Sunday, September 16, 2012

More on those pants



The long hiatus on the V 7881 pants was due in part to work getting in the way of sewing as it occasionally does, in part to the need for yet more tweaking.   The test pair in the striped polyester showed that I had completely forgotten to check the front rise length and that it was WAY too long.  In the end, I shortened it by  about 3 cm.  The test run also showed that the fabric was full of static, which explains why it was so cheap.  It clung to my ankles despite oceans of antistatic spray and I feel no aesthetic regret at binning the test pair.  I do feel guilty on environmental grounds, but have decided that the lesson is to make my test pieces in natural fabrics that can be used for cleaning rags or composted.


And on to the first ‘real’ pair of pants.  These are made of black Bengaline (polyester not silk)  and intended for work. 

As far as I’m concerned, all real pants need pockets and my favourite style is the hip pocket.  I made the pocket pattern this way:

1 I traced the pant front.

2 I drew the pocket on the traced front.  I began by sketching the sort of curve I wanted, then marking the lines for the pocket itself ensuring that they didn’t get in the way of where the fly extension would sit.  I tidied up the lines using my French curve.  This gave me the basis for the pocket and the pocket facing, since both would follow the curve, the side seam and waist seam lines.  You can see the pocket sketched (faintly) and the final curve (darkly) in the picture of the pants front pattern below.  Incidentally, it’s done using Vilene which is cheaper and more robust than tissue. 

2 I just traced the pocket adding a seam allowance at the curve.

3 Since I knew I did not have a lot of fabric, I decided to cut the pocket in two and make the hip area from the Bengaline and the pocket bag from lining fabric, so I retraced as two pieces adding seam allowances again.  This is how the separate pieces looked when I had finished.


I made the pants more or less following the pattern directions for view B (the non-couture version). Because Bengaline has lengthwise stretch they are cut on the cross grain. This made  it a bit hard to ease the front to the back above the knee, and in the end I  didn't ease it, and just cut  the excess from the fronts at the hemline.  Because my overlocker is being repaired, I did a Hong Kong finish on the seams.  Lots of practice at stitching in the ditch was very good for me, though not exactly fun.  I also added a fly underlay, which stops me zipping up bit of underpants or worse, bits of tummy, as I do up the fly.  

The end result, which you can see below, wasn’t perfect. I hadn’t been quite generous enough with the hip area fabric so that the lining shows a tad when I move.  More seriously, the back waist band rises in a peak!  But it will always be hidden, so I decide to live with it, just altering the pattern piece a tiny bit to smooth the curve out. 



 The pants are very comfortable and I like the pattern much more than my previous TNT pants.  After a couple of wears, they too began to slide just a little towards my hips.  This is, I think, not fixable with pattern tweaking; it’s because of my shape. There is a simple though unstylish fix-  a little bit of elastic sewed to the waistband at the side seams grips enough for security and is not visible because I never tuck tops in these days.


 With one reasonable pair made, it was time to take deep breath and cut into some seriously luxurious fabric – plain grey Italian wool flannel.  This time, there was enough  fabric for the hip area and  pocket to be cut as one, so I just made the pocket facing in lining  fabric.  I took my time and worked as carefully as I could.  The only embellishment is top stitching on the pockets (shown below) and fly- done with the sewing thread and using the triple-stitch.  The topstitching of the fly was nerve-racking!   It took three goes  and unpicking triple stitch is  painful  when you  dare not just rip for fear of leaving little holes in good fabric. But the fabric was beautifully behaved- no issues at all with easing. When it was done I felt  that I  was a real clever clogs. 

The end result (shown below in a very poor  shot)   is really nice to wear.  My only regret is that spring is here already and I won’t be able to show them off till next winter!


The next project for this pattern is to revert to something closer to Claire Shaeffer's  straight-legged design lines, trialling  the style in worn out sheeting.  If it  doesn't make me look too short I might  then try these trousers in some nicely drapey grey crepe- more polyester, but this time not cheap.  Instead of hip pockets, I might use  plain inseam pockets.  After that, who  knows what I  might do with this pattern.  I'm learning heaps using it!




Tuesday, August 7, 2012

A lot of tweaking to get a pants pattern.


I’ve used Butterick 5391 as my trouser pattern for the past few years, but I’ve never been really happy with its fit around the waist and hips.  My hip measurement equates to about a size 14 for most patterns, and my waist is a generous size 18.  My bust is about a 16, so in shape terms I’m not an   hourglass, triangle or square- more of an ellipse.  But the distance between my waist and my hips is not great either.  So a straight waistband that fitted at the top is too wide at the bottom, and needs to be cinched in with a bit of elastic to be comfortable.  Mostly I sew a small bit of elastic to the waistband at the side seams, which doesn’t look wonderful, though it works.  I don't put darts in the front, because they would need to be ridiculously short to curve over my very rounded tum. I basically go in rather than out at the side seams to fit my hips, then flare out again at the legs. 

