Butterick 6142 - The Pants

I need new pants. It's getting colder here on the East Coast and the pants I presently own are too big. I also want a skinnier leg pant than I've presently been wearing.  The worse thing a "fat girl" can do is wear too big clothing and 80% of my wardrobe is too big now.

So during my hiatus from the blog, I decided to try and alter a new pants pattern. I chose Butterick 6142 as the pants pattern for two reasons. One for the elastic waist and the slimmer legs of the pants and two because it will work in a ponte.

Extensive alterations to the pants pattern to make it fit my new measurements means I did a lot of pattern work. However, the pattern did have an interesting alteration line on the pants pattern front ~ a crotch alteration line.  Is this a new thing?  I haven't used a new pants pattern in quite some time and was pleasantly thrilled at finding the line on the pattern piece.  Even though it was there I didn't use it to make my changes, though I may in the future.

Instead I used the lengthen/shorten line in the abdomen area of the pants front and back to adjust the crotch line to match the one on my TNT pants.  I figured that and the actual pants length of each leg are the only things that still work for me.

Here are my alterations ~
My daughter and I took new measurements at the beginnning of the year since along with the weight loss there have been some inches lost too. I used those as the basis for the flat pattern measurements.

Because I didn't know where to actually start, I did make the alterations so that they would fit the waistline and butt measurement of my current pants pattern. Hey I needed to start somewhere and I did end up with a wearable muslin pair of pants. I know don't say it...

So the alterations first ~

1. The first and easiest was to add length to the front and back pattern pieces. I added it at the shorten/lengthen line that appears farther down the pants leg.

2. The second alteration was to use the crotch curve from my TNT pants pattern front & back pieces.

3.  Then I had to determine how wide to make the back and front pieces. Honestly I got a little confused here. See I know what my new measurements are - I wrote them down and posted them to my bulletin board.  But something in my brain would just not let me make a pattern piece that small. In my twisted mind, I kept thinking at least I could cut/serge away whatever fabric was too big...IF it was too big! You know I had to serge some additional fabric off the front and back, right! *LOL*

4.  The front and back pattern pieces were altered to reflect that change. I also took a wedge out of the pants front curve. Ummm, yeah if you don't have extra fat there, the crotch curve droops.  See all that extra fabric there...fine for a wearable muslin pair but not for my "real" pants.

5.  Final alteration was to add an inch to the center back merging into nothing into the side seam. The pants dipped a little low in the center back when I stood and sat.

I'm glad I made a wearable muslin because after wearing them I've determined that I have a few more changes to make to my pattern.

• When I made the original pants pattern alterations, I didn't take into consideration that the waistband had a large foldover for the elastic insertion or that I used up a good 2" with my pulled elastic application. So the pants fit best when I turned the waistband down once and wore them that way. I've since made that change to my pattern piece.
• I also had an extra amount of fabric in the front equal to the wedge that I removed from the pattern - so my next pair should work & fit better.
• I was going to cut off some of the length that I added to the pattern legs but the length is perfect. They work well with my sneakers which I wear to walk to work and my wedges or a heeled shoe.

Sewing Observations ~
It's been awhile (at least a decade) since I used anything other than my TNT pants pattern to make a pair of pants.  So I have my own construction order that I use, as well as, my own elastic application.  Hey what ain't broke didn't need fixing especially since my goal was to get clothes to wear - not try out a lot of techniques.

So the way this pattern has you attach the elastic was totally new to me. First there's a pattern piece to tell you how much elastic to cut. As an aside after I made the pants, I've decided that guide is gold! It's so awesome! 

I cut my 1" elastic using the guide and followed the pattern instructions to sew it into a circle.

Then I pinned it to the edge of the pants waistline at the four points.  You had to stretch the elastic to sew it to the edge.  

Finally, you fold it over and use the same stretch technique to encase the elastic.  Here's a pic of the finished waistline.

I'm sure that this is not a new technique. However, I was thrilled with the outcome because you know that I was bugging since Dritz discontinued the elastic I'd used for the last decade in my pants. This technique is just so friggin' cool!

The seams were primarily sewn using my serger ONLY after I stitched the pants together using my sewing machine and checked the fit on my body.

Some more pictures ~ 

This is how I wore the pants last January...

Pants with turtleneck and the artsy vest.

Back view

My next version of these pants were made in a woven here.  There will be more of these pants sewn especially since I pulled the wearable muslin pants out and wore them today. The look of them fit really well in my new reality. Now to go through the fabric collection and pick some more ponte out to make a well-fitted pair of pants. They will go so well with my new Butterick 5678 tunic!

...as always more later!

The Lisette Top 'n my TNT pants

These pieces were the result of a dream. Honestly! Last Thursday I'd been sewing for three days straight and I was moving very slowly that morning. My daughter came by to check on me and after she left to run an errand, I went and took a nap.

I woke up with this look burning into my brain because the thought of it was just so enticing. I don't usually sew pants in spring/summer but a pair of black pants is a good thing - no matter the season. This is my third Lisette top. I am posting these out of order because I love this pattern. Can I say that again - Love.this.pattern! I've been looking for a great top and this one fits the bill for me!

