New trousers!!!! (!!!!)
Jul. 16th, 2020 11:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janestarzTrousers have always been a ghastly project. I've had Anne-Miek sew me a pair of Mom Jeans last year, and I had Sigunne drape me a pair fitted totally to my body.
Both of these were non-stretch and they sagged and slouched and were not very flattering at all. They creep up around my knee and expose my ankles and I felt horribly unstylish in them.
Shopping for trousers isn't an option either, because most shops don't have my size and I always come home depressed and on the verge of tears.
With no bespoke work to keep me entertained, I spent some time cleaning out the atelier. Selling and sorting through bolt-ends, four years worth of coat-weight-wool scraps went to Conneqt on the second floor who are building acoustic panels with it, and sewing all the projects we once cut.
I found a mockup for a pair of stretch pants a few weeks ago and tossed it aside. No way I was going to get into that drama again. But this week suddenly the mood took me. I was going to try my hand at a pair of stretch pants. I browsed through several issues of the Burda magazine and the Knipmode trying to find flattering trousers in roughly my size. I mostly have older Burda's from the days before trousers were skin-tight and cutting off circulation at the knee. I started tracing a bootcut trousers and remembered I had found a cut mock-up in one of the bins.
It was a nude stretch polyester, all cut and ready to go. The Burda magazine it came from was with the pieces, and the pattern pieces were still pinned on the fabric. It was a stretch jeans from the Burda Plus Fashion Special Spring/Summer 2010. I've searched for it online, but only this site in New Zealand has the cover. The rest of the contents are lost to the ages, so I will cherish the magazine itself. Not even Burda-Style the online platform from the magazine still features designs from 2010. Boo.
I quickly sewed up the muslin, inserting a quick zip on centre-front so I could test the fit. As I zipped up the muslin, I was pleasantly surpsised.
Okay, yes, my excellent backside needs more room (mostly height), but other than that, it was quite fine indeed. I quickly tied a waist tape around my waist and measured how much extra length I would need to cover all of my tushy: 3,5 to 4 centimeters.
And the thing pinched a bit at the knee, just like all my other trousers.
I took a look at the pattern, where the knee was clearly marked. The narrowest place of the leg was some 10 centimeters below the knee, right at the biggest point of my calf. And boy, do I have calfs! I measure 54 centimeters around my calf. It was easy enough to check in the pattern.
Around the knee, the pattern measured 56 centimeters, which is wide enough. I taped some extra paper around the bottom part of the pattern pieces. The knee would be the narrowest point, and I added 2 centimeters on either side of the leg at the bottom. So I changed the shape a little bit, but not too much. The narrow part went up a bit, the calf was widened and the hem was quite bootcut. Would it be enough, though?
I quickly grabbed a navy blue stretch gabardine I bought several years ago. I had bought five meters so I could make a pair of trousers for my mom and one for myself, several years back. I never got around to my own pair, of course, but now that I had a pattern that would probably work, it was the first fabric I went looking for. No, not really looking for -- because my system is awesome!! I knew exactly where I had stashed it on the attic. I could grab it and GO.
And at the end of the afternoon I sewed three buttons on the rather wide waistband and it was already DONE. They fit marvelously! The extra height in the back works perfectly, and the waistband has enough shape to keep the trousers in the right place without having to wear a belt or hoist them up every five minutes. The shape of the leg is beautiful, a glorious boot cut trouser just the way I like them. There's no more bunching at the knee because the leg is wide enough to let gravity do its job. And because it's a stretch fabric, it sits smoothly over my legs instead of sagging and losing its shape with wear.
It is such a relief to wear a flattering pair of trousers again! I've been wearing these because they are comfortable and flattering, and I plan to make at least three more.
The next step is to re-trace the pattern so it's not a mess of taped-on bits. Then I can add pockets too.
I'll check some stores if they have more of the stretch cotton gabardine, because they are lovely and breathable (96% cotton, 4% elasthan). I'm not a fan of most stretch jeans because they are just so flimsy. I bought 10 oz. jeans for Eisirt at the wholesaler a while back, that fabric weighs 330 gr/m2. The heaviest stretch jeans they have is 8,5 oz. which weighs only 285 gr/m2. That is only slightly heavier than good quality t-shirt fabric (250 gr/m2).