I want something that looks a little more fitted around my midsection. And I have actually lost some weight round there- when I first used the Butterick pattern, my waist was a 20.  So now, the pants made with that pattern in fabric with give tend to slide down my hips a bit.  The upside of this is that I don’t need to unzip them to put them on; the downside is that I spend a lot of time tugging the waist back into position.  It’s time for a change!

 I think a curved yoke might fit better than a waistband.  So I’m busy tweaking Vogue7881   - the Claire Schaeffer  custom couture straight legged pants with a contoured yoke.  I want the yoke to fit as closely as possible to my own shape.  And I want to narrow the leg.  The  straight legged pants look beautiful in themselves, but  I suspect they won’t look so beautiful on my short legs.  I think I look best in pants that verge on skinny legged, or are a restrained bootleg cut. 

So, with help from the wonderful Kim at   The Cloth shop  (here's a link to them) I embarked on altering the pattern.  First, we traced and cut a second yoke in size 16 so we could pin fit the paper pattern.  As we already knew, we needed to add considerably at the centre back to make fit my waist.  Then we needed to add a bit more at the centre front so there would be enough overlap. And because despite the round tum  I go in rather than out between waist and hips we altered the angles of the yoke at the ends.    You can see that below (and can also see slightly bodgy paper cutting I'm afraid)

   With the top of the yoke fitting my waist, we then worked on getting the bottom of the yoke to match my shape.  This meant making the curve at the bottom much shallower.  To do this, we folded a lot of tiny darts in the paper.   (Well actually, Kim folded the darts; I just stood there wearing a paper yoke!)

Tiny darts alter the curve of the yoke to fit my body.

 You can see below  that the new yoke piece is radically different in shape from the original.




Once the yoke looked about right, we could work on the top of the front and back pieces.  Both needed extra at the sides where they would join the yoke.  In addition, the back curve needed to be lengthened by about 3 cm.  This seems to be the case with a lot of pants patterns- the centre back seam is quite short and results in the back sitting well below the waist even if the style isn’t particularly low rise. 


All this took quite a while.  I hope it will result in a garment that looks like the pattern illustration at the waist and hips, but that fits my body nicely.  Changing the legs will make a different looking garment and it took all of five minutes, to position my Butterick pants pattern pieces on the Vogue pieces, and drastically reduce the length and width of the Vogue legs. 

So now I have my new pattern cut out of some inexpensive grey pinstriped polyester.  I hope the result will be wearable, but if it isn’t I won’t be too upset.  I aim to get the basic fit right and then to add pockets to the pants. I'm not using the couture technique yet. 

Has anyone had experience fitting  pants to little ellipses?  Or working with  V7881? 

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A TNT jacket pattern - New Look 6782 Out of Print


New Look 6782 jacket, vest, skirt and pants   is now out of print - if you seek that number in the catalogue, you get a dress top. The older version, which I bought years ago, has become a favourite.  While the illustration looks very ordinary, the pattern offers   a great princess seamed hip length jacket with false welts.  Princess seams help small stout people like me get a good fit because you have six vertical seams where you can add or reduce.  I like the raised back neck too- a few years ago I saw some tops with this feature described as ‘neat neck’.  Since my neck is short, jacket collars often overwhelm it, and the neckline on this jacket doesn’t do that
New Look 6782

.

After tissue fitting at a sewing class, I cut the jacket size just a bit under a 14 at the neck and shoulders, easing out to a size 16 at the bust and a little larger at the waist.   With the shoulders narrow enough and the waist wide enough, the jacket hangs nicely.  The alterations at the top meant that I ended up with a very strangely shaped back neck facing, but it worked.
The strange altered back facing


I’ve made three of these jackets now, each with slightly different details.  I added a lining to each one.  Making a lining was fairly easy. I cut the pieces using   the garment pattern, omitting the front facing and back neck facing and adding a 2.5 cm (1 inch) pleat for movement at the centre back.  The first (least successful) jacket had the lining loose at the hem.  The next two versions had fully bagged lining.


I made one visible design change to the original pattern, curving the centre front at the hem. 

I made an invisible design change, creating working pockets.  In the original, the welts are simply decorative. They are just folded strips of fabric placed on an angle on the side front and caught in the seams.  I think jackets need pockets, so two of my jackets have pockets behind the welts.  The first version had pockets made by tracing the bottom portion of the side front (below the placement line for the welt) sewing the welt to these.  The new false fronts and welts were then attached to the side fronts and caught in the side seams and the hem.

This was dead easy, but I didn’t like the hang and feel of the pockets – my hand kept catching in the hand stitches of the hem.  (Yeah, I know I shouldn’t slouch round with my hands in my jacket pockets…) A slightly more complicated version worked better for me. I learnt it  from Kim at The Cloth Shop .

 To make them, start by making the welts as per the pattern.  Pin them on the side fronts and fold them up into position.  Now carefully mark the top of the welts the side seams.   Next, cut the side fronts on the placement line for the welt so you have a side front top and a side front bottom (don’t lose those marks that show where the top of the welt will come).   Cut pocket pieces the width of the side front, long enough to give the depth you want when folded in half, and with the two ends following the lines of the side front top and bottom.  You end up with a piece like this.   



