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 :)

Coming Up This Week/More Pants and The Sew Along

Happy Monday Everyone! 

I'm one of those crazy people who loves Mondays. The day seems to hold all the possibilities of the week neatly in one day :)

A little later today, I will be doing the second post on my pant experience. 

Here's a sneak peek. The pair below were the first pair I made and I made them out of a wool crepe. They are not hemmed.  

The left side.

The dreaded back view :)

And the right side.

I'll have better pictures in my next post, along with the herringbone pants and the shorts. 

We will begin the sew along for the Islander Patterns Easy V Express Top tomorrow.

If you would like to join in, there's still time to get your pattern with a 20% discount. Just remember to use the code RHONDA at check out. 

We'll also discuss lengthening the pattern to make a dress. A dress out of this pattern is great as it's perfect for throwing on in the summer, and maybe even better with a shorter sleeve, or no sleeve. We'll also discuss deleting the sleeve, for a super cool version. With temperatures already hovering in the 90's. I'm looking for super cool!

Hope your day is off to a great start. 
See you a little later!

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 :) 

Perfect Pant Retreat and An Opportunity Not To Be Missed!

One of my absolute all time favorite movies is "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles." It's a story about a rather uptight business man (Steve Martin), and a shower curtain ring salesman (John Candy). Both are trying to get to Chicago, but due to flight delays and bad weather, they end up on quite an adventure that involves planes, trains, and automobiles. It's a silly, but hilarious movie. I have probably watched the movie at least 10 or more times. It' s a movie that makes me laugh each and every time I see it. If you have not seen it, you can watch it for FREE HERE. 

Yesterday was a planes, trains, and automobiles day for me. I was traveling back to Chicago from Denver. The day began early with a van service to the airport, then a bit of a wait. Thankfully, my flight was not canceled or delayed. Made it to Chicago where I jumped on the elevated train which takes me just a short 3 block walk to my home. As it turned out, we were having a horrible storm in Illinois as well as Chicago, thunderstorms, tornadoes, pouring down rain. Of course, I had no umbrella, or raincoat, so rather than walking home and being soaking wet by the time I arrived, I decided to get off at a stop where I had a good chance of getting a taxi. I didn't have to wait too long, but by the time I finally arrived home, I was exhausted! Still am ;)

In our last Sewbussted's Material Witness video, I introduced you to Karen Bengtson who is a master pant fitting instructor. She will be having a pant fitting retreat and all of the info is below.

Perfect Pant Retreat 

June 6 - June 9, 2017  With Karen’s Sew Unique  
Workshop Cost: Early registration $275 until April 1, 2017. 
After April 1st, $300. Max 10 students. 
Lodging and Food at Peaceful Valley Resort, Lyons CO 
Private Room: $533, Double Room: $333
Fitting will begin at 2:30 on Tuesday June 6, 45 minutes with each student, Dinner at 6PM, finish up fitting, and go over sewing schedule for the workshop. 
Supplies to bring: Sewing machine, all of your feet, general sewing tools, wool fabric and lining, thread to match. Instructor will have Pendleton wool and lining available for purchase. Machine rentals: $50.
You will go home with a custom pant pattern, finished pair of lined pants, knowledge to make another pair, and instructor’s instruction manual. 
Instructor: Karen Bengtson 
Phone: 303-746-0978 
Email: karenssewunique@gmail.com 
Full payment due May 1, 2017 
Make checks out to;
Karen Bengtson
1525 Ervine Ave.
Longmont, CO 80501

If you have questions, please feel free to contact Karen directly.

Coming Up On The Blog...

This Friday, a new episode of Sewbussted's Material Witness will be up and you DO NOT want to miss this one!!! 

There will be a GREAT giveaway attached to this video that I know you will want to have an opportunity to win.

Have you dreamed of having one of your sewing ideas or a creation published? Then be sure to come back by on Friday. There will be a VERY exciting announcement made!!!

I just LOVE being able to bring great opportunities your way!
Kinda feels like being a fairy godmother :)