High Front Low Back Oddity

For a gazillion different reasons, the digital camera is one of the greatest tools ever invented. It allows me to stand back and in a non-judgemental, non-emotional (mostly), and unbiased way look at what is really going on. It was invaluable for creating textile art and it's equally invaluable for fashion sewing.




When I ran into Ann from Stitcher's Guild the other day, she said that she recognized my hair. Her comment surprised me. It was also somewhat intriguing because I'd just been looking at this photograph and thinking about my hair - that even though it's natural, the color is quite dark. I'm not willing to dye it however, I think a softer style would be more flattering now that my face is less round. The straight lines of the hairstyle are emphasizing how square my face has become with weight loss. That may change if my cheeks continue to hollow. Time will tell. Right now, something angled or feathered or softened in some way might be better.

Pondering that idea, I tucked my hair behind my ears yesterday morning in order to try out a softer line and get feedback from the friend I was having coffee with. When I returned home, there was an email from my daughter. She wrote...

I was just reading your blog. I like the blue dress you were wearing. It looks good. I was thinking maybe a different haircut to go with your fabulous new clothes? Since you have the clothes and accessories thing down pat. Maybe a flip or an angled cut or something? You know young and perky.

How fun that she thinks I have the clothes and accessories thing down pat. I'm still playing with ideas wishing I had a much bigger budget but... great minds thinking alike and all - we're on the same page. I have the world's most wonderful daughter. She'll be home for a visit soon and I'm looking forward to a face-to-face conversation and a real live hug and - if my hairstylist can fit me in - I might even have a new haircut by then too.




I have an unreasonable number of pictures of my behind - probably more pictures of my butt end than my children. The pictures are helpful except that the more I worked on the pant pattern, the further from the truth it felt like I was getting. Above is the back of my RTW jeans. Below is the front.




Except for the wrinkles under the butt, I don't mind these jeans. These are one of the better pairs I've bought and those wrinkles aren't nearly as big as the ones on my muslin. I thought it might be valuable to compare images... and it was... and yet I still feel frustrated, confused, and further from the truth. BUT... here are a few of the things I've learned so far with this jeans journey:

... keep a journal
... number your photographs
... record the adjustment you're trying against the photo number in the journal
... be persistent
... get help (books or people)
... compare to known factors like the RTW jeans or previously sewn pants
... be realistic - if you need more room, you need more room
... if it's not stretch denim, you need ease
... if your derriere is dropped, it's dropped - GET OVER IT
... try one adjustment at a time
... remember that EVERYTHING affects EVERYTHING
... alter in the correct order
... follow the 5-step solution to eliminating baggies in PFRP
... Pati and Marta know what they're talking about - read the book
... Sandra knows what she's talking about - read that book too
... trim off the hem so the pants hang freely without touching the ground
... retreat to the familiar when you can't remember what you're doing anymore

My "retreat to the familiar" was to compare the front crotch curve on the KwikSew pattern with the front crotch curve on the Vogue 2925 trouser pants sewn last fall. The Vogue curve is substantially flatter and lower. That's exactly what I was pinning out. Remember the current pattern is narrower due to weight loss since sewing the Vogue pants.




In Pants For Real People, Pati and Marta refer to this adjustment as a Front Bubble which basically means the seam needs to be flatter and closer to the body.




Comparing the back crotch curves, the Vogue was the exact L shape from my "radical" crotch move yesterday. However, I also have what they call a high front, low back oddity. Don't you think they could have come up with a better name for that? NOT very flattering.




The less ease the style has and the less stretch the fabric has, the more obvious, irritating, and difficult an "oddity" it is to deal with. Basically, my butt end is flat, dropped, angles steeply, and I'm wider across the back than the front. THAT's what's frustrating me. Perhaps I should wear skirts - LOL - except that...




... I become consumed by the question. I want to make it work. SO, next, I thought about all the changes and adjustments I'd made to the muslin trying to get it to work. It seemed as if the back leg width was not wide enough or that there was insufficient ease through the hips. I made the changes and then tissue fit the pattern and discovered that the back pattern was too small and that the crotch curve needed to go even lower.




After making the adjustments, I sewed a second muslin. Here it is - improved and still needing work. This fabric is broadcloth which has no give. I thought that might help. In this image the hips appeared to need more ease so I made the side seams narrower last night before going to bed. That allowed another 3/4" each side. I'll get a picture and start there this morning.

I woke up to this comment from Carolyn. She wrote - Wow, I wish you good luck with your jeans. That's like a "holy grail" for me, something I'm just not capable of. I have huge admiration for ladies who've made their own jeans. I would just be buying those cute Anthropologie jeans, except we don't get them here! Keep up the posting on your jeans journey. I look forward to your destination!

That was encouraging Carolyn. Thank you. We don't get Anthropologie here either or I just might have rushed down there. The nearest store is clear across the country. If I'm completely honest, I not only have huge admiration for those ladies who've made their own jeans, I'm jealous. They make it look so easy but who knows. I wasn't there in the studio seeing it happen. The Selfish Seamstress posted her second pair of jeans yesterday and they look gorgeous on her. There I was shouting ME TOO at the screen - LOL.

Jeans are a challenge. There's no way around that. The reason I can't buy pants and jeans easily is because my figure is hard to fit. That's also the reason why it's not a breeze to sew them. BUT... I am smart, I can figure this out.... eventually... some how. If it takes that long, I know I can get in person help at the Sandra Betzina workshop in April only I'm like a little kid - I want them NOW. More tomorrow, hopefully some kind of success.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - persistence

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Personal Growth - That means we have to wake up to the fact that our only protection lies in educating ourselves about our own bodies and what we are putting into them. We are the cause, and we are the cure. Our only real insurance policy is ourselves. - page 90, The Cure by Dr. Timothy Brantley.

In his book, Timothy talks about how close different people have been to discovering a cure for cancer in 1920's or the cause of heart disease in 1940's as well as other issues and in all cases, the cure came down to what people were eating. I'm paying attention to what he's writing because the effect of food on how well I function has become SO OBVIOUS in the last fifteen months.

For example, last night I had ice-cream with chocolate sauce. This morning I woke up with a headache, an aching body, congestion, a rash through my upper mouth and nostrils, and a few other symptoms. It will take all day or longer to rid my body of this reaction to dairy. I rarely "cheat" anymore. Over time, I doubt I will because...

... I'm learning so much about the impact of food. Yesterday, I started the chapters on water. Not only are we 70% water and need to remain hydrated but sufficient water helps us to produce the stomach enzymes needed for breaking down food. If the food isn't broken down, it sits in our system and rots and without more water, it can't be flushed out. That leads to issues like leaky gut syndrome and food allergies. That sounds like me so you can bet I'm drinking more water AND...

.. beginning to cut out coffee. Along with causing a few other issues I'm dealing with, it is apparently quite dehydrating. I've been struggling to stay hydrated this winter. That means that coffee has to go. This will be hard. I love coffee. When I say I have one in the morning, I don't mean a cup. I mean a pot. From now on, it's one cup and decaffeinated after that.