And I can make more than just one pair. I can have a choice which trousers I will wear! *gasp* What a luxury!! I WILL HAVE PANTS TO CHOOSE FROM!!
Both of these were non-stretch and they sagged and slouched and were not very flattering at all. They creep up around my knee and expose my ankles and I felt horribly unstylish in them.
Shopping for trousers isn't an option either, because most shops don't have my size and I always come home depressed and on the verge of tears.
With no bespoke work to keep me entertained, I spent some time cleaning out the atelier. Selling and sorting through bolt-ends, four years worth of coat-weight-wool scraps went to Conneqt on the second floor who are building acoustic panels with it, and sewing all the projects we once cut.
I found a mockup for a pair of stretch pants a few weeks ago and tossed it aside. No way I was going to get into that drama again. But this week suddenly the mood took me. I was going to try my hand at a pair of stretch pants. I browsed through several issues of the Burda magazine and the Knipmode trying to find flattering trousers in roughly my size. I mostly have older Burda's from the days before trousers were skin-tight and cutting off circulation at the knee. I started tracing a bootcut trousers and remembered I had found a cut mock-up in one of the bins.
It was a nude stretch polyester, all cut and ready to go. The Burda magazine it came from was with the pieces, and the pattern pieces were still pinned on the fabric. It was a stretch jeans from the Burda Plus Fashion Special Spring/Summer 2010. I've searched for it online, but only this site in New Zealand has the cover. The rest of the contents are lost to the ages, so I will cherish the magazine itself. Not even Burda-Style the online platform from the magazine still features designs from 2010. Boo.
I quickly sewed up the muslin, inserting a quick zip on centre-front so I could test the fit. As I zipped up the muslin, I was pleasantly surpsised.
Okay, yes, my excellent backside needs more room (mostly height), but other than that, it was quite fine indeed. I quickly tied a waist tape around my waist and measured how much extra length I would need to cover all of my tushy: 3,5 to 4 centimeters.
And the thing pinched a bit at the knee, just like all my other trousers.
I took a look at the pattern, where the knee was clearly marked. The narrowest place of the leg was some 10 centimeters below the knee, right at the biggest point of my calf. And boy, do I have calfs! I measure 54 centimeters around my calf. It was easy enough to check in the pattern.
Around the knee, the pattern measured 56 centimeters, which is wide enough. I taped some extra paper around the bottom part of the pattern pieces. The knee would be the narrowest point, and I added 2 centimeters on either side of the leg at the bottom. So I changed the shape a little bit, but not too much. The narrow part went up a bit, the calf was widened and the hem was quite bootcut. Would it be enough, though?
I quickly grabbed a navy blue stretch gabardine I bought several years ago. I had bought five meters so I could make a pair of trousers for my mom and one for myself, several years back. I never got around to my own pair, of course, but now that I had a pattern that would probably work, it was the first fabric I went looking for. No, not really looking for -- because my system is awesome!! I knew exactly where I had stashed it on the attic. I could grab it and GO.
And at the end of the afternoon I sewed three buttons on the rather wide waistband and it was already DONE. They fit marvelously! The extra height in the back works perfectly, and the waistband has enough shape to keep the trousers in the right place without having to wear a belt or hoist them up every five minutes. The shape of the leg is beautiful, a glorious boot cut trouser just the way I like them. There's no more bunching at the knee because the leg is wide enough to let gravity do its job. And because it's a stretch fabric, it sits smoothly over my legs instead of sagging and losing its shape with wear.
It is such a relief to wear a flattering pair of trousers again! I've been wearing these because they are comfortable and flattering, and I plan to make at least three more.
The next step is to re-trace the pattern so it's not a mess of taped-on bits. Then I can add pockets too.
I'll check some stores if they have more of the stretch cotton gabardine, because they are lovely and breathable (96% cotton, 4% elasthan). I'm not a fan of most stretch jeans because they are just so flimsy. I bought 10 oz. jeans for Eisirt at the wholesaler a while back, that fabric weighs 330 gr/m2. The heaviest stretch jeans they have is 8,5 oz. which weighs only 285 gr/m2. That is only slightly heavier than good quality t-shirt fabric (250 gr/m2).
And I can make more than just one pair. I can have a choice which trousers I will wear! *gasp* What a luxury!! I WILL HAVE PANTS TO CHOOSE FROM!!
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Date: 2020-07-16 01:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-16 04:18 pm (UTC)