I finally did it! A pair of pants 2 plus years in the making are finally done. After many delays and problems sourcing material, my dream pants are a reality.

Pattern

Burda 6573

I wanted a pair of 1930s style sailor pants, but with a slightly more contemporary fit. Burda 6573 was a perfect choice. 

Fabric

7.5oz Raw Organic Denim - Deep Indigo from Sitka Fabrics

The fabric ended up being perfect! The weight is just right. It has a bit of drape and not too structured. Yet, it is still heavy enough for a sturdy pair of pants. 

Alterations

 I made my usual adjustments for Burda patterns. I sewed a size 12 graded to size 14 for waist (I have 38" hips and 30.5" waist). I find their crotches a little weird and tend to bag out, so did my usual 'flat pubis' type adjustment. I also ended up letting out the front seam on my tummy out a bit, since it was pulling on the pockets. 

If I sew again, I am going to try to make the pocket or at least a pocket facing on the pattern pieces. I had originally sewed them in a different colour material, but it was too obvious. I had to go back and make the pockets out of denim. But, I won't complain too much, since I at least have pockets. 

These are seriously now my favourite pair of pants. I can't wait to wear them with many different tops. They are super comfortable and I think I'm the bees knees in them.

As I mentioned in my vintage inspired capsule building posts, I am making some 1940s inspired pants. I went over many of the vintage patterns that can be found online and went with Eva Dress Trousers and Overalls with Hooded Blouse.

Pattern

Eva Dress Trousers and Overalls with Hooded Blouse



Materials

I made two pairs, both in mystery polyester suiting. It was a bit of a waste, but really wasn't sure if this silhouette would work for me.

Adjustments

The first pair (or muslin) I made without any adjustment. I cut my size and decided to see how it looked. I wanted these to be a wearable muslin, but to my dismay, the fabric was horrible.



Sadly, I was almost disgusted with what I ended up with. Who knew sewing could evoke such visceral reactions. I pays to get good fabric to begin with.

The second pair is wearable. I plan on wearing it out the office in the next few days. I feel like I need better shoes for the outfit, but overall I love the look.



The adjustments I made to this pair are:

• Took out almost 3" of ease in the hips and legs. The hips had about 5" of ease in them, I altered them to have about 2". Modern pants have about 1" (if not stretchy). I just felt like I was wearing grandpa pants.
• Added a zipper instead of buttons.
• Added a back patch pocket.

I am going to be making myself a pair of retro inspired pants, so I've started this list of vintage sewing patterns. If you know of any good ones, please let me know and I'll update the list.

	Simplicity 8447
	Simplicity 3688
	Simplicity 4044
	Simplicity 8243
	Decades of Style 4004
	Wearing History 1002
	Eva Dress Trousers and Overalls with Hooded Blouse
	Eva Dress Wide Leg Trousers
	Lady Marlowe Pants Pattern with Jacket
	Lady Marlowe 1930s Trousers with Sailor Blouse
	Lady Marlowe Pants and Blouse

Earlier, I posted about turning old pants into maternity pants. I've found another pair of secondhand pants to convert. This time, I'm going to use a completely different method. I'll call this Method 3: Converting Large Pants. For methods 1 and 2, see the older post.



Method 3: Converting Large Pants

To make maternity pants this way, I found a pair of pants that fit over my belly. Basically, the pants were a couple of sizes bigger than my regular size.


Before my alterations, the pants were super baggy in the legs. All I had to do to make them look right, was to alter the legs. To do this, I laid out my pair of well fitting Ginger Jeans on top, lined up the crotches, and traced the new leg shape (I made sure that both pants had the same amount of stretch, too). I graded the existing burgundy pants seam from about the bottoms of side pockets to the near the crotch level of the pants and then followed my Ginger jeans' shape. I also added about 1/2" width compared to my jeans because I wanted them a little looser.

To be even lazier with my changes, I matched up the in-seams of the pants. That way I only took in the extra fabric from the outside seams. The outside seams were easier to alter, since they were not top-stitched into place like the in-seams were. Doing this could cause off-grain fabric issues. But, I decided to take a gamble, since the fabric is so dark and the pants only cost me $4. In the end, I don't think I can tell.


