New Marcy Pants! - Vogue 8929

I was very excited to see Marcy Tilton's pants pattern, 8929, in the recent Fall offerings from Vogue. Unfortunately the smallest size that this pattern comes in is a size 8, which is too large, as I like my pants to be close fitting.

So I took my well fitting Style Arc Barb pants and laid the pattern on top of the size 8 Marcy pant pattern, view B. I removed a large amount from both the front and back crotch. I also removed quite a bit from the front side seam.

I am a butt-less wonder and the crotch curve that fits me is shaped like this, narrow and deep. (The pants front is the left side.)

My alterations did not affect the pants length. My horizontal alterations ended above the knee, so the pants are designed as you see them at the knee and below.

I love the front pocket!

I used a wonderful stretch woven to make these up. In fact, it's the same fabric I used to test the Barb pants. This fabric is an anthracite color (which goes equally well with blacks or browns) and it washes and wears beautifully.

I apologize that it's a bit hard to see the detail on these pants in the pics on me. We are having a rare gorgeous day, so that makes it harder to see the subtle detail. I don't have a striped bottom-weight fabric, but these would be great in stripes, as you can see on the pattern envelope. The front features a great pocket and the front and back feature a giant oval inset, once the side seams are sewn. I love this detail!

I LOVE these pants! The length is perfect, so if you are taller than 5'5", you may need to lengthen. They taper at the ankle, but are not super tight - they lightly skim the body. It's a wonderful pattern and I will be making them again, especially when I find the right fabric!

I include this pic only because a) it shows that I am still quite busty as a DD, though maybe not uber busty as when I was a G, and b) I am still plagued by a tummy I have not been able to get rid of.
On Thursday it was a typical summer day in San Francisco: cold and foggy. I ran some errands and wore my NYDJ jeans (cheetah print), and my new-ish Sandra Betzina coat. Fall in San Francisco often has gorgeous weather, and we are starting to have some, as you can see in today's photos where I am wearing my Marcy pants and Burberry-inspired shirt!

I have started my next project. It's a top and I have spent hours altering the pattern, as I want to retain elements of the pattern, but I want a different shape, not unlike the changes I made to the recent Mizono top. I was recently musing to some friends, wondering if my extensive changes affect the integrity of the design, and one (highly creative) friend said she changes every pattern she makes; she sees the commercial pattern as a starting point, only. I like that interpretation!

Today I wore this outfit to my wonderfully funky church and then to a blogger meetup. I am also entering it into Visible Monday, so no sewing for me today. Have a great week, everyone!

Pants That Fit! - Style Arc Barb

I've been suffering from a lack of well-fitting pants for awhile now. I bought a few pair of Not Your Daughters Jeans in a size 2 but, even those are big through the hips and baggy in the rear, though they are snug in the waist.

Some of my absolutely favorite pants are made from Style Arc patterns. For example, I have 5 or 6 pair of their Linda pants, but Style Arc come in a single size, so my size 10s are all too big on me. I've been waiting to buy more Style Arc patterns until my weight stabilized.

These pants are the Barb, which is an updated version of the Linda. They are a pull-on pant for stretch wovens.

About a month ago I attended a talk given by my friend Sarah Bunje, who used to teach sewing and fitting at Cañada College. The talk was on how to fit the crotch on pants and was especially targeted to those who, like me, have a flat butt. In my case, you need a microscope to find my butt, which is why, I guess, most pants swim on my behind, even if the front fits. (I used to use a smaller size in back, but that is harder since patterns don't always come in a small enough size for my rear.)

I used several tips from Sarah's talk on these pants. I removed a bit from the back crotch point, straightened the CB curve, and scooped a bit from the bottom of the back crotch curve. I think these minor tweaks were effective, though I might need further tweaking. It's a process.

The only other change I made was to shorten the pants. I cut off 3" and hemmed them at 1-1/2".

These pants are *so* comfy and fit me better than any other pants I currently own. I used a stretch woven purchased at Fabrix in anthracite (between charcoal grey and brown). This fabric washes and dries beautifully and resists wrinkling.

