It's All About The Pants Part 2

Best laid plans :/
I apologize for not getting back to the post yesterday, so sadly I am a day behind. But, we'll catch up :)

Before I begin the Islander Patterns Easy V  Express Top sew along, I wanted to do the follow up post to the pant fitting retreat. As I told you in the previous post, I made 2 pair of pants and a pair of shorts. Although the same pattern was used for each pair, there were slight changes made.

I used a wool crepe for my first pair. If you have worked with wool crepe, you know that it has a looser weave than other wools, so it can grow a bit. The side seams were taken in to get a closer fit, but all in all I was happy with the outcome.   Just a note, I have not hemmed my pants, and I also need to add the hook closure to the waistband.

Since I used a black fabric, it's a little difficult to see how the back fits, but they feel great and I am happy with how they hang. 

I LOVE having a beautiful lining in all of my clothes. Kinda like my own little secret, that just might get a slight reveal at times ;) This fabric makes the pants feel like a dream when I slide them on.

For the second pair I made, I used a herringbone from Pendleton Wool. A gorgeous piece of fabric. 

There's just a slight caving in at the back of my leg in this picture, I'm not sure if it's the pant, or how I'm standing. I have a feeling that it's how I'm standing.

This pair also appears to be just a little snug in the back crotch seam. I have not clipped the seam, so once that is done, I think it will make a big difference. 

Once I made this pair, we then made some alterations to the pattern which I did not want to do after the wool crepe pair due to the fabric characteristics. 

I used a basic bemberg lining in this pair of pants. Boring!!!

I had intended to use a fun piece of silk, but I was just a little short, so I used it as my pocket lining, just to add a fun touch. In the wool crepe pants, I used the wool crepe as my pocket lining. I really prefer using a lining fabric for the pocket lining as I feel that it makes pants and skirts alike fall a little nicer over the body.

For my final pair, I made walking shorts. These were made from a denim with 3% lycra. 

I decided to have some fun with them and do lots of topstitching. 
Due to the fact that the fabric has the added lycra, I had to take the side seams in a little more from my original alterations to the pattern. By doing this, it made the pocket opening just a little smaller. So I have made a note of this and if I make another pair with lycra, I will know to alter the side seam prior to adding the pockets. 
  

I even topstitched the darts.

And I used a red zipper. Why not? :)

The back. There's just one more detail that I would like to add and that's back pockets. As you can see below, the center back seam is a flat felled seam. The crotch seam is also a flat felled seam. By doing this, I sacrifice a little fit in the crotch, but I love flat felled seams, so oh well :) 

Since I wanted more of a walking short, I widened the leg a little on the outside and inside leg, and then added a cuff.

The back. Although I sacrificed a little of the fit with the flat felled seams, I'm really happy with how they turned out.

If you think that you might like to take a pant fitting class, Karen is thinking of doing another class either in September, or October. If you are interested, email her at karenssewunique@gmail.com.

The master mind behind this pant fitting system is Joyce Simmons Murphy. Be sure to check out her website HERE. Her new website which will be devoted to pants should be up soon at Pants4U.com

Pants that fit is no longer just a dream :)

It's All About The Pants

Unless you are one of a very small minority who can pull anything on and like magic, it looks great, you understand the challenge it is to get the perfect fit on just about anything. Skirts, dresses, jackets can all be a struggle, but we usually end up some some amount of luck in fitting and feel fairly happy with the outcome...except when it comes to pants!!! 

At least here in the U.S., it was World War II that ushered in pants for women. Women went to work in factories, building everything from airplanes to tanks. A dress just wasn't going to do, so they pulled on their pants and off to work they went. When the war was over, it was thought that women would return to their traditional roles in the home, some did, but many didn't. They loved their new found freedom, and they especially loved wearing pants. And so began the dilemma of finding a great fitting pair of pants. 

You may remember that I showcased Joyce Murphy of the School of Custom Clothing and Design back in February. Quite simply, Joyce has a passion for pants, and pants that fit well. Since last February, she has been working on a new website devoted to her method of fitting and it's just about ready to go. In the meantime, check out her website HERE. 

I interviewed Karen Bengston who has studied under Joyce and mastered pant fitting. Karen just held a pant fitting retreat in Colorado and I had the opportunity to attend. Lucky me! Since pants are a passion for so many of us, I thought I would walk you through my experience at the retreat. 

Joyce's pant pattern comes in sizes A-L with hip measurements that range from 35", to 63". Prior to the retreat, each participant was to take their waist and hip measurement and send them to Karen. Based on those measurements, she then chose the appropriate pattern size. 

When we arrived, Karen had muslins for us to try on, below is my muslin, made right off of the pattern. Not bad.

Here you can see the fit from the front,

My right side,

The back,

And finally, my left side.

Here's Karen fitting me. What a joy it was to be the one being fitted :) In this picture, an adjustment had been made to the waist and side seam.

Joyce's master pattern comes with adjustment lines that are to be stitched into the muslin. One of the lines is between the hip and waistline. Here you can see that Karen has pinched up the pants at this line.  

The fitting is complete. 
Front,

Right side,

Back. 
You can see that she did not continue with the same amount pinched in all the way to center back. Remember, this is just the muslin fitting, so the adjustments need to be made to the pattern and then the fabric will hang nicely. 

Left side.

In my next post, I'll show you my finished pants. I actually made 2 pair of pants and a pair of shorts. I had a GREAT time!!! One pair was made from a wool crepe, the other from a wool herring bone. The shorts were made from a denim with 3% lycra. Each fabric reacted just a little differently to the pattern. More on that as well in the next post.     

Karen is thinking about holding another retreat in September or November of this year, 2017. If you think that you might like to attend, email her at karenssewunique@gmail.com. Nothing better than going to a retreat with a goal in mind and walking away with it accomplished :) 

Sewbussted's Material Witness Episode 3/Pant Fitting and Custom Sewing

We're far more connected than most of us will ever know.  

Just a little over a month ago, I introduced you to Tomasa of Sew Much Fashion and her incredibly well fitted pair of pants. As it turns out, she had taken a class with Karen Bengtson, today's guest on Sewbussted's Material Witness. 

After I did the post on Tomasa, a number of you contacted Karen and begged for a class, of which I had no idea. Amazing!!! Karen then contacted Joyce Simons Murphy, the master mind and creator of the most ingenious pant fitting system I have ever experienced. This prompted Joyce to contact me. I then contacted Karen and asked if she would like to be featured on my new video series. She replied with an ecstatic, "YES!!!" 

In the video, you'll see that my eyes are extremely swollen, a residual effect of the sinus infection that landed me in emergency care. Each day is better :) Please forgive my appearance.

I've purposely designed the videos so that you can watch if you like, or just put it on, listen and enjoy!



If you've always dreamed of a pair of great fitting pants, Karen will be hosting a workshop some time in June. You may contact her at karenssewunique@gmail.com

I am currently taking Joyce Simons Murphy's Building The Custom Pants Block class. Karen did the fitting on my pants block and in 1 fitting, I had a perfect fitting pair of pants. I have never been so amazed. 

I hope you enjoyed the video and that you are leaving inspired.
Rhonda