Saturday 3 December 2016

Success! (More or less)

I used the cheap fabric I bought in Ikea to make my next pair of test trousers. "Test trousers"?  Perhaps I should say "my next test pair of trousers"?? 

It all went smoothly.  I've ever worn white trousers in my life,  but over the next couple of days I grew to quite like them, and I was a bit sorry that they were only a test pair.  Because they were a test pair, and because I was in a hurry to get to my destination of having a finished pattern to use,  I didn't bother finishing the raw edges.  If I had done, the "test pair" might have surivived the mauling they got.

They went together well, I even got as far as putting the waistband on.  They looked.... quite good.  Although I couldn't quite work out where my waist was meant to be.  If I let the trousers settle, my waist was fairly low down, and the crotch was far to low.  If I hoiked the trousers up so that the crotch was OK then the waist was far too loose.   I looked at the pattern, saw that we'd marked my knee point (for Yoga Pants), so I measured myself.  The knee position was consistent with the crotch being in the correct place, so it meant that my trousers were a little high waisted. That was OK, let's get the fit right and then I can always lower the waistband - that's the easy bit.   To avoid any further confusion, I biroed a line on my side to show my where the trousers should sit.

I faffed and pinched, and decided I'd increase the width of the darts.  I pulled the waistband off,  did the darts, put the waistband back on,  and checked again.    Better, but still too loose.  I pinched at the back and then managed to  draw, in red pencil, at the back,  two vertical lines.    I slipped the trousers off, and looked - yep,  if I put the lines next to each other, that indicated how much I needed to bring the trousers in.  Tomorrow.

Tomorrow came and I had other things to do.   Thursday came.  I put the trousers back on, and looked at how far down I needed to go with the change, and then I went to my master pattern and marked the proposed change there.   I also adjusted the leg length, and compared the relevant sides of the front and back, making a slight adjustment there to.

At this point  realised that I couldn't really avoid the zip any longer.  I had been tempted to just put on a yoga wasitband or an elastic casing - but that wasn't really the right thing.   I really should do these test trousers properly, and I might as well get on with it.

I looked looked lessons on my Make it Sew sewing series.    I thought I'd have to do an invisible zip, but as I sat through 3 different zip lessons, I discovered that wasn't necessary.  I also watched the waistband lesson, to see how that works with a zip, and found I'd been doing it incorrectly. It didn't matter for the testing, but it did matter for the real thing.

Friday, I decided I'd start sewing straight away.   I ripped off the waistband,  I unpicked the seams, and I cut the fabric to the new pattern.   I also had a go with a zip.  I put it all back together, put the waistband on a bit more correctly.... and they looked really good.  Even the zip - which was a bit wonky and the stitching (which was black thread on white fabric) was all over the place - worked. 

I was so happy!

I cut our the fabric for a "proper" pair, and made them up - including a zip - before the day was out.  I'd pressed open all my seams,  I'd done the zip properly.  I didn't get the waistband done: they are still a little big round the waist - the fabric has a slight stretch - and I'm thinking about trying to use the waistband to deal with the extra (and I will make a pattern adjustment).   I also haven't hemmed them yet,  so that makes 3 items of clothing that I've almost finished but haven't hemmed.

The fabric is a bit of an odd choice - a bit floral.  I suspect that DH,  whose enthusiasn for my achievement was a little restrained, was thinking "Why on EARTH would you make TROUSERS out of  THAT".

 It's a black fine cordurouy with tiny flowers and stars on,  and I'd bought it to make a pretty winter maxi skirt.   I'm not quite sure why the fabric pattern would be fine for a skirt but a bit of an odd choce for trousers.   I do wonder if people will think I'm wearing PJ bottoms.

Ha! Just wait until I've been back to Ikea, THEN he'll  know what floral trousers look like.



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