I love these pants! They will be a workhorse in my wardrobe and I can see making a lot more pairs!

I am really looking forward to ordering some Style Arc patterns in my new size. I generally only order 3 patterns at a time, so it will be hard to narrow it down! Not only have they added some wonderful new designs, but I need to buy some of my old favorites in my new size. For example, I can't wait to get a new copy of the Cassie pant, which is one of my favorite all time pants ever.

In typical San Francisco fashion, the weather has been sooooo cold, foggy and damp. It might be the middle of July, but I am full of fall thoughts and am happily browsing fall clothing on various websites. I live near the tallest mountain in San Francisco, Mt Davidson. It's covered with trees and has a giant cross at the top, but most people don't go up there, because the trees obscure the views. The following picture shows Mt Davidson, but you can't see it for the fog. I took this when I was taking my pictures at 10am today. I also turned on the heater in my house today. I try not to, but it was just so coooold.

Mt Davidson, somewhere behind the fog
Edgehill, also behind the fog

Hot Date Jeans!

Sometimes, the sooner one accepts that one is a freak and gets on with it, the better.

I accepted this fact a long time ago.

With my recent weight loss, I have found myself pining for pants that fit me. Really fit me and that do not swim around my backside. People will say to me, without much sympathy, "just make some!"

If it were only so easy. None of my TNT patterns fit me any more. I have "measured out" of most pattern lines. My hips are now 34", which is a size 4 in the Big 4. Most patterns do not even go down to a size 4. I have tried a couple, but they have a "trouser" like fit through the rear - in other words, they loosely skim the derriere region.

I do not want a trouser like fit, with no butt definition. I want a jeans-like fit. I used to go down a size in the back for a better fit, but I can't do that anymore, at least not in most patterns.

I have become a butt-less wonder. Woe is me.

Finally, out of desperation, I bought two pair of jeans on ebay. I went to the store to figure out what size I now wear in the Not Your Daughter's Jeans brand. The size 0 fit me through the hips, but I could not zip them over my ooshy-gooshy belly. Because, you see, if you have a 34" hip, you are supposed to have a 25" waist. My waist is somewhere around 32", depending on the time of day and how snugly I'm pulling on the tape measure.

In the end, I compromised on a size 2 in the NYDJ brand. These are still a bit roomy through the hip, and they also throttle me in the waist. It's nothing I can't handle, but it's not the most ideal situation.

So I decided to give the Jalie Jeans pattern another try, mostly because of the enormous range of sizes they come in. Back when I last made a pair, a couple years ago, I had traced off a size V. According to their chart, my hips are now a size Q.

That is a childrens size. The size of a 13-year-old, if you believe their chart.

Hence the freak comment.

My waist is between a size U and W on the Jalie chart. That is no problem, of course, but just a matter of a minor alteration, of several pattern pieces.

I traced off a size Q, enlarged the waist and all of the corresponding pattern pieces (mostly pockets), straightened the lower leg to remove the boot cut, grabbed some pink denim and some printed denim, and my plans for Memorial Day weekend were complete.

I first made the pink jeans. For these, I used a straight leg, but otherwise followed the pattern as designed. Wait, that's not quite true. Instead of an actual zipper, I used a mock fly and an elastic waist. Now, I know many of you scorn the elastic waistband. And if you have a waist that is several inches smaller than your hips, I understand why. But if, like me, you have a 1" or 2" difference between your waist and hips, an elastic waistband makes a lot of sense and doesn't add bulk. Believe me in this and do not scorn me.

Working on the front pockets
and the back pockets

I have to thank Margy for this excellent denim, sourced from Emma One Sock. It was listed as red stretch denim, but when it arrived, Margy didn't feel it was her red, so I gratefully inherited this lovely fabric. It it such a light red, that I call it pink, though it's more like a soft strawberry red.

I was pretty happy with these jeans, so I went back to the pattern and created a more tapered leg. For the second pair, I wanted to change things up. I wanted to use some big, bold zippers I had found locally and a wild printed black-and-white denim. (I'm not positive, but it may have come from Emma One Sock, but long ago.) I wanted to make this pair more tapered, with angled front zipper pockets and zippers at the hem. I had pinned some pants to my Pinterest Jeans board for inspiration.

