Tape & Tissue

See that Followers box in the side column? I have absolutely no idea how it works but I've heard it's helpful to readers following a blog, which is the same thing I heard about the subscribe box and why it's there also. Let me know. If they're helpful, I'll leave them. If not, it looks so sad with only three signed up. I don't know how you un-follow if you're tired of following either. If you know how this tool works, please share.




I was surprised by how few pant patterns I have in stash. I wanted a pair with a contour waist rather than a waistband. Of the ones I had, this Vogue 2925 design is the only one that had been reviewed at PatternReview.com and was "highly recommended" so I'm giving it a try.




I'm forty-seven. If it ever was, my derriere is no longer pert and perky. It is decidedly dropped which is why those wrinkles appear on the back of my jeans. Remember yesterday when I said to follow the wrinkles to the answer? Here's another example.

If I were to pull up on the center back seam, the wrinkles would disappear because I'd also be pulling up the curve of my behind. The same thing would happen if I pulled down on the sides of the jeans because I'd be bringing the other end of the wrinkle down level with where my behind actually is which would eliminate the tension causing the wrinkles to disappear. It would be easy to think that the center back needed to be shortened or that the sides needed to be lengthened however, the real answer is that the back crotch curve needs to be dropped significantly.

By placing an elastic on a flexible ruler, aligning it with the center of my crotch, and wrapping it around me, I can get an idea of the shape of my crotch curve. Above, it's bum to the left and tummy to the right.

I transferred the curve to paper and then took a 1 1/2" wide elastic, made a circle, placed it around my waist, and measured the crotch curve from front to back writing those measurements on the paper. If you know you have a tipped waist, take that into account. I added 1 1/2" to the front measurement for that reason. I want that length there for now. I'll adjust for the waist later.

Next, I measured the front and back crotch curve on the pattern and compared them to my measurements. I needed to add 3/4" to both the front and back curve ONLY along the center back and center front seam by inserting a wedge-like shape that tapered to nothing at the side seams.

After that, I aligned the pieces at the inseam and placed them over the drawing of my crotch curve so I could roughly trace the shape of the curve. It's hard to decide where to place it exactly so I drew a few lines to work with and then took short pieces of tape and placed them next to the line, clipped to the tape, pinned the pieces together, and tissue fit the pants. This meant running back and forth to the guest room. I really hope there's a full length mirror in my Christmas future.

I learned this method at the pant workshop with Palmer & Pletsch that I took in Portland in July 2008. The class was great and I think their book Pants For Real People is one of the best. It along with Fit For Real People and Jackets for Real People are go to books for me. They're FULL of good tips.

While tissue fitting, I use the wide elastic to hold the pattern in place and a hand held mirror to look at myself in the full length mirror. I had to wait until Howard came home from work to take these pictures. The boys are willing to take all kinds of shots but ones of their mother in her underwear with tape & tissue were too much from them - LOL.

It took several changes to get the pattern to a place where I was satisfied with it. Let me clarify what I mean by that. I spent about two hours tracing out the pattern and then tissue fitting it because I've learned (the hard way) that time invested up front can save you a LOT of frustration later. It's worth it.

I'm looking for three things. The first is that the curve of the paper crotch is up tight against, and the same shape as, mine. Later with the fabric factor, there will be sufficient ease. The second is that the hip line (which is hard to see on the pattern above) is level side to side. And, the third is that the crotch line (that dotted green one) is level. Below is the tissue from the front and...




... here it is from the back.

I can see some fine tuning that needs to be done however, this is close enough to be able to make the adjustments to the pattern, re-draw the curve, and cut the fabric out. If you were still nervous, you could make a muslin and draw the hip and crotch lines on it and confirm a bit more first.

The red line shows the final crotch curve. You can see it dips down quite a bit but that the curve does not affect the inseam. Before moving on, I'll clean up the lines and re-draw the seam allowance at 5/8". For fitting purposes, I'll make the seam allowance 1" at the inseam and side seams. That will allow for fit and fine tuning adjustments. With the way a crotch curve works, if I've made it too low, I can make the seam allowance smaller and that will raise the crotch curve as well. You can visualize that by moving the red line upward.

I'm hoping to cut these out later today. First, I need to clean the fridge and do a few chores around the house. We may be getting company this weekend. Early afternoon, I'm getting my hair cut. Sewing will probably be after that or tomorrow. I"m not sure which fabric I'll chose yet. I'll let you know how it went on Monday.

Have a great weekend - Myrna

Grateful - borrowing the knitting machine even though it came in a million pieces with an instruction manual and is a lot more complicated than I was expecting and for a husband who loves instruction manuals and to hunt, bag, conquer, and be needed. He'll put it together with me.

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Personal Growth - That verse from yesterday stuck with me. I thought about how often we guilt ourselves out and keep beating ourselves down over things that happened in the past and cannot be changed. The only thing that we have control over is our choice of action right here and now in the present. Instead of beating myself up, I need to pour on the love, forgive myself, learn from the situation, live now, and move on. What is, is. I'm so good at taking on guilt even when there is nothing to feel guilty about. Breath. Let it go. The future is fabulous.