Day: January 17, 2015

My Quest for Perfectly-fitted Pants – 2

Posted by

0

Muslin #2

A made two major adjustments to muslin #1: I drafted the pattern using a size C/D waist, B hip – which took quite a bit off all of the seams, on the back & side back pattern pieces I removed 3/4″ from just under the bum (tapering to the side/inner leg seams). I kept the size B crotch dimensions as is for now.

As you can see, the front fits nicely without pulling (were I to shorten the pants another 3/8″ the front below the knee would fall without breaking).

IMG_4203

But the side view show a bum that is still too full! The side seam is straight, pulling neither to the front or the back. But you can see the extra in the bum and the extra fullness in the back leg – so on muslin #3 I will take those back seams in a bit (as well as increase the amount I take out horizontally under the bum).

IMG_4208

The back view looks not too bad – the back seams are straight – that’s a good thing, but I do need a bit more taken from the bum.

IMG_4209So it’s on to drafting pattern #3!

On this version I will go back to the original waistband from the pattern – I’ll use a size C/D but the hip edge will have to be fitted quite a bit which will mean I have to be careful to make sure it fits the top of the size C/D pants. I am also going to increase the length of the back about 1/2″ – when I sit down the back waistband pulls down – that may mean the crotch depth is too short! I’ll see what lengthening the back does.

What was successful with muslin #2 was the flat fly front! That worked out well.

So each step of the way I’m learning more about how pants are designed – it’s not simple taking flat pieces and trying to fit a curved 3D body!

 

Sandra Betzina’s Flat Fly Front

Posted by

1

After watching the video of how Sandra Betzina does the flat fly front, I tried it on my muslin #2 (in search of the perfectly-fitted pair of pants). It was easy to do and it worked out perfectly.

I drew the top stitching line in pencil since this was a muslin and it didn’t matter – obviously I’d use chalk or some other erasable marker to draw in that line on a real pair of pants.

IMG_4200

You see the centre line because I had to attach “fly” flaps to the centre seam in order to execute the technique but on my next muslin I will incorporate the fly flaps into the front pattern pieces as you can see on Sandra’s video,

IMG_4201

Because my memory is not as good as it once was, I thought it would be a good idea to create a set of written instructions for doing this instead of having to watch the video each time I wanted to sew a fly front. So I took a series of screen captures from the video and created myself an instruction sheet.

Here is a link to the video: http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3831/video-an-easy-flat-fly-front-zipper)

Here is a link to the instruction sheet I set up for myself.