Purple Pants Part Two

These pants started a week ago in the posting Tissue & Tape which shows altering and tissue fitting the pattern. I cut them out yesterday morning and started sewing them last night aiming to have them basted together while there was someone home to take pictures. That worked. Now I know what's going on and can continue sewing today. YEAH!




Do you stop to admire your work? I'm quite sure my knitting takes far longer than it needs to because of how many times I stop to pat the yarn and admire how it's coming together. It's the same with sewing. In the image above, I've serged the underlining to the main fabric on the back. I just had to take a picture. It looks so neat and pretty. I think it's so important to celebrate including a job well done.




Sandra Betzina's book Power Sewing Step-By-Step is another one of my go to resources. I'm looking forward to studying with her and Ron Collins in April. This tip was in the book. After the underlining is attached to one side of the FRONT pant leg, fold it over at the middle pushing the lining ever so slightly over the opposite edge. Pin and stitch.





This ripple shows that the lining fabric is slightly narrower than the upper fabric. It will now take the strain of the knees preventing the upper fabric from sagging and stretching. That's why you do this ONLY ON THE FRONT LEGS.




In the rest of the pictures, all the seams (except for the inseam) are basted facing outward, the zipper opening at front is pinned closed and the garment is held at the waist by a wide elastic. I realized in the pictures that I had pulled the waistband up a little too high but I can still see what I want. In this first image, I was checking to see if the side seam hung straight or if it twisted toward the back or front. It's straight.




I can see in this next image that the sides need to be pulled down slightly to level out the hip and crotch lines. Since I have the garment pulled up too high, I'm okay. You can see this more clearly in a later image with the pants on the dress form.

See how the elastic is quite low at the front? I have a tipped waist so the waistband curves downward. Before I add the zipper, I'll make sure I've determined the correct end point so I'm not chopping off the end. Those ripples at crotch level are caused by the seam allowance pushing to one side. I haven't clipped it yet. I don't do that until I know I'm happy with the crotch seam. This shape is good. I'll try the pants on one more time, adjust the waistband, re-check that the curve isn't too low, and then go for it.




And the back. Look at the ripples pulling toward the hip. Those also indicate that the sides need to be lowered slightly to bring the crotch line level. Look at the wrinkles going into the crotch. These are caused by the seam allowance not being clipped. When that tension comes off of the crotch curve, they will relax and lay straight. I'll start by making small 1/4" clips and try the pants on again before clipping the entire seam allowance. If at that point, there are still ripples going into the crotch, the adjustment is most likely adding more width to the inseam by adjusting the seam allowance to be narrower on the back only. I don't think that's going to happen though.




Did you notice that the darts are only pinned? That's so I can determine if they are the correct length and in the right place or even if they are needed at all. I'll eliminate the ones in the front and make the back ones about 7" long to a point 1" above my full hip. ALSO... and probably the reason why I had them pulled up too high... the waist is too loose. After trying them on, I put the pants on Millicent and I can see that I need to take in about a half inch each side or two inches in total. With a contour waist, there isn't a waistband to hold the pants up with so no ease is necessary or they'll fall off.

This morning, I'll take out the basting, sew the darts, insert the zipper, clip the crotch seam to 1/4", pin baste the side seams and try them on again. If things are still going well, I'll clip the crotch seam the full distance, reconfirm that it's okay, and then finish the side seams, hems, and waist. FUN!

Susan Being Snippy wrote - Being the generally "looking for a shortcut" type of person, I have a hard time seeing why you would knit up that yarn to dye it -- but then, I do see how much easier it would be to dye it that way and how great it turned out...

LOL - actually Susan, this was the shortcut. I never would have knit it by hand. Cranking out the tube took about three hours. The dye that I have requires rinsing. The washing machine works great for fabric but I've never used it for yarn. There were eight or nine balls with just under 2,000 yards in total. I had visions of all those threads swishing and turning in the washer and become one big tangled mess. If that was the case, chucking it could have been an option but me being me, I could just see myself thinking that separating that mass of yarn barf was a challenge. I wasn't going there and I wanted to save and re-use the yarn so... the mill.

Gaylen wrote - I'm so enjoying your blog. I'm looking forward to your pants process as I'm ready to take on the same process.

Thanks for reading. I linked the earlier posting about tissue fitting and also the one about a tipped waist from September as well as several books that you might find helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions. Ideally the pants will be done today or tomorrow and you'll see the results on Monday.

Gaylen also wrote - I have family in Kamloops - lovely place.

It is. I've been here thirty-nine years. For a while, all I wanted to do was get out. Now, I'm really enjoying what is wonderful about our city. There are still a few things I'd like to change - totally impossible things like having a NYC garment district - but that's true everywhere. If you want to email me privately, perhaps I know your family.

Joanne wrote - One of the soy milk companies makes a eggnog and pumpkin eggnog flavor soy milk. The pumpkin eggnog is good, haven't tried the eggnog one.

THANK YOU - apparently our local health food store has some. I'm going to try it. So many of our traditions involve foods that I can't eat now. It's nice to have some potential for sameness.

Spottedroo wrote - I think the outfit is great. Your fabric paintings have such great color and texture combinations. I can see the same sensibility in this outfit.

What a lovely compliment. That's exactly what I'm trying to do - bring some of my freedom and adventurousness with art into my fashion style. All those "what if" buttons are still working. Transferring it over is coming slowly but surely. Because I've lost so much weight, I have very few clothes which means that I'm concentrating more on sewing basics right now. When I get beyond those, FUN FUN FUN!

We woke up to snow today. Just a light dusting but it's so cold out that it's actually staying on the ground - so far - we'll see what happens throughout the day. Tomorrow, Howard and I are going to My Fair Lady, a play at the local theater. I plan to wear my new pants so that's the focus for today although... LOL... I am going to sneak in a visit to Fabricland. The other day when I was in, there was a lime and fuchsia plaid that would be perfect for a blouse or dress. My colors. In style. LOTS of it. Discounted 50%. Sounds good.

Have a great weekend, talk Monday - Myrna

Grateful - finished Christmas shopping. Now we can avoid the stores, focus on the reason for the season, and enjoy time with friends and family. YES YES!

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Personal Growth - I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn't fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way. I'm speaking plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively! - 2 Corinthians 6

I can get so bogged down in stuff and details, things that matter but not really. I'm thrilled that we finally have the results of Howard's blood tests and somewhat nervous about how this diagnosis (hemochromatosis) will affect our lives and the lives of our children. AND... I think it's fabulous fun that Howard is driving to Guatemala with three other guys to deliver two school buses to the mission there. What an adventure! It does tickle my brain that he might get thrown in a foreign prison for trying to do good and that's worrisome, especially in terms of practical things like paying the mortgage, only that's the trip of a lifetime, fabulous for him, and still two months away. If I'm living fully, no matter what, these things won't bog me down and steal my joy. It's choice after choice after choice that will take me forward into a full, open, and expansive life. I could miss the amazingness of now by fretting about something that happened yesterday or may or may not happen in the future. I want to keep putting "it" down and picking up joy. It's not always easy to do but always worth the work.