 Sew the pockets to the welt then to the side front bottom and to the side front top.  Carefully put the side front top and bottom together, using the marks for the top of the welts to make a side front that is exactly the same as the original pattern, but has a pocket at the back of the welt.  Now you can go ahead and sew the side fronts to the side backs and the fronts, which will hold the pocket in position.


As I said, each jacket had some slightly different details.  The first version, in black micro fibre, is the least successful - I don’t like the pockets, and the hem is a mess.  But the decorative element on the welt is my favourite.  I simply used a twin needle to make false pin tucks on the straight grain of a piece of fabric.  Then I cut the welts on the bias (as the pattern recommends).    

The pin tucked welt


Decorating the welts with embroidery, ribbon or appliqué would also be easy. They are small pieces so it would also be possible to make them out of really luxurious contrasting fabric.

The second jacket was in a furnishing fabric – not the nicest feeling  fabric, but a soft lining helps.  



Because it was so patterned, the only detail on this is the buckle fastener.  It’s a belt buckle that my great-aunt purchased in London in 1911.  I stitched the pieces to two lined strips of fabric (as though I were making a belt) then attached the ‘belts’ to the jacket front. 

An antique buckle  fastens the jacket



Because there are no pockets on the outside, I added two welt pockets to the lining, following the instructions in Claire Shaeffer’s High Fashion Sewing Secrets for a pocket on a lined jacket.It's just a big bound buttonhole that spans the  front facing and  the lining side front with a pocket made out of a folded  piece  like the one I  described above.



 I couldn’t use the pin tucked welts on the latest version- the silk tweed was too loose to pin tuck using the twin needle. 

Version 3- in silk tweed  with two  vintage French buttons
  
...And silk lining



I think this pattern  ( reviewed for Pattern Review) is a definite keeper.  If you come across it in a market, give it a go!



Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Which side of the fabric to use?



I wanted to make Kwik Sew 3462 into a reversible vest that would do double duty for work/party.  My stash contained some floppy lightweight nylon and Lycra in a dark grey that would do for the work side.  For the party?  All I had that was soft and wide enough (the pattern needs at least 115 cm of 45 inch width fabric) was a black and white synthetic lace full of roses.  One of those fabrics that shrieks you fool why did you buy me?  You aren't planning to make any curtains!   The answer to that question of course is you were cheap.  



I was about to donate the lace curtain fabric to charity, and put away the pattern. But then I saw that the reverse of the lace resembled those skeleton leaves that you sometimes find in the garden- a bit moody and mysterious.  



So I made my vest after all. KS 34622 is pretty easy to make.  The only tricky thing is that the collar is part of the vest front and you have to get your head around a slightly strange pattern shape and wrangle the shoulder seams and the back neck together. 

Making it in a single fabric you would sew the centre back seam of the collar as a French seam.  I didn’t do that.  I cut two garments and  sewed them separately.  I basted a line round the armholes of each garment at 1.6 cm (5/8 inch).     Then I placed them right sides together and sewed the collar edge, centre fronts and hem.  I turned the garment to the right side through an armhole.  I then folded a hem in the armholes using the basted line as a guide.  I top stitched all edges including the armholes at 6mm (1/4 inch).   


Because I was in effect lining the vest edge to edge, I cut nearly 20cm (8 inches) off the length.  The pattern calls for a very deep hem to give enough weight to the waterfall front.  Making a reversible garment you get the weight from the two layers.

 The result isn't perfect and could  certainly use another press. The floppy collar hides a bit of puckering in the shoulder seam of the work vest, and the lacy pattern hides a few small imperfections in the party side fabric.  (Now I know why the fabric was so cheap).But I like the idea and may use it again.You'll find my review on PR.




a year or so later I found some reversible two faced  fabric in  Cleggs Melbourne that  seemed ideal for  the jacket from this pattern. .  It was a knit with one side striped the other spotted.
double layered knit


Jacket and T shirt from double faced knit
The jacket went together as easily as the vest.  I used the spot side, and the stripe shows on the collar. I rolled hemmed the fronts and sleeves, and used the deep hem allowance on the pattern at the bottom.  I made a long sleeved T to go under it using the stripe with the spot as trim at the neck and cuffs.   As winter draws nearer I''m finding it a comfortable smart casual pairing.

I think there are lots of possibilities with this pattern. The vest is easily reversible.  You  might find a fabric that had two distinct patterns as my lace did but, unlike my lace, patterns that appeal to you on either side, as  the double faced knit did.  Then you could make the vest in a single layer, using an appropriate seam finish and  perhaps rolled hemming.If you had two beautiful  thin silks (maybe sari pieces) you could rolled-hem them together with multiple toning thread  to make   a  small work of art. Making the jacket out of two thin fabrics would be harder but not impossible.   I imagine that lining  edge to edge would be a real pain, but you could rolled hem or bind the edges
Hope this idea is useful.