The result is a pair of maternity pants that feel and look like regular pants. The fabric is also better quality than most off-the-rack maternity pants are made with. I find them super comfortable and I think the colour is great for fall.


I'm about 21 weeks along. There is still room in the belly area for my tummy to grow. Once I get too big, I can go back and use one of the other methods of making maternity pants to make them fit again.

I made myself a new pair of jeans! The Closet Case Files pattern came out just in time. I have worn out my other me-made jeans (they were so comfortable that I wore them all the time), so now I need more. This lovely pattern is going to fill that void.


Materials:

• Denim with stretch (2% spandex)
• Lining fabric (cotton left over from my Belcarra)
• Regular and top-stitching thread
• Button and zipper
• Interfacing

Pattern

Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans


The sewalong made following the steps really easy. All of the pictures are great. The pattern itself is well done. I love it!

I did some top-stitching on my pair, but mostly for appearance. My machine was giving me lots of troubles. I had to turn my tension all the way up to get it to 'work' (even with size 100 top-stitching needles). I have since vacuumed out my machine, so maybe it will work if I try it again. If not, I may not make jeans with fancy top-stitching thread in the future (booo).


I made View B with the high waist. I also added the tummy control pockets (they work!).


Adjustments

I made size 10 (my size according to the measurement chart) with some adjustments:

• Analyse your figure (where do you usually have issues? for me, it's my calves and thighs)
• Measure yourself and RTW pants that fit (or are close)
• Figure out your crotch curve (a flexible ruler helps)
• Compare your measurements and curve to the pattern
• Make all your adjustments before you make your muslin or first pair

The jeans look good from the front. My next pair will be even better. For now, I'm going to enjoy this pair. They are so comfortable!

I decided to take apart some old RTW pants I had to make a pattern for some new skinny crop pants.


As I mentioned in previous posts, I really needed some new bottoms - something dressy, but comfortable to wear around the office.


I cut apart an old pair of pants and traced them on some brown packing paper. They are a nice simple design with hip pockets.


I had the opposite problem from my Burdastyle shorts (which gave me a bit of a wedgie) - my crotch was too deep and left a little too much ease in the crotch area. I tried to make the crotch more shallow, by doing the opposite of scooping out the crotch, but there was not enough fabric to do this properly.

I added some belt loops a single welt pocket on the back. The back is a little wrinkly, but they look better than my blue cotton stretch sateen pants.


Below, is a close up of the welt pocket. I think it turned out pretty good.


I added a button and hook on the waistband. I used my buttonholer once again - that is such a great tool.


To stabilize the waistband of this stretch woven fabric, I sewed a 1" strip of polyester 'silk' selvedge to the inside waistband piece. I sewed the strip at 3/8" and then ironed it under. This left 1/4" of the inside waistband piece to get sewed down when I stitched in the ditch on the bottom waistband front. I'm really happy with how this turned out and my waistband feels stable.  

Selvedge peeking out under waistband

I used more of the polyester 'silk' lining fabric (left over from my Cordova jacket) for my pocket linings. The pockets look nice and clean. I copied some RTW pants and did a french seam on the bottom of the pocket bags.


Overall, I'm pretty happy with the pants and the way they fit. The RTW pants were of a different type of fabric and didn't fit me perfectly, so I still had to fiddle with the fit a lot. It was also a challenge to make sure I was drafting pieces, like the hip pockets, properly. So, I learned a lot in the process, but I think I'm going to by a commercial pattern and alter that next time. 


With these pants and my Easy Tee, I'm ready for work!

This latest project was a big one! I wanted to make some simple ankle pants using Burdastyle 03/2013 #104, but it took a lot longer than I thought it would.


Materials:

• Cotton Stretch Sateen (with spandex)
• Thread
• Interfacing
• Zipper 
• Button
• Bias tape 

All from my stash!

Pattern

Burdastyle 03/2013 #104

I chose this pattern because it looks rather simple (and it is). What made it super difficult was the fabric I used. There is simply too much stretch in this sateen! Even though I used my regular Burdastyle size (size 40) and the pattern mentions that you can have some stretch, I just had too much.

