Most super-cozy pants EVAH*

I've been cleaning the house most of the day (it has been seriously neglected of late), and I unearthed a couple pairs of yoga pants I bought for my daughter last year on sale at Old Navy.  At the time, they were a couple inches too long and wouldn't stay up around her waist (even though I could feel there was elastic in the foldover waistband. I had her give them another try this morning, and the waists were still pretty loose, but the length was just about right. 

So I hacked off neatly trimmed away the waistband - it was pretty wide, and I didn't want to spend all day removing the overlock stitching with my seam ripper - on the first pair of dark gray pants.  Next, I unpicked the stitching holding the elastic in place, snipped off about 3" of the elastic, then sewed it back along the ridge that was left where the elastic had originally been sewn using my edgestitching foot.  (I moved it over a bit because I lost 1/4" when I cut the waistband off, and I figured I was likely to use up another 1/4" in the seam when I put it back on).

Once the elastic was secured with a second row of stitching along the other edge, I folded the wrong sides of the waistband together, marked the CB/CF and sides of it with pins, then matched those pins to the CB/CF and side seams (on little kids' pants, you don't have to be too picky about dividing the elastic into perfect quarters; it was plenty close enough).  I sewed a row of stitching about 3/16" from the cut edges, then went around again zigzagging over the little bit of seam allowance.

She's wearing them now, under this outfit:

(Sorry I don't have a photo of her wearing them; she was "too busy with her projects" to let me take pictures, and frankly, they're not terribly exciting to look at under the dress.)  In the above photo, she's wearing a cotton sweater dress I picked up for her at the Gymboree outlet, over a long sleeve knit shirt from Land's End (one of several items that arrived from Grandma yesterday).  Just a few minutes ago, she came in to the sewing room to tell me that they were the most super-cozy pants EVAH (oh, and, BTW, could I help her find a Netflix Watch Instantly movie on the computer?).

*Yes, she was sucking up in order to get me to do something for her, but it was still nice to sew something that didn't get completely screwed up.

Wadder, wadder everywhere...

Sigh...

This has just not been my week for sewing.  On Friday, I tried to finish a pair of jeans (desperately needed jeans, I might add), but ended up with a wadder due to a fisheye dart adjustment I couldn't make without re-cutting the back.  Then yesterday I started sewing McCall's 6153 for my daughter (after spending 40 minutes altering the pattern pieces first), but because I was rushing, I ended up making numerous boneheaded errors, the most egregious of which was stretching the lower fronts/backs to fit the yokes above, instead of gathering them.  The fabric didn't recover after i had finished stitching, so it was completely stretched out of shape.  It's currently in the washer in the hope that it will return to its original shape (it's a teeny, tiny hope).

Next (because I am apparently a glutton for punishment) I got out one of my Unique Patterns patterns, 9024U0, and some fairly heavy tan stretch twill fabric. I figured that I wouldn't have to line the dress since it was such a substantial fabric. Before I started laying out the pattern pieces, I took out my thoroughly-tweaked-to-fit McCall's 2818 pattern pieces and checked the Unique Pattern against it.  The bust points lined up PERFECTLY, so I was encouraged that the rest of the custom drafted pattern would fit well, too.

Turns out the stretch twill was stretchy in both the crosswise AND lengthwise grain.  As a result, the front and back pieces stretched vertically, enough that the dart placement (which had been perfect on the pattern pieces) was completely off.  I tried to salvage the dress by taking out some of the excess fabric at the shoulder seams, and that helped somewhat.  But I still had drag lines at the bust, indicating that I needed a deeper dart.  I am assuming that this is related at least in part to the stretchy fabric as well, but I won't know for sure until I cut it out again in a non-stretch fabric. (Cha-ching!)

Things I learned from all this unproductive sewing:

• I love my new tailor's chalk; it made marking my darts a breeze.

• I have several pairs of pants in my closet that I thought fit well, but I now realize need the fisheye dart adjustment as well.  (Guess I've been too preoccupied with my FBAs to pay much attention to what's going on in the back.)
• Even an "easy" pattern, like McCall's 6153, shouldn't be rushed.
• The next time I use a knit/stretch fabric, I will check the length when it's resting on the table, and again when hanging (as it will be when worn), then adjust the pattern accordingly if it seems likely to "grow" on my body.

I'm not sure what to work on next.  I still have DD's (now TNT) third and fourth skorts to finish (maybe the reason they're still unfinished is that I NEED to have a challenge?). Or perhaps a little knitting will help me get out of my slump. Tune in tomorrow, dearies, and find out.

Jeans - Part I

So, I started working on a pair of jeans awhile back.  Apparently, it was a LONG while ago, because the McCalls pattern I am using, 5142, is OOP.  I couldn't even find a review of the pattern on PR.

Since I'm trying to replace the dreaded "Mom jeans" in my wardrobe (actually, I chucked the pants a couple months ago, and now have NO jeans at all), I chose the slightly low-rise View C (altered to a boot cut leg), and cut a size 14 out of some stretch denim I had on hand. Things were going along quite nicely; I had assembled the front pockets and fly, and attached the back yoke to the pant legs and meticulously placed the pockets and topstitched them in place. But I ran into trouble with the side seams - since I was using stretch denim, the pants were very loose when I basted the 5/8" seam allowances.  I pinched out the excess, turned the pants inside out, and marked new stitching lines along the pins.

When I tried them on again, something was definitely not right.  The back seemed too wide, with the seam along the outside leg off center.  So I ripped out the stitching and proceeded to pin and baste and try on another five or six times (no, I am not kidding) until I had something I thought was pretty decent.

