Pants…again

Last year, I participated in a Trouser Sewalong hosted by http://www.afashionablestitch.com/.

The Cupcake Goddess

I didn’t succeed in sewing a pair of pants that fit me.  Simplicity 2700 is the pattern I used.

Last year, I did sew a whole bunch of muslins.   Fortunately, I kept them.  Over the last few months, I’ve lost weight and none of the muslins fit.  So, this weekend I made a new muslin using all the knowledge that I’d gained from last year.   I’ll post pictures later in the week.

The good

• added 2 inches, yes, 2 inches to the pants back at the crotch line and woo-hoo!  No more wrinkles at the inner thigh!  Success!

• added 1 inch to center back and tapered to zero at the side seam for additional crotch depth.
• add 1 inch in length.  I’ve got long legs.

The not so good

• didn’t take into consideration my tilted waistline so the front waistband is a little too high
• need to deepen the crotch curve for my low rear end.  See page 35 of Pants for Real People
• zipper stop needs to be 1/4 inch below the large dot in the front.
• I still have a tummy so I need more room in the front.  According to Pants for Real People, I can  straighten the front curve for a full tummy. There are no front darts on this pattern.  See page 35 of Pants for Real People again.

I think I will get a good fitting muslin by making the changes on the not so good list.  I plan to make another muslin with the changes this weekend.

It’s amazing how much I’ve learned since last year.  I really believe I’ll have a well fitting pair of pants soon.

Butterick B5567 view D

source Butterick McCall's patterns website

I finished the muslin for Butterick B5567 late tonight. Looks good to me but pictures don’t lie. I will take some photos tomorrow and post. I hope this will turn into a tnt pattern.

Take care,

 

Carla

Knitting…say what!

My friend sent me a letter a few weeks ago.  The envelop contained a brief note,  a brochure and a knitting pattern. She was very sneaky! She knows I don’t knit in the summer. It’s too dang hot. The brochure was from Mother Bear Project which is an organization that provides hand-knit or crocheted bears to children affected by HIV/AIDS.  How could I resist?   This will be my first charity knitting project and my first experience using polyfill stuffing.  I’m not a fast knitter but this pattern seems to knit up quickly.  Stay tuned.

On the sewing front, I finished the muslin of McCall’s M6078 view B and I’m mostly happy with the fit.  I will take pictures of me wearing  the muslin top and a ready to wear top this weekend.

Happy Friday y’all

B5147 second iteration

I printed the pictures of me wearing the B5147 top.  It’s a lot easier for me to see the fitting issue on paper verses online.

Muslin 1 Front

                                                                                                        Muslin 2 Front

Muslin 1 Back

Muslin 2 Back

Wrinkles are still there in Muslin 2 but it feels better when I wear it.   I want to make this top in Linen so maybe the stiffer fabric will lessen the wrinkles.  I don’t know.  For now, I’m going to use muslin 2 as my pattern.

Changes

1.  Added 1/2 inch to side seam of front to

2.  Added 1/2 in to side seam about 1 inch below armhole.  See photo below.

I don’t know how to get rid of the excess fabric on my high chest.  I’m going to leave it for now.

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend.

CarlaF

Muslin Fitting with Pam Howard

I’ll apologize up front.  I didn’t take pictures.  Yeah, yeah.  I know.  I forgot.  On  Friday and Saturday, I had a one on one muslin fitting with Pam Howard of Pamela’s Closet, Inc.  I learned so much in those two days.  Pam is wonderful and extremely talented.

My project was McCall’s M5145 view B.   I’ve made 2 or 3 muslins of this pattern in the past but I could never get the sleeves to work for me.  I have big biceps now so the sleeves were tight and I couldn’t fold my arms.   Pam made adjustments to the pattern.  For example, forward shoulder adjustment and adding a center back seam for shaping.  The biggest change was the sleeve cap.  What a difference!  I’m beginning to understand this blog post from Fashion Incubator on sleeve ease now. The European pattern draft is looking more and more attractive to me.   I will have to try Ottobre or Knip Mode. And actually use my Burda Plus subscription 🙂

I’ve taken apart the muslin and I’m making a paper pattern based on the changes.  I’ll be sewing a new muslin this week.  I’ll take pictures.

Take care

Slanted Waist and New Look 6899 View D

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about a garment project.  I have actually been sewing.  Mostly, muslins of New Look 6899 view D skirt.  I’ve been working on fitting.  My skirts ride up in the back.  I HATE that look.  I’ve had this problem all my life.  At first, I thought it was a rear end issue:)  Yes, I do have a big ‘ole butt 🙂 But focusing on my rear end (that didn’t sound right) will not solve my fitting issue.  I had to look higher.  I had to focus on my waistline…yike!  I have a slanted waist.   The picture below shows the difference.

One day, I tied a piece of elastic around my waist and looked in the mirror slope of my waistline.  I knew from the sewing class it took in the spring that my center back to the floor measurement was longer than my center front to the floor measurement.   But until I saw a visual of my waistline by doing the What not to wear 360 degree mirror check, I didn’t get it. My waistline is not parallel to the floor.  Who knew?

The picture doesn’t show that the hem is even but it is!  Finally, after about a bazillion muslins!  I used the Worksheet from Burda World of Fashion January 2005 titled, “Adjusting for a hem rising at the back”.  This would have been an easy fix, if I’d had my correct measurements.

You will  have to have a friend help you with the measurements.  Basically, you measure center front, center back and both sides.  If you join the Burda English yahoo group, you can view the directions RisingHem.pdf  look at the dark blue box on the left of the page.  This is a great site even if you don’t plan to sew a Burda pattern.

Now that I have the correct measurement and I’ve made adjustments to the pattern.  Piece 13 is used for the front and back.  When I made adjustments, I made a pattern for the front and a pattern for the back.  For the front, I had to remove 2 1/8 inches. (See the blue note on pattern)

Piece 13 New Look 6899 View D

For the back, I added 1 1/8 inches (in red).  I also added a center back seam.

Piece 13 New Look 6899 view D

There’s a 3 1/4 inch difference from front to back at my waistline!  No wonder the skirts I made always were always short in the back.

Now that the pattern is all adjusted, I’ve decided to work on another skirt.  New Look 6899 suggested fabrics are lightweight (linens, cottons, and poplins to name a few).  It’s getting a little cooler in Atlanta and I want to sew fall/winter clothing.  I’m glad I took the time to make the adjustments because when spring hits, I’ll have a pattern all ready to go.

I’m now working on McCall’s 3830 view C skirt.  I used the adjustments I made in the New Look 6899 to make a muslin of the 3830 pattern and it works beautifully.  I’ve cut out the fashion fabric (lightweight brown wool) and I hope to sew it this weekend.

I hope everyone has a great sewing weekend.

Quietly working

I’m plugging along on the Nautilus Hat. I should finish it this weekend and I will post pictures then. I’ve made this hat twice already. The first time, I used the wrong type of yarn. It was cotton and well…it wasn’t pretty. The hat was more of a pancake.

The second time I made it, it was too big. I hope like Goldilocks, this hat is just right.

I cut out the pattern pieces for McCall’s 5522 view A.

I’ll start on it this weekend. I’m going to make a muslin first. I plan to learn how to match stripes with this pattern. It should be interesting.