I was fabric shopping when I suddenly out of the blue had a hankering to make these. The fabric that drove this plan was a mystery-blend with stretch, heavy, purple. I bought it at The Fabric Store. I suppose it must be viscose as I won't buy polyester.
I absolutely wasn't fazed by the stretch in the fabric.
I went forth and read a lot of reviews. It was refreshing that there were even a number of blog posts! The summary I got from the reviews is that this pattern has a relatively long crotch that fits nobody very well, and it's quite oversized if you go by the size chart. I'm kind of dusting off my mental archives here and recall that Closet Core patterns are often pretty big and the size charts are not very accurate; my Ginger jeans were a size 4 and are too big around the waist.
For some reason this all spurred me onwards. Maybe because I was just on a boot-making course and after 4 days making something that was a constant challenge, I wanted the challenge of something I theoretically can do well. So I pulled out my old crotch curve pattern - harvested from pants that were made to measure for me in Vietnam. I pulled out the Persephone pants too just in case because that butt is the best butt - but I decided that was too much change for one pattern (maybe next time.)
I made size 4. My measurements are a perfect size 6. (27-37)
The size 4 is roomy but not too too big, and remember, I used a stretch fabric.
Ok but back up. Before I did that, I shortened the entire rise by 1" which by now is a relatively common adjustment for me, and was supported by how the crotch is too long for everyone. Then I compared it to my crotch curve and cut a line into the front crotch about 4 cm and just overlapped it about 1 cm, to remove a wedge, flattening the paper of the pattern til it was mostly flat. I can draw this if someone needs a picture?
This will remove that extra wrinkle of fabric that always hangs in front crotches on me (I hoped.)
It did - I could take a bit more, but it's not terrible!
During the sewing, I encountered a kind of comedy of errors. The fabric has a subtle difference between the right and wrong sides. I think...I sewed the wrong sides of the back facing out and I noticed the legs twist. But even before I did that, I was overlocking the seams and my overlocker blade pretty much died. On its way down the death spiral, it took out the front seams in great monstrous messes (plus 2 overlocker needles. I have never broken 2 overlocker needles before!) This all led to some of the waviness in the front seam.
I used the length of back elastic recommended by the pattern and it does seem a bit loose at present. For the most part I followed the instructions, which I found satisfactory.
When the final result lies on the ground it seems quite twisty. On my body the pants initially also seem to twist, with the seams coming from the back around to the front, and they feel roomy with stretch everywhere. My previous experience with pants that have some stretch content is that the elastic tightens on the first wash and the pants shrink for a few more washes, so I wonder if they will tighten up. The fit seems reasonable considering that the pattern is meant for totally nonstretch fabric. After wearing these around a bit instead of staring in the mirror I stopped thinking about twisty legs and the pants felt fine. I had fun making these despite the debacles.
I agree with one of the reviewers who commented that the pockets are quite high, but I can access them to put stuff in and they are big. I will have to wear them a bit to determine if I think they are too high.
Reviewers with more engineering precision than I have commented on the plumb line of these pants. From what I can see, the side panel is relatively straight, but the front panel curves outward. I would read this as a combo of my overlocker mess, and maybe some design feature, rather than assuming it's a fail of drafting. The seams on the front feel weird when I'm wearing these, but the fit feels ok. I'll have to wear them around and see what I think, but I would definitely eventually be inspired to make an actual nonstretch pair and see what happens. In the meantime, I am now inspired to fix the crotch curve on the Clyde pants! I have bought 2 lots of green suiting fabric so expect some more experimentation with dreamy Man pants so I can keep living my scruffy Menswear chic life...I have found a few patterns that are inspiring me to move away from the elastic waist pants and to up my game...after the Clydes...
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