Then I took some pictures using my camera's self-timer:

Gah!  They were nice and smooth in front, and the outside seam appeared to be centered and perpendicular to the floor, but the butt...I was back in MomJeansville.  Sigh...

I've been reading some back issues of Threads and remembered Kenneth King's "net gain/net loss" adjustment process, so I reached around and grabbed what felt like excess fabric and started pinning it out.

You can see (even in my off-center stance) that the left side where I pinned it looks much smoother than the right side.  And it looks even better from the side:

After pinning and photographing and examining things, I knew there was fabric that needed to be removed, but I had no idea how to go about it.  After spending a few minutes searching online at PR, I had my answer:  I needed to rotate out the fisheye dart I had pinned back there.  Unfortunately, the process required that I remove the excess fabric from the back of the leg and add it back by raising the waist at the side seam and extending the back crotch point.  (Translation:  I needed to re-draft/re-cut my pants.) You can see the effect that pinning had on the center back:

The center back is clearly too short now (I had MEGA plumber's crack when I tried to sit down in these); I think the fisheye adjustment will solve that problem.  I didn't have any more of the stretch denim on hand (did I mention I cut these out a LONG time ago?), so this effectively shut down my jeans production for the weekend.

The good news:  I think I have a solution, and I expect the next go-round to result in ACTUAL WEARABLE PANTS.  The bad news:  I am now noticing this issue elsewhere in my wardrobe.  (I've been a little preoccupied dealing with FBAs until now to pay much attention to the rear view.)  I was getting dressed this morning and pulled on my favorite pair of pants, and I noticed the same problem with them.  Guess I need to add "sew a pair of pants that REALLY fit" to my list of sewing goals...

Trend Report (Rant): Exposed Zippers

OK, I know I'm a little late to comment on this trend that started taking off in Spring 2009; I was hoping it would have come and GONE already.

I. Hate. Exposed. Zippers.

Well, maybe I don't hate ALL exposed zippers. Some exposed zippers, like the one on this Jason Wu dress:

Jason Wu for TSE Structured Dress (note off-center exposed zipper)

are creative and very original.  The (somewhat) exposed zipper is definitely integral to the garment design.

But then there are butt-ugly interpretations such as this:

Jay Godfrey Zippered Tank Dress (front view)

(BTW, this dress retails for over $250 .)

The ones that really set my teeth on edge are those having the zipper TAPE completely exposed (not just the zipper TEETH), particularly if it's a heavy duty (wide tape) zipper, in a weird, contrasting color sewn onto a lightweight fabric. When I was learning to sew, it was drilled into me that a high-quality garment had a nearly invisible zipper, or at the very least, an unobtrusive one.  Now it is "trendy" to have your clothes look like you have them on inside out.  (Remember when exposed serged seams were everywhere?  I never understood that one, either.)

B3832 - Child's Skort

Ahhh, yes, the Skort.  Half skirt, half shorts, all girl.  I've been working on my daughter's back-to-school wardrobe, and one of the patterns I selected was Butterick 3832, which features three skort variations.  All of them have a front overlay panel over shorts, with an elastic waist and tie end closure. 

Pattern Description: Children's/Girls' Top, Skort and Shorts. I made the Skort.

Pattern Sizing: Multi-size pattern in Child/Girls' sizes 2-5 (available up to Girls' size 8). I started with the Child size 2 for my daughter, who measures 22-19.5-22 (chest-waist-hip) and is 43.5 inches tall, knowing that I would need to lengthen it to a size 5.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, although I'm still not sure if there was an error in the instructions for attaching the tie end (the instructions show it being basted wrong side up, which might show when the tie ends were knotted). I attached mine with the right side facing out.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I don't like my very active daughter wearing skirts without something underneath, but sewing matching bloomers is kind of a hassle. This skort is a great compromise - sporty and modest, as well as comfortable and feminine (OK, girly).

Fabric Used: Stretch cotton sateen (the stretch is nice, but totally not required for this design).

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: If you've read any of my previous reviews about sewing for my daughter, you will know that she is of average height for her age (5), but very slim. She generally wears a size 5 these days in RTW, but ends up swimming in her clothes. This makes it very difficult for me to buy clothes for her - if I am lucky enough to find something that isn't huge, chances are she will outgrow it, height-wise, in very short order.

Since most of the Big 4 kids' patterns have huge amounts of ease, I decided to start with a size 2 through the crotch but lengthen it to a size 5 at the hem. For my first attempt, I used a pink and green poly/rayon plaid. The only thing I did differently from the instructions was to cut the Tie End (#10) on the bias, so it would match the orientation of the tie end on the Front Overlay (#11). If you were sewing this in a solid color or small print, though, I don't think it would make much difference which way you orient the tie end on your fabric.

The skort turned out quite nicely - from the front. In the back, however, I could see that the crotch hung down really low. It was wearable, but not particularly attractive. I turned them inside out and measured, and found that the crotch length (front and back) for the Child size 2 was over 20''. (Heck, *I* could almost fit that crotch length in a pair of low rise jeans!). At first, I thought I had neglected to take the diaper allowance into consideration. But then I realized I was using a Child's size pattern, and there *isn't* any diaper allowance included.

So, on my second attempt, I shortened the front, back and front overlay by 1 1/2'' (folded out 3/4'') above the crotch. I then lengthened the front, back and front overlay at the hem by the same 1 1/2''. This time the fit was MUCH improved.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes and yes, but with a warning to check the crotch measurement of the pattern against a pair of pants or shorts that fit well first.

Conclusion: A great basic back-to-school wardrobe piece. I have already cut another version in white twill (this one will have a button closure instead of the ties on the front overlay), and will probably do another (with back pockets) in a lightweight denim. 

Read all my pattern reviews here on PatternReview.com.