Thursday, August 12, 2010

Pants Are My Nemesis, or How I Waste Time

Either I've gotten really picky about fit, or my aging body has gotten that much harder to fit.  Maybe both.  See the pants on the floor?  Those were the black pants I made to try out David Page Coffin's techniques.  I will say that the issues I always have in sewing a contour waistband  were solved by using a 1/4" sas at the top and bottom of the waistband.  He suggests, and he calls them, outlets, I call it in case sas, that you only cut a  wider sas on seams that   you will be fine tuning the fit.  I threw these in the trash and concluded that my drafting skills were just not up to the task of  making the fairly wide legged Razer pant into a narrow legged pant.  I can make a pant from it at 22 or 24" wide hem that fits very nicely in the rear.  But the front still eludes me.
A pair of pants in a drapey fabric works better with some of the problems kind of softened out and not as noticeable.  I get a pleat that forms from the cf crotch that isn't as obvious in softer fabrics.  Obviously pants should not have pleats at the crotch!  I have adjusted for full inner thighs.  I've adjusted the cf to be parallel to the grain line to accommodate my full stomach.  I've deepened the crotch and made it shallower. I reduced the inseam, I've added to it.  The fit is better with a deeper crotch and shorter crotch point.  I have found that there is a fine line on the crotch depth.  If it is too long I get more of a pleat, if it is too short I also get the pleat.  But, regardless of what I do I get the pleat.  In a less drapey fabric it's really a crisp pleat that seems to point to my crotch.

I'm not sure if you can see the pleat in these pants.  As I said, in a softer fabric with good drape,  it's not as obvious but it's still there.  If anyone has any suggestions for this issue I'd love to hear it.

12 comments:

  1. Michelle at http://cheapandpicky.blogspot.com struggled for ages to get pants right. She finally succeeded. I'm sure she posted some information about crotch curves and the like.

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  2. Oh man...your never ending epic struggle for pants fitting. Sorry darling.

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  3. Shorter front crotch and longer back crotch? It looks like too much droop in the front.

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  4. I don't have any advice about fitting pants. But I share your pain.

    Just an aside, did you go back to dark brown hair?

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  5. the Holy Grail of Sewing - Pants! I so feel your frustration.

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  6. We all share your sorrow! Keep trying. Do you have Palmer/Pletsch book, "Pants for Real People"?

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  7. Thanks for posting the photo. I was having trouble picturing it when you described it and now I see. For what it's worth, I have crossed into this territory in the last couple of years. In my case, I am sure it is due to changes of an aging body. This very subject, in fact, was what led me to wonder if a fitting session with Kenneth King would be a good idea. I had watched him fit pants on other women at the Sit and Sew in November 2009. One thing led to another, and as you know, I ended up doing the coat instead. But after my piggybank fills back up, I may well schedule another session with him. It is so frustrating and of course we want to look good in our clothes!

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  8. I feel your pain! Pants really are d@mn near impossible.

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  9. I'm challenged as well. Earlier this spring I pull out what I thought was a TNT pant pattern cutting three pairs of pants from it. After nearly completing the first pair I had new fitting issues. Grrr! Needlesstosay, they are still hanging in the closet. Can't throw them away, too much work invested and two cut and serged. Oh well. I'm back to the "designing" board with that pattern.

    In the meantime, I've been using M5818 as my TNT pant pattern.
    C

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  10. Still white. It's an older picture from the winter. Cennetta, that's exactly what I did. No longer a tnt pattern. I have a low rear end and a low front waist. Flat rear I refer to as pancake ass, and a tummy. Also one hip is fuller than the other. It is totally frustrating.

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  11. The Kenneth King fitting series in threads talks about folding out excess fabric in weird places. I wonder if his techniques could be applied to your fitting issues with the pleat? Fold out the pleat then alter your pattern to match the folded out area...I am far from an expert but techniques make sense for fitting less than perfect bodies...
    In the latest issue they fitted a vest on a less than perfect body.

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