Construction ~
To get the eyelet design evenly at the hemline on all of the pieces, I laid them on the border lining up the marked hemline on the pattern pieces.

I sewed them from the hemline up to the underarm sleeve to insure that the hemline matched up. Any extra pieces (seam overlap) were cut off to clean finish the seam.

On the other versions of this top, I didn't like how the pattern suggested finishing the neckline. For the fruit version, I added binding per the pattern suggestion but I kept thinking that a lined version would be awesome. 

I made a back lining/yoke pattern piece for this version and cut it & the front yoke from a black cotton batiste. I sewed this to the neckline, flipped it in, edgestitched it, and stitched the front facing in the ditch. The armhole facing was basted at both sides and the center back was handstitched to the zipper tape.

Originally I also cut the sleeves and the front yoke on the border. I assembled everything and ended up with this hot mess.

Not exactly what I'd seen in my dream. I was also having some challenges with the pants. I'd slimmed the front and back pattern pieces down by an inch on each side. Cut the pattern pieces on the cross wise grain with the stretch running around my body...but the pants were also perplexing me. I still need to make another alteration to the body of the pants. Remove some length from the front and add some to the back. 

At this point I'd been sewing for 11 hours and was disgusted...totally and utterly disgusted. I posted this pic to Instagram turned everything off and went to bed.

The next morning I recut the sleeves from leftover solid black fabric and ripped the embroidered ones out of the top. I'm so thrilled that I bought so much of this fabric because the excess allowed me to recut the sleeves and the yoke.

I jimmed the pants - started the elastic about an inch lower on the front and right at the back and finished the pants. I will need to make more adjustments to the pants pattern but the outfit was finished.

Here are a few pics of the finished outfit ~

I have included a back shot to show you that I've got the pants to fit my backside which is new for me...*sigh* but I have quite a few wrinkles down the legs. Some is fabric related and some are fitting challenges that I need to address.

I could have omitted this picture but since my sewing this year is all about fitting my new body, I want to be transparent about how I'm working through my challenges.

Otherwise, the final outfit looks like how I dreamt it and I'm going to wear it. I was halfway through sewing this top when I realized that I made a similar one back in 2007...so I guess I really like this style! 

The second version of the Lisette Top is up next...

...as always more later!

The Pants Project

The temperatures are dropping here on the East Coast and I actually wore a pair of pants to work this week. Granted they were an unlined, ltwt. wool blend pair but they were pants.  It got me to thinking about my *sigh* winter wardrobe and I realized that I'm still lacking pants.  

Once upon a time, I'd sewn five pairs of black wool pants for my winter wardrobe. It was a goal I set and it took awhile to reach.  I was so proud when I got there that I immediately moved on...not realizing that I would need to keep that up if I wanted to retain those five pairs of pants. Unlike my dresses, my pants get alot more wear during the fall/winter, especially if it's a particularly cold winter.

However, I have some challenges ~

1.  I only have one box of 15 yards of the Dritz soft & easy stretch elastic.

This will allow me to make five more pairs of pants.  Probably enough for this winter and this winter alone. I've looked everywhere, googled and just can't find any more of this elastic which is depressing.  I know there are other elastics out there and I will probably have to work with some to come up with one that works for me...but I'm not looking forward to this...challenge.

2.  I need to alter my pants pattern again because even my thin leg trouser pant looks too big in the current skinny pant environment.  Now I'm never going to wear skintight skinny pants...but my pants legs need to be thinner...so some pattern work is involved...challenge.

3.  There are only two pairs of black wool crepe pants currently in rotation.  Do I use up elastic for three more pair or do I go in another direction.  My first thought is to sew the black pants because they work with everything and will work in my professional work wardrobe...but do I really want to do that since I'd really like another plaid pair and maybe even a small dark floral pair...challenge.

4. Then there is this pile of pants that need to be altered aka stretched out elastic removed and new elastic added. I really want to repair them and add them back into the rotation...but that takes away from the elastic stash.  So do I fix them or ditch them...challenge.

5.  Maybe it's time I try another pants pattern with a zipper closing. My fitting skills and sewing skills have improved since I last tried a pair...so maybe I should stretch my sewing skills and go there...challenge.

6.  I don't own a lot of pants patterns. I do, however, own a lot of patterns and these pairs of pants that I'm thinking of using are included in wardrobe patterns. Although, I really didn't even notice them when I purchased the patterns. All of these have now caught my eye so they will be considered for new pairs of pants.

As the title of the post says this is "The Pants Project" and I will be working on it for the rest of the fall & winter.  In January/February of this year I made four pairs of pants. Add them to the two pairs of black wool crepe pants, a pair of brown wool crepe pants, a gray pair that I made last year & want to rework, and a couple of other pairs. That means I will have ten wearable pairs of pants. I would like to end up with 15 to 20 pairs especially since this winter is predicted to be snowier and colder than last year. I want to be ready since I hate the cold!

There will be more talk of The Pants Project here on the blog. Especially when I embark on the journey of using the new pants patterns, as well as, altering my existing pants pattern yet again.

Next up is the finished dress ~ McCalls 6988.

...as always more later!