plus 02-2007-402 is a wide legged pair of pants with a contour waistband (Burda calls this "Marlene Dietrich style").

I'm getting pretty fast at technically sewing pants, but fitting the pants is taking as long as the actual sewing. So this pair took me about 2 days of actual sewing (probably 7-8 hours total), which includes tracing the pattern, making a muslin, a trip to the store to get matching thread for the fashion fabric, a two day rest period. I made the version without the cuffs and the creases, so I know that saved me some time. I spent this morning finishing the waistband, adjusting the fit in the back and hemming. Based on the muslin, I lengthened the front and back crotch seams (by extending the pattern pieces). When I was fitting the pants, it seems like I removed all the fabric that I added. I guess that the inseam stretched. I think that I'll have to play around with the fit on the back a bit (right now, they fit as well as any ready-to-wear LOL!), but I think that this pants pattern can be moved into my pattern repertoire. If I can get a decent picture of the back with me in it, I'll post. There are some wrinkles that could be removed, but I can't figure out what alteration to make.

I am planning on making this pattern again--this pair was made from some brushed cotton twill ("brushed cotton" = "extra lint" in the sewing machine) from my stash. It spent a relatively short time in my stash--I purchased it from an online coop in the Spring. It's a nice olive green and more of a heavyweight twill than a medium. It's definitely a casual fabric. I have some other striped (pinstripes) that will change the look a bit.

The picture above is a true depiction of the color. I'm going to have to get a real tripod and figure out a standard pose for these project photos. If I wear these with a tucked in blouse (not my usual style), I will definitely add a belt.

Here is a hanger picture of the front:

Picture of the rear (hanger)

PatternReview located here.

Trousers! Burda Plus 02-2007-402

Over these past few weeks, I've made great progress on making trousers that fit (and fit properly)! My technical skills have improved, as have my fitting skills. I'm sooo happy! I'll have a new wardrobe for work. I'm almost finished with gray BWOF 09-2005-129--I need to either add a button and buttonhole or sew on some hooks and eyes. I've decided to let this pattern rest for a while and work on a new project while I have time to pay attention to it.

After poking around PatternReview, I decided to make Burda Plus 02-2007-402. Burda Plus 02-2007-402 is a simple pair of pants: no pockets, no yokes, no cuffs, just a shaped waistband and pants pieces. It has 4 pieces (6 if you count the belt carriers and the fly shield). Last night while watching Project Runway I traced it and cut out out the muslin. Since there are so few seams, I felt it was important to check how the pieces got together and how it looks on me, I spent this morning sewing the muslin and adjusting the fit. I've become a great fan of muslins. I will have to use the 40% off coupon at J's and get a bolt of muslin, so I won't hesitate to make them. I had a hard time cutting the white cotton sateen I got at an estate sale earlier this month. Sigh.

Burda Plus 02-2007-402 Technical Drawing

Burda Plus is published twice a year--the 02-2007 issue covers Spring/Summer Fashions. The suggested fabrics are "Pants/trouser fabrics, with or without stretch blend." Right now, I'm not going to add the cuff or the crease. I'm planning on a pair in olive green twill (from Ressy's coop) and another pair in a different fabric (probably a striped mystery stretch woven from Fabrix). Even though it's a Spring pattern, I think that it will be okay in an Autumn/Winter Fabric. There's a "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon on TLC--it's ideal sewing TV.

Muslins! or Sewing vs. Fitting

I'm learning more about the value of muslins by experience. A muslin is a test garment: it's purpose is to fit the garment to the wearer--it's not meant to be worn as "real clothing." I don't like the idea of making muslins, because it's "extra work." Well, I have learned that if I don't make a muslin, the first version of the garment is a toile by default.

I have made two versions of Simplicity 3696, the drawstring pants. The first pair is by default, a muslin. I sewed them wonderfully, but the fit was off. Even though I pin-fit the pattern paper, the finished project was too loose and baggy--they resembled pajamas, and are not suitable for work and are destined to Goodwill. In the next version, made from the same fabric (a solid color seersucker with a crosswise stretch), I took in the outside seam from the waist to the knees (in the next version, I just might cut the pattern to the smaller size on the outside seam). The difference in the fit is amazing. The waist is about 2 inches smaller, so there is less fabric bunching up on the drawstring belt, and my waist is now visible. I'll try to take some pictures and add them sometime tomorrow, so you can see the difference. The second pair, dark navy blue, are suitable for work.

I'm also revisiting the Burda World of Fashion Pants 09-2005-129. I tried making this earlier this year (without a muslin), but the fit was off. Way off. I just bagged up everthing and set it aside. I pulled this UFO (Un Finished Object) out of a pile and took a closer look at them. After I tried them on I could see that I needed to lengthen the crotch (front and back--I had to do this on Simplicity 3880, and 3696 and the wrinkles seemed to indicate this alteration). So I altered the pattern, pin fit it and it seemed better. Well, as good as swedish tracing paper can look taped together (I trace BWOF patterns without the seam allowance). And then I couldn't find any suitable muslin fabric in my stash. I swear, sometimes it's like dying of thirst while floating on a raft in the middle of the ocean.

This past weekend there was an estate sale in my hometown. Since I'm cleared for driving, I decided to attend. The estate belonged to a tailor's family and there was lots of housewares and furniture. I, of course, headed directly to the sewing area. The buttons had been picked over, but I was able to get two bolts of fabric, one of which I can use for muslins. It's a really nice creamy white cotton sateen (with a very similar hand/feel to the Catherine Ogust fabrics I got from an online coop). It might be upholstery weight (it's non-stretch, 54 inches wide) and it's almost too nice for muslins.

But I bit the bullet, measured off 2 and a half yards and cut a muslin of the BWOF-09-2009-129 pants. I was able to sew them up (no topstitching except for the front pockets, rudimentary darts, no seam finishes, unhemmed and without a zipper in the fly. Hey! it's a muslin) in less than an hour. And they fit pretty darn well. I need to lengthen the hem by about an inch so I have more freedom for alterations. Even though the muslin isn't suitable for wearing outside the workroom it looks much better than the first version which is more finished (with topstitching, installed fly zipper, etc). I'll save the muslin so that I can use it to play around with adding/fitting the waistband. I'm coming to realize that it's not extra work to make a muslin.