I spent hours and hours (about 16 hours I figure) trying to get the crotch curve right and trying to get rid of wrinkles. For the most part, I succeeded. But, the wrinkles all come back with wear.

To be honest with how the pants look, all of my pictures are taken after I wore the pants to work for a day.



The front isn't too bad. Just some wrinkles from sitting. 


The back is very wrinkled. After trying to get them to disappear, I decided to just live with them (most RTW pants are wrinkly, too).

[Update: I just remembered that, when first assembling the pants, there wasn't any ease in the back inseam for me to work in (unlike the instructions say to do). It is possible that the stretchiness of the fabric and/or improperly located pattern marks made this happen. This might be why I have extra back wrinkles.]

Alterations

With this stretch fabric, there was too much ease. I ended up making the seam allowances about 1.5" on the side seams and inside leg seam! It just keeps stretching and stretching!


I added a waistband so the pants would stay on better. With wear, they stretch out even more! The waistband helps keeps the pants in place. As you might tell from the photo above, the waistband also loosens with wear (even though it is interfaced), so I might go back and add twill tape to it.


I also added patch pockets on the back. I'm proud of how they turned out.

Overall, the pants are super comfortable and most people probably don't notice the wrinkles. The wrinkles aren't as obvious when I'm moving around. I've decided to live with them.

While the fabric was a big pain in (and around) my butt, it really is lovely to look at and touch. It has a nice sheen that doesn't come though the pictures.

What I Learned

Sometimes I waste too much time fitting. I think us sewers can get a little obsessed with the little things. My pants crotch looked good after about an hour of fitting and yet, I kept fiddling with it (and maybe made it slightly worse!).

Also, I should probably avoid fabric with so much spandex, unless I use a pattern specifically made for it.

What do you out there think of my pants? Did I horrify you with all of my wrinkles?

I made myself a wearable muslin of Burdastyle 08/2013 #118 pants. I needed new dress pants and want to make a pair that actually fits.


Notes after the jump...


Materials:

• Polyester twill (not sure - I found it at a used store for $4)
• Cotton print (for pocket lining)
• Thread
• Interfacing
• Buttons 

I had all of the materials in my stash, so I didn't have to run to the store to buy anything. I'm using some found polyester twill for the main fabric. I want to get the pattern right before using my nice wool fabric I have waiting to be made into pants.


Pattern

Burdastyle 08/2013 #118


This is a nice, clean looking pant. It's the kind of look I like for dress pants and easy to change, should I want to.

This is the same pattern I used to make my jeans.

Alterations

The Burdastyle patterns are close to my measurements, so I only had to make some fitting adjustments. My measurements are 30" waist and 39" hips, which would be a size 42. But, that runs a little big, so a size 40 works better instead of 42.

As I found with the many shirts and jackets I have made, I need to do a swayback adjustment. The front waist dipped down a lot and the back rose up really high. This gave the waistband a really tilted look. To fix this for my muslin, I raised the waistband 1/2" in the front and lowered it 1/2" in the back. I also let out the centre back seam slightly. Before I make my final pants, I will probably make a proper swayback adjustment to my patter and make  another muslin.

Another alteration was taking in the leg width. The pants are way too wide and I like a slimmer look. I took in about 4" on each leg near the bottom. Yet, they are still quite wide. For my next pair, I think I will straighten the leg a little more. I think I made them a little too flared.

What I Learned

I got more practice doing a fly front. I am really proud with how my zipper looks.

I also got to learn how to use a buttonholer. My husband found this 1948 Singer buttonholer for me and it works great with my sewing machine. It's so fast to use it and the results are great. Now, I'm really want to make something with more buttonholes just so I can play with it.



I also got more practice with welt pockets. Still not 100% perfect, but It's getting there.


Overall, I'm really happy with the pants. They are so comfortable! I can't believe how nice it feels to wear something that fits, even though it's made of some really cheap polyester fabric.

It's nice and sunny out, so I'm extra sqwinty