This pair sewed up quickly. I had to change the order of construction around, due to the zippers, but it was not difficult.

I just love these jumbo zippers! I wish I could get more of them. They are 7" long, 1.5" wide, and the teeth are 3/8" wide.

I plan to create a tutorial showing how I inserted the zippers into the hem.

Oh, you probably want to know, are these jeans really for a hot date? No, I was joshing you. I did wear them tonight, but it was to an event at DD2's high school - she was giving her senior project presentation. Afterwards, a friend and I went out for dinner. A fun evening, but hardly a hot date. :)

Jalie Yoga Pants - 3022

I need some new TNT pants that are more fitted, so I decided to try the new-ish Jalie Yoga pants pattern, 3022. This pattern calls for a 4-way stretch knit, but I didn't have a bottom weight 4-way stretch knit, so I used a 2-way stretch ponte.

I traced off a size S, based on my hip measurement. I made no other changes to the pattern. These fit great! I love the RTW look, fit, and styling of the Jalie patterns. The 2-way knit (instead of a 4-way) was no problem at all.

These pants were folded up in a suitcase for a few days, hence the wrinkles. I was too lazy to press them for the pics.

In the interest of full disclosure, I saved the following picture for last.

I have been feeling that many of my clothes are making me look a bit frumpy (having lost 22 lbs so far). I can take in some of my things (though not all), but I haven't yet started the altering process, which I really hate. This top, which I really like, is one I can't easily alter because of the cool pointed asymmetric pocket, which is sewn into the side seam.

So, for the photos, I used a technique used frequently in professional photo shoots. I used a hair clip to clip the back of the top to remove extra fullness. I even took a photo of the back so you can see my naughtiness. I wish it were only that easy to alter for real!

I really love these pants and need to make a few more pair!

A couple more things:

Vote for Rhonda!

Rhonda Buss, of Rhonda's Creative Life, attended Sew Expo in Puyallup as one of five semi-finalists to appear in a spot on the sewing television program, Sew It All. After that presentation, which you can view at the link below, she made it to the finals. It is now down to her and two other contestants who are competing as a sister-in-law team. I thought she had a great entry – you can see her video if you click the following image link.

Please vote!

Finally, I'm sure you have seen that the blogosphere is a-twitter with the news that Google Reader is going away on July 1st. I guess Google just isn't interested in being in the biz anymore. But all is not lost - there are other alternative readers out there. In fact, Mary, of Mary Sews, has written a nice post on replacements for Google Reader. Personally, I don't use Google Reader, I use Blogger Dashboard, but you don't have that unless you have your own blog on blogspot.

I decided to add a widget to my blog to make it easier to follow using Bloglovin. (You can see it in the upper left corner of my blog.) I experimented with Bloglovin' and it's great. It's easy to set up, easy to use, and you can choose to have your favorite blogs sent as an email if you prefer. In fact, Jillian wrote a nice post on how to set up a bloglovin' account. And it's free!

Thanks, ladies, for all of the useful info that you share!!! The internet/blog sewing community is fabulous!

Lekala Pants (5458) and Other Stuff

TOC:

• Lekala Pants (5458)
• DD1's Jacket and Neck Warmer

Lekala Pants (5458)

On New Years Day I visited Stone Mountain & Daughter fabrics and I ran into my friend Beth, of Sunny Gal Studio. Beth had recently been asked to try some Lekala patterns and had good success with the one or two she had tried.

If you aren't familiar with Lekala, they are a Russian pattern company. You look through their catalog, choose your pattern(s) and add them to your cart. When you check out, you enter your measurements, in centimeters. You also indicate the size of your printer paper and whether you want seam allowances included. Most patterns cost around $2 and you can save 10% if you register. Once your order your pattern(s), you receive an automated email. Then, a day or two later, you receive a PDF containing your pattern. The pattern is generated by Lekala's software, based on your measurements, so these patterns are considered "made to measure." (This is an important point that I will revisit.)

