The last Clyde pants!

 I know I keep saying I won't ever make any more Clyde pants.  Maybe I'm finally done with them?

After my experience with Pietra, I wanted to try some crotch adjustments on pants I've made a few times.  The crotch on these is not satisfactory and the rise is too high so I thought they would be good to work on. 

I shortened the rise by 1" on the front and back, but in order to not mess with the pockets, I shortened the side piece below the pockets.  

I added the Persephone butt and front crotch.  Instead of pinching out fabric, this required adding fabric, and it did feel weird to add when I thought the problem is too much...

The fabric is beautiful textured green suiting from The Fabric Store, it's part of their new stock in now.  Run and get some! It's scrumptious.  

I put these together despite a terrible viral gunge, worse than covid forreal people. 

 

The top with them is a Deer and Doe Givre, I am not planning to blog it elsewhere.  No excitement just a nice tank top.  I might make the pieced dress version soon. 

I definitely see the butt has more definition.  The front crotch really does seem to be better. Ironically, the back rise isn't enough, and I've remembered to make my elastic much looser so the butt feels a bit at risk at present, but the elastic will tighten after I've washed them, and while wearing they are pretty comfortable.  They feel much smaller than my previous ones, probably because there's an inch less fabric hanging in my crotch.  They also seem very short which is, I suppose, because the crotch isn't hanging down and making them longer. 

I guess to sum, I would optimally take that inch out of the front but taper it back in to the back so I have a higher back rise.  I do think the crotch is better.  Can I be done making Clyde pants?  I have given all my previous ones away; I don't have a huge backstash of them.  These seem like they will be nice spring pants so hopefully I'll keep them around, and hopefully I will move on and stop trying to perfect these impossible pants!  It might be worth going back to the Arenite pants, which I mucked around with a bit and then gave up on.  

Elizabeth Suzann Clyde pants 3

 I've made these a few times already.  Here for the first pair.  I didn't even like them that much.  I am not very happy with the pooling of fabric in the front of the crotch.  On the second pair I attempted a cheater fix by angling the front waistband and removing a triangle right below the foldover line, and also shortened the "waist zone" for the elastic to accommodate a smaller elastic.  I'm now kind of surprised to discover I apparently never blogged that second pair which were in a slightly stretchy brown wool suiting (so rare, I really blog almost everything!).  I wore them a few times and liked them ok but felt they would be better off with a friend so I sent them away.  

Now, I had this piece of canvas to ice dye and I wanted some pants and this pattern with its skinny little pieces fit on my fabric...so despite not liking the fit particularly, I committed.

This is again the modified version of the pattern where I angled down the front.  I noted on the previous pair that it's a partial fix, since really I would change the crotch curve to get rid of the extra fabric. The steep angle I've created is a bit tricky while folding the waistband over and for this pair, I used 1" elastic because that was the best fit for my channel.  

 

I ice dyed this fabric first then I cut it. 

I wasn't very happy with that first dye run - not enough dye!  Funny colour pooling.  I basically had cut exactly the right size fabric piece for the pants, because another project in a different set of dye colours is happening later.  So I was constrained as to where the pieces went.  After making the pants, I put them under another lot of the same colour dye which is warm black. Much better after that.  

 

They look a bit like clown pants when they are sitting around, but the fit is as expected.  It has rather reminded me that I am actually NOT very happy with this fit.  I might get around to making more Free Range Slacks this summer, and will almost certainly make more Pomona pants, but not any time soon.  If summer lasts long enough I would like to try the Bisque trousers but I'm moving to a colder clime (soon!) so it will be interesting to see what inspires me after the move.  

Elizabeth Suzann Clyde pants review

I acquired the pattern for the Clyde pants along with various other Elizabeth Suzann patterns around the start of lockdown, when she was requesting people make donations in exchange for the patterns.  They are no longer available, but will eventually be back up on her website in some form.  

  I made these in size 4 short, going by the size chart on the pattern pieces.  

Fabric is an upcycled duvet cover made of a linen rayon blend. (I match my curtain!)

This pattern is remarkably similar to the Arenite pants and to the Papercut palisade pants. 

The Arenite have more fabric gathering to the waist and don't have a narrow version for sale (just instructions on how to make one) and the Papercut pattern has a shockingly high waist and shallower pockets.  However, the construction on this type of trouser is identical.  There are a few tutorials on Instagram as well, but I didn't need them. 

Well above my belly button here.  But a much nicer fit in the crotch.

I put these on and was severely lukewarm.  MEH. 

I did kind of doubt whether I had correctly identified the front once I put them on.  These pants have a lot of extra fabric in the crotch.  Though I experimented for my photos and if I pull the saggy crotch all the way up to my crotch, it goes away.  If I do that, the waist is about 3 cm above my belly button.  Could these be improved by a shortening of the rise? Would that be easy?  Or would I also benefit from a taper of the front waist angle?  I have a lot of stretch sateen fabric.  Not sure I'm inspired yet.  I find it fascinating lately to see how much I benefit from my photos - I don't love taking them but they really help me to understand what I enjoy wearing and what sits well on my body. 

I am also kind of annoyed lately that nothing has a good butt fit.  I'm sort of tired of seeing myself in mirrors out and about with this saggy butt because of my pants.  

End story: people love these, great if you don't have a short rise and do love a high waist, easy to make, but I am not yet sold.