When you print your pattern, you make sure to select either "no scaling" or "100% scaling" depending on your platform and software. The pages print with a border of about 1 centimeter. Two of the edges have a dotted line and the other two edges have no lines. Cut off the border along the dotted lines, overlap with the corresponding edges with no dotted lines, and tape or glue. Cut out each pattern piece and off you go.

For my first pattern, I choose Lekala 5458, a pair of capri pants. I chose pants because of my recent weight loss. Some of my TNTs are now too big. Some of my pants are falling off. It's problematic, especially when I work out at the gym. This pattern is for a cute pair of pants with interesting seaming. I lengthened them to full length by adding 12", though I should have added another inch as I had only enough for a scant 3/8" hem.

Now, before I go further, I should say that when using a pattern generated by software (rather than created by a human pattern drafter), the pattern is only as good as the software. When the programmers create the software, they make certain assumptions. These assumptions are "programmed" into the code. It is very clear that the Lekala programmers never anticipated someone with my dimensions. Here is the front and back pants pattern.

Even though my waist is finally smaller than my hips, it's only by one inch. The software doesn't handle this well. For one thing, the software is determined to put a back dart in the pants. I do not have much of a booty, so I really don't need much, if any, back dart. But let's take a closer look at the back pattern piece.

Note the weird shape of the dart and how it dips down at the top of the dart. Then there is that weird "wing shaped" extension to the left of the dart. Look at the really strange line that results for the side seam. This does not provide a good fit, though it might technically meet the measurements that I entered. There is also a shaped waistband that didn't fit me at all. Nevertheless, I cut the pattern out as shown. I used inexpensive black ponte that I always use to test out pants patterns. (I am almost out of it!) I sewed it up. (And I should add that because I used ponte, I eliminated the zipper.)

The resulting shape was very weird at the top of the side seam, as you can see in the following pic.

On the body, it looked truly strange. It dipped down at center front and center back and shot up at the side seam. I had to cut off a huge chunk from each side seam.

Once I removed these chunks, the pants fit ok. The back darts still aren't quite right, and rather than use the contoured waistband, I substituted a rectangular yoke.

The final pants fit pretty well! (Sorry that it is hard to see in the pics, but they really do fit pretty well.)

Conclusion:

If you have a more conventional shape, I think these patterns will work well. If you do not, you could end up with a very strangely shaped pattern. I think in future it would work better if I entered a more conventional waist measurement and did my own waist alteration. Though it would be nice if they improved their software to detect these unusual shapes and compensated accordingly. If I make these pants again, I will remove the weird fit at the waistline as well as the back darts.

DD1's Jacket & Neck Warmer

I was a bit derailed yesterday. I was toodling along on DD1's wool jacket. I was very happy with how it was going and I was enjoying the process. Before she returned to university in January, I cut out a muslin, pinned it together, and fitted it on her. (I didn't have time to sew it together.) I did some altering while she was here. I was looking forward to mailing her the jacket in the next week or two.

DD2 visited yesterday. She and DD1 are very similar in size, so I had her try it on. It was too big. Really too big. She said, "Mom, she won't wear it." And I knew she was right. I have no idea if it can be salvaged, and I don't want to attempt it until she can try it on in person. During my insomnia at 3am, I bagged it up and put it away. I won't see DD1 until spring break.

But before I put it away completely, I cut a piece from the leftover yardage and made a neck warmer. This is not my original design. I had purchased a beautiful neck warmer from a seller on Etsy and I made a similar piece. Because of that, I can't share her pattern, but I can highly recommend the neck warmers in her Etsy store, FashionCogs. She is a very clever designer and recycles her materials so no two are exactly alike. I plan to send DD1 a neck warmer, since I can't send her a mom-made jacket.

If you look at my neck warmer, you will see a very cool pin. This is a medal given to me by Luz Clara when she visited last year. She purchased it in a Paris flea market and it says "Al Merito." And, no, DD1 won't get my medal - I may have to make my own neck warmer in these colors since it coordinates so beautifully. :)

But before I retire the jacket completely, I want to share a few pictures.

Wool interlining

What will I work on next? Who the heck knows!!!